#questions answered

#Questions Answered

Here you’ll find responses to numerous questions R.C Sproul has been asked over the years.

What is meant by the term original sin?

Original sin has to do with the fallenness of human nature. Jonathan Edwards wrote a tremendous treatise on original sin. He not only devoted himself to a lengthy exposition of what the Bible teaches about man s fallen character and his Read More

How can I tell others about Jesus in a manner that is nonthreatening but yet convincing?

A few years ago, I was involved in training the laity of a local church in the activity we call personal evangelism, and I did that over a period of sixteen weeks. Of that sixteen weeks, about three weeks required Read More

In Numbers 14 it appears that Moses changed the mind of God. How can you explain this?

To change one s mind, in the New Testament means to repent. When the Bible speaks of my repenting or your repenting, it means that we are called to change our minds or our dispositions with respect to sin that we are Read More

Does the Bible tell us when Jesus will return?

Certainly not specifically. Many people have attempted, by a careful (and sometimes a not so careful) examination of the prophetic passages of Scripture to establish a timetable. Some have even predicted months, days and years none of which, up to Read More

Can the devil read my mind?

I am not certain by any means, nor do I have an exhaustive knowledge of the powers of Satan. I know that Satan has more power than one would normally find among human beings. At the same time, I know Read More

Can you repent at the moment of death and still have the same salvation as someone who s been a Christian for many years?

That s a tricky question, but I think it s a fascinating one and certainly one that many people are concerned about. We talk about foxhole faith, when people cry out in desperate moments of crisis or postpone to their deathbed the Read More

There are so many different interpretations of what the Bible is saying. How do I know which one is right?

That s a problem that plagues all of us. There are some theoretical things we can say about it, but I d rather spend time on the practical. The Roman Catholic Church believes that one function of the church is to be Read More

How should we be in the world but not of it? What does not of it mean?

The New Testament tells us that we are not to be conformed to this world but that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2). Let s look at those two words that are crucial to Read More

My teenagers are beginning to resist going to church. Should they be forced, and if so, to what age?

Being a parent is one of the most difficult and thrilling experiences that any human being ever has the privilege of going through. Exercising discipline over our children many times requires the wisdom of Solomon. I know this sounds like Read More

How are we to keep the Sabbath in today s society?

Within the Christian church there are three leading options for answering your question. Some Christians believe that the Sabbath was an Old Testament ordinance and has no application to the New Testament church. No less a giant than Saint Augustine Read More

How should I handle my own doubts about God s presence in my life?

This question brings to mind an experience I had early in my ministry. In fact, I d only been ordained a few months and was teaching at a college. One church had a minister who was much loved by his congregation; Read More

When did God decide to give us eternal life?

When is a time word, and the Bible uses words like that. And when the Bible speaks about the time frame in which God s decision is made in respect to our eternal life, it generally puts the decision at the Read More

How were the books of the Bible selected and compiled, and how were the decisions made as to what would be distributed as the Word of God?

Even though we think of the Bible as being one book, it s actually a collection of sixty-six books, and we realize that there was a historical process by which those particular books were gathered together and placed in one volume Read More

How does today s postmodernism affect the popular understanding of the atonement?

My biggest concern is the way in which the postmodern mentality is seducing the church, even the Reformed church. There seems to be a tacit assumption that somewhere around 1970, at the end of the cultural revolution of the 1960s, Read More

Both Peter and Paul call us to submit to governing authorities. In light of that, is revolution ever possible for a Christian, and if so, under what circumstances?

It certainly is clear that the New Testament puts an emphasis on the Christian s responsibility to be a model of civil obedience. In Romans 13, Paul tells us that the powers that be are ordained by God. That doesn t mean Read More