Brad’s Blog

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 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.

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.

I am still reading Desiring God by John Piper. Today my post is on Piper’s chapter about marriage.

Piper does a good job with the subject of marriage.  His main biblical text is Ephesians 5:25-30.  Piper says that in marriage we should pursue our joy by pursuing the joy of our spouse.  He pulls deeply from the example of Christ and the Church.

I like this summary from Piper.  “In other words, husbands should devote the same energy and time and creativity to making their wives happy that they devote naturally to making themselves happy.“

I really like Piper’s tie of Ephesians 5:31,32 with Genesis 2:24.  He really hammers on marriage being a “profound mystery.”  He does a great job of giving the Old Testament context.  Paul tells us in Ephesians that the husband and wife become one flesh just like Christ and the Church become one body.

Piper goes on to say, which I really like, “The mystery is this: God did not create the union of Christ and the church after the pattern of human marriage; just the reverse! He created human marriage on the pattern of Christ’s relation to the church.“   Marriage was not just an accident.  It was purposefully planned to mirror Christ and His Church.

Piper then spends time on the biblical pattern of the home with the husband as the head.  He does a good job explaining these roles in a very biblical and accurate fashion.

I will have a couple of other posts upcoming related to marriage and based upon something that put together a few years ago.

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

Piper does a very good job on a very difficult topic. This topic can easily be taught incorrectly. Piper accurately emphasizes that money is a heart issue. It is not wrong to be rich, but it is wrong to desire to be rich.

The main passage that Piper concentrates on is 1 Timothy 6:5-10.

I like that Piper says that money’s chief attractions are the power it gives and the pride that it feeds.

I like that Piper even tackles the Prosperity Gospel.  He attacks the idea that God wants us wealthy.  He shows how key verses are misinterpreted and abused to feed our desire to be rich and promote the idea that God wants us that way.

The following paragraph from Piper is worth quoting in whole.

God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves (no matter how thankfully) what we ought to be using to alleviate the misery of unevangelized, uneducated, unmedicated, and unfed millions. The evidence that many professing Christians have been deceived by this doctrine is how little they give and how much they own. God has prospered them. And by an almost irresistible law of consumer culture (baptized by a doctrine of health, wealth, and prosperity) they have bought bigger (and more) houses, newer (and more) cars, fancier (and more) clothes, better (and more) meat, and all manner of trinkets and gadgets and containers and devices and equipment to make life more fun.

Piper quotes Ralph Winters when he says, “The underdeveloped societies suffer from one set of diseases: tuberculosis, malnutrition, pneumonia, parasites, typhoid, cholera, typhus, etc. Affluent America has virtually invented a whole new set of diseases: obesity, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, venereal disease, cirrhosis of the liver, drug addiction, alcoholism, divorce, battered children, suicide, murder.“

Interesting indeed.

Next, we tackle marriage.

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

Piper ends his chapter on prayer by quoting a long passage from The Light of the Nations by J. Edwin Orr concerning the Layman’s Prayer Revival. This is a fascinating revival that occurred in the mid-1800s in the United States. The revival was simply prayer. Read this quoted text for a powerful description.

Secular and religious conditions combined to bring about a crash. The third great panic in American history swept away the giddy structure of speculative wealth. Thousands of merchants were forced to the wall as banks failed, and railroads went into bankruptcy. Factories were shut down and vasr numbers thrown out of employment, New York City alone having 30,000 idle men. In October 1857, the hearts of the people were thoroughly weaned from speculation and uncertain gain, while hunger and despair stared them in the face.

On 1st July, 1857, a quiet and zealous businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier took up an appointment as a City Missionary in downtown New York. Lanphier was appointed by the North Church of the Dutch Reformed denomination. This church was suffering from depletion of membership due to the removal of the population from the downtown to the better residential quarters, and the new City Missionary was engaged to make diligent visitation in the immediate neighborhood with a view to enlisting church attendance among the floating population of the lower city. The Dutch Consistory felt that it had appointed an ideal layman for the task in hand, and so it was.

Burdened so by the need, Jeremiah Lanphier decided to invite others to join him in a noonday prayer meeting, to be held on Wednesdays once a week. He therefore distributed a handbill:

HOW OFTEN SHALL WE PRAY?

As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of help; as often as I feel the power of temptation; as of ten as I am made sensible of any spiritual declension or feel the aggression of a worldly spirit.

In prayer we leave the business of time for that of eternity, and intercourse with men for intercourse w ith God.

A day Prayer Meeting is held every Wednesday, from 12 to 1 o’clock, in the Consistory building in the rear of the North Dutch Church, corner of Fulton and William Streets (entrance from Fulton and Ann Streets).

This meeting is intended to give merchants, mechanics, clerks, strangers, and businessmen generally an opportunity to stop and call upon God amid the perplexities incident to their respective avocations. It will continue for one hour; but it is also designed for those who may find it inconvenient to remain more than five or ten minutes, as well as for those who can spare The whole hour.

Accordingly, at twelve noon, 23rd September, 1857 the door opened and the faithful Lanphier took his seat to await the response to his invitation…. Five minutes went by. No one appeared. The missionary paced the room in a conflict of fear and faith. Ten minutes elapsed. Still no one came. Fifteen minutes passed.

Lanphier was yet alone. Twenty minutes; twenty-five; thirty; and then at 12:30 a step was heard on the stairs, and the first person appeared, then another, and another and another, until six people were present and the prayer meeting began. On the following Wednesday . . . there were forty intercessors.

Thus in the first week of October 1857, it was decided to hold a meeting daily instead of weekly . . .

Within six months, ten thousand businessmen were gathering daily for prayer in New York, and within two years, a million converts were added to the American churches….

Undoubtedly the greatest revival in New York’s colorful history was sweeping the city, and it was of such an order to make the whole nation curious. There was no fanaticism, no hysteria, simply an incredible movement of the people to pray.