Brad’s Blog

Currently, I am reading through the book of Acts. Two words keep jumping off the page at me, “but God.” I just realized that those two simple words are packed with meaning.

I did a search and found that “but God” occurs 61 times in the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. There are several key instances that are really neat.

We see these two words used in relation to Noah. (The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. BUT GOD remembered Noah…. Genesis 7:24-8:1)

These two words really jump off the page in the story of Joseph. Joseph illustrates to us in profound ways the sovereignty of God. Check out these verses.

Genesis 45:6,7 - For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. BUT GOD sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Genesis 50:20 - You intended to harm me, BUT GOD intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

The story of Joseph can be summarized in two words, “but God.”

There are more instances in the Old Testament, but let’s skip over to the New Testament. These two words occur frequently in the book of Acts.

Acts 2:23,24 - This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. BUT GOD raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Acts 3:15 - You killed the author of life, BUT GOD raised him from the dead.

Acts 7:5 - He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. BUT GOD promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

Acts 7:9,10 - Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. BUT GOD was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.

Acts 10:39,40 - We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, BUT GOD raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

Acts 13:29,30 - When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. BUT GOD raised him from the dead….

I think these two words, “but God,” really jump off the page at me because they link two statements that do not go together. The first half of the statement is something that is terribly wrong, and the second half of the statement is something redeemed.

These two words amaze me. They are the greatest conjunction in the whole Bible. They are perhaps the greatest conjunction in all of history. Man was dead in his sins and destined for hell…but God. I was a sinner condemned in my sin…but God. These two simple words, “but God,” should be the testimony of everyone one of us.

The whole of redemptive history and the main point of the Bible is “but God.” Those two words are the turning point of all of human history.

Praise God that He sovereignly controls this world and that we are not left to ourselves. Praise God for “but God.”

There are changes coming for my blog.

I have decided not to do posts everyday as I read books. I have found that this changes the way in which I read and is not working out very well. Also, I think that it causes too much information for the reader. I have decided to publish mainly articles like I typically have on Fridays. These will be done once or twice a week. I think this amount of information will be much more manageable for the reader and for me.

I will continue to point out interesting things that I read and also provide final book summaries, but I will no longer provide detailed reviews as I am reading.

Also, the forum is really up and running now, so I want to have plenty of time to devote to it. If you have not checked it out yet, I would encourage you to do so. There are some interesting discussions happening. The link can be found on the right side of the page.

Thanks

This is my final review for Desiring God by John Piper. The book is subtitled “Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.”

Overall, I thought this book was very good.  I found the biggest weakness to be that Piper often goes into too much detail.  I found myself getting bogged down in the first half of the book as Piper was working to defend his thesis.  I found the second half to be much more enjoyable and fruitful.  The second half involved more application and how this affects our lives in areas such as marriage, money, and suffering.

John Piper has also written a much shorter book entitled The Dangerous Duty of Delight.  It is a condensed version of Desiring God.  It is rare that I find the shorter version of a book better, but I think in this case that I like the condensed version better.  Perhaps that comes from the fact that I already respect John Piper, so he does not have to convince me of his thesis.

The main message of the book is that “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.” Piper begins with defining exactly what he means by a Christian Hedonist. The main verse that Piper uses to sum up the book is Nehemiah 8:10 (The joy of the Lord is your strength).  Piper teaches us to be thoroughly and completely satisfied in God and God alone.  Piper’s ultimate goal is for us to find our joy and true happiness in God.

You can not argue with Piper’s theology.  He has a very high view of God and His sovereignty.  He firmly believes that God controls all things.  Piper is more than willing to tackle tough topics in his book such as the problem of evil and face it head-on.  Piper’s greatest strength is that he explains things in such a way to make sure that he is not misunderstood.  However, that does cause the book to get lengthy as I stated above.

Piper also does a good job in his book of correcting many misunderstandings in the present church.  We have a tendency to take thinking to the extreme and into error.  Piper elegantly walks a tightrope in order to keep beliefs and practices in proper balance.  Some examples of this are that it is okay to want to feel happy, but he also makes sure that we are looking to the right source for that happiness.  He tells us it is okay to want to enjoy serving others instead of thinking it is not service if we enjoy it.  I could give you many examples.
Piper really hammers the reader that we are not to worship and serve God out of mere duty.  We are to worship and serve out of love and an overflow of joy in our lives.

Piper ends the main text of his book with a chapter on suffering.  I found this point very convicting.  Piper says that we should be living our Christian life in such a way that if Christ is not real that our life was a waste.  That is very interesting.  A lot of what we hear from modern Evangelicalism is that we should give Christ a try.  We hear that He will make our life better.  It is really a “what could it hurt” type of thing.  Piper says that based upon 1 Corinthians 15:19 that our Christian lives should be lived in such a way that we are making sacrifices and going through pains that we would never endure if Jesus were not the Christ.

Piper finishes up his book with several appendices to further expand on some of his points in this book.

If you are looking for good theology, I would recommend reading this book.  Piper is an excellent theologian.  I would rarely disagree with his interpretations and conclusions.  He is always ready and prepared to back up any statement he makes with plenty of scripture.

Finally, Piper suggests revising the great statement from the Westminster Catechism to read, “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”  This pretty much sums up the book.

I am wrapping up Desiring God by John Piper. I have finished the main chapters and am wrapping up the appendices.

Piper has some very helpful appendices at the end of the book.

Appendix 1 is about the goal of God in redemptive history.  He basically goes through the story of the Bible from Genesis to the cross and gives a brief overview of the Bible.  It is very well done and helpful for understanding the story of scripture.

Appendix 2 is about the reliability of the Bible.  Piper does a very good of job briefly defending the Bible and our ability to trust it.  Included in this, Piper defends and gives evidence for the resurrection.  This main point of this book is certainly not defense of scripture, so it would be beyond the scope of this book to have a detailed defense.

Appendix 3 covers the topic of evil, which is really well done.  Piper does a very good job of defending the biblical position and adequately covering this tough question.

Appendix 4 tells us how we can fight for joy.  He gives us some ideas and concrete advice to get us started down a path of delighting ourselves in the Lord.

Appendix 5 is a defense of calling his thesis Christian Hedonism.

I will have one final post on this book to give my final review.

I recently read an article in Time Magazine about Mother Teresa.  The article can be found here.  I have also posted a copy on braddena.com in case Time removes it in the future.  The copy can be found here.

The first couple of pages of the article give you the flavor.  It is a preview to a new book that is coming out entitled Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light.

Mother Teresa is often times heralded as the face of Christianity.

To start with, don’t get me wrong. She did some amazing work by human standards. The region she worked in is far better off because of her, and I applaud her work.

I have always wondered though if she was really a Christian or not. On the outside, she had amazing works. But, I have heard her speak of her beliefs before. Her beliefs did not square with scripture. She believed just as the Catholic Church taught (and I think even incorporated some Hinduism). Catholic teaching can not be reconciled with the Bible. The 2 are mutually exclusive. I do think there are some true Christians in the Catholic Church, but it is very hard to find the Truth in that institution.

So, I have always wondered if she did her work out of love, obedience, and thankfulness of what Christ did for her, or was she working trying to win Christ’s favor. This article shows Mother Teresa’s private life. It appears that she probably was not really a true Christian. (I can’t say for sure. I am just speculating. And, it is deeply sad.)

Mother Teresa had a God-shaped hole in her heart (we all do). Instead of filling that hole with Christ and letting works flow from that, she was trying to fill that hole with her works. Instead of bringing her peace and assurance, it actually made the hole bigger. She could not find rest for her soul. It appears that she felt further from God the more she tried to work to win His favor. That is exactly what the Bible says happens. Nothing can substitute for Christ, not even our good works.

Here are a couple of verses that illustrate what I think Mother Teresa was missing.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1,2; NIV)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30; NIV)

I am wrapping up Desiring God by John Piper. I have finished the main chapters and am reading the epilogue and appendices.

Piper has an epilogue of the 7 reasons why he wrote his book. During the course of covering the 7 reasons, Piper also responds to typical objections to Christian Hedonism. He does a good job of responding to these in a loving and convincing way.

Reason 5 that Piper gives for writing this book is to combat pride and self-pity. Piper gives an amazing description of these 2 elements that I think is worth quoting.

The nature and depth of human pride are illuminated by comparing boasting with self-pity. Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says, “I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much.” Self-pity says, “I deserve admiration because I have sacrificed so much.” Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing.

The reason self-pity does not look like pride, is that it appears to be needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego, and the desire is not really for others to see them as helpless, but as heroes. The need that self-pity feels does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.

I like how Piper wraps up the epilogue in that Christian Hedonism presses us to glad obedience and service out of love. His seventh and final reason is that Christian Hedonism glorifies God.

The problem of evil is something that typically comes up early in a conversation about God. This is especially true if you are speaking to a non-believer. What is the answer to this question? Is God in control? Are there things outside of God’s control? These are important questions. Theologians have grappled with this question for centuries. In no way do I completely have this question figured out. I think at some point, we just have to claim Deuteronomy 29:29 and say that the secret things belong to God.

I just finished Piper’s chapter on suffering in Desiring God and thought this would be an appropriate place for this post. Clearly, this one post will not fully resolve the question, but hopefully I can provide some insights.

First, I believe God is sovereign. He is in complete control of this universe, even evil. There is nothing outside of His control. I think there is no verse that demonstrates this more clearly than Acts 4:27,28. The greatest evil in all the world is the murder of an innocent person and especially if that innocent person is God. This passage in Acts clearly tells us that God was in control of even that event.

The problem of evil should not be a strike against God. It is actually one of the greatest signs pointing to God. We hold a book in our hands, the Bible, that explains the problem of evil to us clearly. In the 3rd chapter of the book (Genesis 3), God tells us where evil came from. Evil entered this world when Adam and Eve, using their free will, chose to sin. From that point forward, humans lost their free will and have been held captive to their sin nature.

The Bible ends in Revelation telling us what God plans to do with evil. It will be completely wiped out. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. God has a plan for evil. He is perfectly clear about that. The question is not, “Why has God not judged evil?” The question is, “Why has God not judged evil yet?”

The Bible answers this question as well. It is because of God’s great love and mercy that he has not rid the world of evil. It is not because He is weak or not in control. He is full of love and mercy. The Bible tells us between Genesis and Revelation the history of redemption and how God is fixing this messed up world. It all points to the cross where evil was defeated.

So, why are we still here? The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3 that God is patient. He is waiting until the full number of His children have come to faith in Him before He judges the world. Once again, it is His mercy. What if Christ would have returned 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 100 years ago, 1000 years ago. How many of us would have been left out? How many of us would have died in our sins?

The problem of evil does not tell us there is no God, or that God is unloving, or that God is weak. Evil tells us just how merciful that our God is. He would have been perfectly just to have destroyed this world at the first sin. He would have been perfectly just to destroy you with your first sin.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:18-25 that the Creation has been subjected to frustration waiting on redemption. God gets our attention through the evil in the world. No one gives a rip about God in the good times. The only way He can get us to stop, examine our lives, and see the ugliness of our sin is through evil and pain. Evil should be a sign that screams at us the ugliness of sin.

I like what C.S. Lewis says in The Problem of Pain. He says, “But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

When bad things happen, it should cause us to repent and run to God - not question His existence or character. This is exactly what Christ said in response to a calamity in the Bible found in Luke 13:1-5.

Praise God for His great mercy and patience!

I am reading Desiring God by John Piper. Today my post is on Piper’s last chapter, which is about suffering.  Piper saves this chapter for the end, and it is also one of the longest.

Piper begins the chapter talking about Pastor Richard Wurmbrand.  If you have never read his book Tortured for Christ, I would highly recommend it.  It is very eye-opening and humbling to see what people are willing to endure for the cause of Christ.

Piper uses 1 Corinthians 15:19 in a very interesting way in this chapter.  I have never thought of this passage in this way.  Piper says that we should be living our Christian life in such a way that if Christ is not real that our life was a waste.  That is very interesting.  A lot of what we hear from modern Evangelicalism is that we should give Christ a try.  We hear that He will make our life better.  It is really a “what could it hurt” type of thing.  Piper says that based upon 1 Corinthians 15:19 that our Christian lives should be lived in such a way that we are making sacrifices and going through pains that we would never endure if Jesus were not the Christ.

Piper asks the question, “How many Christians are there who could say, ‘The suffering I have freely chosen to embrace for Christ would be a pitiable life if there is no resurrection?’“  Very, very interesting point.  The Apostle Paul was certainly someone who could speak with great authority on this matter.

Much of this chapter deals with God’s sovereignty.  It is impossible to deal with suffering and not make it a lesson on sovereignty.  As I have said before, Piper has a very high view of God, which I really like about him.  Nothing is outside of God’s control.  Satan is only allowed to do what God allows him to do.

Piper uses 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 as an example.  Here is what Piper has to say.

“Here Paul’s physical suffering - the thorn in the flesh - is called “a messenger of Satan.”  But the design of this suffering is “to keep [Paul] from exalting [himself],” which never would have been Satan’s design.  So the point is that Christ sovereignly accomplishes His loving, purifying purpose, by overruling Satan’s destructive attempts.  Satan is always aiming to destroy our faith; but Christ magnifies His power in weakness.“

Piper states that suffering does several things for the Christian.  First, it simply is confirmation that the person is truly a Christian.  Next, it weans us from self-reliance and teaches us to rely on God.  Also, it highlights grace and shows Christ to be our satisfaction.

Piper ends the chapter discussing some famous Christian martyrs and their willingness to exalt Christ even in their death.

I would highly recommend a sermon by John Piper that is on Desiring God’s website.  The sermon text and audio can be found here.  This is the sermon that Piper preached at his church on Sunday, September 11, 2005.  The title is “Where is God?”  The message is just incredible.

I will wrap up the epilogue and various appendices for this book in the next couple of posts.

I am continuing to read Desiring God by John Piper. Today my post concludes Piper’s chapter about missions.

Piper continues his chapter by offering quotes from several famous missionaries.  I like how he backs up the chapter with real life examples.  Piper discusses the sacrifices that we make for the Lord and how God will give back to us more than we ever gave up.  Piper is clear that we are not manipulating God into giving us more as some people have inappropriately taught.  Piper is saying that God fills the emptiness.  We find our joy in God and not things.

I like how Piper sums up missions.  He says, “Missions is the automatic outflow and overflow of love for Christ.  We delight to enlarge our joy in Him by extending it to others.”

Piper very much emphasizes in this chapter that the results are up to God.  Our part is to share the good news.  God performs the regeneration.  So, we have nothing to fear or worry about.

Piper ends the chapter with the famous quote from Jim Elliot who was martyred in Ecuador by the very people he was trying to reach.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

I am continuing to read Desiring God by John Piper. Today my post is on Piper’s chapter about missions.

Piper calls missions the battle cry of Christian Hedonism.

Piper starts off by discussing retirement and that the concept is not in the Bible. He talks about Paul and how Paul was not planning for retirement. Paul was older and had served the church well but was still hoping to press on toward Spain. We never retire from our Christian service. In fact, when we retire from our secular job, that is a great opportunity to pour more time and resources into the Lord’s work.

Piper’s main focus on missions is taking the gospel to people groups who have not yet heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Piper states that at the time of writing that there are about 2 billion people that are unevangelized. On the encouraging side, Piper tells us how the number of unreached people groups is dwindling.

I like a distinction that Piper makes in this chapter. He makes a distinction between missions and evangelism. He calls missions unreached people groups. He says that missions is a completable task. Evangelism is sharing the gospel with individuals and is never complete.

Piper next makes 3 points about John 10:16. (I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.)

1. Christ does indeed have other sheep outside the present fold.
2. Christ is under divine necessity to gather His own sheep.
3. The sheep Christ calls will surely come.

I will continue more about missions in my next post.