What If Christ is False?

An article I wrote awhile back, “Going All-In”, posted this morning to SBC Voices.  While preparing for the sermon this Sunday on The Good Purpose of God in Suffering I was struck by how suffering relates to setting our hope fully on the Lord.  Reading through a section of Desiring God another picture of “going all-in” emerged.  In reflecting upon 1 Corinthians 15:19, Piper says:

…Christianity as Paul understands it is not the best way to maximize pleasure if this life is all there is.  Paul tells us the best way to maximize our pleasures in this life: “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (1 Corinthians 15:32).  He does not mean something as naive as sheer Epicureanism or debauchery.  That is not the best way to maximize your pleasures, as anyone knows who has followed the path of alcoholism and gluttony.  Drunks and gluttons are to be pitied just like Christians if there is no resurrection. 

But what he does mean by the phrase, “Let us eat and drink” is that without the hope of the resurrection, one should pursue ordinary pleasures and avoid extraordinary suffering.  This is the life Paul rejected as a Christian. Thus, if the dead are not raised, and if there is no God and no heaven, he would not have pummeled his body the way he did. He would not have turned down wages for his tent-making the way he did. He would not have walked into five whippings of 39 lashes. He would not have endured three beatings with rods. He would not have risked his life from robbers and deserts and rivers and cities and seas and angry mobs. He would not have accepted sleepless nights and cold and exposure. He would not have endured so long with backsliding and hypocritical Christians (2 Corinthians 11:23-29). Instead he would have simply lived the good life of comfort and ease as a respectable Jew with the prerogatives of Roman citizenship.

When Paul says, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink,” he does not mean, “Let’s all become lechers.” He means, there is a normal, simple, comfortable, ordinary life of human delights that we may enjoy with no troubling thoughts of heaven or hell or sin or holiness or God — IF there is no resurrection from the dead. And what stunned me about this train of thought is that many professing Christians seem to aim at just this, and call it Christianity.

So if we get to the end and come to find out the Christianity is false and there is no resurrection of the dead, do you say with Paul, “what a waste”?  Or is your model of Christianity such that it’s a means to a better life now? 

That quote by Piper and the truth therein has me on my knees this morning as I ponder the good purpose of God and even the call of God to suffer. 

Why @JohnPiper Chooses Mountains Over Beaches

One of the reasons why I don’t go to be beach is because I cannot swim.  Go ahead and make fun of me.  The other reason is because of the scantily clad femmes that often mute the beauty of the glistening waters and inviting beach fronts.  (I should also mention it is one reason that I almost exclusively use Twitter now instead of Facebook).

Apparently, I am not alone.  In studying for a sermon on 1 Peter I ran across this very helpful statement from John Piper. 

When choosing a place to vacation, my wife, Noël, will more often choose the ocean and I will more often choose the mountains. One of the reasons I incline away from the ocean comes from this text, believe it or not. Beaches are by the ocean and people wear bathing suits while at the beach and the designers of women's bathing suits, it seems, are constantly finding creative ways to arouse the sexual desires of men.

Now my concern with this is not that I might be tempted by one of these women to commit adultery. My concern is way before that. My concern is how to maximize hope in the grace of God in my heart. That's what this text says I am to be concerned with. "Hope fully in grace!" But I know from about 34 years of experience and from biblical warnings that titillating sexual input to this mind is spiritually inebriating. That's my biggest concern. If I allow myself to drink it in through my eyes for long or to return to it often, my passion for the truth and the intensity and fullness of my hope in the glory of God's grace diminishes. That's the issue for me.

If I am reading him correctly he is saying that the battle isn’t merely to avoid lust or adultery.  Those are certainly crucial.  But in order to maximize hope he avoids it all together.  To have to do battle (even successful battle) against the lure of the Sirens expends energy and joy and hope that could be expended on that which really lasts; namely, God Himself. 

Our battle against lust and other mind-numbing activities is far deeper than just “don’t engage in sin”.  It’s a battle to not be robbed of hope. 

Out-Rejoicing Adversaries

…be sure that you always out-rejoice your adversaries.  If something is worth fighting for, it is worth rejoicing over.  And the joy is essential in the battle, for nothing is worth fighting for that will not increase our everlasting joy in God.  (John Piper, Contending for our All, 62)

Here Lies…A Very Disappointed Man

Found this in one of John Wesley’s journal entries:

I cannot find much more information about the labors of Solomon Ashburn but I bet he was a pretty sad dude.  There is a reason why Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet”.  Occasionally, the Lord will hide from our eyes the fruit that comes from our ministries.  Mr. Ashburn never saw the harvest that God allowed Wesley to reap upon the soil which he planted.  And it will sometimes be the same with us. 

In light of this difficult that often attends the ministry I find these two quotes helpful.  First, from John Newton to what appears to be a discouraged John Ryland, Jr.:

A faithful, humble minister cannot be unsuccessful; he shall prosper in the thing for which he is sent.  (Gordon, Wise Counsel, 215)

Secondly, is a quote from Charles Bridges’ that I first read on a helpful article from John Piper:

Our recompense is measured not according to 'our success' but 'our labor' and, as with our blessed Master, vouchsafed even in the failure of our ministration.” God rewards our labor, even if we “fail.” Like Jesus.

Our task as ambassador’s of Christ is to be faithful to the King’s message.  Success is marked by fidelity to the task.  May we be found faithful.

BLBC: God is the Gospel Chapter One

“If I had a million dollars I would give 999,999 to the church and 1 to education.”  -Billy Sunday

After reading this chapter I hope that you see Billy Sunday’s famous quote is unhelpful.  Many have followed in Sunday’s trail by dismissing the importance of theology and doctrine for the sake of proclaiming the gospel.  Piper clearly shows that is false dichotomy.  It is both proclamation AND doctrine. 

While showing the importance of doctrine Piper also puts it in its proper place, when he says, “explanation is necessary, but it is not primary.” (22)  It is possible to fall off on either side of the horse; you can exalt doctrine in such a way that it fails to serve its purpose.  But you can also ignore doctrine in such a way that the proclamation becomes essentially meaningless. 

It saddens me that many see doctrine as almost unnecessary.  It also saddens me that doctrine, and our discussion of it, is often more contentious than it is worshipful.  I think Piper’s view of doctrine here is really valuable and would serve us well to attempt keeping this balance:

Gospel doctrine matters because the good news is so full and rich and wonderful that it must be opened like a treasure chest, and all its treasures brought out for the enjoyment of the world. Doctrine is the description of these treasures. Doctrine describes their true value and why they are so valuable. Doctrine guards the diamonds of the gospel from being discarded as mere crystals. Doctrine protects the treasures of the gospel from the pirates who don’t like the diamonds but who make their living trading them for other stones. Doctrine polishes the old gems buried at the bottom of the chest. It
puts the jewels of gospel truth in order on the scarlet tapestry of history so each is seen in its most beautiful place.

Piper goes on to say that with doctrine does this “with its head bowed in wonder that it should be allowed to touch the things of God.  Here is a call to humility as well as love.  As Piper will again say, “love is the point”. 

NOTE:

It is my hope that your comments will dictate the direction of our discussions.  I was very disappointed with the level (or lack of) discussion last week.  I will assume that it was my fault for not writing a compelling enough introduction.  I want to refrain from simply asking questions and me being the one dictating the direction of the discussion.  So this week I’ll keep it open and simply say, “your turn”.  But if there is little discussion this week I’ll assume I need to provide more direction for our little band of book readers.

It’s not too late to join our study.  The introduction and first chapter are very short so you can catch up really quickly.  You don’t even have to buy the book; it’s free online:

http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_bgg/books_bgg.pdf

What are your thoughts about this chapter…

BLBC: God is the Gospel Introduction

Sorry for the tardiness of this post, I know that I had originally said we would start on Monday.  A 15 page paper kept me from fulfilling that task.  But we will begin today by looking at the introduction to Piper’s book. 

In case you are just beginning remember that you can read this book online for free:

http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_bgg/books_bgg.pdf

Summary:

The central statement to this entire book, and this introduction, is that the greatest gift of the gospel is God Himself.  The fundamental question that Piper wants us to ask ourselves as we go through this book is, “Do you love God or do you love His gifts?”  Perhaps the most penetrating question in the entire book is this one:

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
heaven, if Christ were not there?  (Piper, 15)

If you are unfamiliar with Piper you need to know that central to his ministry is that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”.  That has been the driving statement of Piper’s ministry.  This foundational commitment is what drives statements like this one: “The saving love of God is God’s commitment to do everything necessary to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying, namely himself” (13). 

Piper closes his introduction by giving a word to pastors and church leaders.  Honestly, I think this probing question is fitting for everyone in the way that we present the gospel.  It is a fitting question, “Can we really say that our people are being prepared for heaven where Christ himself, not his gifts, will be the supreme pleasure?” 

There is a ton to chew on in this introduction.  So I’ll let you bring out the things that you found beneficial, had questions about, or wanted to discuss further. 

A Word on Reading Piper

Some people find reading John Piper pretty difficult.  I think it has to do somewhat with his writing style.  He reminds me of C.S. Lewis and the Apostle Paul in that he puts a ton of stuff in one sentence.  Therefore, it is best to try to read Piper slowly.  He has a tendency to say something and then say the same thing again in another way.  Be aware of this. 

I encourage you to read through this slowly and thoughtfully.  But remember there is a reason that we are reading this in community.  If something simply does not make sense feel free to leave a comment and ask, “what in the world is Piper saying here?”  Also, feel free to disagree and ask questions of Piper.  You may not agree with everything he says.  He may at times sound an alarm and go just a little too far.  But then again he may also be correct. 

Let’s freely interact and respect one another as we go through this book!

It’s your turn…

The GCR. A Car Without Fuel?

The 2010 messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention voted on moving towards a Great Commission Resurgence.  I happily voted for the GCR because I am passionate about seeing the gospel spread to the nations.  (Although, I am certain that my passion should/could increase all the more). 

As excited as I am to see a Great Commission Resurgence I wonder if maybe we should call it something else—or perhaps change it’s emphasis.  Biblically, I see something else motivating Paul’s mission—and honestly something that undergirds Jesus’ Great Commission. 

I am beginning to study Romans (and am anxiously awaiting my first day of class with Dr. Schreiner to go through this letter).  Today, I began by studying the first 7 verses.  Notice verse 5:

[5] through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (Romans 1:5 ESV)

Paul is saying that he has gracious received his apostleship (in other words his salvation and calling to ministry were by grace).  The purpose of this gift—or the purpose of Paul’s ministry—is to bring about the obedience of faith.  This is either saying the obedience that springs from faith or the obedience that is faith.  Either way, notice the purpose; “for the sake of his name among all the nations”.  What is the motivation for missions?  That Jesus may be praised. 

To this end Dr. Schreiner quotes John Stott:

“the highest of missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God, verse 18), but rather zeal—burning and passionate zeal—for the glory of Jesus Christ.”

So perhaps what we need prior to a Great Commission Resurgence is a Great Commandment Resurgence.  If worship (passionate love for God) is the fuel of missions, a Great Commission Resurgence without a prior Great Commandment  Resurgence will be like a souped-up car that doesn’t have any fuel.  It looks nice, it has potential, and might win the acclaim of on-lookers but it won’t get you to the grocery store. 

As I look at many of the great missionaries of the past, and even those today (like David Platt) what inspires them is a deep love for Christ and an abiding belief that Jesus deserves the praise of the nations.  The missionary heart lives these sentiments of John Piper:

But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. Missionaries will never call out, “Let the nations be glad!” who cannot say from the heart, “I rejoice in the Lord...I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High” (Ps 104:34, 9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship. 

(Piper, Let the Nations be Glad)

So while we are encouraging our churches to be actively involved in mission we had better be equally intentional about providing them fuel. 

Review of Think by John Piper

One of my greatest frustrations has been the anti-intellectual culture within churches.  It’s not just that some people have more of a tendency to be relational than thinkers.  It’s that I have felt and experienced actual animosity towards “book learnin’”.  I have felt numerous times that I have had to apologize for my propensity to read and learn.  It has sometimes caused me to feel like more of a hindrance than an asset to a church. 

For that reason I felt a great excitement in picking up John Piper’s book Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God .  Piper is that rare blend of deep thinker and deep “feeler” (is that a word?).  His brand of preaching is termed expository exultation, it’s aim is to think deeply to raise the affections greatly.

This book is Piper’s defense of that style.  He firmly believes that in order to glorify God we must also love Him with our minds.  To that end his argument throughout is that, “loving God with the mind means that our thinking is wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express the heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things. (19)” 

Piper’s audience is not only the anti-intellectual.  He is balanced in his rebukes.  He freely admits that “over-intellectualism is a plague just like anti-intellectualism” (17).  So his hope is to encourage thinking but also to promote humility in thinking. 

The first couple of chapters are typical Piper.  He tells his own journey and then he gives his props to Jonathan Edwards.  In chapter 3 the book shifts gears a little an Piper attempts to clarify what he means by thinking.  This may be one of the most beneficial chapters because Piper actually shows his readers how he goes about the God-honoring task of thinking.  Chapters 4-6 serve as Piper’s defense of the necessity of thinking.  Then he starts to tackle two great opponents to thinking: relativism (7-8) and anti-intellectualism (9-11).  His final two chapters are a plea towards humility and thinking for the glory of God. 

I honestly did not expect to be deeply convicted by this book.  But I was.  I was convicted about my lack of deep thinking when I read and study God’s Word.  I don’t treasure the Word like I should.  Piper’s love and belief in the sufficiency of God’s Word humbled and convicted me.  I also realized that I need to think deeper and read a little less.  I have a tendency to just check books off a list without really thinking too deeply about them.  I think, but just not hard enough.

The most convicting chapter for me, though, was chapter 12.  This statement in particular humbled me, “It’s as though God put surgical tools in our hands and taught us how to save the sick, but we turned them into a clever juggling act while the patients died” (160).  Honestly, what was convicting about that is not so much that I tend to study, think, etc. to make myself look good or smart.  But what I often do is study, think, etc. to help people.  That sounds good.  But I’m not wielding the tools correctly if my primary passion is something other causing people to feast on God and His glory. 

This book was a great read and very helpful in reorienting my heart and mind in a God-ward direction.  What else would you expect from a Piper book?  There are a few things that I wish Piper would have done though.  One is that I wish there would have been more practical tips for encouraging and sharpening our mind and less of a defense for the use of the mind.  Hopefully there will be a second book that gets practical. 

I also wonder how this book would be received by someone that is more “anti-intellectual”.  Will it benefit them?  Will they read it?  This book really isn’t overly scholarly or anything like that.  It is written on a popular level with a good amount of biblical defense.  But still Piper is Piper and his method of thinking often puts off people that are not geared towards deeper thinking.  But this book is truly written from a humble perspective and I think anyone (intellectual or less intellectual) will benefit from reading it. 

The church needs this book because I am convinced that Piper is correct that glorifying God with our minds and hearts is not an either-or but a both-and.  Because our mind often fuels our hearts perhaps the coldness of our worship is because many neglect the life of the mind.  I hope Piper’s book plants seeds to change that, for the glory of God. 

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

You can purchase the book from Amazon for a little over 10 bucks or get the ebook now for only 8.

Pain, Joy, and Blogging

I finally picked up the Piper book I’ve been wanting for some time; Think: The Life of the Mind and the of God.  It has proven, thus far, to be both convicting and encouraging. 

One particular area that has convicted me is that I have become lax in thinking deeply.  That may come as a surprise to some, but I think that the obligations of seminary coupled with the difficulties of ministry has caused me to think in a hurried way.  I don’t ponder much anymore.  And I’m convicted about that. 

Here is one particular section in Piper’s book that I found encouraging and convicting:

“…all training is painful and frustrating on the way to skills that later become second nature and lead to greater joy.  The person who will not embrace the pain and frustration will remain at lower levels of achievement and joy…If you cannot embrace the pain of learning but must have instant gratification, you forfeit the greatest rewards of life.”  (47)

Good stuff.  And I think the way that many of us read blogs and books is to skim them for instant gratification and not to chew on them.  Granted every blog (in fact many blogs) are not meant to be chewed on and not really worthy of deep pondering.  But when we carry over our blog reading skills to deeper things (such as Scripture) we rob ourselves of joy. 

Review of Young, Restless, Reformed

Except for that time I went 3-5 with a couple RBI’s for my American Legion baseball team at a State championship game I have never read an article about me.  In 2008 Collin Hansen wrote a book about me:  Young, Restless, Reformed.  It’s a shame I did not pick it up until recently.   

Actually the book is not about me.  But it just as easily could have been.  I think that was one of Hansen’s hopes with this book.  There is a growing movement of “New Calvinists” and Hansen explores the in’s and out’s of the movement. 

Inside you will find interviews with “everyday folk” (broke seminary students like myself), as well as interviews with the “guys in lights” like Piper, Dever, Driscoll, Mahaney, Mohler, and Joshua Harris.  Hansen does not limit himself to only the T4G crowd, though.  He also goes to Yale and explores the Calvinism in that climate. 

It is an interesting journey; one that probably could have been a couple of years longer.  It would be interesting to see how Calvinism in England influences the Calvinism in the States.  There are neat anecdotal tales that really gets at the heart of this growing movement.  But there are also cautions for the newer Calvinists. 

As one within the movement I would be interested to read a review from someone that knows the “doctrines of grace” but disagrees with them.  It is obvious from reading where Hansen’s loyalties are.  He is part of the movement himself—I would almost like to see another similar book from an outsiders perspective.  At times I think Hansen may be overstate his case a little, or be a little harsh with the non-Reformed church culture, but overall it is straight-forward journalism.

Hansen does offer some occasional critique for those of us within the movement.  So, in that regard it is helpful to read it even if you are Young, Restless, and Reformed.  It will also be encouraging for many to know that they are not alone in their theological leanings. 

But this book may be most helpful for those outside the movement.  It may even be a good read for those that are critical of the Young, Restless, and Reformed crowd.  This book will certainly show a good part of what “we” believe and many of the reasons why. 

It’s an easy read and a relatively fun journey through the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement.  I would heartily suggest this book to anyone interested in the growing movement towards Reformed theology and Calvinism. 

Rating 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Buy It: 10.49 (hardcopy) 7.99 (e-book)

Piper on the Danger of Disconnect

(HT: JT)

What do you think?

Personally I agree.  I’ve seen it in my own life.  And it’s telling that this is even worthy of 4 minutes of Piper’s time (as well as ours).  The fact that this will generate discussion proves Piper’s point. 

Lord, connect my wires!  Give me a vision of the beauty of Jesus and the only fitting response of worship that proves itself in personal holiness. 

Should Mommy Work?

My wife often struggles with not working outside the home.  I am confident that she puts in more difficult days than I do while working outside the home.  Some of our financial strain could be alleviated by my wife taking a part-time or full-time job.  But at the end of the day we have decided that the most important thing that we can provide for Isaiah (and the forthcoming baby Hannah) is for mommy to be at home and pour her life into them.  That’s why what John Piper says here resonates with us:

 

 

Thank you Nikki for being so faithful to your glorious ministry!  Our children’s passion for Jesus will be a reflection of yours. 

Don’t Drown in Biblical Illiteracy, Get on the Arc

An amazing resource for any serious Bible student is Biblearc.com.  If you are unfamiliar with arcing then head over to bible arc and check it out.  I will warn you, arcing is a huge brain strain, but the payoff is wonderful. 

A new part of Bible Arc is Arc Blogs.  I would highly recommend learning how to arc (for the full experience you should pay 10 bucks and join) and then journeying through these Arc Blogs.  It will assist your Bible study and really help to make the Bible come alive. 

For more on this check out the DG annoucement.  Or watch this video:

Two Ways to Sell a Book on the Church and Ministry

There are two ways to sell a book on church and ministry. 

Option #1:

On the back cover you read:

“__Guy that is obviously cooler than you  , became pastor of   Cool Name Church  in 1994.  This once struggling church now has 3,000 members, 12 multi-campuses, and is reaching world for Christ.  Through this book you will discover the effective tools for creating change, energizing people, and expanding your church.    Insert cool guys name  , will help you take your church from simply suck to success.”

And just for good measure you will see words like dynamic, thriving, transforming, practical, vision, innovation, (biblical will be on there somewhere, and maybe we can throw in a "Jesus" here and there), cutting edge, workable, make it happen, enhancing, inspiring, etc. smattered all over the back page.

You may even get a picture of a smiling dude that you just know has it all together.  And somewhere on the back cover or inside the book you will have blurbs from other pastors that have been effective, successful, and have created change also.  These guys tell you—read this book—and you’ll be innovative, dynamic, thriving, and a world changer. 

There is an offshoot of this strategy that takes some of the glam out.  It’s hip dudes that just want to love Jesus.  We just want to get back to church the way it was in the New Testament man.  But the end result and buzz words are often the same.  The people in the blurbs are different and have different shaped glasses, but the end result is still—be effective!

Option #2:

On this back cover you read:

“   Guy that is obviously smarter than you  , has thought a great deal about ecclesiology.  This book will address come of the most crucial issues facing the church today.    Smart dude looks at what the Bible says about the way a church should be structured.  His passion is to be biblically faithful, and to see you implement these biblical changes in your church for God’s glory.  The hope is that this book will change your life and ministry.”

You will see a few words like practical, helpful, etc. on the back cover but mostly you will see words like biblical, faithful, theology, pray for reformation, healthy, biblical priorities, pastoral, insightful, gospel, Scriptures, foundational, timeless, historical, biblical prescription, etc.

With option #2 it is an unspoken rule that you must have a blurb from John Piper, John MacArthur, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, or one of those guys.  Somebody from T4G has to approve this book.  And these guys will assure you that the book that you have in your hands is approved and is biblical. 

-----

Now obviously I have overstated these positions but there is something behind this that I want to mention for your consideration…tomorrow. 

Wish I Could Go

 

Will you be attending this year?

T4G Reflections: My Broken Prayer, All I Have is Christ

I forget who said it.  Honestly, I forget what they said.  All I remember is asking myself asking one question. What am I unwilling to lose?  Quickly rising up in my soul was the answer: my life.  Of course that means a ton of different things.  It means I have had a death grip on trying to attain a certain outcome for my life.  It means I have foolish, yet tight fisted, reign on what I am willing to do and not do in my walk with Christ.  I struggle with pride, self-righteousness, and just outright complacency. 

All of this was simmering in my heart for a day.  Wednesday evening during the first song Bob Kauflin said, “all I have is Christ” in one of his songs.  This jolted my heart.  I had trouble focusing on the next couple of songs because I let (rather was prodded to let) these words toss around in my soul.  Then he played this song:

That video was from a NA Conference not T4G.  But the lyrics are the same. 

Then John Piper preached essentially what this song meant.  You can watch the sermon if you like, but I will attempt to summarize.  Piper’s text was Luke 18.  He pointed out the self-righteousness of the Pharisee.  It was not that he was trusting in his own works and merits.  The Pharisee was trusting in a God wrought righteousness in his own life.  The problem, said Piper, is that he was not trusting on Christ—the tax collector was.  He brought out Philippians 3 and Paul essentially was the Pharisee and now he is the tax collector.  Piper further gave the example of the Rich Young Ruler—one thing he lacked: let go of money, let it fall to the poor, and cling to Christ.  The one thing he lacked was Christ.  In other words the song of the believer truly is All I Have is Christ.  Watch the Piper video if you want, but please do not neglect to read my closing comments:

T4G 2010 -- Session 6 -- John Piper from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

God used this song and this sermon to renew a spark of the gospel in my heart.  During this time I found myself praying that the Lord would break me.  Break me of every vestige of self-righteousness that I may cling to Christ alone.  Break me of a foolishness that wants to cling to my life. 

If you follow this blog, or are my friend and read this, remind me in a couple of months when I’m “broken” about this prayer and where my brokenness stems from.  Lord make me a gospel man!

Review of God is the Gospel by John Piper

Author: John Piper

Publisher: Crossway

Pages: 192 pages

Price: 12.99

Genre: Christian Living

Quick Summary:

This is a Piper book so you should know what you are getting: a healthy dose of the glory of God, radically Christ-centered appeals, and passionate pleas to enjoy God. In this particular offering Piper’s main concern is that we understand that the greatest gift of the gospel is God Himself. “All God’s gifts are loving only to the degree that they lead us to God Himself. That is what God’s love is: his commitment to do everything necessary (most painfully the death of his only Son) to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying—namely, himself.”

The first few chapters of this book are given to defining the gospel. Then Piper moves towards what this means for the Christian life. He then moves forward with a little theology. And finally closes out the book by encouraging us to “sacrifice and sing”.

What I Liked:

The first four chapters are worth the cost of the book. Even in the introduction Piper asks perhaps one of the most important questions for modern evangelicals: “could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?” We really need to hear this message. If you do not consider God to be the ultimate good of salvation then something is wrong. Piper makes a passionate biblical defense of this central doctrine to the Christian faith.

In his typical Edwardsean-way Piper absolutely exhausts this topic. He considers the impact of this doctrine on numerous aspects of the Christian life. He writes in a heartfelt and pastoral manner. You will be deeply informed and emotionally stirred.

What I Disliked:

UPDATE: Due to a comment, I have reworded this section. The original did not convey my actual intent.

I absolutely love John Piper and his ministry. Unfortunately, most of the congregation in which I serve do not share that love. A good portion of our church has commented that his writing is too difficult for them. And I think I understand. Piper can use really big words that may be unfamiliar to those that do not read a good deal of theology books. Piper also will have jam-packed sentences. Now, in Piper's defense I would love to see the somewhat anti-intellectualism in our church context be changed. I would love to see people pursuing God with not only heart but also mind. So, I am torn. I love Piper and his writings and would love to see people labor to read and enjoy him. At the same time I would love for Piper to write books that would appeal to those of a more rural context.

One commenter felt in the orignal that I was holding my church in contempt and not loving them. The truth is I have a ton of compassion for our church. Certainly, that passion can grow because I know I do not love them like Jesus does. Yet, at the same time I also would love to see our church pursue doing hard things...like reading Piper.

Should You Buy It?

There is hardly a Piper book that I would not heartily recommend. The modern church that is so enamored with the gifts of the gospel needs to hear this call. I heartily suggest you buy and read this book. In my opinion, this is one of the Top 5 books written by Piper.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

This Week in Blogworld 5/15

Today my wife and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary!!!

Very passionate plea from John Piper to President Obama concerning abortion:

(HT: DG)

 

Kevin DeYoung shares why he is a Calvinist.

Dr. Moore writes an amazing article about the devil’s voting record.  (HT: JT)

Thabiti points out a bleak statistic that 60% of baptisms within the SBC are “re-baptisms”.

Gregg Harris writes a letter to parents.

That does it…these videos should keep you busy.

This guy is everything I dream to be as a youth pastor.

(HT: CPC)

This Week in Blogworld 4/17

John MacArthur confronts explicit teaching on Song of Solomon. (AKA Mark Driscoll) Read part 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The more I read the writings of Kevin DeYoung the more I appreciate him. He has begun a series (that is almost finished) on our high places. In these he is focusing on our idolatrous blind spots. Read The lack of Psalm singing, Worldliness in entertainment, The idol of youth, and Our lack of church discipline. Part 5 should be up some time within the next day or so.

Did Christ Have Gray Hair? Turns out your answer is more important than you think…

Great words from Dr. Moore: The Devil is a Boring Preacher: The High Stakes of Dull Sermons. Here is an excerpt: “If lost people don’t like your message because they’re hostile to the gospel, you’re in good company. But if you’re boring the people of God with the Word of God, something has gone seriously awry. It may be that you preach just like the devil, and that you don’t even know it.”

It sure is sad that Piper is defiling himself by having such conferences as this: Advance ‘09. UPDATE: I apologize for not being initially clear--I'm being silly by saying Piper is defiling himself by having such a conference as this. I think Advance '09 will be awesome. I even would love to attend--but will probably not be able to. So, sorry if anyone misunderstood and thinks I'm hating on the Advance conference.

Nathan White wonders why we have “altars”…I’ve wondered the same thing.

JT points us to an interview with Paul Tripp about marriage.

This is powerful:

Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

HT: Jared

Charles Simeon’s “Rules for Himself”

In preparing for a lesson on 1 Corinthians 13 I skipped across this by Charles Simeon out of a Robert Rayburn sermon:

1. To hear as little as possible what is the prejudice of others; 2. To believe nothing of the kind till I am absolutely forced to it; 3. Never to drink into the spirit of one who circulates an ill report; 4. Always to moderate, as far as I can, the unkindness which is expressed toward others; 5. Always to believe, that if the other side were heard, a very different account would be given of the matter.

This certainly would go far in building up the body of Christ if these rules were observed. If you are unfamiliar with the life and ministry of Simeon I would suggest reading John Piper’s excellent biography. You can also buy Piper’s Roots of Endurance book.