RC Sproul, Luther and Conflict with Religious Compromise and Comfort

9/7/2009

“NO man is greater than his Teacher. If they hated me, they WILL hate you [if you Represent Me accurately].” : )

“Martin Luther once remarked that wherever the gospel is proclaimed and represented in its purity, it engenders conflict and controversy. We live in an age that abhors controversy, and we are prone to avoid conflict.  How dissimilar this atmosphere is from that which marked the labor of the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles. The prophets were immersed in conflict and controversy precisely because they would not accommodate the Word of God to the demands of a nation caught up in syncretism. The apostles were engaged in conflict continuously.  As much as Paul sought to live peaceably with all men, he found rare moments of peace and little respite from controversy.

“That we enjoy relative safety from violent attacks against us may indicate a maturing of modern civilization with respect to religious toleration.  Or it may indicate that we have so compromised the gospel that we no longer provoke the conflict that [Truth] engenders.” (RC Sproul)

—Chris

•  The Whole History of the Church