by Charles A. Collins, Jr.
Published in the February 2018 issue of the Carolina Compass, a publication of the Charleston Mercury.
St.
Paul charged his disciple Timothy to “Do
your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who
has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2
Timothy 2:15 ESV) Christians are to be growing and learning more
about the faith as they deepen their faith and that is accomplished
in a variety of ways – catechesis (a practice that had fallen into
neglect but is happily undergoing a bit of a revival of late) and in
many churches confirmation (of which catechesis should form a part).
Most clergy and some other people are sent to seminary or theological
college, but a Presbyterian minister named R.C. Sproul, who died on
December 14, 2017, sought to bridge the gap “between Sunday School
and seminary” and did so masterfully.
Robert
Charles Sproul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1939 and is
so often the case with Pittsburghers (and even some friends who have
gone to school in the area), was a passionate fan of the PittsburghSteelers and the Pittsburgh Pirates as well as being an accomplished
athlete himself in his youth before dropping out of high school
athletics at the age of fifteen to help support his family (although
he remained an enthusiastic and skilled golfer for much of his life
[playing with, among others, Rock and Roll legend Alice Cooper who,
despite his on-stage persona shares Sproul's commitment to Christ]).
He was educated at Westminster College (B.A.), Pittsburgh-XenaTheological Seminary (B.D.), the Free University of Amsterdam (Drs),
and Whitfield Theological Seminary (Ph.D.). While in seminary he was
deeply influenced by the late John Gerstner, a Jonathan Edwards
specialist and commited Evangelical on a faculty that did not share
those convictions. He taught at a number of seminaries including the
Jackson, Mississippi, and Orlando, Florida, campuses of ReformedTheological Seminary and at Knox Theological Seminary, and lectured
at countless other seminaries and colleges. The academy, however, was
not where he left his deepest mark.
In
1971 he founded the Ligonier Study Center, which had as its stated
goal “"to
awaken as many people as possible to the holiness of God by
proclaiming, teaching, and defending God’s holiness in all its
fullness” and it was through that ministry that he accomplished his
greatest work through a magazine Tabletalk,
a daily radio broadcast, RenewingYour Mind,
a multitude of taped lectures and teaching series, an undergraduate institution, Reformation Bible College, and several hundred books.
He was a popularizer of theology and had a gift for making deep
theology understandable for the common man – not unlike the stated
goal of fourteenth century Bible translator John Wycliffe to make the
common plowboy able to read the Scriptures for himself.
Sproul
was an unapologetic Calvinist who was well-versed in the ancient
Church and had a deep sense of the holiness of God – one of his
best-known works was in fact entitled The
Holiness of God– and was deeply reverential in his worship; that was reflected in
St. Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida, where he served as Co-Pastor
in his latter years. His works and lectures are deep but eminently
readable and this writer deeply benefited from reading and listening
to him through the years and continues to do so to this day.
Although
I'd befriended his son and namesake, R.C. Sproul, Jr., when we were
both Associate Reformed Presbyterians, I only got to meet Sproul the
elder once. In 2013 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, in which Dr. Sproul held his ministerial credentials, met
in Greenville, South Carolina, and my friend the Most Rev'd Dr. Ray R. Sutton brought greetings on behalf of the Anglican Church in North America and the Reformed Episcopal Church. My friend the Rev'd
Charlie Carlberg, Rector of All Saints' Anglican Church in
Greenville, and I went to hear Bishop Sutton's greetings and to visit
the copious book tables in the exhibit hall. As we were walking up a
flight of stairs we saw Dr. Sproul sitting there in a wheelchair and
on oxygen and we were able to briefly converse with a gentleman that
we'd both admired and from whom we'd learned much. Shortly after that
I contacted his son and learned that he was suffering from COPD;
despite that burden he continued an active ministry until shortly
before his death.
I
give thanks for the life, ministry, and influence of the Rev'd Dr.
R.C. Sproul. Despite the fact that he has departed this life he has
left a legacy that will continue for many years to come. If you have
not read his works or listened to his lectures I urge you to do so –
you will be richly blessed.
The
Rev'd Charles A. Collins, Jr., is an Anglican priest who serves as a
chaplain for an area hospice. He may be contacted at
drew.collins (at) gmail.com
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