Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 4

In Chapter 2 of "God is the Gospel," John Piper seeks to lay out the biblical scope of what the gospel is. He shows where the following are mentioned as useful in getting a biblical definition of the gospel:

• There is a living God (Acts 14:15)



• The arrival of God's imperial authority (Mark 1:14, Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15)



• Jesus: a savior who is Christ the Lord (Acts 8:12, Romans 1:1-3, Luke 2:10-11)



• Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures (Mark 10:45, Jeremiah 31:34, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3)



• Jesus risen from the dead as preached in my gospel (1 Cor. 15:1, 3-4, 17, 2 Tim 2:8)



• The gospel is not good news without the promise of the Spirit (Luke 3:16,18,



• The promise of salvation for all who believe (Eph 1:13, Rom 1:16)



• What the cross purchased makes the cross good news (Mark 4:23, Luke 4:18)



• The good news of peace with God and each other (Acts 10:36, Ephesians 2:14-18)



• The good news promises eternal life (2 Tim 1:10)



• "In you shall all the nations be blessed" (Gal. 3:8, 16, Eph 3:6



• "The gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24, Eph 1:4, 6)



• Jesus' death makes God's gospel grace just (2 Cor 8:9, Heb 2:9, Rom 3:25-26)



• The grace of the gospel is the ground of every good promise (2 Tim 1:9, Eph 2:8, Acts 18:27, etc.)

-John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.26-36

The chapter then climaxes when Piper concludes the chapter with this:

"If you embrace everything that I have mentioned in this chapter about the facets of the gospel, but do it in a way that does not make the glory of God in Christ your supreme treasure, then you have not embraced the gospel. Until the gospel events of Good Friday and Easter and the gospel promises of justification and eternal life lead you to behold and embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God. You have embraced some of his gifts . You have rejoiced over some of his rewards. You have marveled at some of his miracles. But you have not yet been awakened to why the gifts, the rewards, and the miracles have come. They have come for one great reason: that you might behold forever the glory of God in Christ, and by beholding become the kind of person who delights in God above all things, and by delighting display his supreme beauty and worth with ever-increasing brightness and bliss forever."

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.37-38

One of the things I appreciate so much from any writer or speaker is when they put things in context of the big picture. And one of the things about Piper is that he talks so much about that big picture - that at the center is Jesus, displayed in His gospel, always glorious, always gracious.

Oh that my city, which is steeped in religion, with many people embracing the gifts of God without embracing God Himself - oh that we would see hearts truly transformed by them beholding the true beauty of God in giving the ultimate gift to us - Himself! God, grant us this sight that we so desperately need! Open my eyes to see you more clearly and enable me to rightly treasure you. Amen!

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 3

At a time when I was asking what the relationship was between the gospel (the central message of the Bible) and the other doctrines I also love, I read this:

"Gospel doctrine matters becasue 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.

... The gospel is not mainly about being explained. Explanation is necessary, but it is not primary.A love letter must be intelligible, but grammar nad logic are not the point. Love is the point. The gospel is good news. Doctrine serves that. It serves the one whose feet are bruised (and beautiful!) from walking to the unreached places with news: "Come, listen to the news of God! Listen to what God has done! Listen! Understand! Bow! Believe!"

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.22

In the chapter titled "The Gospel - Proclamation and Explanation"

So, this explanation helps to reinforce a proper understanding of how we are to rightly interpret the Scripture. It is all about explaining the gospel. That is the true beauty of a teaching of the Scripture - it's explanation of the main message of the Bible. For instance, the beauty of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is seen when that doctrine shows how the Holy Spirit and His gifts serve the make the gospel seen by God's children in conversion, sanctification, and glorification. The true beauty of our ecclesiology is seen when the church is the redeemed bride of Christ - redeemed by his blood, by the GOSPEL. The gospel truly does make every doctrine beautiful. But if we go off on tangents with our doctrine, removing the centrality of the gospel it is meant to explain, we cause that doctrine to lose its life-giving source.

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 2

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?

And the question for Christian leaders is: Do we preach and
teach and lead in such a way that people are prepared to hear that
question and answer with a resounding No?

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.15

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 1

Have you ever had the experience where you thought you understood a thing until something happened that caused clarity to burst on the scene like never before? It's like you were sitting there trying to read by the dim light of the moon in the middle of the night and all of a sudden the sun is at full noon.

Well, that is the experience I've had with just about every John Piper book I've picked up, and God is the Gospel is no exception. I like the book so much, I'd like to post some quotes from it for your edification. The main thrust of the book will come out in the quotes, and the complete book is available to read for free online here and can be downloaded as a pdf. You can of course purchase a hardcopy there as well.

The gospel is the good news of our final and full enjoyment of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That this enjoyment had to be purchased for sinners at the cost of Christ’s life makes his glory shine all the more brightly. And that this enjoyment is a free and unmerited gift makes it shine more brightly still. But the price Jesus paid for the gift and the unmerited freedom of the gift are not the gift. The gift is Christ himself as the glorious image of God—seen and savored with everlasting joy. [John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.14]

More to follow...

"Brands" of the Gospel?

Oohh... for those with weak stomachs - BEWARE!

I read an article on Joel Osteen and how his prosperity message is fairing in an economic downturn. Surprising really.

So, here is a brief excerpt, the part you may not want to read...

"... there is no denying that his message, and his marketing of that message, is getting out to the world while so many other pastors are preaching to empty pews. Osteen dismisses the notion that he has watered down the Scriptures to win over worshippers. “It’s who we are,” he says. “The accessibility of my message doesn’t bother me a bit. Look, we deal with people who are fighting cancer, fighting to save their marriages, dealing with the death of loved ones. I don’t think they need to be beaten down. And I think the success of the message in the marketplace is because we are optimistic, encouraging.” Phil Cooke, a longtime colleague and the author of Branding Faith, says, “Oprah has a brand, Nike has a brand, and Joel Osteen has a brand. Joel has made his brand the inspiration brand.”

Pardon me, but since when did we get to own the gospel of Jesus Christ and profit from our "brand?" "But didn't Paul call it his own gospel" you say. Let's see it in context:

Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

So, in both occurances of "my gospel" (the closest thing I can find to a "brand" of the gospel), Paul mentions preaching. This is significant because what it shows us is that Paul is describing what he personally preached - the good news (gospel). Never is it used in such a way as to be distinct from other (true) gospels (as if there were any other gospel, Gal 1).

Further, Paul was in fact one of the first to carry the gospel message to the non-Jews. Ephesians 3 talks about how the good news was entrusted by God to Paul to take to the Gentiles - a fairly novel idea at the time. So in a sense, he did have something unique, but unique in who he delivered it to, not in content.

Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant [2] of Christ.

Why do some "Christians" feel the need to follow another gospel? Maybe they've never heard the true gospel - that Jesus emptied himself of all of His glory as God to take on humble human flesh, that He died a horrible death on the Cross to be a substitute in our place because of the idolatry we do, and that He is going to fully restore all things in this creation to a glorious state.

Or, maybe they just don't like that Gospel.

Your thoughts? Any Rev. Feel Good fans want to chime in?

Can the "End" Justify the "Means?"

I've had this thought lingering in my head for probably a year now, so it's time to air it out.

If someone were to ask me to define "God," my answer might include this (among other things): "He is the only Being in all of what exists who justifies the means He uses by the end which He designs." In other words, it seems to me that God, in pursuing His own glory and in seeking to make His people happy in Him by making His glory known to them, can do anything He pleases to that end because He is the only wise and Sovereign. He had the Son murdered (God designed the means) and gets glory for it (the means serves the ultimate end). With respect to the cross, He is just (His end - His glorious character being known) and the justifier of the ungodly (the means for obtaining praise was the unthinkable - the ungodly treated by holy God as though godly).

This puts gladness in my heart toward Him! He is so far above me, yet so kind toward me. My means could never be justified by the end they serve - I think the reason for this lies in the fact that I do not know God's hidden will; I only know His revealed will.

How wonderful it is to rest in the arms of the One ruling over the universe, governing exactly what happens to me, suprised by nothing.

Patriotic Sundays

Is there a place for the church to hold a "worship service" commemorating those who put their lives on the line for our national freedom? Is it appropriate to celebrate the blessings God has given us through this country as a part of the "worship service?"

Find out my brother's thoughts at Wipe the Sleep from My Eyes.