The Gospel and Race

Invitation to Piper and Keller on Race & the Christian from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Next Wednesday evening, March 28, there will be a live webcast of a conversation between John Piper and Tim Keller, moderated by Anthony Bradley, about the gospel and race. This conversation will be streaming live at desiringGod.org/Live if you want to watch.

For more details, click here.

Download Bloodlines for Free

Desiring God Ministries has generously made John Piper's recent book, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, available as a free download. Click here for the details.

Whether or not you affirm Piper's theological convictions regarding Calvinism (which are defined and defended in the middle section of the book), the chapters on the front end and back end are well worth the read...especially when it's free.

The Gospel's Seemingly Contradictory Work

"The gospel gives us a new identity that is so majestic that we would be the most arrogant people in the world - except that we know we don't deserve it, it cost Christ his life, and it is all a free gift of grace....Only the gospel can do two seemingly contradictory things: destroy pride and increase courage. Destroy self-exaltation and increase confidence. Destroy the pushiness of self-assertion and deliver from the paralysis of self-doubt."

--John Piper, Bloodlines

Piper on a Lesson Learned from Lewis

I am grateful for a friend and church member passing this quote along to me. It's a quote by John Piper, reflecting on what he learned from C.S. Lewis (and it's a great follow-up to yesterday's post):

He has made me wary of chronological snobbery. That is, he showed me that newness is no virtue and oldness is no vice. Truth and beauty and goodness are not determined by when they exist. Nothing is inferior for being old, and nothing is valuable for being modern. This has freed me from the tyranny of novelty and opened for me the wisdom of the ages.

Jesus, Our Supreme Treasure

"When a person is born anew and experiences repentance, his attitude about Jesus changes. Jesus himself becomes the central focus and supreme value of life. Before the new birth happens and repentance occurs, a hundred other things seem more important and more attractive....But when God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus himself becomes our supreme treasure."

--John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World

Chapters by Piper and Driscoll

This week, I am posting quotes from different chapters of John Piper's and Justin Taylor's The Power of Words and the Wonder of God.

From John Piper's chapter, "Is There Christian Eloquence? Clear Words and the Wonder of the Cross"

There is a statement that James Denney made over a hundred years ago that haunts me. Whether we are talking about the more high-brow eloquence of oratory or the more low-brow, laid-back, cool eloquence of anti-oratory, Denney's statement cuts through to the ultimate issue. He said, "No man can give the impression that he is clever and that Christ is mighty to save."

...The cross is the place where our sin is seen as most horrible and God's free grace shines most brightly. Both of these mean we deserve nothing. Therefore, the cross undercuts pride and exalts Christ....

...Self-exaltation and Christ-exaltation can't go together.

From Mark Driscoll's chapter, "How Sharp the Edge? Christ, Controversy, and Cutting Words"

For you who are faithful to pray for your shepherd or who in reading this aspire to join the faithful, I encourage you to pray for your shepherd in seven ways.

1) Please pray that God would give your shepherd a discerning mind.
2) Please pray that God would give your shepherd thick skin.
3) Please pray that your shepherd would have a good sense of humor.
4) Please pray that your shepherd would have a tender heart.
5) Please pray that your shepherd would have a humble disposition.
6) Please pray that your shepherd would have a supportive family (and please pray for his wife and children).
7) Please pray that your shepherd would have an evangelistic devotion.

Gerald Bray on Piper, Wright, and Justification

The audio of Dr. Bray's lecture on the debate between John Piper and N.T. Wright on justification is now available. Click here to listen.

Relevance in Preaching

Thoughts from John Piper on relevance in preaching:

As a preacher, I think a lot about relevance. Why should anyone listen to what I have to say? Why should anybody care? Relevance is an ambiguous word. It might mean that a sermon is relevant if it feels to the listeners that it will make a significant difference in their lives. Or it might mean that a sermon is relevant if it will make a significant difference in their lives whether they feel it or not.

That second kind of relevance is what guides my sermons and my writing. In other words, I want to say things that are really significant for your life whether you know they are or not. My way of doing that is to stay as close as I can to what God says is important in his word, not what we think is important apart from God's word.

--Taken from Finally Alive by John Piper

Fifteen Reasons We Need the New Birth

While most of the reasons listed below are plucked directly from the Bible (and therefore in language that is familiar to us), seeing them all piled together and thinking over the sheer gravity of what is entailed by these truths should cause us to do exactly what Piper wants us to do - to leap for joy!

From John Piper's new book, Finally Alive.

The aim in this list is to give us an accurate diagnosis of our disease so that when God applies the remedy at great cost to himself, we will leap for joy and give him some measure of the glory he deserves. We will not sing with authentic amazement the words "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me," unless we know the nature of our "wretchedness."

1) Apart from the new birth, we are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2).

2) Apart from the new birth, we are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3).

3) Apart from the new birth, we love darkness and hate the light (John 3:19-20).

4) Apart from the new birth, our hearts are hard like stone (Ezek. 36:26; Eph. 4:18).

5) Apart from the new birth, we are unable to submit to God or please God (Rom. 8:7-8).

6) Apart from the new birth, we are unable to accept the gospel (Eph. 4:18; 1 Cor. 2:14).

7) Apart from the new birth, we are unable to come to Christ or embrace him as Lord (John 6:44, 65; 1 Cor. 12:3).

8) Apart from the new birth, we are slaves to sin (Rom. 6:17).

9) Apart from the new birth, we are slaves of Satan (Eph. 2:1-2; 2 Tim. 2:24-26).

10) Apart from the new birth, no good thing dwells in us (Rom. 7:18).

11) Without the new birth, we won't have saving faith, but only unbelief (John 1:11-13; 1 John 5:1; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29; 1 Tim. 1:14; 2 Tim. 1:3).

12) Without the new birth, we won't have justification, but only condemnation (Rom. 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:17; Phil. 3:9).

13) Without the new birth, we won't be the children of God, but the children of the devil (1 John 3:9-10).

14) Without the new birth, we won't bear the fruit of love by the Holy Spirit but only the fruit of death (Rom. 6:20-21; 7:4-6; 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10; Gal. 5:6; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 John 3:14).

15) Without the new birth, we won't have eternal joy in fellowship with God, but only eternal misery with the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41; John 3:3; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 2:11; 20:15).

Father's Day Special from Desiring God

Desiring God is offering a great sale for Father's Day - four of Piper's biographical books and the audio of 18 biographical messages - all for $40.

Books

• The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin)
• The Hidden Smile of God (John Bunyan, William Cowper, David Brainerd)
• The Roots of Endurance (John Newton, Charles Simeon, William Wilberforce)
• Contending For Our All (Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen)

Audio

• Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy

• Jonathan Edwards
• Charles Simeon
• David Brainerd
• Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• William Cowper
• J. Gresham Machen
• John Owen
• Charles Spurgeon
• Martin Luther
• John Calvin
• Augustine
• John Bunyan
• John G. Paton
• John Newton
• William Wilberforce
• Adoniram Judson
• George Mueller
• Athanasius

The Ongoing Justification Debate

In this month's issue of Christianity Today, there are two brief but important articles on the ongoing debate about justification between John Piper and N.T. Wright. One is "The Justification Debate: A Primer," which summarizes the main arguments of Piper and Wright. The other is "Not An Academic Question" by Trevin Wax and Ted Olsen, which reveals the thoughts and experiences of several different pastors and how the justification debate affects their ministry.

Since this is the current issue of CT, the articles are not yet available online. However, I would encourage you to find a copy and read them. The cover story, about Tim Keller, is interesting as well.

Preaching as Expository Exultation

If you've ever wondered what preaching is or what preaching should be, here is a great answer. It is a vignette of John Piper from the introduction to his sermon this past Sunday on what he means by preaching. I commend it to you, whether you are primarily a preacher of God's Word or primarily a hearer of God's Word.

Preaching Justification Undiminished

Fellow preachers, listen to John Piper's message on "Preaching Justification Undiminished" from yesterday at the Basics Conference. He discusses why this doctrine has gripped him more than any other and how neglecting this doctrine diminishes the glory of Christ.