I've been reading John Piper's
The Pleasures of God. The book is like a slow-motion explosion in your brain. It seems to reach into every aspect of your thinking, calling for a radical transformation of all your assumptions and expectations. To give you an example, he speaks on page 228 of the need to "put the churches on a wartime footing." He laments that, instead, we have a peacetime mentality.
Thousands of Christians do not hear the diabolic bombs dropping and the bullets zinging overhead.They don't smell the hellish agent Orange in the whitened harvest of the world. They don't cringe or weep at the thousands who perish every week. They don't reckon with spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places and the world rulers of this present darkness. In fact, it is not dark, they say. It is bright and comfortable and cheery--just look at my home and car and office and cabin and boat. And listen to my new stereo and look at my new video equipment.
And skipping to the next page:
How can a sense of urgency and passion and zeal become a part of the Christian ethos today? How can the sweaty, bruised, thrilling courage of wartime camaraderie become as deeply ingrained in our mindset as the warm and comfortable images of family and flock? How might we ever get our conference meetings out of the posh, luxurious hotels and convention centers and meet in something fitting for the Calvary Road--something that says wartime austerity, and radical sacrifice, and Spartan readiness to go anywhere and do anything at any pain for the King?
5 comments:
just a thought...Piper is a Calvinist..therefore isn't the Church's peace time mentality for the purpose of bringing glory to God just as the bridge that collapsed and the 9/11? therefore why is Piper concerned..it is happening all according to God's decree and we are helpless to do anything about it..that should bring comfort...right? :-)..no need to worry or do anything about it (like we could if we wanted to) b/c God is causing the peace time mentality to bring himself Glory..
blessings..
mason
The long argument between Calvinists and Arminians simply leaves me cold. Never was a part of it, never quite understood why committed believers on both sides kept on (and keep on) gnawing that bone. For my part, I think Piper himself answers these kinds of questions well enough in his own work. Well enough, that is, to turn aside the kind of caricature you smilingly posit in this comment. Peace.
Just having a little fun! I disagree that Piper has adequately addressed freedom and the decrees of God. I am not going to resurrect the old Calvinist and Arminian arguments, just asking for consistentcy in his positons. How can 9/11 be for God's glory and the church's peace time mentality not be? Either it is all God's will or there is human freedom involved. Piper cannot have it both ways. Regardless I do enjoy 80% of Piper's teaching and I praise God for the work that has been accomplished through him, but he like everyone since the close of the canon is not above critiquing or questioning; to do so is not a sin. Although many in the blogsphere believe to question Piper is to question himself!!
That's fair enough. Sorry if I came off sounding a little testy. In "The Pleasures of God" Piper addresses these issues to my satisfaction in his chapter on election. Here's something relevant from John Stott: "The preaching of the gospel is the very means that God has appointed by which he delivers from blindness and bondage those whom he chose in Christ before the foundation of the world, sets them free to believe in Jesus, and so causes his will to be done." This seems about right to me.
i agree....Stott does a nice job...btw..i agree with the quotes from Piper regarding the church's peace time mentality and our lack of passion for a lost world...blessings!!!
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