The Legacy of R.C. Sproul: A Life Well Lived

A giant in theological circles has passed from this wretched world to his mansion in heaven.  If we could only catch a glimpse, my bet would be that R.C. Sproul is now sitting in an overstuffed chair immersed in a deep and profound discussion with Martin Luther.

To anyone who understands or holds fast to any given tenet of Reformed theology, R.C. is not just known but loved. If you’ve heard of the five Solas –  the five Latin phrases that are the foundation of Reformation theology -- then you’ve probably either heard of Sproul or heard of them from Sproul:

Sola Fide – by faith alone

Sola Scriptura – by Scripture alone

Sola Christus – through Christ alone

Sola Gratia – by grace alone

Soli Deo Gloria – glory to God alone

R.C. Sproul not only taught these building blocks of the Reformed faith – he lived them. An unassuming boy from Pittsburgh, R.C. grew to great heights in the theological sphere because of his quality of thought and ability to communicate those ideas to people of faith. Founder of Ligonier Ministries located in the verdant hills of Pennsylvania, he became a profound advocate for the essential doctrines of the Christian faith and a master of apologetics.

Mr. Sproul wrote many Christian classics that will endure long after his passing. If you want to understand a holy and sovereign God, you’ll want to read Sproul’s The Holiness of God which is awe-inspiring. If you want to understand better the five doctrines at the core of orthodox Reformed theology (commonly called the five points of Calvinism), then you will want to read Chosen by God.

Those five points form the acrostic TULIP and stand for: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace and Perseverance of the saints. These are controversial theological concepts to be sure. But Sproul had a way of making sense of them in his speaking and writing. Not one to sidestep, he was unique in being able to give clarity to the hard questions in the Christian life.

Sproul accomplished many things during his 78 years on earth, from authoring books to writing hymns but primarily R.C. was a skillful and talented teacher. Stephen Nichols perfectly captured Sproul when he wrote:

“He longed to see minds renewed, hearts transformed, and lives changed by the gospel. He had a remarkable gift to make things clear. He neither intimidated his audiences with technical jargon nor patronized them. He taught deep issues, issues of substance and weight, with clarity and a compelling urgency.”

Perhaps that urgency came from his own life. An athlete in his youth, R.C. won a scholarship to Westminster College where he came to faith during his freshman year. And so R.C. could identify with those of us who remember life B.C. (before Christ) and after. He was thus able to teach apologetics in a manner that made sense to those who did not know Christ without being off-putting or condescending.

Throughout his adulthood, Sproul became an ordained minister in the Presbyterian denomination, first UPCUSA and later the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). But my guess is that if you’d ask him, he would say he was a simple follower of Christ.

And that, perhaps is what made R.C. Sproul special. A man of humility, dignity, humor and a vast array of gifts and talents, R.C. Sproul, will be sorely missed by those of us who walked the walk with one unpretentious and brilliant man from Pittsburgh.