OpenTheo

Stephen J. Nichols on R.C. Sproul

February 15, 2021
Life and Books and Everything
Life and Books and EverythingClearly Reformed

Stephen J. Nichols is President of Reformation Bible College, Chief AcademicOfficer for Ligonier, and host of the 5 minutes in Church History podcast. He’s the co-editor of Crossway’s Theologians of the Christian Life series, and the reason he joins us for this episode is his new biography of R.C. Sproul.

Life and Books and Everything is sponsored by Crossway, publisher of Journey to the Cross: A 40-Day Lenten Devotional by Paul David Tripp.  

Best-selling author Paul David Tripp invites us to set aside time from the busyness of our lives to focus on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. Each of the short readings in Journey to the Cross encourages us to abide in the abundant joy found in Christ as we encounter the Savior more fully and follow him more faithfully during this Lenten season. 

For 30% off this book and all other books and Bibles at Crossway, sign up for a free Crossway+ account at crossway.org/LBE

Timestamps: 

Recommended Devotional for Lent [0:00 – 1:17] 

Not THAT Stephen Nichols [1:17 – 4:05] 

Meeting R.C. Sproul [4:05 – 11:12] 

Shaping Influences on R.C.: Pittsburg, Gerstner, Berkouwer, Vesta [11:12 – 16:57] 

Gravity and Gladness [16:57 – 23:21] 

Ligonier Valley Study Center [23:21 – 30:31] 

The Big Break [30:31 – 36:56] 

Controversies [36:56 – 39:31] 

Jim Boice [39:31 – 42:44] 

Evangelicals and Catholics Together [42:44 – 49:04] 

Classical Apologetics [49:04 – 53:59] 

Favorite Book of R.C. Sproul [53:59 – 56:13] 

Quick Questions [56:13 – 1:06:49] 

Books and Everything: 

Journey to the Cross: A 40-Day Lenten Devotional, by Paul David Tripp 

R.C. Sproul: A Life, by Stephen J. Nichols 

The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul  

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditCopy Link

Transcript

More on OpenTheo

Did Jesus Prove He Wasn’t Sinless When He Overturned the Tables?
Did Jesus Prove He Wasn’t Sinless When He Overturned the Tables?
#STRask
December 29, 2025
Questions about whether Jesus proved he wasn’t sinless when he overturned the tables, whether Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Mark 3:22–26 was a b
Why Is It Necessary to Believe Jesus Is God?
Why Is It Necessary to Believe Jesus Is God?
#STRask
February 19, 2026
Questions about why it’s necessary to believe Jesus is God, whether belief in the Trinity is required for salvation, and why one has to believe in the
The Heidelberg Catechism with R. Scott Clark
The Heidelberg Catechism with R. Scott Clark
Life and Books and Everything
November 3, 2025
You may not think you need 1,000 pages on the Heidelberg Catechism, but you do! R. Scott Clark, professor at Westminster Seminary California, has writ
Can You Recommend Good Books with More In-Depth Information and Ideas?
Can You Recommend Good Books with More In-Depth Information and Ideas?
#STRask
January 22, 2026
Questions about good books on Christian apologetics, philosophy, and theology with more in-depth information and ideas, and resources to help an intel
Why Would Any Rational Person Have to Use Any Religious Book?
Why Would Any Rational Person Have to Use Any Religious Book?
#STRask
December 8, 2025
Questions about why any rational person would have to use any religious book, whether apologetics would be redundant if there were actually a good, un
Can Two Logical People Come to Conflicting Conclusions Without Committing a Fallacy?
Can Two Logical People Come to Conflicting Conclusions Without Committing a Fallacy?
#STRask
January 8, 2026
Questions about whether two logical people can come to conflicting conclusions on a topic without committing a fallacy, how Greg, as a public figure,
Is It a Sin to Feel Let Down by God?
Is It a Sin to Feel Let Down by God?
#STRask
November 6, 2025
Questions about whether it’s a sin to feel let down by God and whether it would be easier to have a personal relationship with a rock than with a God
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
#STRask
November 10, 2025
Question about providing verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus existed.   * I am an atheist and militantly anti-god-belief. Ho
How Can I Explain Modesty to My Daughter?
How Can I Explain Modesty to My Daughter?
#STRask
November 27, 2025
Questions about how to explain modesty to a nine-year-old in a way that won’t cause shame about her body, and when and how to tell a child about a pre
An Invitation to the 2026 Coram Deo Pastors Conference
An Invitation to the 2026 Coram Deo Pastors Conference
Life and Books and Everything
February 18, 2026
"I love being a pastor, and I love pastors, which is why I hope you will consider joining us at the Coram Deo Pastors Conference in 2026." —Kevin DeYo
Why Are So Many Christians Condemning LGB People Just Because of How They Love?
Why Are So Many Christians Condemning LGB People Just Because of How They Love?
#STRask
January 15, 2026
Questions about Christians condemning LGB people just because of how they love, how God can expect someone to be celibate when others are free to marr
Is 1 Corinthians 12:3 a Black-and-White Tool for Discernment?
Is 1 Corinthians 12:3 a Black-and-White Tool for Discernment?
#STRask
October 27, 2025
Questions about whether the claim in 1 Corinthians that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” is a black-and-white tool for disce
Conservatism and Religious Freedom with John Wilsey
Conservatism and Religious Freedom with John Wilsey
Life and Books and Everything
October 27, 2025
What is conservatism? And why does it go hand in hand with religious freedom? How should we think about the American experiment of ordered liberty? Ha
Prove to Me That Jesus Is Not a Created Being
Prove to Me That Jesus Is Not a Created Being
#STRask
January 26, 2026
Questions about why we should think Jesus is not a created being, and what it means to say God became fully human if part of being human means not bei
Are You Accursed If You Tithe?
Are You Accursed If You Tithe?
#STRask
December 15, 2025
Questions about whether anyone who tithes is not a Christian and is accursed since Paul says that if you obey one part of the Mosaic Law you’re obliga