Inspirational Quotes by R. C. Sproul

“One might pray and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a Christian and not pray.”

“But, someone will say, does God not know, even without being reminded, both in what respect we are troubled and what is expedient for us, so that it may seem in a sense superfluous that he should be stirred up by our prayers-as if he were drowsily blinking or even sleeping until he is aroused by our voice? But they who thus reason do not observe to what end the Lord instructed his people to pray, for he ordained it not so much for his own sake as for ours. Now he wills-as is right-that his due be rendered to him, in the recognition that everything men desire and account conducive to their own profit comes from him, and in the attestation of this by prayers. But the profit of this sacrifice also, by which he is worshiped, returns to us. Accordingly, the holy fathers, the more confidently they extolled God's benefits among themselves and others, were the more keenly aroused to pray ... Still it is very important for us to call upon him: First, that our hearts may be fired with a zealous and burning desire ever to seek, love, and serve him, while we become accustomed in every need to flee to him as to a sacred anchor. Secondly, that there may enter our hearts no desire and no wish at all of which we should be ashamed to make him a witness, while we learn to set all our wishes before his eyes, and even to pour out our whole hearts. Thirdly, that we be prepared to receive his benefits with true gratitude of heart and thanksgiving, benefits that our prayer reminds us come from his hand. (Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, ed. John T. McNeill [Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1960], Book 3, chapter 20, section 3.)”

“We can take comfort from the fact that God knows our hearts and hears our unspoken petitions as well as the words that emanate from our lips. Whenever we are unable to express the deep feelings and emotions of our souls or when we are”

“Mi confianza en el futuro descansa en la confianza en el Dios que controla la historia.”

“Of course, knowledge is also important because without it we cannot know what God requires. However, knowledge and truth remain abstract unless we commune with God in prayer.”

“here are vast numbers of portraits of Jesus in the art galleries of this world. These images are often so conflicting that they offer little help in achieving an accurate”

“The things they see as unnecessary extras, the accretions of myth and legend, are excised by the scissors to expose the real Jesus. It seems so scientific, but it is all done with mirrors. The magician's art leaves us with the portrait of Rudolf Bultmann or John A. T. Robinson, and again the real Jesus is obscured. By preserving a modicum of New Testament data, we think we have avoided subjectivity. However, the result is the same-a Jesus shaped by the bias of the scholar wielding the scissors and getting”

“It is our privilege to bring the whole of our finite existence into the glory of His infinite presence.”

“way for us to spend time with Him, to praise and thank Him, and to make our requests known to Him. Afterward, when we get up from our knees, we watch the providence of God work in our lives. In short, we see God answering prayers. What does that do to our faith? It strengthens it. That’s why prayer is a very important means of grace.”

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“ohn Wesley, the founder of Methodism, testified that his conversion experience occurred after he was already an ordained clergyman. He was at a meeting in Aldersgate Street in London, listening to a sermon from the book of Romans, and as he heard the words of Scripture-words he had heard many times before-he suddenly felt his heart "strangely warmed.”

“Sin is a revolutionary act in which the sinner seeks to depose God from His throne. Sin is a presumption of supreme arrogance in that the creature vaunts his own wisdom above that of the Creator, challenges divine omnipotence with human impotence, and seeks to usurp the rightful authority of the cosmic Lord.”

“Puesto que Dios posee honor infinito, majestad infinita, y santidad infinita, el más leve pecado tiene consecuencias infinitas.”

“En un sentido real, nuestras creencias dictan nuestra conducta. Detrás de cada una de nuestras acciones hay una teoría. Puede que no seamos capaces de articular esa teoría, o ni siquiera estemos inmediatamente conscientes de ella, pero nada manifiesta nuestro sistema de valores con mayor claridad que nuestras acciones.”

“pan nuestro de cada día, dánoslo hoy Dios provee para su pueblo. Merece la atención que lo que aquí se pide es el pan diario, no el bistec diario o el costillar de primera calidad diario. Dios suple las necesidades, pero no siempre las exquisiteces. Observemos la experiencia de los israelitas luego de su liberación de la tierra de Egipto. Dios le proveyó el pan al pueblo milagrosamente en forma de maná. ¿Qué sucedió entonces? Primero, ellos dejaron de darle gracias a Dios por su provisión. Segundo, dejaron de pedirle su provisión. Tercero, comenzaron a quejarse de su provisión. Finalmente, comenzaron a recordar lo bien que andaban las cosas en Egipto. Soñaban con los pepinos, los melones, los puerros, y los ajos que habían tenido en Egipto —al mismo tiempo que olvidaban la opresión, las durezas, y las torturas que habían soportado a manos del Faraón. Se quejaban por tener que comer maná al desayuno, maná al almuerzo, y maná en la cena. Los israelitas comían suflé de maná, pastel de maná, merengue de maná, maná cocido, maná horneado, y maná asado. Pronto estaban pidiendo carne a gritos. En Números 11:18-19 se nos relata esta historia:   Pero dile al pueblo que se santifique para mañana. Ustedes van a comer carne, pues han llorado ante mí y han dicho: “¡Cómo quisiéramos que alguien nos diera a comer carne! La verdad, ¡nos iba mejor en Egipto!” Así que yo, el Señor, voy a darles a comer carne. Y no la comerán un día ni dos; ni cinco, diez o veinte días, sino todo un mes, hasta que les salga por las narices, y se harten de comerla. Dios dijo: “Si quieren carne, carne les voy a dar, y van a comer carne hasta el hastío”. Una de las cosas que delata nuestra condición caída es el concepto del hombre que se hace a sí mismo, alguien que se arroga el mérito por la abundancia de sus bienes y olvida la Fuente de todas sus provisiones. Debemos recordar que a fin de cuentas es Dios quien nos da todo lo que tenemos.”

“All that God does is for His glory first and for our benefit second. We pray because God commands us to pray, because it glorifies Him, and because it benefits us.”

“La gente va a la iglesia cada domingo y hace los ademanes de la religión, mientras su corazón está lejos de Dios. Ellos actúan su religión, como actores en un drama, pero sin fe, sin ningún compromiso personal con Dios.”

“El pecado simplemente no puede producir felicidad, pero puede causar placer, y cuando confundimos placer con felicidad, estamos totalmente expuestos a la seducción del enemigo.”

“No es solo cuestión de “hacer lo correcto”, sino de discernir qué”