Desiring God - Part 4
I am currently reading Desiring God by John Piper.
In chapter 2, Piper spends a great deal of time speaking about conversion. This is a good place to start because the rest of the book does not matter if an individual has not taken care of this first. Piper tells us that conversion is necessary and that true conversion is the creation of a Christian hedonist.
Piper speaks about the necessity of really believing God. He talks about how many people believe in Jesus, but this does not save them. This goes right along with the sermon our pastor preached this week on Galatians 3. Our pastor made the point of the difference in “believing in God” and “believing God.” This is also the point that James makes in the 2nd chapter of his book. He tells us that even the demons believe in God.
Demons have orthodox beliefs. They have correct head knowledge. In fact, they are one better than most people in that they tremble. We see in Mark and Luke that the demons refer to Christ as the “Holy One of God” and “Son of the Most High.” Demons understand who God is - His power and sovereignty. They understand that Christ is God and that there will be a final judgment and punishment.
I would encourage you to look up these verses: Matthew 8:28-32; Mark 1:24; Mark 3:11,12; Mark 5:1-13; Luke 4:34,41; Luke 8:28-31
I will continue about conversion in my next post.