Brad’s Blog

This is the title of a sermon that I delivered at my home church on October 5, 2008.

I replicated my outline here in my blog. The audio of the sermon and the notes can be found here or at the bottom of this post.

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But GOD…

Genesis 39-50; Jonah;

Ephesians 2:1-10

October 5, 2008

“These two words, in and of themselves, in a sense contain the whole of the Gospel.”

-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Joseph

• But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (Genesis 39:21, ESV)

“We know that as the light of the sun is most clearly seen when we are looking from a dark place; so, in the darkness of our miseries, the grace of God shines more brightly when, beyond expectation, He aids us.” -John Calvin

• And God (but God – NIV) sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. (Genesis 45:7, ESV)
• Joseph was put in the worst of positions, forsaken by all, “but God” was directing the whole situation, and Joseph wound up second in command. This gave Joseph a stabilizing perspective on life and allowed him the frame of mind in which he could forgive and reassure his brothers.
• As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20, ESV)
• This is a powerful testimony because the Bible has gone to great lengths to tell us the badness of this situation.
• Set against this backdrop, God and His work look all the more glorious.

• We see God’s protection and care of Joseph and also His faithfulness.
• Many times, Joseph probably should have died.
• Hands of his brothers, Slave traders, Potiphar, while in prison

• We see God faithful to His promises to Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3)
• Genesis 48:21; 50:24
• In the story of Joseph, we should pull from “but God” confident hope in the future and knowledge that God is sovereign.

Jonah

• Sent as a prophet to the wicked city of Nineveh (non Jewish people)
• Jonah is an interesting juxtaposition next to Joseph.
• Joseph was a man of upstanding character, and we see God protecting Joseph from circumstances and situations.
• In Jonah, we more or less see God protecting Jonah from Jonah!
• But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:3-4, ESV)

• Jonah thought he was going to thwart God’s plan by disobeying.
• Jonah did not want the heathen converted.

• Jonah thought the evil people in Nineveh should be outside God’s grace and mercy.

• The very next verse after Jonah disobeys says “But the Lord” or “But God.”

• This passage highlights once again God’s sovereignty and also God’s grace and mercy.
• Jonah 1:16-17

• The story of Jonah is one of mercy.
• Jonah
• God was merciful to Jonah by first sending the storm and then protecting Jonah from the storm.
• God sent the fish, allowed Jonah to repent in the fish, and protected Jonah from the fish.
• Jonah was recommissioned for the original task and restored to his position.
• Sailors
• God extended mercy to the sailors by not destroying them in the storm.
• God also extended mercy to the sailors by using Jonah’s sinful choices to bring the message of the true God to them.
• Ninevites
• God gave them great mercy evidenced by the great repentance displayed in Nineveh.
• God stayed His hand of judgment on them for a time.

• Probably one of the greatest mass conversions in history
• Jonah illustrates that even when we make sinful choices God still works to accomplish His plan. It is never thwarted. Also, God is a patient and merciful God and uses His power to bring his children back in line.
• How marvelous is this story that it did not end with “But Jonah” but continues on with “But God!”

Acts

• God (But God – NIV) raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:24, ESV)
• Acts 3:15; 7:5
• And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. (Acts 7:9-10, ESV)
• And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. (Acts 10:39-41, ESV)
• But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. (Acts 13:30-31, ESV)

Ephesians

• Ephesians 1 shows us salvation from God’s point of view.
• Father’s work of election, Son’s work of redemption, Spirit’s work of sealing
• Ephesians 2 talks about salvation from the perspective of the individual Christian.
• These verses give us the past, present, and future of those whom Christ saves.
• But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV)
• Paul does not leave anyone out – we are ALL dead in sins.
• There are gradients of sinners, but we are still all fundamentally sinners.
• Doctrine of Total Depravity

• After telling us the condition of man, Paul is quick to inform us that God has acted.
• Before telling us the good news, Paul goes to the depths of pessimism about man. He then goes to the heights of optimism about God.
• Paul describes to us the love of God against the dark background of human sin – it is only against this background that we are able to form a true picture of how great the love of God is.

• This makes God look glorious!
• …but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, ESV)
• What has God done?
• Notice in verse 1, we were dead in our sins – in verse 5, God has made us alive
• In verse 2, we followed the course of this world – in verse 6, God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places
• In verse 3, we were objects of God’s wrath – in verse 7, we are the objects of the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us
• Interesting how Paul shows how God has undone and redeemed each of the bad things at the beginning of this chapter.

Theme from Cover-to-Cover

• The overarching theme of the Bible is redemption, and redemption is all about “but God.”
• Genesis 3 – The Fall
• Romans 5:8 - …but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
• Culminates in Revelation
• And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5, ESV)
• And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5, ESV)

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(Psalm 73:25-26, ESV)

“The only basis for any real and lasting hope – about anything – is that Jesus died for our sins on the Cross, was buried in a tomb, and was raised from the dead on the third day, inaugurating the greatest restoration project imaginable” -Steven Curtis Chapman

Click here for high quality mp3 file (~38.7MB)

Click here for lower quality mp3 file (~9.7MB)

Click here to download the notes page

Click here to view the PowerPoint slide show

So, I posted about Donald Miller the other day. I hate to keep picking on the same person but decided this had to be commented on as well.

Like I said the other day…I am not really a fan of Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz). He gave the Benediction the other night at the Democratic National Convention. As I said before, I have no problem with him doing that.

Miller recently gave an interview to someone from Christianity Today talking about why he is at the DNC. The video that I saw can be found here or below.

So, in this video, Miller talks about abortion. He says, “Legislation was passed that we hope will reduce the number of abortions by dealing with systemic social problems…The Republican, Evangelical, Conservative mindset has been to make it illegal and it has never worked. I don’t see it working anytime soon.”

On the surface, this sounds kind of novel. You at first think, “I have not looked at this quite like that before.” But after about half a second, you see the smoke and mirrors. First, Miller is making the assumption that most abortions occur because a woman is under social distress. Is this really true? Or, are most women having abortions because a child is not convenient for them at that time? Will fixing social problems really change anything? I seriously doubt it.

I will agree with Miller that it is a tragedy when a woman gets pregnant and does not feel that she has the ability to care for the child. But, Miller is assuming that there are not better alternatives to abortion. Wouldn’t adoption be a much, much better alternative while we work on fixing social problems? There are many couples throughout the country that would love to adopt a child. Wouldn’t a better approach be to encourage adoption and also cut a lot of the red tape that makes this process long and expensive? If social distress is the problem, adoption is the temporary solution, not abortion.

Let’s even take this one step further. I would say that murder occurs much, much more frequently due to social distress than does abortion. Most murders occur over drugs or money or bad social settings where anger goes uncontrolled. So, taking Miller’s argument and applying it to other issues, we should allow murder in this country and focus our energy on correcting the social problems that lead to murder. If he is saying that social problems leave a woman with no choice but an abortion, then he is also saying that social problems leave a person with no choice but murder, so that person should not be responsible for that action.

Furthermore, continuing Miller’s line of thinking, murder is illegal but that has not stopped murders. Does this mean that we should repeal the laws related to murder? Absolutely not! The job of government is to restrain evil, to punish evil, and to protect the weak and innocent. Murder is illegal to restrain evil and to protect the innocent even though social problems exist. By the same token, abortion should be illegal to restrain evil and to protect the innocent even though social problems exist.

Miller sounds so brilliant and pious on the surface, but you only have to pull back a couple of layers to realize that he is not saying anything of substance.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3

Once again, I find it very sad that Miller is viewed as a Christian leader to many American Christians.

OK, first, I am not really a fan of Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz). I read his book. I did not like it. I know that I am like the lone person out there who does not think this is the greatest book ever penned. I find Donald Miller to be very shallow and basically his beliefs are just liberal Christianity repackaged to appeal to a new generation. He sounds so pious and brilliant in his views, but there is really no meat to what he has to say.

So, Donald Miller gave the Benediction the other night at the Democratic National Convention. I have no problem with him doing that. It is not a moral issue, so if he thinks this is a good thing to do, then that is his decision.

I did find it very interesting how he closed his prayer though. He said, “I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice. Let Him be our example.”

Miller actually affirmed the standard liberal Christian view of Christ’s death. The orthodox biblical view is that Christ’s death was a Penal Substitutionary Atonement. In this view, Christ took on the actual sins of believers and suffered God’s wrath and punishment for those sins.

Miller’s view of the atonement, as espoused in his prayer, is the Example View of the atonement as held by the Socinians, which is the standard interpretation of liberal theologians who deny a whole host of historical, orthodox biblical positions.

The Example View of the atonement denies that God’s justice requires a payment for sin. Basically, Christ was just a martyr and a good person. Christ died for what He believed in, so we should be courageous and stand up for what we believe in too. Basically, this view just says to be good like Christ, which is very humanistic with nothing mysterious or spiritual about it. This view is contrary to so much Scripture that teaches that Christ died for our sins; that He bore our sins; and that He was a propitiation. In the end, man really winds up saving himself by following Christ’s example.

How sad it is that much of American Christianity looks to a man as a spiritual leader who has very screwed up theological views. No wonder American Christianity is in such shambles.

This is the title of a sermon that I delivered at my home church on October 28. The main texts that I used were Luke 13:1-5 and Romans 8:18-25. I really enjoyed doing the studying for this sermon. This actually grew out of an earlier post that I had called The Problem of Evil.

I replicated my outline here in my blog. The audio of the sermon and the notes can be found here. The audio files are at the bottom of the page.

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“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.” -C.S. Lewis

If God is all powerful (sovereign) and all loving, then why is there evil in the world?

Types of Evil

• Moral evil (sin)
  • Murder, rape, child abuse, terrorism…
  • Moral evil results from the sinful choices of humans.
• Natural evil
  • “Accidents”
  • Wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, flooding…
  • Death, diseases, deformities, disabilities…
  • Natural evil is a product of the curse caused by moral evil.

God is Sovereign

• If God is not sovereign, then God is not God.
  • Matthew 10:29; Mark 1:27; John 10:18; Proverbs 16:33; Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:37; Amos 3:6; Isaiah 46:9-10; Matthew 8:27
  • Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. (Acts 4:27-28, NIV)
• God is not the author of evil and sin, but He can still use them to accomplish His purposes.

God is Loving

• John 3:16; Romans 5:8
• Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, NIV)

The Bible answers key questions about evil

• Where does evil come from?
  • Genesis 3:1-6
• Where is evil going?
  • Revelation 16
  • Revelation 20:11-21:5
• What is the solution to evil?
  • Jesus Christ!
  • Genesis 3:15
  • John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Why is evil still here?

• To show us the patience, mercy, and love of God
  • Why has God not judged evil YET?
  • 2 Peter 3:8-9
  • Romans 2:4-5
  • God’s “slowness” in ending evil is not because He lacks power or love; it is actually because of His great love that He holds off judgment another day or year.
• To wake us up to the reality of death
  • Disasters and evil wake us up to the reality that death happens every second of every day.
  • Hebrews 9:27
• To lead us to repentance
  • Romans 8:18-25
  • God Himself disordered the natural world.
    • God did this to get our attention.
      • We should ask - Why haven’t disasters come upon me?
      • When we see evil, it should cause us to repent of our own personal sin before the day of salvation passes.
    • God did this to show us the horrors of sin.
      • God put the natural world under a curse so that the physical horrors that we see around us in diseases and calamities would become a vivid picture of how horrible sin (moral evil) is.
      • Natural evil is a signpost pointing to the horrors of moral evil against God.
      • This is true even when the most godly people bear those signs.

God does not tell us why He does what He does, but He does show us who He is.

• When we experience evil, we do not need answers - we need theology.
• And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV)

Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

(Habakkuk 3:17-18, NIV)

Our hope in the midst of this evil-filled world is in Jesus Christ and Him alone.

Further Study

Genesis 39-47; Job; Psalm 73; Isaiah 45; Jeremiah; Joel; Habakkuk

Will you continue to show contempt for God’s kindness, patience, and mercy?

This is the title of a message that I delivered at my home church back in January. Our pastor was out of town and asked me to speak in his absence. Notice I am not using the word preach because I don’t really think that I am gifted to preach. Teach, yes; preach, no.

I spoke on James 2:14-26. This is the section that talks about faith and works. It is probably one of the most misinterpreted and most misunderstood passages in our Bibles. I really enjoyed this opportunity and the study that it required.

I am replicating the notes from the message in my blog. The audio of the sermon and notes can be found here. The audio files are at the bottom of the page.

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“It is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone.” -John Calvin

Does this text conflict with Paul and Romans and the doctrine of sola fide?

Background

• Written to church at Jerusalem
• Jews who had become Christians
• Key phrase “my brothers”
• James is writing to teach us what it means to be a believer and not how to become a believer.
• Main point - Correct spiritual immaturity

We are saved by faith alone (sola fide)

• Works do not save or make us more saved.
• James is explaining what true faith does.
• True faith results in a changed life.
• Christ backed up his words with actions/results.
  • Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. (Matthew 9:1-8, NIV)

Abraham is an example

• James and Paul appeal to Abraham for different reasons.
  • If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about-but not before God. What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:2,3, NIV)
  • …being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Romans 4:21-24, NIV)
  • Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6, NIV)
  • Genesis 22:1-19
• Emphasis in James is on the fruit of Abraham’s faith.
• Our works “justify” to humans our claim to faith.
• Abraham’s work in Genesis 22 showed that his faith proclaimed in Genesis 15 was true.

Works are a confirmation of salvation, not a cause of salvation

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)

Bible never suggests a works righteousness system

• Galatians 2:16; Romans 1:17; Romans 3:23,24; Romans 4; Romans 5:1; Luke 7:50; Acts 16:30,31; Ephesians 2:8,9
• …all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6b, NIV)
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV)

Six key words/phrases

• Verse 14
  • “my brothers”
  • “claims”
  • “such faith”
• Verse 18 - “show me”
• Verse 22 - “you see”
• Verse 24 - “you see”

James 2 condemns antinomianism

• Antinomianism = belief that we can have faith in Christ but continue in an immoral lifestyle and live an unchanged life
  • What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1,2, NIV)
• Demons have proper knowledge of God
  • When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. (Matthew 8:28-32, NIV)
  • Mark 1:24; Mark 3:11,12; Mark 5:1-13; Luke 4:34,41; Luke 8:28-31
• Abraham and Rahab were willing to sacrifice everything for God.
• James, Paul, Peter, John, and Jude all wrote against antinomianism.
• 2 Corinthians 13:5; Titus 1:16; Matthew 7:20; 1 John 2:4-6; 1 John 3:8-10

Further study

Romans 4; Genesis 15 & 22; Hebrews 11; 1 John; Galatians 3; Romans 6

The evidence of salvation and true saving faith is a changed life.

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.”

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.