C.J. Mahaney: I am sitting here at Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando, Florida, with one of my heroes in the faith, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, a man who has had a profound effect on my life through his example, through his teaching, and through his writing. He is one of my favorite authors, someone whose books I promote and could easily sell door-to-door.

We have this privilege to spend a few minutes with Sinclair.

Thank you, Sinclair, for agreeing to meet with us and answer a few questions. We have just finished a lengthy discussion about golf, which I think should have been included in this interview and might be as much of interest to anybody listening than what we are about to say because—

Sinclair Ferguson: No, no, don’t say anything, C.J.

CJM: —you’re still a great golfer.  

SF: No, I’m not.

CJM: Yes, you are.

SF: I repudiate that.

CJM: No. You were a scratch golfer.

SF: I was a good golfer.  

CJM: And you played in college.

SF: I played for Scotland and for Great Britain when I was a youngster.  

CJM: You played for your country in international competition. Oh, my. See, I know this is awkward for you, but you were a great golfer.

SF: It is very awkward.

CJM: I’m sorry.

SF: It’s extremely awkward.

CJM: Well, you get used to it when you hang around me. And you were lamenting a few minutes ago that now your game is in decline.

SF: Oh, please don’t. Please don’t tell anybody about this.

CJM: Yes, I want to tell everybody about this because this is how good you were. You are lamenting that your game is in decline because you don’t regularly shoot in the 70s anymore! But you still are shooting regularly in the 80s, even though you play only occasionally. And what I was seeking to remind you and comfort you with was that most golfers (99%) stink, so you are still in the 1% elite, and for that I commend you.

SF: Oh, it’s a fallen world.