Lots of people have written over the last few days how R C Sproul's ministry has impacted them, including Joni Erickson Tada, Mark Dever, John Piper and lots more. These were his friends and colleagues people who knew him personally. I'm not even sure I've ever been within 400 miles of the man himself but he has impacted me nonetheless.
The people's theologian.
I first came across R C Sproul through a friend who loved listening to him. He played some of the Foundations Series for me, I was hooked! I remember not too long after some other friends were visiting and looking at my growing book collection, I remember one of them commenting,' wow you really like R C Sproul' and the other looking and saying, 'oh yes you really do, what they didn't know is that 12 months before I had never heard of the guy and yet all those books had been read and loved. I'd read quite a bit of Martin Lloyd Jones at this point but R C Sproul is for me what MLJ is for the generation before, the populariser of Reformed Theology. You can see this by reading Dave Hunt's anti-Calvinist material he credits the giftedness of Sproul as a communicator for the Reformed Resurgence in the States (much to Hunt's disappointment).
Since I started reading theology proper I've always had a taste for it and have always enjoyed it and understood it. Yet in R C's writings I found I enjoyed it more and understood it better, he had a real gift in communicating complex theology, philosophy and history in such simple terms. I believe more than anyone else he prepared me for the weightier stuff. I loved his theological writings but he also wrote on Christian living and I found these books very challenging and appreciate them very much.
The Winsome wit
The tag line to my blog is 'seeking a warm hearted reformed theology' it's slightly misleading as I found it early on in this winsome American teacher. I recall being horrified at Evangelicals and Catholics Together, the document endorsed by J I Packer, Chuck Colson et al, so was in a serious mood as I listened to R C, MacArthur and D.James Kennedy unpack their alarm and why we couldn't agree with Rome on the Ankerberg program (I had the tapes- back in the day) yet R C whilst being very serious injected humour into the conversation as he playfully ribbed one of his former student during the Q and A time and John MacArthur at another time.
You can hear this if you listen to Foundations or From Dust to Glory, even when you listen you can hear that he is speaking with a smile on his face. You can also see his quick wit in any panel discussion, his love for his God and for God's people is always evident.
The Holiness of God
In R C's writings and speaking ministry I found that he had an awe for the God revealed in scripture, that this God isn't to be trifled with, as He is Holy . While God is Holy we are not- in seeing this, in being taken to see it better, clearer the Gospel becomes more amazing. That's what I found in R C's ministry more than anything that God revealed in the Bible is bigger and better than I had known, that sin, my sin was also worse than I realised. How amazing then is the Gospel which saved a wretch like me. How truly amazing is this God who saves.
I thank the LORD for this gifted man of God.
Shalom
Stephen <><
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