After his Introduction, but before his first chapter, John Piper includes a short chapter on the necessity of — given the state of the world — controversy and polemics. He writes this as a pastor. “I am a pastor first. Polemics are secondary and serve that” (p. 27). In short, shepherds are to fight because …
Four Horses
In the previous vision God has spoken about how judgment begins with the household of God. But this does not mean that judgment never comes to the enemies of God. Here we turn to discover that the purposes of God in judgment are consistently displayed throughout the entire earth. “Then I turned and raised my …
Natural Antipathy
The word agon is rendered as contention in 1 Thess. 2:2 — “we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.” Everywhere else in the New Testament it is used in a positive sense. It usually means conflict or fight (Phil. 1:30; Col. 2:1; 1 Tim. 6:12; …
Pulpit Bombast
“It is infamous to ascend your puplit and pour over your people rivers of language, cataracts of words, in which mere platitudes are held in solution like infinitesimal grains of homeopathic medicine in an Atlantic of utterance” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 74).
Genesis of Domestic Violence
“It proved far easier in the event to remove sexual restraint than to overcome each individual’s desire for the exclusive sexual possession of another; and it takes little effort of the imagination, even if we would rather not make it, to understand the result.” (Theodore Dalrymple, In Praise of Prejudice, p. 108).
And That Means Publishing Books
“Because the business of the Church is to multiply sound teaching, this means that we should be about our business — utilizing all available means. The early Christians were accused of filling Jerusalem with their doctrine (Acts 5:28). Isn’t it about time we were accused of doing something similar? (Mother Kirk, p. 259).
The Problem of the Timeless Jew
John Piper begins and ends his Introduction with the observation that he has been too long in the service of the gospel to amuse himself by playing games of disputation. He graciously assumes the same for N.T. Wright, and then makes the central appeal that we should always make — to the law and to …
Just Love On Her
Once there was young lady in college who flew home for Christmas vacation. Her mother picked her up at the airport, and so they had a very good talk on the drive back to her home, which was a couple hours away. The thing that the young lady really wanted to unburden her soul about …
Enlarging the Imagination of Our Hearts
Suppers are frequently in conjunction with other events. We have memorial banquets, banquets to honor an individual, birthday celebrations, anniversary dinners, and so on. God has created us in such a way that whenever we really want to mark something as important, we attach it to a meal. God has done the same for us …
Guardians of the Baby
I just got my published version of John Piper’s new book The Future of Justification this last week. I had seen an earlier incarnation of the book in manuscript form, but according to the acknowledgments, this book is now twice the size it was when I saw it last. I really appreciate how careful John …