Tag: John Piper

“Embrace the Life God Has Given You” | Dr. John Piper

It does not matter what you are mourning, know that God is with you!

I found this video by Dr. John Piper both interesting and thought provoking.

We do not always know how to respond to our sorrow. Because we are in the middle of our jumbled up thoughts, we struggle to make sense of what’s up or down. But, that does not mean that there is not a way to mourn that is explicitly Christian. That we can’t be reminded and encouraged in and through the pain and grief we feel.

I find Dr. Piper’s thoughts helpful. It does not matter what you are mourning, know that God is with you!

Embrace the Life God Has Given You

Book Review | “A Peculiar Glory” by John Piper

Only when we change what we see do we change who we will eventually become.

I recently finished reading Dr. John Piper‘s book A Peculiar Glory. It is an amazing book on the subject of the Scriptures. There are basically two questions that Piper seeks to answer. The first one is this: What about the Scriptures, as they are, reveal that they are in fact divine revelation? The second question is related and yet slightly different and it is this: Can a “normal” person interact with the scriptures and come to a knowledge of the truth? When I use the word “normal” I mean to say (as does Piper) someone who does not have training in the Biblical languages or who has an extensive education. At the center of this second question is wondering if people can come to a well-grounded faith just by being exposed to and interacting with the Word of God as it is contained in the Old and New Testaments. Continue reading “Book Review | “A Peculiar Glory” by John Piper”

1 John 1:7 | Walking in his light

Missing by an inch or missing by a mile is still missing the standard that John establishes here.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

John returns to the subject of light in verse 7. As he does it augments what he means by the relationship that we have with God. There is a particular characteristic to our journey in the light. That characteristic is that it is, or should be, the same light that God is in, or rather that God produces from himself. In other words, when we say that we are in the light, that we are walking in the light, then what we are saying–or should be saying–is that we are living out and embodying and reflecting God’s love and life in our own. Continue reading “1 John 1:7 | Walking in his light”

“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 4 | Faith is… Proclaiming the Truth of God

18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, ESV)

The Wisdom of a Foolish God

I have always found the statement found here about God’s wisdom to be mind boggling. God in his most “foolish” moment is wiser than all of humanity’s wisdom put together. I know that this is classic Pauline overstatement, and yet I wonder at times if Paul’s intent is to reveal the hubris of the human heart. Too often we think that we have unlocked some secret or hidden nugget of wisdom from God’s treasure trove. I think that this is the danger in attempting to analyze or explain what is only meant to be proclaimed.

I am reminded of Dr. John Piper speaking of the time that he began to understand, too truly grasp what it meant for God to be sovereign.

“As I studied Romans 9 day after day, I began to see a God so majestic and so free and so absolutely sovereign that my analysis merged into worship and the Lord said, in effect, “I will not simply be analyzed, I will be adored. I will not simply be pondered, I will be proclaimed. My sovereignty is not simply to be scrutinized, it is to be heralded. It is not grist for the mill of controversy, it is gospel for sinners who know that their only hope is the sovereign triumph of God’s grace over their rebellious will.” [Source].

Do you see it. This is what it means that faith is the proclamation of the Truth of God. As we are confronted with the Truth of God, that in Christ we have new life and we who were enemies now have access to the mercy seat of God’s grace, is not something to be merely understood. This truth must be experienced. This is the nature of freedom inducing truth. The truth sets us free. This is what Jesus said, but he never went into the details of why it sets us free or of how the truth sets us free. Jesus simply states that this is the effect of truth in our lives. Why do we fight so hard at times to understand, when what God has asked is for us to enjoy. We want to dissect rather than delight in what has been provided. At the root of this attitude is an ungrateful heart. The American church is so comfortable that it fails to see it’s own tantrums anymore. Only a spoiled child will look at a perfect gift and ask for more.

Paul in his letter to the Roman church says these simple and yet amazing words.

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-17, ESV)

At the heart of the Christian faith is a story that must be told. It is in the telling that new life is born in the hearts and minds of sinners. We should not be surprised by this. Stories stimulate us to think beyond the hear and now. Stories transport us to far away places and help us to consider and contemplate perspectives and possibilities that are difficult, dangerous or even childish.

The Love of God Compels Us

Jesus’ story is the foundational reality of why, if we claim to have become Christ’s, we must be about the proclamation of God’s Truth. Our awareness and growing dependence upon Jesus is what drives us forward in growing boldness. There is something different in us now that we have come to know the Son of God.

14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. … 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 18-21, ESV)

Many today do not feel the compelling power of the Gospel. We have grown accustomed to its message. We have lost sight of its purpose. We have looked upon the broken and battered body of the Lamb of God and found it trivial and mundane. The cross is a compelling reality, not because Jesus was nailed to it, but because I wasn’t. He hangs in my place and yours.

Proclamation is the Fruit of Conviction

I think that at the heart of this expression of faith is how little conviction I see in the people of God for the Truth of God. I am not talking about believing that there is a God or even that He has spoken. There are many who have laid claim to truth. The problem for them is that the truth that they claim in not rooted in the character of God. Truth is not always about discovering what is “already there.” This is the fundamental difference between the faith of Jesus and the rest of the religions of the world. Truth is not an idea or a philosophy or a pattern of living. Truth is a person. Jesus is truth because everything that he said and did is true.

Therefore, when we make it our life’s aim to proclaim the story and life of Jesus we are proclaiming the truth of God. There is no higher truth to spread throughout the whole earth. There is no greater endeavor to which we can dedicate our lives. There is no cause more worthy of our best efforts. Truth is not just something for which me must learn to live. Truth must become something for which we are willing to die!

I think of those first few weeks and months as the young church was making sense of what it was going to look like as they obeyed the command of Jesus. There must have been times where they were still wondering how it all was going to pan out. Their only certainty was that their faith was their only hope. Here is how Luke recounts the events in Acts 4.

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:13-20, ESV)

What makes this event so amazing is not that they wiped the sweat from their brows and said to themselves, “Glad we dodged a bullet back there!” No, that is not the response of a man or woman that has seen what these disciples have seen. They go to their fellowship and they do what, under different circumstances, would be seen and understood as foolish and careless. They ask for boldness to do it again!

23When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. … 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:23, 29-31, ESV)

Where is this prayer in our churches? We pray for clarity, openness on the part of the hearer and even favor with those whom we will encounter. Why do we think that disciples twenty centuries removed from the events can do better to pray for something that was not even upon the minds of those disciples that were twenty minutes removed from Jesus’ ascension?

We must seek boldness to proclaim the Truth of God, which in the end is Jesus himself.

Prayer:
O God, help that we who are called by the name of your Son would make boldness a virtue of higher regard than comfort, safety or even wisdom. Boldness is what is needed among the lost and the pretentious. Boldness is the antidote to pride because it forces us to trust in you to deliver. I pray for boldness. Grant that I may proclaim Your truth, the message of Jesus the Christ, to a world that prefers to turn a deaf ear to what you have proclaimed in the heavens. The works of your hands are a testimony of your majesty. O that we who are weak, would turn to you and trust in your strength and power before those who portend to be powerful and of high repute. There is no name worthy of our total alligience, but yours. In the name of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus, Amen.

The Piper-Warren Interview

First of all, it was a refreshing and interesting interview. Two men with different approaches to ministry “jousting” about what they believe. Dr. John Piper picked the questions that he wanted to get clarification on and Dr. Rick Warren answered them in as candid a way as I have ever seen. While Piper was accused of giving in to the “Purpose-Driven” machine when he invited Warren to give a talk at the Desiring God Conference in 2010, there were not minced words in this interview. There is a genuine affection shared by these two men for one another. What made the interview worth watching was to see Piper dig deeply into Warren’s book “The Purpose-Driven Life” and to ask very direct and uncomfortable questions that Warren was quick to answer.

Interview on Desiring God’s website. (This is also available on Pastors.com, but the quality seemed to be better here.)

Here is an example of the questions that were asked. This is a very direct question by Piper to Warren on the nature of the atonement.

Why Not Me?: Rethinking How and Why We Suffer | Part 2

God does work things out for good, but not so that I can feel blessed. God works things out for good because He will not allow sin or human failure or demonic influence from deterring, detouring, diminishing or destroying His plan and purpose on the earth.

Under the Weight of It All

As I journey to better understand suffering I am confronted with an unusual and unexpected realization. I now see the way that suffering exposes, in ways that other circumstances do not, what beliefs and values I hold dear. Knowing that this is what happens during a time of crisis and pain gives me an opportunity to recognize that in the midst of all that is happening God is going to show Himself. Where seeing God’s hand becomes difficult is when you are so overwhelmed by what is happening that you simply are unable to make a distinction between what is happening and what God is doing to protect, guide and lead you.

Understanding the effect or effects that suffering has has provided me with some way of preparing for whatever comes. It is not a perfect preparation, but an emotional and spiritual work that I have taken more seriously in the past few months. What I have realized is that I do not like what has been exposed because it challenges what I read in the bible and what I have learned through experience. There is in an inconsistency that these circumstances expose that cause me to waver in my convictions about who God is and how He acts. This is not good, which is a mild understatement, I know.

I do not like feeling this conflicted. And, I don’t think that I am supposed to.  So, I am left with a choice.  Either change my conviction to conform to what I read in the bible. Or, change what I read in the bible so that it conforms to my convictions. If I could let you in on a little secret, this second option is a bad choice. Learning to conform and let go of convictions that are not in line with what the bible says is not easy or quick.  It can be (and has been) painful at times and it will take time to unlearn many (if not all) of the incorrect, inconsistent and incoherent things that we may have learned over the course of our lives and in church.

What suffering awakens in me when I am confronted with some of life’s more difficult issues cannot just be dismissed.  There are so many “answers” for why suffering exists. And many of them are NOT emotionally, psychologically or even theologically satisfying. So, it has become important to look at several questions that have come up for me like: What is the correct response to suffering? Can I even talk in this way? What do I do when there are no simple, or even just coherent answers to what I see happening around us?

It is this process of looking, thinking and even feeling my way through these experiences that should be entered into with out whole person if there is going to be any hope of understanding and accepting suffering in my life.

Suffering never feels like a “minor” thing. And it never should. We have to work diligently to feel the full weight of what we are talking about so that we can have an honest conversation (many times just with ourselves).  And more to the point, until we are under the weight of suffering it is difficult to make an accurate evaluation of what we are talking about and the conclusions that we arrive at. So, rather than going over any of the potential answers that are given to suffering I want to look at some of the underlying assumptions from which some of these questions and answers come.

Is There Meaning In My Suffering?

The search for some sort of meaning in the middle of suffering has been the approach that many have taken. “Surely, there has to be some reason for this?” we ask ourselves. I understand that this is an important question, but it should not be at the top of the list. Suffering and its cousin, Evil, have a way of revealing the flaws in the armor of faith. We always seem to find ourselves trying to scrape together a coherent answer to what has happened. And, to be honest, right when something happens is not the right time to try and put two intelligible words together. Those responding to the suffering and those in the midst of it should not try to “see the good” in that moment.  There will be time later, but not then. Many times all those kind thoughts only seem to add insult to injury and salt to an open and deep wound. I think that we have a lot to learn from Jesus’ response to the death of Lazarus.  That famously short verse in John informs us as to how we should respond. It simply reads, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

The sheer wisdom of this is astounding. Jesus did not rush in to fix the problem even though he was going to. Jesus did not come sooner and take care of the problem as Mary and Martha wanted. Jesus waited four days, allowed Lazarus to die and then when he shows up he joins in the mourning. Jesus was not surprised by the death. He had predicted it. So Jesus’ weeping was not about surprise or guilt. Jesus wept because he saw and responded to the pain of loved ones who had lost a brother. Jesus knew what he was about to do, but he took the time to enter into the hurt of Lazarus’ family.

Only those that are willing to enter into the suffering of others are able to respond in this way. But, most of us do not do it. We just find ourselves offering these spiritually sounding platitudes that make us feel better or because we do not know what else to do. “He is better off with God.” “God needed another angel in heaven.” “Heaven is a better place because he is there.” When my brother-in-law died this past year I nearly came unhinged when I started hearing these statement. A reaction to what was happening that I was very surprised at!

I was not interested in good-intentioned phrases. I almost punched a lady because of what she was saying to my mother-in-law! (She was just too far for me to reach her.) I just wanted someone to cry with me. I just needed someone to know what I was feeling. Since that day I have not tried to say anything when I have encountered death. There is nothing to say. There is only love to see. I now know why Jesus wept. Death robs us of hope. And it is only in the comfort of the consoling that we remember that there is so much more to life. And, when this mourning happens among the redeemed of God this is a mourning that is different from that of the world (2 Thessalonians 4:13).

I have come to believe that my suffering has meaning only within the context of a relationship with Jesus. Because of Jesus I have a way of looking at and dealing with suffering that is different that what the world provides.

Does God Really Work All Things For Good?

I have long believed that suffering and evil are the greatest enemies to faith because they stand in our faces challenging us to question not so much the goodness of God, but rather God’s power. How could an all-powerful God allow this to happen? Because we “know” that an all good God would never allow some of the things that we are seeing if He had the ability to prevent it? Do you see what we have just done when we ask a question like this.  We have assumed something about what we know that God knows. Or, if I were to say it another way, I am assuming that if I had all the information that God has, I would make a different (think “better” here) choice in the situation.

We have to be very careful with this kind of thinking. We have to guard against the impulse to second guess God’s abilities AND motives. At the root of this is a subtle implication that we are more noble, gracious and caring than God himself. Because if this is not what we are getting at then we would not say what we say!  We have to take a hard look at what is the root of this thought.

Many of us have heard that God works all things out for good. But, I have a question.  How do we know that? And what do we mean when we say that? This second question really gets to the heart of the issue. Too often we assume that the “good” referred to is the good of the one that is hurting. But, there is something wrong with the idea that God is tending to every persons sufferings in this selfish a way. When God is this attentive to us, WE become the most important thing on God’s mind.  Which is not just untrue, it makes God an idolater! The most important thing to God is God.

It is very easy for us to focus on the that part of the verse where God is working all things out for good. But what is the reason that Paul says that there is a working by God for good? It is ultimately to accomplish God’s purpose (which is the reason that Paul provides). Our good is a secondary issue. Our good happens because we are found in the will of God which is good. When we align our lives and wills to that of God’s we become the beneficiaries of untold and incalculable blessings. Which, not incidentally, Paul points out as he closes Romans 8 from verses 29-39.

God does work things out for good, but not so that I can feel blessed. God works things out for good because He will not allow sin or human failure or demonic influence from deterring, detouring, diminishing or destroying His plan and purpose on the earth.

Our union with Christ is what makes the “good” make sense. When we lose sight of this we try to help by sharing a “promise from the Lord” only to undermine the very thing we are trying to do. Bad theology has continued the suffering of many because it does not heal the hurt that exists.  If we do not get our theology straight we impugn the character of God, not so much because we want to, but because we are not left with another alternative. We are dazed and confused and because we don’t have a clear reference point we are set adrift on the sea of emotions.

I am thankful to Dr. John Piper of DesiringGod.org for the following questions (which I think I have stated correctly here): Do we make much of God because he makes much of us? Or do we make much of God because he frees us to make much of Him?

At the bottom of the first question is me.  At the bottom of the second is God. If God’s motivation for action is to please me, God becomes dependent upon human activity. But if God’s motivation for action is to do His own good pleasure, then we, the creatures, will receive and experience the full measure of God’s blessings. This is why we have to be very careful when we are making statements like the one under discussion because we can create a situation where God becomes the servant.

When we consider suffering by looking at what is at the bottom of our theology we are better prepared to respond to the circumstances that will most certainly come.

Next Time: In Part 3 we will look at what the bible reveals to us about the Christian’s response to and in suffering.

John Piper | Why do you love God?

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Dr. John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching & Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN.  He is also the  Chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary an extension ministry of the church providing training for pastors within the local church setting.  He is the founder of Desiring God Ministries which serves as the source of everything Piper.  You will find 30 years of sermons to read, listen to, watch or download.  You can also find many of his books free for download as well.  Dr. Piper is one of the finest expositors and proclaimers of the Scriptures in general and the Gospel in particular.

For those not familiar with Dr. Piper, his theological orientation is that of Calvinism. This, however, should not deter you from gleaning from the depth and breadth of Dr. Piper’s wisdom and insights into the Word of God.  Even if you don’t agree with Calvinism as a theological system, there is no doubt that the Scripture and the God of the Scriptures is the most important thing on his mind.

This video is rich in its content, which means you may have to watch more than once.  It’s about an hour long, but it will challenge you to consider your motivation for loving God.  I hope you invest the time to hear this message.  I am the better for doing so.

Source: Why God Makes Much of Us

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