A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original review appears below. Roma E. Bryant attends St. Paul’s Church in Ottawa.

One Holy Passion. R.C. Sproul: Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

One Holy Passion is “the consuming thirst to know God.” “Who better than R.C. Sproul to be our guide in our search to know God. I have said before, and I say again, that if I were the devil I would make a special point of trying to stop R.C. Sproul,” says Dr. J.I. Packer in his foreword to this book.

This is Sproul’s second book on God’s attributes – the first being The Holiness of God – and if you have never, in your mind, come face to face with the immense holiness of God, then I encourage you to tackle this book. It left me filled with awe, and yet as time and worldliness intervene, it is time to read it again and be renewed.

One Holy Passion deals with what we all should possess – the passion, the urgency to know God. To really know him as Jesus knew him. We need to press into the kingdom – we need to storm the walls of heaven if we must – but we should be driven by this holy passion.

Dr. Sproul writes with this in mind, and he writes with love, with humour, with simplicity, so that it is “our” book to read, not one written for solely the scholarly mind.

A beginning chapter, “Who are You, God?”, is asked as a child would ask. Why do you do the things you do? Moses knew this question. Moses stood, in fear, before the burning bush. What a strange sounding name. I am Who I am.

“Who made You, God?” The “simple” answer is that God’s existence does not require a cause. God exists by his own power. Do we have anything in common with God? If so, what is it? Did God make himself? No, God could not have made himself. He is self-existent – he has always been. He has no beginning and no end. I am Who I am!

We continue. “I want to find You, God.” I long to know. When Jesus spoke with the disciples on the Emmaus road they said to one another, “did not our hearts burn within us?” (Luke 24:32). So it would be with us if we could but walk and talk with him.

“I can’t see You, God” is a chapter devoted to a discussion of God as spirit. It is difficult to understand the word “spirit” because in ancient days the word for spirit was also used for breath

and wind. The work of the Spirit (pneuma) is like the working of the wind (pneuma). Elsewhere, Jesus “breathed” on the disciples and said “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). We are inclined to think of spirit as some ghost-like substance, a gaseous form of matter. So is God a kind of gaseous matter? Gas is matter – and it can be confined – therefore, if God were a gaseous substance he could be confined, and this is not so – for he is present, at all times, in all places. It is difficult to understand the reality we cannot see.

Sometimes it is tempting to explain spirit by the concept of force. But, Spirit is much more than force. When we say that God is a spirit we are saying more than that he is physical and that he has power. We are saying that he is personal. Because he is personal we can have a personal relationship with him. He can communicate with us. Because he thinks and acts in personal relationships we have a moral standard of behaviour. Because God is a moral being, we are moral beings. Because God is holy, we are called to be holy. If God were impersonal, it would not matter to him how we behaved. He would not care because he could not care. But we know this is not so. Jesus taught us that every word flowing from our lips will be examined in the judgment of a personal Creator. Food for thought!

“How much do you know, God?” It is sometimes very unsettling to realize that God knows all about us. We often say “I have nothing to hide – my life is an open book.” But is that really true? Do we not have things in our innermost hiding places of thought and mind that we keep from others? God knows everything about us. To quote Dr. Sproul himself, “as I grew older – my concept of God grew up. My concept of God became more refined, more sophisticated – but I still could not escape from the truth, that, in fact, God did know everything about me. I discovered that He didn’t need a little black book to remember the data, but to my everlasting relief, I also discovered that His pen did not contain indelible ink.” David also learned these things about God. He sang of them in the Psalms. Throughout this chapter, Sproul has us face many of these things and speaks also on questions such as “will Christians face judgment?” “What does it mean by God’s omniscience?” A God who knows everything. As Christians, we should consider it our highest privilege to be known by God. To flee from his eyes is as foolish as it is futile, and we know that despite his penetrating gaze, when he sees and knows us better than we know ourselves he still loves us!

“Where is the truth, God?” Chapter 6 is some tough reading, but well worth digging into. Sproul opens the chapter with the following; “One of the most heated controversies of our day involves the Bible. Is the Bible inspired? Is the Bible infallible? Is the Bible inerrant? – and more basically, “is the Bible the Word of God?”

The Bible’s claim to speak with more authority than the authority of human insight or opinion was stated succinctly by the Apostle Paul in 2 Tim. 3:16-17 (NKJV). “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Read Chapter 6. Sproul covers terms used today in this great dispute. Read his reasoning in sections on “God knows what He is talking about.” “How much did Jesus know?” “How Jesus views the Bible,” and “The Infallible Christ.”

In Chapter 7 Sproul refers us back to The Chronicles of Narnia. Lucy meets Aslan – representative of Christ. Lucy says, “Aslan, you’re bigger!” “That’s because you are older, little one.” “Not because you’re bigger?” says Lucy. “No, I am not. But every year you grow you will find me bigger.” We share Lucy’s experience. When our understanding of God changes it is not because God has changed. We are the ones who change. “For I am the Lord. I do not change.” (Mal. 3:6).

Sproul relates, with good humour, some of his own experience in seminary. In one particular instance, when he was to address the student body, he chose to speak on the biblical concept of sin. Three faculty members were incensed by what he said, accusing him of distorting the biblical view. Hurt and confused he went to visit the professor of church history, who, when told the story smiled and said, “you are most fortunate, indeed.” Sproul, shocked, asked “why?” The professor replied “because what you said was pure, unadulterated biblical Christianity. Every saint from Augustine to B.B. Warfield is rejoicing over your sermon this morning. You are fortunate because our Lord promised a special reward to those who are reviled for His sake. That is what just happened to you.” Undoubtedly, many students and graduates can identify with such an experience.

“Can I trust You, God?” “The Love that will not let us go,” and “The Name above all Names” are the three chapters that close the book. Each chapter ends with a meaningful psalm.

To quote Sproul’s closing remarks – “the more we know Him, the more we understand how worthy He is of our worship. His majesty fills the world. His wisdom governs our lives. His mercy forgives our sins. His immutability keeps and preserves us. His omnipotence enlightens our darkness. In Him we live and move, and have our being. He is our God, and we are His people.”

“To God be the Glory.”

Pique your interest? I hope so.