Category Archives: Piper, John

Piper: five purposes of suffering

Walking With Giants Posted on by

So often, we cry out, ‘Why?’ in the face of suffering.

John Piper writes:

‘We seldom know the micro reasons for our sufferings, but the Bible does give us faith-sustaining macro reasons.’

These include:

1. Repentance: Suffering is a call for us to turn from earthly attractions to heavenly treasures:

Luke 13:3–4 — “No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well! Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem?”

…

Masters and slaves in Christ

Walking With Giants Posted on by

In the course of a discussion about Jonathan Edwards and slavery, John Piper notes:

I believe that the New Testament ordered human relationships in Christ in such a way as to transform the master-slave relationship into something so different from “owner” and “property” that what remained was no longer recognizable as slavery in the traditional sense. To say it another way, when the New Testament instructions to masters and slaves were obeyed, what was left of the master-slave relationship was not a relationship of owner and property.…

Challenges and blessings of Bible reading

Walking With Giants Posted on by

John Piper talks about the challenges and blessings of reading the Bible from cover to cover.

First, three challenges:-

1. You will be opposed. “Satan hates the word of God and will disincline you, blind you, distract you, bore you.” He will do anything to keep you from the word. Pray for his subversive aims to backfire. “Ask God to keep your heart inclined, remove your blindness, grant you focus instead of distraction, and give you excitement instead of boredom.”…

Why we need to read the Bible daily

Walking With Giants Posted on by

From the teaching of John Piper:-

Here are ten reasons we need the word daily.

(1) Scripture is a means of preserving our salvation. Salvation is a dynamic reality that functions in three tenses: past, present, and future. And in the present reality, “God saves us daily by Scripture” (1 Tim. 4:16).

(2) Scripture meets Satan’s temptations (John 8:32, 44; 1 John 2:14). “Every time Jesus was tempted by the devil, he struck back with ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’” (Eph.…

Coronavirus and Christ

Walking With Giants Posted on by

John Piper’s recent book, Coronavirus and Christ (Crossway, 2020) has quite a lot on common with John Lennox’s Where is God in a Coronavirus World?

Both are written from an evangelical perspective by men with long experience in Christian ministry, and who have experienced significant ill-health in the past.  Both books are quite short, appeal to the same kinds of biblical teaching, and extend an invitation to accept the Good News of Jesus, crucified, risen and returning.…

What are biblical masculinity and femininity?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

According to John Piper,

‘At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.’

and,

‘At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.’

It is not difficult to find fault with these definitions.  The most obvious complaint would be that they focus too much on the single issue of leadership. …

Colossians 1:19f – Universal reconciliation?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son 1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Steve Chalke (The Lost Message of Paul, ch. 19) argues that, if Paul’s words in Colossians 1:19f mean anything, ‘all’ must mean ‘all’, and that the ‘reconciliation of all things’ must include all people, without exception.…

Why do we see so few miracles today?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Miracles: the Bible seems full of them, and yet we see so few today.  How do we account for this?

That question was recently put to John Piper, and here’s the substance of his reply.

1. There were fewer miracles in the Bible than we probably think

See Psalm 77:11 ‘I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago!’

Even in OT times God’s people saw miracles as predominating in days past – especially the days of Moses and Elijah. …

Signs and wonders today?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Does God grant signs and wonders in response to the prayers of Christians today?  Some very readily answer, ‘No’, and every scrap of interest or belief in contemporary miracles is dismissed as ‘strange fire’.  Others reply with a simple, ‘Yes!’, regarding any doubt of qualification as a quenching of the Holy Spirit.

I like John Piper‘s candour, when he tells us how much he has struggled over the question of whether we should pray, as the early Christians prayed (Acts 4:29-30), for such miracles today. …

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing

Walking With Giants Posted on by
‘The Christian life oscillates between these two poles — the overflowing joy of the “already” redeemed (Ephesians 1:7) and the tearful yearning of the “not-yet” redeemed (Ephesians 4:30). Not that we ever leave the one or the other in this life. We are always “sorrowful yet rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).’

John Piper…