Desiring God Blog

Dying Protestantism (Wed, 20 Aug 2008)
(Author: John Piper) Joseph Bottum, an editor at First Things, recently published an article called "The Death of Protestant America." Here are a few of his observations that give meaning to the title. By "Protestant America" he means the America that was once defined by the mainline churches—the more liberal expressions of the Northern Baptists, United Church of Christ, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians. Take a deep breath and consider: In 1965 50% of the American population was in these churches. But today 8% of Americans belong to these churches. "The death of the Mainline is the central historical fact of our time: the event that distinguishes the past several decades from every other period in American history. Almost every one of our current political and cultural oddities, our contradictions and obscurities, derives from this fact: The Mainline...has lost the capacity to set, or even significantly influence, the national vocabulary or the national self-understanding." Lutheran theologian Carl Braaten is quoted to explain why scholars leave the ELCA. Among the reasons he gives is this: "They are saying that the Roman Catholic Church is now more hospitable to confessional Lutheran teaching than the church in which they were baptized and confirmed." Quoting a 1993 article in First Things, "The Real Reason for Decline": "The single best predictor of church participation turned out to be belief—orthodox Christian belief, and especially the teaching that a person can be saved only through Jesus Christ.... Amazingly enough, fully 68 % of those who are still active Presbyterians don't believe it." What happened? "The churches' desperate hunger to mean more in politics and economics had the perverse effect of making them less effective opponents of the political and economic pressures on the nation. They mattered more when they wanted to matter less." I pray that the younger evangelicals who are pondering where to put their energies will learn from history that doctrinal accommodation brings larger audiences in the short run but death and irrelevance in the long run. And God forbid that any should say with Hezekiah: Who cares if the death comes in 80 years as long as I have crowds and influence in my day (2 Kings 20:19).
>> read more

Storms Coming to Oklahoma (Tue, 19 Aug 2008)
(Author: David Mathis) Sam Storms has accepted a pastorate in Oklahoma City. The announcement is available at his ministry's website. Sam is a long-time friend of Desiring God. One of our more requested conference messages is Sam's address on "Joy's Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven" from our 2003 national conference.
>> read more

Using Words to Arrest Attention, and 2 Other Conference Interview Clips (Tue, 19 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper)Here are 3 more Q&A videos with speakers from our conference in September. Mark Driscoll on Using Words to Arrest Attention Paul Tripp on the Need for Silence Bob Kauflin on Style of Music Learn more about this conference: John Piper's invitation Video Trailer Speakers Facebook Group Registration
>> read more

Is God Punishing Me? (Mon, 18 Aug 2008)
(Author: Jon Bloom) As a Christian, when you experience a painful providence like an illness or a rebellious child or a broken marriage or a financial hardship or persecution, do you ever wonder if God is punishing you for some sin you committed? If you do, there is some very good news from the letter to the Hebrews. The original readers of this letter had been experiencing persecution and affliction for some time. They were tired, discouraged, and confused—why was God allowing such hardships? And some were doubting. So after some doctrinal clarifications and some firm exhortations and a few sober warnings (so they could examine if their faith was real) the author of the letter brought home a very important point. He wanted his readers to remember that the difficulty and pain they were experiencing was not God's punishment for their sins or weak faith. Chapters 7-10 beautifully explain that Jesus' sacrifice for sin was once for all believers for all time (10:14). No sacrifice of any kind for sin was ever needed again (10:18). He followed that up in chapter 11 with example after example of how the life of faith has always been difficult for saints. And then he wrote the tender encouragement and exhortation of chapter 12 where he quoted Proverbs 3:11-12: My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. "It is for discipline that you endure. God is treating you as sons," he said. These saints were not to interpret their painful experiences as God's angry punishment for their sins. That angry punishment was completely spent on Jesus—once for all—on the cross. Rather, this was the message they were to understand from their hardships: God loves you! He has fatherly affection for you. He cares deeply for you. He is taking great pains so that you will share his holiness (12:10) because he wants you to be as happy as possible and enjoy the peaceful fruit of righteousness (12:11). This is why as a father, whenever I discipline my children, I always try to make it clear to them that I am not paying them back for their sins. That's why I don't use the term "punishment." I don't want them to misunderstand and think I am giving them what they deserve. That's God's job. And if they trust in Jesus, all their punishment was taken care of on the cross. Instead, I always use the terms "discipline" or "correction" and explain that I love them and my intention, even though the discipline is painful, is to correct and train them. I want them to know that their father loves them, cares for them deeply, and is taking great pains to point them toward the way of joy. It is crucial that we remember that everything God feels toward us as Christians is gracious. When God disciplines us it is a precious form of his favor. It's what a loving father does. He is not giving us what we deserve because he "canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands...nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14). Instead, he is training us in righteousness. Because he loves us so very much. * * * Recommended resource: "The Painful Discipline of Our Heavenly Father"
>> read more

Invite John Piper to Your Small Group (Sun, 17 Aug 2008)
(Author: Lukas Naugle) What will your small group be doing this fall? The John Piper Small Group Series is one way to center your small group around the Bible as you pursue Christian maturity together. Desiring God has designed these resources to be flexible so that each group can use the videos, study guides, and books according to what best fits their context.
>> read more

Circumcision and Culture (Sat, 16 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper) This is a guest post from a friend of ours who is a missionary doctor working with Muslims. It is a part of his guest series, "Day-to-day Observations from Asia." * * * It would sure be nice if, when approaching the New Testament, all of my questions would be answered with short, pithy sound bites that make sense in a cross-cultural situation. So what does Paul think of circumcision? In his teachings, he certainly has some entertainingly negative and visually striking things to say about the practice: I wish those who [teach salvation by circumcision] would emasculate themselves." (Galatians 5:12) But in real practice, his actions regarding the cultural aspects of circumcision seem mixed. I speak, of course, of Titus and Timothy, two young fellows who both first encountered the ever-opinionated Paul in a decidedly uncircumcised state. Titus and Timothy discussed their condition with Paul, and ended up with different conclusions. Timothy gets circumcised as an adult, and Titus does not. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. (Galatians 2:3) Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews. (Acts 16:3) (By the way, the very fact this gets talked about in the Bible is a relief to me. 'Twould be a bit embarrassing to discuss it with a typical Westerner, but it definitely is a matter of discussion in the Muslim culture I work in. Maybe the conversations I have here in My Fair City are not so far off of New Testament norms.) Paul has Timothy get circumcised "because of the Jews"? Since when has Paul let "the Jews" bother him? Does this mean he had Timothy circumcised for cultural reasons? And just the opposite, he tells Titus to not get circumcised. OK, Paul, what's the deal? Just what am I supposed to tell a new Muslim believer who wants to know what to do with his children? That circumcision lacks the power of salvation is beyond refute. That, as a cultural marker, it may be reasonable seems possible and even probable. That Paul does not have a "sound bite" for the Muslims of My Fair City is manifest. Suffice it to say that I am glad that my folks had me done as an infant.
>> read more

Mark Driscoll on Harsh Language (Fri, 15 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper) We now have several interview clips with Mark Driscoll that we'll be posting in preparation for our conference in September. In this clip he talks about what he will be addressing in his session—the Bible's use of harsh language.
>> read more

The Goodness of Knowing Our Badness (Fri, 15 Aug 2008)
(Author: John Piper) From Rousseau to the Tom and Jerry Cartoons, Wheaton English Professor, Alan Jacobs, traces a "cultural history" of Original Sin, the name of his recent 304 page book. The most auspicious and provocative lines in Matt Jenson's review in Books and Culture are these: Original sin's deniers like to claim that the doctrine does bad things, or at least discourages us from doing good things. It deals death. So they tell us. But over and over in Jacobs' account, we meet well-intentioned characters, only to find their happier, gentler anthropologies turning sour, leading to (or at least abetting) anarchy, eugenics, despair. Perhaps the greatest irony in this history is the discovery that knowledge of original sin gives life—by revealing us to ourselves, yes, but also by grounding a sense of universal human kinship.... Truly a revolutionary thought—that the roots of our common humanity might be found, not in our dignity or even our potential, but in our depravity.
>> read more

Test Revival with Doctrine (Thu, 14 Aug 2008)
(Author: John Piper) Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma, one of the main charismatic magazines, has written a lament and critique of the Lakeland "revival" which is now in a tailspin over the leader's announced separation from his wife. Grady's summons to pray for the church and our nation is right, and among his commendable questions and observations are these: "Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It's way past time for us to grow up." "True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland." "A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley's news hit the fan. He said to me: "I'm now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment." Ouch. Hopefully we'll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up." Charismatics will not be the only ones who follow the Antichrist when he rises. So will the mass of those who today in thousands of evangelical churches belittle the truth of biblical doctrine as God's agent to set us free (John 8:32). Discernment is not created in God's people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological. The common denominator of those who follow the Antichrist will not be "charismatic." It will be, as Paul says, "they refused to love the truth." The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) Our test for every Lakeland that comes along should first be doctrinal and expositional. Is this awakening carried along by a "love for the truth" and a passion to hear the whole counsel of God proclaimed?
>> read more

What If Your Spouse Doesn’t Want to Be a Missionary? (Wed, 13 Aug 2008)
(Author: Johnathon Bowers) The following is a guest post by Johnathon Bowers, a student at The Bethlehem Institute. He blogs at The Fool's Gold and loves dreaming about the future with his wife, Crystal. * * * God has been on the move in your heart lately. Maybe it all started with that sermon. Maybe it was that National Geographic issue on Iran. Maybe your Chinese friend. Maybe the missionary biography you just finished. Maybe Romans 15. Whatever it was, you can't get the nations out of your mind now. You've begun to think of other countries in terms of unreached people groups rather than their diplomatic relationship with America. Missions used to bore you. It was for…you know…"other people" (said in hushed tones with a shifty gaze). But now, it's strangely attractive. You start to get wobbly-kneed and giddy whenever you hear someone mention "contextualization" or "strategic access country." When you meet someone who is interested in missions, you talk at length with them and ask lots of questions. You're hooked. It's taken a while, but you are seriously considering a missionary career. When you finally muster the pluck to tell your spouse about your change of heart, his response is unsettlingly cool. Polite, but cool. He just doesn't know if he could ever see the two of you overseas. Dinner is awkward that night. He asks for the check. The two of you drive home in silence. What you thought would be a glorious evening of united passion for missions has turned into a glorified punch in the gut. What do you do? M. David Sills, professor of Christian missions and cultural anthropology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has just written a book called The Missionary Call: Finding Your Place in God's Plan for the World. In it he includes a chapter devoted to this very issue. His counsel? Wait. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). Wives, be subject to your own husbands and win them over by your respectful and pure conduct (1 Peter 3:2-3). As it is with a call to faith, so it is with a call to missions. God must act. And you must wait, because a divided and resentful couple is no asset on the field. But let your waiting be active. There is plenty to do to plow the soil that a unified call will sprout from. Sills writes: While you wait, grow your marriage to be as healthy as it can be. Work on communication and ministering to one another. Learn a language together, read missionary biographies together, entertain furloughing missionaries in your home — as guests in a spare room or for a meal — and email missionaries on the field to be better able to pray for them. Go on short-term mission trips together. Be open and let God lead. In this way, when God clearly leads and guides you both into the same missionary calling, you will have a healthy marriage, practice learning new things together, and knowledge of missionary life. A healthy marriage and well-developed learning skills are essential for a couple living the missionary life with a world-changing testimony. (123-124) May God extend his kingdom as his married servants bear with one another in love.
>> read more

Union with Christ, and 2 Other Conference Interview Clips (Tue, 12 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper)Here are 3 more Q&A videos with speakers from our upcoming conference. Sinclair Ferguson on Union with Christ Bob Kauflin on Why Christians Sing Paul Tripp on How Sin Affects the Transparent Use of Words Learn more about this conference: John Piper's invitation Video Trailer Speakers Facebook Group Registration
>> read more

2 Kinds of Outdoing (Mon, 11 Aug 2008)
(Author: Sam Crabtree) What should Christians, especially those who are non-sports fans, make of the Olympics? Everything in the material universe points to something of significance in the non-material realm. By saying so, I am not trying to diminish the significance of the physical universe per se. God has ordained meaning and significance there, too. Jesus ascended bodily to heaven. Meanwhile, the material creation points to things not seen with physical eyes, but with spiritual eyes. The Bible is bursting with numerous examples of material objects employed as metaphors. Mustard seeds point to faith. Rocks struck in the wilderness point to Jesus who is our sacrificial lamb. Manna points to nourishment that does not come by bread alone. The heavens declare not just condensation, but God's glory. Now again, in Beijing, the natural world points to realities beyond itself. Enter the Olympics. Athletes from around the world have gathered to try to outdo each other in speed, strength, height, and accuracy. For years these athletes have conditioned their bodies, honed their skills, refined their equipment, and prepared for this spectacle of outdoing. Weeks ahead of the games they have relocated to the city of the competition to acclimate their bodies to time zones and atmospheres. They're doing their utmost to outdo not only the other athletes present and participating for medals this year, but to outdo all human athletes in all of recorded history, contending for the designation "world record"—bragging rights they will strive strenuously to achieve. But not all will triumph. Few will win gold. Most will be outdone. Years of sweaty workouts, aching muscles, burning lungs, painful bruises, and bleeding calluses will see them in a breathless puddle of exhaustion and perhaps tears, the well-known agony of defeat. When it comes to outdoing others, are national pride and personal ambition the only motivations? No, not when, instead of sprinting, swimming, and pole-vaulting, the competition is loving and honoring. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10). Olympic athletes attempt to outdo each other in order to obtain honor, not give honor. But Christians are not merely to show honor, but outdo one another in showing honor, preferring that honor be given to others. If God enables you to outdo others in showing honor, the others will receive more honor than you (at least until heaven's rewards are bestowed). And if God enables you to succeed in outdoing others in love, the others will be, well, less loving than you, because you're outdoing them. And that's exactly how love behaves. It loves those who are less loving.
>> read more

New Book: Spectacular Sins (Sun, 10 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper)You may now pre-order John Piper's latest book for $5.
>> read more

Responding to the Poet (Sat, 09 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper) This is a guest post from a friend of ours who is a missionary doctor working with Muslims. It is a part of his guest series, "Day-to-day Observations from Asia." * * * So we went to this Muslim wedding in our fair city. We get invited to lots. It was not clear to me who the groom was, but that was beside the point. They slaughtered 5,000 chickens and scores of goats to feed the guests, thus demonstrating what my true intentions were in attending—to eat well. (Hmm, I have just inadvertently confessed to my true motivation in many social situations…but I digress.) I, being decidedly a man, was in a spacious and now cacophonous room with all the other men, hanging out, mingling, laughing, introducing and being introduced. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar face. Let's call him, "The Poet." I know The Poet a little bit; he's the friend of a good friend. He has the habit of quoting various couplets in many situations and fancies himself a bit of a writer himself. I had heard that in recent months he'd become much more religious and could be seen at the mosque daily. The Poet worked his way up close to me, and then announced in a loud clear voice that carried well around the room, "We believe that all the prophets—from Adam and Noah through to Jesus and Mohammed—that all the prophets were circumcised." The room grew silent for a moment. While he spoke to the crowd, it was clear that he was speaking to me, "the Christian." And it was clear that even though he made a general statement, he wanted an answer. And what to answer? There were numerous things wrong with his statement. Adam and Noah were not circumcised. Should I argue that point? Jesus was much more than a prophet. Should I argue that point? I do not believe Mohammed was a prophet of God. Should I argue that point? Thanks be to God, at that moment, I did not have a mouthful of chicken and the goat hadn't yet been served. Without having time to think, I answered just as loudly, "The Old Testament tells of the importance God placed on circumcision, an outward sign, but it also says that circumcision of the heart is more important. It does not matter if you are outwardly perfect, if your heart is dirty. Only God can change a man's heart." There seemed to be a general murmur of approval, and conversations resumed. Is that how the Holy Spirit works? In poorly motivated situations, between mouthfuls of chicken, and before the goat is served?
>> read more

Pray for China During the Olympics (Fri, 08 Aug 2008)
(Author: Abraham Piper) This post is by a friend of ours working in Beijing. * * * For 1000 days, the countdown clock has been ticking, and now the day is finally here—the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The opening ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 8PM, on this 8th day of the 8th month in the year 2008. Yes, the number 8 is very auspicious in traditional Chinese culture. Having lived in this city for the past 10 years, it has been interesting to watch Beijing re-invent itself before these games—from slighly frumpy and insecure to brash and confident. And now the city is ready. The buildings have been painted; the flowers (40 million of them) are arranged neatly; the cabbies have new uniforms; the volunteers are all smiling; and the security forces are in place. What will the next two weeks bring? Fame and disappointment for athletes; fun and excitement for fans; ulcers and headaches for the leadership of the country as they work hard to live up to their promise of a "safe Olympics." Another thing that the coming weeks will bring is prayer. To help with the worldwide prayer effort, I would like to recommend a resource that can be used during the games. "China Games and Beyond" (PDF) is a 40-day prayer journal designed to focus prayer on China during the Olympic and Paraolympic games that run from August 8 to September 17. (You can also order a hard copy.) Each day features a specific sport and prayer requests for Chinese athletes and coaches as well as the Chinese church. Each entry also includes a meditation and prayer from John Piper's Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ and questions for reflection. I have tickets to join in some of the sporting fun, including men's 100 meter finals, and men's basketball finals. I can hardly wait. But as thousands enjoy the games, my prayer is this—that we will be kept from the idolatry of athletes and the idolatry of country. There is glory to be seen in these games, but it belongs to the Creator alone.
>> read more