While we remain adamant that R. C. Sproul was negligent in not informing the public that he had changed his mind on divorce for abuse (see here) we nevertheless still recommend the parts of his teaching which were sound theology and good doctrine. We know that many of our readers are either unaware or have prejudices about Reformed Theology. And we don’t wish to get into a heavy debate with any of our readers about whether the Reformed view is more biblical than other types of theology. If you’ve been following our blog for any length of time you will know that Barb (and Jeff Crippen) are happy to describe themselves as Reformed, even though we have major concerns about how some Reformed churches are treating victims of abuse. We have the same kinds of concerns about how other streams of christendom are treating victims of abuse as well.
So with that as a preliminary, we would like to share this short post by Persis Lorenti. A link to the original post will be given at the end.
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This statement by R.C. Sproul (1939-2017) changed my spiritual life because the role of imputation in the gospel finally clicked:
In the final analysis, the only way that any person is ever justified before God is by works. We are saved by works, and we are saved by works alone. Don’t touch that dial…
[W]hen I say that we are justified by works and by works alone, what do I mean by it? I mean that the grounds of my justification and the grounds of your justification are the perfect works of Jesus Christ. We’re saved by works, but they are not our own. That’s why we say we’re saved by faith, and we’re saved by grace, because the works that save us aren’t our works, they’re Somebody else’s works.
From “What is Reformed Theology?.” You can watch the lecture here. Don’t let the title put you off. Covenant theology is a wonderful doctrine.
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This post (My favorite R.C. Sproul quote [Internet Archive link]) was published last month at Tried With Fire, and with Persis’s permission we are reblogging it here. Thank you Persis.
A Cry For Justice 
Pastor Sam Powell’s sermon
Simon and the Sinner
concerning Luke 7:36-50, titled “Simon and the Sinner” touches on this a bit. There is a Bible verse that comes to mind concerning, ‘faith without works is dead’ but it is not a chicken and egg — which came first — kind of rhetorical question.
It is by faith we are saved. We are covered in the Holy Blood of Christ. His life, His works, His perfection is what will be seen / measured as He is our Substitute.
But, by faith, and His love, we can be seen and known by our works because He poured out His love and the Holy Spirit is within us. So, naturally we don’t live as others do. Evil isn’t worshipped in our lives. What the world considers to be great is not seen as being great by believers as great (one example being exploiting others, using and abusing others, enslaving people are thereby becoming wealthy off the backs of those you exploited, used, abused, and enslaved — the world bows down to monetary success, but, to me, it’s blood money and stealing in my Christian eyes).