Desiring God Blog

The Dispensability of Ministers

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:30:13 -0600

(Author: John Piper)

Some books are for tasting regularly, not reading through once. One such book is Wise Counsel: John Newton's Letters to John Ryland Jr. edited by Grant Gordon (Banner of Truth, 2009). Newton was the former slave-trader turned pastor, and the author of "Amazing Grace". The flavor of his ministry is such that frequent tastes are better than rare gulps.

I hope that he and you and I shall all so live, as to be missed a little when we are gone. But the Lord standeth not in need of sinful man. And he sometimes takes away his most faithful and honoured ministers in the midst of their usefulness, perhaps [for this reason] among others, that he may show us he can do without them. . . . Blessed is the servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing, with his loins girded up, and his lamp burning. (p. 280)

Francophone Pastors Book Set

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:30:25 -0600

(Author: Bill Walsh)

Last year DG International Outreach initiated a project that involves providing a small theological library for 16,000 French-speaking pastors in Africa.

We partnered with Éditions Clé and SIM to translate the book Battling Unbelief into French so it could become part of this set.

The translation work is complete and the funding is halfway.

Please pray for and consider supporting SIM so that African pastors who lack sound biblical resources can grow in their understanding of the truth and be equipped to teach their congregations.

I Loved This Novel. Still Do. More Than Before.

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:30:32 -0600

(Author: John Piper)

Marilynne Robinson's novel Gilead—if you can call it that—continues to move me, months after I read it. I have waited to comment on it since I knew it would be around for decades (centuries?). I wanted to let it ripen in my memory.

Rev. John Ames is dying. The book is a kind of last testament he would like his young son to read when he is twenty-five, long after his father is dead. His voice is still with me.

So I went back to gather a few treasures. Gilead is not a "must read." There are no "must reads" but the Bible. None.

So how do you choose what to read before you die and give an account to Jesus? I do it largely by what is awakened in me when I read samples. I hope these help. Some of the treasures.

He'd walk fifteen miles across open country in the dead of winter to settle a point of interpretation. We'd have to thaw him out before he could tell us what it was he had on his mind. (p. 16)

Existence seems to me now the most remarkable thing that could ever be imagined. (p. 53)

You two are dancing around in your iridescent little downpour whooping and stomping as sane people ought to do when they encounter a thing so miraculous as water. (p. 63)

In my present situation, now that I am about to leave this world, I realize there is nothing more astonishing than a human face. (p. 66)

Each morning I'm like Adam waking up in Eden, amazed at the cleverness of my hands and at the brilliance pouring into my mind through my eyes—old hands, old eyes, old mind, a very diminished Adam altogether, and still it is just remarkable. What of me will I still have? Well, this old body has been a pretty good companion. Like Balaam's ass, it's seen the angel I haven't seen yet, and it's lying down in the path. (pp. 66-67)

I have always liked the phrase "nursing a grudge," because many people are tender of their resentments, as of the thing nearest their hearts. (p. 117)

Presumably the world exists for God's enjoyment, not in any simple sense, of course, but as you enjoy the being of a child even when he is every way a thorn in your heart. (pp. 124-125)

At my time of life, I refuse to be angry. It was kindly meant. And it had to be done sooner or later. It's true that if I have to spend my twilight stranded with somebody or other, I'd prefer Karl Barth to Jack Benny. (p. 128)

Boughton says he has more ideas about heaven every day. He said, "Mainly I just think about the splendors of the world and multiply by two. I'd multiply by ten or twelve if I had the energy. But two is much more than sufficient for my purposes." So he is just sitting there multiplying the feel of the wind by two, multiplying the smell of the grass by two. (p. 147)

Adulthood is a wonderful thing, and brief. (p. 166)

But the fact is, I have never found another way to be as honest with myself as I can be by consulting with these miseries of mine, these accusers and rebukers, God bless them all. So long as they do not kill me outright. I do hope to die with a quiet heart. I know that may not be realistic. (p. 179)

And she kissed me on the top of the head, which, for her, was downright flamboyant. (p. 186)

We human beings do real harm. History could make a stone weep. (p. 190)

He could knock me down the stairs and I would have worked out the theology for forgiving him before I reached the bottom. But if he harmed you in the slightest way, I'm afraid theology would fail me. (p. 190)

It is true that we all do live in the ruins of the lives of other generations. (p. 198)

My heart was very heavy. There was Boughton sitting in his Morris chair staring at nothing. Glory told me the only words he had said all day were "Jesus never had to be old!" (p. 236)

It is worth living long enough to outlast whatever sense of grievance you may acquire. Another reason why you must be careful of your health. (p. 238)

It was truly a dreadful thing he was doing, leaving his father to die without him. It was the kind of thing only his father would forgive him for. (p. 240)

There are a thousand thousand reasons to live this life, every one of them sufficient. (p. 243)

"He will wipe the tears from all faces." It takes nothing from the loveliness of the verse to say that is exactly what will be required. (p. 246)

This whole town does look like whatever hope becomes after it begins to weary a little, then weary a little more. But hope deferred is still hope. I love this town. I think sometimes of going into the ground here as a last wild gesture of love—I too will smolder away the time until the great and general incandescence. (pp. 246-247)

Jesus: The Only Way to God

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:31 -0600

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

This July Baker Books will be releasing Jesus: The Only Way to God, a short paperback by John Piper on the need for people to hear and believe the name of Jesus in order to be saved.

You can buy one (or more) from us in advance at the special price of just $4.99 each. Just call 888.346.4700 on a weekday between 8 and 5pm Central Time. We'll ship your order in July, immediately after they come in.

Here's the blurb:

If the evangelical church at large was ever too confrontational in its evangelism, those days are gone. In our shrinking, pluralistic world, the belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation is increasingly called arrogant and even hateful. In the face of this criticism, many shrink back from affirming the global necessity of knowing and believing in Jesus.

In Jesus: The Only Way to God, John Piper offers a timely plea for the evangelical church to consider what is at stake in surrendering the unique, universal place of Jesus in salvation.

Sin and Sorrow in Pakistan Today

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:09:09 -0600

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

Today in the news:

Suspected Islamist militants stormed an office of a U.S.-based, Christian aid agency [World Vision] in Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six Pakistani aid workers after singling them out and then blowing up the building. (Read full article from Reuters)

From the World Vision website:

Please pray for World Vision's staff members in Pakistan, and the friends and loved ones of those who were attacked. Pray for God's protection on our workers there, and pray that our relief and development efforts in this country can continue soon.

One Way a Very Public Christian Spoke

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:02 -0600

(Author: John Piper)

On September 13, 1980, Charles Malik gave an address called "The Two Tasks" at the opening of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He was the Lebanese Ambassador to the United States. The message was so seminal that in 2006 (his centenary) it was republished with a collection of essays built around it. What strikes us as he stands to speak is the personal dimension and the public scope of his Christian commitment.

I speak to you as a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord and God and Savior and Song day and night. I can live without food, without drink, without sleep, without air, but I cannot live without Jesus. Without him I would have perished long ago. Without him and his church reconciling men to God, the world would have perished long ago. I live in and on the Bible for long hours every day. The Bible is the source of every good thought and impulse I have. In the Bible God himself, the Creator of everything from nothing, speaks to me and to the world directly, about himself, about ourselves, and about his will for the course of events and for the consummation of history. And believe me, not a day passes without my crying from the bottom of my heart, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.'

Charles Malik (1906-1987), Lebanon's ambassador to the USA (1945-55), President of the UN General Assembly (1958-59), professor of philosophy at the American University of Beirut (1962-76). Quoted from "The Two Tasks" in The Two Tasks of the Christian Scholar: Redeeming the Soul, Redeeming the Mind, eds. William Lane Craig and Paul M. Gould (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2007), p. 55.

D. A. Carson on the Scandal of Easter

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:30:47 -0600

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

D. A. Carson's new book Scandalous just arrived in our mailbox from Crossway. As you can see in the image above, the title is written in woodgrain letters spattered with blood, illustrating the scandal (and the subtitle): The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus.

This relatively little book has five chapters, each one eyeing the scandal through a particular passage of Scripture:

The Ironies of the Cross: Matthew 27:27-51a
The Center of the Whole Bible: Romans 3:21-26
The Strange Triumph of a Slaughtered Lamb: Revelation 12
A Miracle Full of Surprises: John 11:1-53
Doubting the Resurrection of Jesus: John 20:24-31

If you're looking for some reading to help prepare your heart and mind for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday next month, this looks like a great choice.

Check out Crossway's Scandalous page for more, such as browsing the entire book online or downloading a sample.

Mars Hill Sunday Sermon Now Available

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:25:12 -0600

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

Mars Hill Church has posted the Sunday morning sermon John Piper gave there last week: "Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You."

What Happens to Infants Who Die?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:00:30 -0600

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

Today's Ask Pastor John answers a question closely related to Piper's post this morning: What happens to infants who die?

Watch his answer, or read the transcript below. (You can also download the video or download the audio).

For more on this subject, see our article "What happens to infants who die?"

The following is an edited transcript.

What happens to infants who die?

I think they're all saved. In other words, I don't buy the principle that says that children born into "covenant families" are secure, and children born into "non-covenant families" aren't. I don't go there.

My reason for thinking they're all saved is because of the principle in Romans 1 where Paul argues that all people know God, and they are "without excuse" because they do not honor him or glorify him as God.

His argument is that they are without excuse because they know things, as though accountability in the presence of God at the Last Judgment will be based, at least partly, on whether they had access to necessary knowledge.

And God says they've all got access to knowledge, because they can look at the things he has made and see his power and deity. But they suppress that knowledge instead of submitting to it, therefore they're all condemned.

So I ask the question: OK, is the principle being raised there that, if you don't have access to the knowledge that causes you to be held accountable, therefore you will not be accountable? And I think that's the case.

I think babies and imbeciles—that is, those with profound mental disabilities—don't have access to the knowledge that they will be called to account for. Therefore, somehow in some way, God, through Christ, covers these people.

So that, in a nutshell, is why I think all children who die in infancy are elect and will be, through Jesus Christ, saved in ways that I may not know how, as God honors this principle of accountability.

Answering Radio Interviewers on Why Suffering

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:30:49 -0600

(Author: John Piper)

Scott Simon interviewed the Jesuit priest James Martin on NPR Saturday morning, March 6. Martin just published The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life (Harper One, 2010). The last question Simon asked was this: "If there is a God, why do little children suffer?"

Martin answered, "That is the hardest question, and I think the answer is, we don't know." To his credit, Martin did go on to say that, for the Christian, Christ has entered into our suffering and gives consolation. He also asks wisely, "Can we believe in a God whose ways we don't understand?" He answers Yes.

I am glad that Martin pointed to Christ's sufferings. And I am glad he affirmed that we can believe in a God whose ways may be inscrutable to us. But the Bible does not want us to say "We don't know," when the overarching Why questions are asked about suffering and death.

It is true, we may not know for sure why any particular child suffers in this particular way. But the Bible wants us to speak what it says about death and suffering.

Why do little children suffer and die? We ask it with the awareness that it is happening this very moment by the hundreds, and we ask it through tears of personal experience and empathy. Here is one biblical answer: "Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—" (Romans 5:12).

Death came into the world through sin.

That is the fundamental biblical answer for where all suffering and death came from. Or to use the words of Romans 8:20, "The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope."

In other words, because of sin, God subjected the entire creation to the futility of mortality with all its suffering and death. The whole creation groans under the judgment.

If the interviewer says, "That seems a bit harsh, to bring the whole creation under the judgment of suffering and death, including little children, because of one man's sin?" we answer,

"That is how outrageous sin against an infinitely wise and good and holy God is. We don't measure the outrage of our suffering by how insignificant we think sin is; we measure the outrage of sin by the scope of suffering.

The really amazing thing is that you and I, as sinners, are sitting here talking, when we deserve to be in hell. God is remarkably patient. And he gave his Son to die in our place so that everyone who believes may escape from this judgment and have eternal life."

Get (and Give) Some Clarity This Easter

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:15:58 -0600

(Author: Michael Stokes)

Easter can be confusing. People in bunny suits, rabbits made out of chocolate, and people hiding eggs all over their backyard. Just a mess.

To bring some clarity, we grouped a few products together that will deepen the way you think about it.

The set includes:

What Jesus Demands from the World (Hardcover Book)
Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (Softcover Book)
History's Most Spectacular Sin (Outreach Booklet)
Light and Heat (MP3 Audio CD)

All for just $20.

If you want more books and booklets to give away, check out our Easter Outreach Special. We're selling cases of Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die and History's Most Spectacular Sin at big discounts.

Theological Reasons for Wordiness

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:30:22 -0600

(Author: John Piper)

I just read Numbers 7 on my annual way through the Bible. I read every word. It is one of the longest, most repetitive chapters in the Bible.

From verse 12 to verse 83 Moses describes the offerings that each of the twelve tribes of Israel brought to the tabernacle when it was first dedicated to the Lord.

But here's the amazing thing. There are 93 words in the description of what each tribe brought as an offering. And all 93 words are repeated verbatim for each of the 12 tribes. Twelve times he says exactly the same thing. Twelve times! Exactly the same 93-word description for each tribe's offering!

Why?

Gordon Wenham answers: "It seems likely that a theological purpose underlies his wordiness."

The purpose he says is "to emphasize as strongly as possible that every tribe had an equal stake in the worship of God, and that each was fully committed to the support of the tabernacle and its priesthood." (Numbers, p. 93)

Yes. But let the method of emphasis sink in. Moses could have used Wenham's words and saved time, space, and tedium. He could have said, "Every tribe has an equal stake in worship and all are to be fully committed to the tabernacle." That's 18 words. But he used 12 x 93 = 1,116 words.

Here are some lessons:

There are times when you look into every child's eyes and say the same important thing. You don't say the precious thing to one and then sweep over the others: "That applies to all of you."
These tribes are not equal. Some are larger. Some have sordid legacies. But everyone heard every word of God's plan for their approach to God. Every one. Every word. Identical.
Efficiency is not always the highest value. Slow, long, repetitions are sometimes the best way to make an impact.
Patience in reading God's word may be a test of the frenzy of our pace and our demanding attitude toward the Bible that it be the way we want, not the way God made it.

Children’s Resources for Summer 2010

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:30:41 -0600

(Author: Rachel Menke)

Is it time to start planning your children's ministries for Summer 2010? It's hard to believe, but summer will soon be here! And with summer comes a variety of children's programs.

Children Desiring God offers four titles for use with elementary-age children, all of which are evangelistic in nature.

The Call of God—An Evangelistic Study for Children on the Work of God in Redemption. God is calling people to be a part of his family. This curriculum explores how God overcame the sin problem through the sinless life and death of Jesus on the cross, and thus enables people to respond to the call of God with faith. These lessons are also available in Spanish.

Things Hidden—An Evangelistic Study for Children on Kingdom Parables. Using kingdom parables, the goal of this curriculum is to awaken spiritual interest in children, so they might seek after the hidden treasure of God and find their satisfaction in him.

God Always Wins—An Evangelistic Study for Children on the Greatness of God in Salvation. These lessons show God as the great Victor who triumphs over all enemies, including Satan, death, and sin. He is great and mighty, and worthy of our worship!

Wisdom Calls Aloud—An Evangelistic Study for Children on the Wisdom and Fear of the Lord. This study uses wisdom literature to teach the difference between foolishness and wisdom, and shows children the need for a true heart change to fight against their foolish and sinful nature.

Visit our website to view sample lessons in English or in Spanish or to learn more about our Backyard Bible Club and Vacation Bible School resources.

If you want to know what it takes to host a Backyard Bible Club, Bethlehem's website lists the basics.

When Should a Difference in Doctrine Make You Leave?

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:33:05 -0600

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

If your pastor asked you not to talk about the doctrines of grace, what would you do?

Here's John Piper's video response to that question, followed by an edited transcript. You can also download the audio or download the video.

If you were a member of an Arminian church, and your pastor asked you not to talk about the doctrines of grace, what would you do?

I would ask him what he means: "Do you mean at home with my kids? Do you mean in conversation when somebody asks me? Do you mean Sunday school on the doctrine of salvation? What do you mean?"

And if he said, "All of the above," I would leave the church. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily do that immediately. I would say, "Whoa. So you're forbidding me from doing what the Bible requires me to do, namely, to speak the truth in love. Since I can't follow Christ here under your leadership, you're asking me to leave."

But I would say, "Could we just study and pray about this?" And if he's willing to engage in any kind of process, I don't want to encourage people to leave. I don't want to encourage people to walk away from their churches. I want them to work at being there and ministering and caring and being unified as much as possible.

But if all of that comes to naught, I think something as much as, "You may not speak about the things that are very dear and precious and central to your understanding of the gospel," that would probably mean you need to find another church.

An Opportunity to Join God's Work in Japan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:45:00 -0600

(Author: John Piper)

Michael Oh spoke at our 2009 Desiring God Conference for Pastors. I love his vision for Japan. As a Korean this commitment has the Christ-like flavor of reconciliation and risk. I would like for you to know him and, if God leads, support his vision.

He is president and founder of Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya and a cluster of other ministries under Christ Bible Institute. Here is a short video where Michael presents the amazing opportunity for this seminary and church to be housed in downtown Nagoya.