I had an interesting, spiritual conversation with a Jewish friend of mine today. He believes Judaism. So I asked him how righteous does a Jewish person have to be, in order for him to be considered righteous. He replied, telling me that this was a tricky question. I said, "Well, there must be a dividing line where the righteous are on one side, and the unrighteous are on the other. People cannot be both righteous and unrighteous."
He said, "You can be righteous in some areas and unrighteous in others." But... a little leaven spoils the whole lump! If I put a little poison in a glass of clean water, which water in the cup would you be willing to attempt to drink? If a bunch of roaches had been in your loaf of bread, which piece of the bread would you feel safe breaking off and eating? A little unrighteousness makes a person fall short of God's perfect, holy, righteous standard, against which He will judge us. ...
I had a conversation this morning with three people who profess to be Christians. When the topic of abortion came up, with one voice all 3 of them said it is my body and right to choose. I asked them if what is in the womb is life. Two of them said yes and eventually the third person partially agreed. I then asked them if we have the right to choose to murder a person. That stirred a lot of preemptive, combative answers because they perceived that I was moving to say, if you affirm life in the womb then you know it's a person and therefore not a right but a wrong and should be illegal to murder the person. ...
TULIP explained in video messages extracted from A Teaching Series by Dr. R.C. Sproul explaining the classic 5 points of Calvinism. What Is Reformed Theology? ...
Original sin has marred our nature. We are depraved. But how depraved are we? Are we simply less than perfect? What kind of improvements can we make within ourselves to change sin’s effect? In this message, Dr. Sproul looks at the distinctive doctrine of Reformed theology that is often misunderstood—“Total Depravity.”
We are all sinful. But how sinful are we? Other than our shortened life-spans and bad habits, what real effect did the Fall have on the average everyday sinner? What effect does sin have on our decision making process? With what power did you use to choose the gospel? Dr. Sproul takes us to the Scriptures to find out what Jesus has to say about our ability to choose as he continues to look at “Total Depravity.”
Upon what condition did God elect sinners to salvation? Was your positive choice for the gospel the basis for your election before the foundation of the world? Was God’s choice based on your foreseen choice? Simply put, did God choose you because you first chose Him? Would God be unfair if He chose some to salvation and not others? In this message, Dr. Sproul helps us understand this hard, yet biblical doctrine as he looks at “Unconditional Election.”
The most common view of the atonement of Jesus is that Jesus died for everyone—that is, all people from all places in all times, every single human being that ever existed. But in order to take advantage of the benefits of the cross, one must first believe to be saved. Such a view is attractive, until we take a closer look at it. Dr. Sproul will look at this view in light of Scripture in this message entitled “Limited Atonement.”
How is it that you who hated God so much now love him so much? What did you do to change your heart so radically? Do you remember resisting grace? Do you remember when you received it? Was it before or after you had faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation? In this message, Dr. Sproul considers these questions as he examines the doctrine of “Irresistible Grace.”
Can people who are saved lose their salvation? If not, then how do we explain those people who have fallen away? In this message, Dr. Sproul thinks about these questions as he looks at “Perseverance of the Saints.”
