To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive
R. C. SproulRead
The glory of the gospel is this: The one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us.
Interpretation
The essence of the gospel is that salvation comes from the very source of our need for it.
This quote by R. C. Sproul emphasizes the profound paradox at the heart of the gospel: the one who saves humanity is also the one who understands our need for salvation. It highlights the divine nature of redemption, where the Savior is intimately aware of human frailty and sin but offers grace and salvation nonetheless.
In practice
In a sermon about divine grace and mercy.
To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive
Iβve often wondered where Jesus would apply His hastily made whip if He were to visit our culture. My guess is that it would not be money-changing tables in the temple that would feel His wrath, but the display racks in Christian bookstores.
The real crisis of worship today is not that the preaching is paltry or that it's too drafty in church. It is that people have no sense of the presence of God, and if they have no sense of His presence, how can they be moved to express the deepest feelings of their souls to honor, revere, worship, and glorify God?
We talk about predestination because the Bible talks about predestination. If we desire to build our theology on the Bible, we run head on into this concept. We soon discover that John Calvin did not invent it.
Without God man has no reference point to define himself.
I do not want to drive across a bridge designed by an engineer who believed the numbers in structural stress models are relative truths.
In the eyes of government we are just one race here. It is American.
If we believe heaven to be our country, it is better for us to transmit our wealth thither, than to retain it here, where we may lose it by a sudden removal.
To the extent to which a man is rational, life is the premise directing his actions. To the extent to which he is irrational, the premise directing his actions is death.
This is actually a very important principle that science is learning about large systems like evolution and that futurists are learning about anticipating human society: just because a future scenario is plausible doesn't mean we can get there from here.
The most important problems we face are complex, and require sustained attention. But we don't speak in terms of nuance or complexity. Is that by accident? It's because our minds have been entrained to expect shorter and shorter bite-sized bits.
It is important to be in the 'we' of the Church, in the 'we' of the life of the Liturgy.
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