R.C. SPROUL AND THE MYTH OF DEATHBED DOUBT
There is no credible evidence or trustworthy testimony suggesting that Dr. R.C. Sproul had doubts about his faith or salvation on his deathbed. In fact, everything known about his life, teaching, and final days points to a man who finished the race with steadfast confidence in Christ.
R.C. Sproul was deeply committed to the doctrines of grace and the sovereignty of God. He taught for decades that assurance of salvation rests not in our feelings, but in the finished work of Christ. This is a truth rooted in Scripture. As he often quoted from Romans 8:38–39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That conviction wasn’t theoretical for him, it was lived.
Chris Larson, the president and CEO of Ligonier Ministries, personally testified that Sproul died with unwavering faith in the Lord. He reported that Sproul was singing hymns, including "I’ll Walk With God," and listening to Scripture read aloud in his final hours. His final public words during his last conference were also deeply Christ-centered, affirming the holiness and majesty of God.
It’s natural for believers to wrestle with fear or uncertainty near death; we see that even in strong biblical figures like David and Elijah. But doubt in the sense of renouncing trust in Christ? That was not part of Sproul’s legacy. He taught consistently from texts like John 10:28–29—“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
While it is true that, R.C. Sproul experienced emotional lows and wrestled with deep theological truths, there is no evidence, none, that he ever wavered in his belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, or the sovereignty of God. His life was a testimony to faith seeking understanding (fides quaerens intellectum), not faith in crisis.
Sproul’s life and death bear witness to the truth he loved: that salvation is of the Lord, not of man, and that we may rest in God’s sovereign grace even in the face of death. As Paul Washer has said in a similar context, the assurance of salvation is not based on the strength of our faith, but on the object of our faith which is Christ Himself.