Book Review: R.C. Sproul. The Holiness of God.

The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul is a classic in Reformed devotional literature. I would heartily recommend this work to all thoughtful Christians who are pursuing the glory of God.

The purpose of this work is to reignite a passion for worship and service of God fueled by a love for His full majesty and divine worth. In this book, Sproul masterfully shakes the reader out of his complacency by reminding him of God's utter power, absolute Lordship, and incomparable purity.

In each chapter, Sproul smashes the brittle world of generic evangelicalism with the hammer of biblical authority. When much of the evangelical world is trying desperately to cast God as either an unimposing grandfatherly figure, a divine butler waiting to assist needy persons, or a motivational guru intent on building our self esteem, Sproul has instead reminded us that such flippancy is entirely inappropriate to Biblical worship.

In chapter after chapter, Sproul sets out to prove that "the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 4:24, cf. Hebrews 12:29) and is still the same God who struck down Uzzah for touching the ark (2 Samuel 6:7), and Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire (Leviticus 10).

Of course, Sproul does not want to create unmitigated fear in the believer's heart, but rather to reveal the ultimate reason why Christ had to die on the cross as an atoning propitiation for our sins: God's holiness demanded the cross since sin is "cosmic treason" against His authority, Lordship, and purity.

Sproul's chapter on Martin Luther's insanity is particularly masterful. Here, he shows how "insane" Luther really was: he saw the holiness of God and his own frailty in comparison more clearly than most. Sproul intends to show that what appears to be mental brokenness on the part of the great German Reformer was actually his ability to retain a far more accurate spiritual perception of the transcendence of God.

Thankfully, Luther was driven to the cross of grace. So too should we be driven to the foot of the cross by the impending wonder of God's holiness.


Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. Please consider following on Twitter at @matt_everhard.

Book Review: R.C. Sproul. The Mystery of the Holy Spirit

This is not one of Sproul's more famous books. It will probably not soon rise to the prominence of his "The Holiness of God" for instance. Nevertheless, "The Mystery of the Holy Spirit" should be considered one of Sproul's more helpful and practical works of basic-level theology.

Most Christian believers suffer from one of two problems: either they are woefully ignorant of the Holy Spirit's nature (and power!), or else they seem riddled by poor teaching from word of faith Neo-Pentecostals.

Sproul, one of the more skillful theologians at bridging the gap between Sunday School and seminary, does a superb job of filling in the gaps of ignorance of basic instruction in these weighty issues and deconstructing the commonest errors about the Holy Ghost.

Here, Sproul adequately covers the basics of pneumatology (the study of the Spirit). Chapter topics include the Spirit's relationship in the ontological Trinity with Father and Son; the Spirit's role in regeneration; and the Fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22).

Most helpful to this pastor, however, was Sproul's masterful job in chapter 8 in explaining the complex doctrine of "the baptism of the Holy Spirit," one of the most distorted teachings common to those prone to charismatic excess. Sproul shows from Scripture that the baptism of the Spirit is not a second blessing that differentiates super-Christians from ordinary Christians, but is rather the joyful inclusion and drenching of the believer with the Holy Spirit given as a free gift to all the regenerate at conversion.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.