R. C. Sproul

Sproul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the second child of Robert Cecil Sproul, an accountant and a veteran of World War II and his wife, Mayre Ann Sproul (née Yardis).{{Cite web|title=Robert "R.C." Sproul|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/orlandosentinel/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=187536237|website=Legacy.com|access-date=December 16, 2017}}{{Cite web|author1=Taylor, Justin|title=R.C. Sproul (1939–2017)|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/r-c-sproul-1939-2017/|website=The Gospel Coalition|date=December 14, 2017}} Sproul was an avid supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates as a youth, and at the age of 15, he had to drop out from high school athletics in order to support his family.

Having become a Christian in 1957, Sproul met with his childhood minister to share his conversion. During the meeting, the minister stated, "If you believe in the resurrection of Christ, you're a damn fool!" stunning Sproul, left wrestling with "feelings of betrayal."{{Cite book |last=Pickowicz |first=Nate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IpSzwEACAAJ |title=R.C. Sproul: Defender of the Reformed Faith |publisher=H&E Publishing |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-77484-038-2 |location=Peterborough, ON |pages=14–15 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241210061003/https://books.google.com/books?id=3IpSzwEACAAJ |archive-date=December 10, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Proceeding with study, he obtained degrees from Westminster College, Pennsylvania (BA, 1961), Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1964), the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Drs., 1969), and Whitefield Theological Seminary (PhD, 2001). He taught at numerous colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and in Jackson, Mississippi, and Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale.{{Cite web |url= http://www.ligonier.org/about_founder.php |title= Dr. R.C. Sproul – The Founder and President of Ligonier Ministries. |access-date= July 30, 2008 |publisher= Ligonier Ministries |archive-date= September 15, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080915074819/http://www.ligonier.org/about_founder.php |url-status= dead }}

One of Sproul's mentors was John H. Gerstner, being one of his professors at Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary. The two of them, along with Arthur Lindsley, another of Gerstner's students, co-authored the book Classical Apologetics in 1984. Sproul's ministry, Ligonier Ministries, made recordings of Gerstner teaching various courses on theology and the Bible. John M. Frame records that Gerstner was Sproul's "main intellectual influence."{{Cite book |last=Frame |first=John M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pefwrQEACAAJ |title=A History of Western Philosophy and Theology |publisher=P&R Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-62995-084-6 |location=Phillipsburg, NJ |pages=536–537 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721005156/https://books.google.com/books?id=pefwrQEACAAJ |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Sproul recalls encountering theological opposition inside a liberal environment{{Efn|With regard to theological liberalism, see the fundamentalist–modernist controversy.}} during his early studies:

{{Blockquote

| text = When I was a seminary student{{Nbsp}}... I was selected to preach the senior sermon before the whole student body, the whole faculty, and also the presbytery who met there that day. And I preached that day on sin, and I made reference to some of the definitions of sin that we had learned at seminary: that sin, you know, was existential, inauthentic existence, or sin was some kind of neurosis{{Nbsp}}... And I said, you know, we may be neurotic, and we may be doing everything that we know how to destroy what authenticity of existence we may have, but{{Nbsp}}... the meaning of sin, as [Scripture and] our own confession says,{{Efn|That is, referring to the Westminster Shorter Catechism.}} is that it's "any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God."{{Cite web |date=December 21, 2009 |editor=Westminster Divines |title=The Westminster Shorter Catechism |url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/westminster-shorter-catechism |access-date=October 17, 2024 |website=Ligonier Ministries |at=Q. 14}}{{Nbsp}}... Well, the student body that was largely liberal{{Nbsp}}... congratulated me, and they were very positive. I go make my way to the back of the church, and the dean of the institution comes up to me, and he's irate. [He physically threw me up against a wall and accused me of distorting the Bible.]{{Cite book |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMT9SAAACAAJ |title=What Is Faith? |publisher=Reformation Trust |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-56769-207-5 |location=Grand Rapids, MI |page=39 |language=en}}{{Nbsp}}... So I went straight upstairs to Dr. Gerstner's office, who was my mentor, and I said, Dr. Gerstner, did I distort the truth of God? [I was so upset, I was shaking.]{{Cite book |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMT9SAAACAAJ |title=What Is Faith? |publisher=Reformation Trust |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-56769-207-5 |location=Grand Rapids, MI |page=40 |language=en}} And he looked at me, and he said,{{Nbsp}}... "Every Christian in heaven from Paul to B. B. Warfield is rejoicing at the sermon that you preached in this house today."{{Nbsp}}... I was so relieved to hear his evaluation.{{Cite web |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |date=June 14, 2021 |title=The Parable of the Unjust Judge |url=https://renewingyourmind.org/2021/06/14/the-parable-of-the-unjust-judge |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109055533/https://renewingyourmind.org/2021/06/14/the-parable-of-the-unjust-judge |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Renewing Your Mind}}

}}

Gerstner convinced Sproul to study under G. C. Berkouwer at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam) in Holland, where he initiated study in 1964.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Justin |date=December 14, 2017 |title=R. C. Sproul (1939–2017) |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/r-c-sproul-1939-2017/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721012020/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/r-c-sproul-1939-2017/ |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=July 21, 2024 |website=The Gospel Coalition}} Sproul was granted leave in 1965 due to his wife's second pregnancy and mother's illness (during which he was appointed to teach philosophy at Westminster College), and later resumed study at distance. He returned to Holland in 1969 to receive a doctorandus degree.

He married Vesta Voorhis in 1960 and had two children, Sherrie Dorotiak and Robert Craig Sproul.

Sproul was a passenger on the Amtrak train that derailed in the 1993 Big Bayou Canot train wreck, and sometimes gave firsthand accounts of the story.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/train-wreck|title=Train Wreck|website=Ligonier Ministries|access-date=September 26, 2024}}

File:ICBI Bright, Boice, and Sproul.jpg and Jim Boice, Sproul served as president of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (ICBI) from 1977 till 1979.{{Cite book |last=Nichols |first=Stephen J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ |title=R. C. Sproul: A Life |publisher=Crossway |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4335-4477-4 |location=Wheaton, IL |pages=124, 133 |language=en |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111033649/https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |url-status=live}}]]

Ligonier Ministries hosts several theological conferences each year, including the main conference in Orlando, FL, at which Sproul was one of the primary speakers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ligonier.org/conferences.php|title=Conferences|publisher=Ligonier Ministries|access-date=July 30, 2008|archive-date=September 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915130051/http://www.ligonier.org/conferences.php|url-status=dead}} Sproul served as co-pastor at Saint Andrew's Chapel, a congregation in Sanford, Florida.{{Cite web|url= http://www.saintandrewschapel.org/staff/rcsproul.php|title= Dr. R.C. Sproul|access-date= July 30, 2008|publisher= Saint Andrew's Chapel|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080625100317/http://www.saintandrewschapel.org/staff/rcsproul.php|archive-date= June 25, 2008|df= mdy-all}} He was ordained as an elder in the United Presbyterian Church in the USA in 1965, but left that denomination around 1975 and joined the Presbyterian Church in America. He was also a Council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Being a staunch critic of the Catholic Church and Catholic theology, Sproul denounced the 1994 ecumenical document Evangelicals and Catholics Together.{{Citation |title=Books: Betraying the Reformation? |date=October 7, 1996 |newspaper=Christianity today |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1996/october7/6tb054.html}}

Sproul was an advocate of Calvinism in his many print, audio, and video publications, and advocated the Thomistic (classical) approaches to Christian apologetics, less common among Reformed apologists, most of whom prefer presuppositionalism.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}} A dominant theme in his Renewing Your Mind lessons is the holiness and sovereignty of God. Sproul taught that headcovering should be practiced in churches as the ordinance is "rooted and grounded in creation".{{cite web |last1=Sproul |first1=R.C. |title=Do Paul's instructions about head coverings apply today, since he appeals to creation, not culture? |url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/do-pauls-instructions-about-head-coverings-apply-today-since-he-appeals-to-creation-not-culture |publisher=Ligonier Ministries |access-date=30 May 2022 |language=English}}{{cite web |last1=Barth |first1=Paul J. |title=Head Coverings in Worship? |url=https://purelypresbyterian.com/2019/07/15/head-coverings-in-worship/ |publisher=Purely Presbyterian |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=English |date=15 July 2019 |quote=R.C. Sproul writes, “The wearing of fabric head coverings in worship was universally the practice of Christian women until the twentieth century.” Incidentally, I remember talking with my mother some years back, and she told me that when she went to church as a little girl, she and her sister wore hats to church. And she was not Presbyterian – that was the case across all American Christianity. “What happened?” Sproul asks, “Did we suddenly find some biblical truth to which the saints for thousands of years were blind? Or were our biblical views of women gradually eroded by the modern feminist movement that has infiltrated the Church of Jesus Christ which is ‘the pillar and ground of the truth’ (1 Tim. 3:15)?”}}

Sproul was a critic of postmodern philosophy. He considered postmodern thinking as a seduction to the church. This seduction originated towards the end of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and produced "the most narcissistic generation in the history of the human race." Sproul saw churches responding to that cultural change by "adopting the use of sound bites, entertainment, and that sort of thing" in replacement of using biblical teaching directly.{{Cite web |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |date=April 3, 2010 |title=How Does Today's Postmodernism Affect the Popular Understanding of the Atonement? |url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/how-does-todays-postmodernism-affect-popular-understanding-atonement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512072735/https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/how-does-todays-postmodernism-affect-popular-understanding-atonement |archive-date=May 12, 2024 |access-date=May 12, 2024 |website=Ligonier Ministries}} Further, he found that this infiltration of postmodernity led to a "revival of ancient Gnosticism" with a "wide spread rejection of rationality" within the Christian church. He believed that many churches, as a result of this rejection, now teach that "biblical revelation is only intelligible by intuition or by a particularly sensitive poetic imagination". Sproul stated that this "intrusion of irrationality coming from existential philosophy, neo-orthodox theology, and the resurgence of mysticism set forth in neo-Gnosticism" stood in opposition to the "coherence and intelligibility of God’s divine work". {{Cite web |title=Faith and Reason by R.C. Sproul |url=https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/faith-and-reason |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Ligonier Ministries |language=en}}

In 1996, Sproul gave a lecture on irresistible grace, titled Divine Sovereignty and Man’s Helplessness. During a Q & A session, he misattributed to Jonathan Edwards an analogy regarding the "holy rape of the soul," claiming that "some people are violently offended by that language—I think it's the most graphic and descriptive term I can think of, to how I was redeemed," taking into consideration theological themes surrounding total depravity and being in a state of spiritual death prior to conversion.{{Efn|A recording of the lecture was released by Ligonier Ministries on cassette tape. On total depravity and spiritual death, see {{Bibleverse|Romans|2:14–16|ESV}}, {{Bibleverse|Romans|3:9–20|ESV}}, and {{Bibleverse|Ephesians|2:1–10|ESV}}.}} With regard to the terminology "rape", a key topic in debate between Arminian and Reformed theologians is the hermeneutic employed to understand the meaning and strength of the verb "draws" (Greek helkysē) in John 6:44, where Jesus states, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."{{Bibleverse|John|6:44|ESV}} ESV Sproul first uses the analogy in his 1984 novel Johnny Come Home,{{Efn|This was later republished in 1988 as Thy Brother's Keeper.{{Cite book |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x1kYa2PyPy4C |title=Thy Brother's Keeper: A Novel |publisher=Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc. |year=1988 |isbn=978-0943497372 |location=Brentwood, TN |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714104452/https://books.google.com/books?id=x1kYa2PyPy4C |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |url-status=live}}}} where Scooter, the main character, designed to be a "composite of John Guest, Jim Boice, and [himself],"{{Cite book |last=Nichols |first=Stephen J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ |title=R. C. Sproul: A Life |publisher=Crossway |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4335-4477-4 |location=Wheaton, IL |pages=144 |language=en |access-date=July 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111033649/https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |url-status=live}} converts to Christianity in "a docile submission to the holy rape of the soul."{{Cite book |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYtbyqFcBFYC |title=Johnny Come Home: A Novel |publisher=Regal Books |year=1984 |isbn=978-0830709373 |pages=71 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714102221/https://books.google.com/books?id=GYtbyqFcBFYC |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{Efn|This description was criticised in the foreword to Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation, edited by Clark H. Pinnock and John D. Wagner.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXLDCAAAQBAJ |title=Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation |publisher=Resource Publications |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4982-0012-7 |editor-last=Pinnock |editor-first=Clark H. |location=Eugene, OR |pages=20 |language=en |editor-last2=Wagner |editor-first2=John D. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714054620/https://books.google.com/books?id=GXLDCAAAQBAJ |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |url-status=live}}}} Sproul also uses the analogy in his 1989 teaching series A Shattered Image,{{Cite book |last=Nichols |first=Stephen J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ |title=R. C. Sproul: A Life |publisher=Crossway |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4335-4477-4 |location=Wheaton, IL |pages=352 |language=en |access-date=July 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111033649/https://books.google.com/books?id=FnCTzQEACAAJ |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |url-status=live}} where discussing the Pelagian controversy, Sproul states that "the only way you will ever choose Christ is if God melts your heart, if God softens that stone cold recalcitrant heart, if God the Holy Spirit rapes your soul and puts in you a desire for Christ."{{Cite web |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |title=The Extent of Our Sin |url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/shattered-image/the-extent-of-our-sin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714084613/https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/shattered-image/the-extent-of-our-sin |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=Ligonier Ministries}} By 2002, Sproul had abandoned the analogy for a revised perspective:

{{Blockquote

| text = The person that God, the Holy Spirit, draws to Jesus comes to Jesus, not because he's raped, not because he's coerced, not because he's dragged, kicking and screaming against his will, but because God, the Holy Spirit, in that act of effectual drawing, changes the heart of the person. Where that person previously was blind to the things of God, now the scales of the eyes have been removed, and that which was unpleasant to the soul now is shown to be sweet, attractive, and something that is altogether desirable. So the heavenly drawing of God is one by which God changes the attitude or the inner disposition of the soul of the person so that when the Father draws them to His Son, they come to His Son.{{Cite web |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |title=The Bread of Life |url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/knowing-christ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714081541/https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/knowing-christ/the-bread-of-life |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=Ligonier Ministries}}

}}

In 2003, a Festschrift was published in his honor. After Darkness, Light: Essays in Honor of R. C. Sproul ({{ISBN|0875527043}}) included contributions from Robert Godfrey, Sinclair Ferguson, O. Palmer Robertson, Michael Horton, Douglas Wilson, John F. MacArthur, and Jay E. Adams.

At the 2008 Together for the Gospel biennial conference, Sproul gave a sermon titled The Curse Motif of the Atonement.{{Cite web |last=Sproul |first=R. C. |title=R.C. Sproul: The Curse Motif of the Atonement |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgwpd0SKpmc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716083729/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgwpd0SKpmc |archive-date=July 16, 2024 |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=YouTube|date=May 13, 2015 }} The sermon details the theological significance of the crucifixion of Jesus from an expository perspective. The sermon contains some content originally presented in his 1995 teaching series The Atonement of Jesus. Tim Challies, who attended the conference, recounts that "there is no doubt this was one of the most earnest, one of the most solemn sermons ever heard by that audience. I was there that day, I can tell you, there was a holy hush over that room as we were all forced to consider the sheer horror of what Jesus Christ endured on our behalf."{{Cite web |last=Challies |first=Tim |date=May 22, 2018 |title=How R.C. Sproul Blessed the Church by Preaching the Curse |url=https://www.challies.com/vlog/how-r-c-sproul-blessed-the-church-by-preaching-the-curse/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716085030/https://www.challies.com/vlog/how-r-c-sproul-blessed-the-church-by-preaching-the-curse/ |archive-date=July 16, 2024 |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=Tim Challies}} Kevin DeYoung praised it as "one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard."{{Cite web |last=DeYoung |first=Kevin |date=December 14, 2017 |title=R. C. Sproul on the Curse Motif of the Atonement |url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/one-best-sermons-ive-ever-heard/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716083629/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/one-best-sermons-ive-ever-heard/ |archive-date=July 16, 2024 |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=The Gospel Coalition}}

Sproul struggled with a 40-year smoking addiction. In a personal interview, Sproul recounts the difficulty of stopping:

{{Blockquote

| text = It almost destroyed my soul. I mean, I never prayed about anything so much about what I did as much as I did about that. I'm the one who proved the adage that it's easier to quit smoking because I did it a thousand times. I hated it{{Nbsp}}... but it was an addiction, a physiological addiction and I just couldn't kick it. ... earlier on when I was teaching, when I was in the church, and with certain colleges, it wasn't all that big of a deal. If you would go to conferences at Westminster Seminary, and everyone would have a smoking break – Van Til and Murray, and everybody{{Nbsp}}... 'cuz everybody smoked, especially those Dutch guys. It wasn't a big deal then as it is now ... but then there came a time where I was careful not to blatantly smoke in public because people just couldn't handle that. I remember once, the last cigarette that [a prominent Christian leader]{{Efn|The interviewer anonymises the name of who Sproul mentions.}} ever smoked, he borrowed from me. One time, he was smoking and somebody came and he didn't want him to see him, so he handed the cigarette to his associate{{Nbsp}}... his associate put it in his pocket and it started to burn up his pants!{{Cite web |last=Hsieh |first=Arthur |date=June 16, 2014 |title=A Personal Conversation with RC Sproul, Pt. 3 of 3 |url=https://totaldevotionmbcla.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/a-personal-conversation-with-rc-sproul-pt-3-of-3/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321074620/https://totaldevotionmbcla.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/a-personal-conversation-with-rc-sproul-pt-3-of-3/ |archive-date=March 21, 2025 |access-date=March 21, 2025 |website=Total Devotion: The High School Fellowship of MBCLA}}

}}

On April 18, 2015, Sproul suffered a stroke and was admitted to a hospital.{{Cite press release |url=http://www.ligonier.org/blog/google-hangout-macarthur-sproul-april-22/ |title=Postponed: A Google Hangout with John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul |publisher=Ligonier Ministries |date=April 21, 2015 |access-date=April 21, 2015}} Five days later, on April 23, Sproul went home from the hospital, suffering no ill effects. He was, however, diagnosed with a diabetic condition "that [would] be addressed through diet and regular medical attention."

Sproul had long suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,{{citation needed|date = March 2022}} and was hospitalized on December 2, 2017, because of difficulty breathing, the result of an apparent infection, an “exacerbation of his emphysema due to the flu” (“not pneumonia”).{{Cite press release|url=https://www.ligonier.org/blog/update-dr-sprouls-health/ |title=An Update on Dr. Sproul's Health |publisher=Ligonier Ministries |date=December 12, 2017 |access-date=December 14, 2017}}{{better source needed|date = March 2022}} After a twelve-day period of intermittent fever, and sedation and ventilator-assisted breathing, with effort given to restore his respiratory function, Sproul died on December 14, 2017 (at age 78).{{Cite web|url=https://www.ligonier.org/blog/rc-sproul-called-home-lord/|title=Dr. R.C. Sproul, Called Home to the Lord|website=Ligonier Ministries|access-date=December 29, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/rc-sproul-dies-at-78-210167/|title=RC Sproul Dies at 78|website=The Christian Post|date=December 14, 2017 |access-date=December 29, 2017}}

Some of Sproul's best-known books are The Holiness of God, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, and What Is Reformed Theology? He is also well known for Chosen by God, a book about predestination and the sovereignty of God.{{Cite news|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/december/celebrating-rc-sproul.html|title=A Letter to the Church from R.C. Sproul (1939-2017), His Theology, and His Work in the Gospel|work=The Exchange {{!}} A Blog by Ed Stetzer|access-date=December 15, 2017}}

Through Ligonier Ministries and the Renewing Your Mind radio program and conferences, Sproul generated numerous audio and video lectures on the subjects of history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, intelligent design, and Christian living. In addition, Sproul wrote more than 100 books and many articles for evangelical publications.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ligonier.org/about/rc-sproul/rcs-book-release-timeline/|title=R.C. Sproul's Book Release Schedule|website=Ligonier Ministries|access-date=December 15, 2017}} He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which affirmed the traditional view of Biblical inerrancy, and he wrote a commentary on that document titled Explaining Inerrancy. He also served as the general editor{{Cite web|url=http://reformationstudybible.com/|title=The Reformation Study Bible edited by R.C. Sproul|website=The Reformation Study Bible|access-date=December 15, 2017}} of the Reformation Study Bible ({{ISBN|0-87552-643-8}}), which has appeared in several editions and was also known as the New Geneva Study Bible. In addition, Sproul was executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ligonier.org/about/rc-sproul/|title=R.C. Sproul, Founder {{!}} Ligonier Ministries|website=Ligonier Ministries|access-date=December 16, 2017}}

• Moses and the Burning Bush (2018) {{ISBN|978-1567698633}}
• The Legacy of Luther (2016) with Stephen J. Nichols and others {{ISBN|978-1567697100}}
• The Knight's Map (2016) {{ISBN|978-1642890587}}
• Everyone's a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (2014) {{ISBN|978-1567693652}}
• The Promises of God (2013) {{ISBN|978-1434704238}}
• God's Love: How the Infinite God Cares for His Children (2012) {{ISBN|978-1434704221}}
• Are We Together: A Protestant Analyzes Roman Catholicism (2012) {{ISBN|978-1567692822}}
• The Work of Christ: What the Events of Jesus Life Mean for You (2012) {{ISBN|978-0781407267}}
• The Donkey Who Carried a King (2012) {{ISBN|978-1567692693}}
• The Barber Who Wanted to Pray (2011) {{ISBN|978-1433527036}}
• Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels, and Demons (2011) {{ISBN|978-1845506827}}
• The Prayer of the Lord (2009) {{ISBN|9781567691184}}
• The Prince's Poison Cup (2008) {{ISBN|9781567691047}}
• The Truth of the Cross (2007) {{ISBN|9781567690873}}
• Truths We Confess: A Layman's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith Volume 3: The State, The Family, The Church, and Last Things (2007) {{ISBN|978-1596380417}}
• Truths We Confess: A Layman's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith Volume 2: Salvation and the Christian Life (2007) {{ISBN|9781596380400}}
• Truths We Confess: A Layman's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith Volume 1: The Triune God (2006) {{ISBN|9781596380394}}
• The Lightlings (2006) {{ISBN|9781567690781}}
• How Then Shall We Worship? (2006 as A Taste of Heaven; revised 2006) {{ISBN|978-1434704245}}
• Running the Race: A Graduate's Guide to Life (2003) {{ISBN|978-0801012563}}
• Defending Your Faith (2003) {{ISBN|9781433563782}}
• The Dark Side of Islam (2003) with Abdul Saleeb {{ISBN|978-1581344417}}
• Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow (2002) {{ISBN|9781567691030}}
• Saved from What? (2002) {{ISBN|978-1433513428}}
• When Worlds Collide: Where is God? (2002) {{ISBN|978-1581344424}}
• What's in the Bible? (2001) {{ISBN|9781418545987}}
• Loved By God (2001) {{ISBN|978-0849916489}}
• The Consequences of Ideas (2000) {{ISBN|9781433563775}}
• In the Presence of God (1999) {{ISBN|9780849916243}}
• Getting the Gospel Right: The Tie That Binds Evangelicals Together (1999) {{ISBN|9780801011887}}
• A Walk with God: Luke (1999) {{ISBN|9781845507312}}
• The Last Days According to Jesus (1998) {{ISBN|9780801018589}}
• What is Reformed Theology (1997 as Grace Unknown; revised 2005) {{ISBN|9780801018466}}
• Willing to Believe: Understanding the Role of Human Will in Salvation (1997) {{ISBN|9780801075834}}
• The Priest with Dirty Clothes (1997; revised 2011) {{ISBN|9781567692105}}
• Now, That's a Good Question! (1996) {{ISBN|9780842347112}}
• The Invisible Hand (1996, revised 2003) {{ISBN|9780875527093}}
• Choosing My Religion (1996) {{ISBN|9780875526096}}
• Ultimate Issues (1996) {{ISBN|9780875526256}}
• Before the Face of God Volume 4: A Daily Guide for Living from Ephesians, Hebrews, and James (1996) {{ISBN|978-0801011023}}
• Reformation Study Bible (1995 as New Geneva Study Bible; revised 1998, 2005, 2015) served as General Editor {{ISBN|978-1567695014}}
• The Unexpected Jesus (1995 as The Mighty Christ; revised 2005) {{ISBN|9781845500375}}
• Faith Alone (1995; revised 2016) {{ISBN|9780801019494}}
• The Purpose of God: An Exposition of Ephesians (1994; revised 2006) {{ISBN|9781845506384}}
• Not a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason (1994; revised 2014) with Keith Mathison {{ISBN|9780801016219}}
• Before the Face of God Volume 3: A Daily Guide for Living from the Old Testament (1994) {{ISBN|978-0801083785}}
• The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (1994 revised 1999) {{ISBN|978-1845506377}}
• Before the Face of God Volume 2: A Daily Guide for Living from the Gospel of Luke (1993) {{ISBN|978-0801083587}}
• Doubt and Assurance (1993) {{ISBN|978-0801083525}}
• The Soul's Quest for God: Satisfying the Hunger for Spiritual Communion With God (1993; revised 2003) {{ISBN|978-0875527062}}
• Before the Face of God Volume 1: A Daily Guide for Living from the Book of Romans (1992) {{ISBN|978-0801083402}}
• Essential Truths of Christian Faith (1992) {{ISBN|978-0842320016}}
• Following Christ (1991) {{ISBN|978-0842359375}} combination of previously published booklets titled: Who Is Jesus? (1983), Ethics and the Christian (1983), God's Will and the Christian (1984), and Effective Prayer (1984).
• The Mystery of the Holy Spirit (1990; revised 2009) {{ISBN|978-1845504816}}
• Abortion--A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue (1990; revised 2010) {{ISBN|978-1567692099}}
• The Glory of Christ (1990; revised 2003) {{ISBN|978-1857924749}}
• Surprised by Suffering (1989; revised 2009) {{ISBN|9781567691849}}
• Pleasing God (1988; revised 2012) {{ISBN|978-0781407281}}
• Discovering God Who Is (1987 as One Holy Passion; revised 1995 and 2003 as The Character of God and 2008 as Discovering God Who Is) {{ISBN|978-0801018299}}
• Lifeviews: Make a Christian Impact on Culture and Society (1986) {{ISBN|978-0800753573}}
• Chosen by God (1986) {{ISBN|978-0842313353}}
• The Holiness of God (1985; revised 1998) {{ISBN|978-0842339650}}
• Classical Apologetics (1984) with John Gerstner and Arthur Lindsley {{ISBN|9780310449515}}
• Johnny Come Home (1984) {{ISBN|978-0830709373}}
• The Hunger for Significance (1983 as In Search of Dignity; revised 1991 and 2001) {{ISBN|978-0875527017}}
• Stronger Than Steel: The Wayne Alderson Story (1980) {{ISBN|978-0060675028}}
• Reason to Believe (1978 and 1982 as Objections Answered; revised 2016) {{ISBN|978-0310449119}}
• Knowing Scripture (1978; revised 2016) {{ISBN|978-0830844685}}
• Soli Deo Gloria (1976) General Editor
• God's Inerrant Word: An International Symposium on the Trustworthiness of Scripture (1974) Contributor
• The Intimate Marriage (1975 as Discovering the Intimate Marriage''; revised 1986 and 2003) {{ISBN|978-0875527086}}
• If There's a God, Why Are There Atheists? (1974 as The Psychology of Atheism; revised 1988, 1997, and 2018) {{ISBN|978-1527101050}}
• What We Believe: Understanding and Confessing the Apostle's Creed (1973 as The Symbol: An Exposition of the Apostle's Creed; revised 1982 as Basic Training, 1998 as Renewing Your Mind, and 2015 as What We Believe) {{ISBN|978-0801018473}}

• How Can I Be Right with God? (2017) {{ISBN|978-1642890617}}
• What Can We Know About God? (2017) {{ISBN|978-1642890624}}
• What Do Jesus' Parables Mean? (2017) {{ISBN|978-1642890631}}
• Are People Basically Good? (2016) {{ISBN|978-1642890600}}
• How Can I Be Blessed? (2016) {{ISBN|978-1642890594}}
• How Should I Think About Money? (2016) {{ISBN|978-1642890587}}
• Can I Lose My Salvation? (2015) {{ISBN|978-1642890570}}
• What is the Great Commission (2015) {{ISBN|978-1642890563}}
• Are These the Last Days? (2014) {{ISBN|978-1642890556}}
• What Is Repentance? (2014) {{ISBN|978-1642890532}}
• What Is the Relationship Between Church and State (2014) {{ISBN|978-1642890549}}
• How Can I Develop a Christian Conscience? (2013) {{ISBN|978-1642890501}}
• What Is the Lord's Supper? (2013) {{ISBN|978-1642890518}}
• What Is the Church? (2013) {{ISBN|978-1642890525}}
• Does God Control Everything? (2012) {{ISBN|978-1642890495}}
• Who is the Holy Spirit? (2012) {{ISBN|978-1642890488}}
• Can I Have Joy in My Life? (2012) {{ISBN|978-1642890471}}
• What Can I Do with My Guilt? (2011) {{ISBN|978-1642890440}}
• What Is the Trinity? (2011) {{ISBN|978-1642890457}}
• What Is Baptism? (2011) {{ISBN|978-1642890464}}
• What Is Faith? (2010) {{ISBN|978-1642890433}}
• What Does it Mean to Be Born Again? (2010) {{ISBN|978-1642890419}}
• Can I Be Sure I'm Saved? (2010) {{ISBN|978-1642890426}}
• Does Prayer Change Things? (1984 as Effective Prayer; revised 2009) {{ISBN|978-1642890389}}
• Can I Know God's Will? (1984 as God's Will and the Christian; revised 2009) {{ISBN|978-1642890396}}
• How Should I Live in This World? (1983 as Ethics and the Christian; revised 2009) {{ISBN|978-1642890402}}
• Can I Trust the Bible? (1980 and 1996 as Explaining Inerrancy: A Commentary; revised 2009) {{ISBN|978-1642890372}}
• Who Is Jesus? (1983; revised 2009) {{ISBN|978-1642890365}}

• Matthew (2013) {{ISBN|978-1433531750}}
• 1-2 Peter (2011) {{ISBN|978-1433522895}}
• Mark (2011) {{ISBN|978-1567692655}}
• Acts (2010) {{ISBN|978-1433522734}}
• Romans (2009) {{ISBN|978-1433506857}}
• John (2009) {{ISBN|978-1567691856}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.ligonier.org Official Ligonier Ministries website]
• [http://www.renewingyourmind.org Renewing Your Mind Broadcast]
• [http://www.tabletalkmagazine.com Tabletalk Magazine]
• [http://www.reformationtrust.com Reformation Trust Publishing]
• [http://www.reformationbiblecollege.org Reformation Bible College]
• [http://www.sachapel.com Saint Andrew's Chapel]
• [http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/bio/rcsproul.html Monergism – R. C. Sproul biography]
• [https://www.amazon.com/R-C-Sproul-Stephen-Nichols/dp/1433544776 Stephen J. Nichols - R. C. Sproul: A Life]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sproul, Robert Charles}}

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