R.C. Sproul (1939 – 2017)

“Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?” (2 Samuel 3:38)

I once personally spoke to R.C. Sproul.  The words that passed between us were inconsequential, but the event stuck in my memory.  It occurred approximately twenty years ago at a regional Ligonier Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, where Sproul was the featured speaker.  They had books available for purchase, so I bought a children's book for my daughters entitled The King Without a Shadow that Sproul himself had written.  During an intermission, Dr. Sproul made himself available to sign books, so I took the book to get it autographed.  But as I approached the man of God, I became unnerved.  For some reason, I imagined he could see sin and unrighteousness hanging off me like leprosy.  So by the time I actually asked for his signature, I could barely speak the words.  Of course, he didn't know anything about me, and the encounter was over in a few seconds.

Robert Charles Sproul, Sr., died on December 14, 2017.  He was a Christian theologian, pastor, philosopher, and apologist.  Although I did not know him personally, I still considered him a dear brother, even a father in the faith.  I've read several of his books and listened to many of his sermons.  I do not agree with everything he said – infant baptism for instance – but his teachings nonetheless have had a profound impact on my thinking.  Sproul was a tireless defender of sola scriptura and a champion of the Reformation gospel.  More than that, he had the rare gift of being able to take lofty theological concepts and communicate them at a level where even a redneck like me might understand.  For example, I remember once hearing him preach on God's Providence.  My head is still spinning.  Indeed, Sproul was a prince and a great man.  I will miss him.

P.S.  Ironically, Sproul's ministry likely had a greater impact on Baptists than on the denomination of which he was a member, PCA Presbyterians.  My anecdotal evidence comes from a national Ligonier Conference I attended in Orlando, Florida, back in the mid-1990s.  To be clear, Ligonier Ministries was founded by R.C. Sproul and the connected conferences always featured him along with whomever else he invited to speak.  At this particular conference I would guess there were around 2,500 people in attendance.  Then one of the speakers asked us to identify ourselves by denomination – Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians.  The response was shocking and overwhelming.  I would estimate that something like 95% of the attendees self-identified as Baptist.