Ultimate with R.C. Sproul

Episode: "A Costly Friendship" (October 3, 2025)

Host: Ligonier Ministries (R.C. Sproul featured)

Episode Overview

This episode of "Ultimately with R.C. Sproul" centers on the personal and profound costs of allegiance to Christ, focusing on the tension between friendship with the world and fidelity to Jesus’ true identity. Dr. Sproul shares a deeply personal narrative about his early Christian experience, using it to illustrate the inevitability of hostility towards believers who uncompromisingly follow Christ.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The World’s Hostility Toward Christ

• Core Thesis:
  • "This world by nature hates Christ. They can have peace with Christ as long as we make sure that we strip him of his real identity." [(00:00)]
  • Sproul emphasizes that the world’s acceptance of Christ is conditional—only if His true, biblical character is downplayed or altered.

2. A Personal Testimony of Rejection

• College Conversion Experience:
  • Sproul shares the story of returning home after his conversion during college, eager to share his newfound faith.
  • Quote:
    • “I went to the drugstore where all of the guys always gathered on Friday nights. And frankly, I was their leader.” [(00:35)]
  • Expecting support and excitement, he instead faces rejection, not just of his message but of himself personally.
• Pain of Evangelistic Rejection:
  • “And not only did they reject what I said, but they manifestly rejected me and thought I had lost my mind.” [(01:04)]
  • "I told them these things because they were my friends and I loved them and I wanted them to meet my new friend, Jesus." [(01:22)]
  • Sproul identifies this as an awakening—realizing that following Christ can cost relationships and social standing.

3. The Universal Christian Experience of Evangelism

• Desire to Share Christ:
  • Sproul generalizes his experience, suggesting all Christians initially have the urge to share their faith with friends and family.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • “Has there ever been a Christian who has ever been converted by the grace of God, who didn’t want to share that with all of his friends, with all of his relatives?” [(01:30)]
• Learning Wisdom in Witnessing:
  • Over time, Christians learn to be "more discreet" in sharing their faith due to the recurring experience of hostility or rejection.

4. Biblical Perspective: Friendship with the World vs. Allegiance to Christ

• Hostility Is Inherent:
  • "This world hates the things of God by nature." [(01:51)]
• The Biblical Christ and Rejection:
  • Genuine allegiance to the biblical Christ, without compromise, will eventually incur the world's disapproval or even contempt.
  • Cautionary Wisdom:
    • "Beware of the person of whom everyone speaks well. Because if you’ve made friends with the world, you could only have done that by compromising Christ." [(02:24)]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the cost of witnessing to friends:

  • “For the first time in my life, I identified with Captain Quigga. I was hurt because I told them these things because they were my friends and I loved them and I wanted them to meet my new friend, Jesus.” [(01:12)]

• On inevitability of opposition:

  • “If you look at the biblical Christ and you proclaim the biblical Christ and you follow the biblical Christ with allegiance, you, you will be despised at some point by this world.” [(02:06)]

• On the danger of universal approval:

  • “Beware of the person of whom everyone speaks well. Because if you’ve made friends with the world, you could only have done that by compromising Christ.” [(02:24)]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 — The world’s superficial “peace” with a false Christ
• 00:35 — Sproul’s return home and anticipation of his friends’ reaction
• 01:04 — Experiencing outright personal rejection
• 01:12 — The pain of sharing faith with loved ones
• 01:30 — The universal desire of new Christians to evangelize
• 01:51 — The world’s innate hostility to God and Jesus
• 02:06 — The cost of uncompromising allegiance to Christ
• 02:24 — The warning against universal approval from the world

Conclusion

Dr. Sproul’s reflection is a poignant reminder that genuine faithfulness to Christ often carries a relational cost. The episode invites listeners to assess their own allegiances and challenges them to stand firm in proclaiming the true, biblical Christ—even in the face of rejection. As Sproul concludes, friendship with the world is easy, but it is won at the high price of compromising with truth.