When John Piper preached at the Together for the Gospel conference last week in Louisville, Ky., he reflected on some of the most difficult times in his life and ministry and said, "I'm amazed that I'm a Christian today."
The 66-year-old pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota explained that he has been a Christian for 60 years, a pastor at Bethlehem for 32 years, married to his wife for nearly 44 years and a father for nearly 40 years. Recently, he has been experiencing "momentous days" in his life, he said, because his church is currently working toward putting a successor in his place.
But when considering where he is and how far he has come in his life as a Christian, a pastor, a husband and a father, Piper attributes his success to the grace of God alone....
Reifeld wrote: "Piper attributes his success to the grace of God alone. "If any of that were decisively dependent on me, I would have ceased to be a Christian long ago" Sounds like the Matthew 5 doctrine of the persecuted Christian. "Christians cannot maintain their faith through their own effort, Piper suggested, but rather it is maintained through God's glory, majesty, power and authority" Sounds like the 'P' in TULIP.
1 Corinthians 2 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.---NASB
Im confused. Is Piper saying that those deacons/elders/pastors etc and their ex spouses somehow were the recipients of less grace than Piper has been in his marriage and in his faith? Surely there were some innocent parties in the divorces he alludes to? Is he saying that because he still has his marriage and faith that God bestowed more grace on him than on these divorced people?? It sounds a little holier than thou. I don't understand exactly what he is implying?
John Piper, Is not reformed. He Is part of the " new Calvinist" pragmatic, charismatic, non-separatist, from false teachers, such as, Mark Driscoll , Rick Warren. If Piper Is truly reformed, he is greatly confused! He Talks of men like Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon. These men, taught on Holiness, they lived out, what they wrote. A MUST LISTEN!!!
They're no Puritans! New Calvinism Pastor Ralph Ovadal Friday, October 22, 2010
"Piper attributes his success to the grace of God alone. "If any of that were decisively dependent on me, I would have ceased to be a Christian long ago"
Sounds like the Matthew 5 doctrine of the persecuted Christian.
"Christians cannot maintain their faith through their own effort, Piper suggested, but rather it is maintained through God's glory, majesty, power and authority"
When I consider my many pastor, elder and deacon friends who lost their faith via their divorce train wrecks, "I'm amazed [that after all of this travel, these many conferences and my 54 book projects, Noël also puts up with my species of pride yet despite all of this] I'm still a Christian [pastor]." -John Piper, Pastor of Vision
Every Christian divorce further pulverizes the Gospel -- the image of Christ and His Church. When a Christian pastor divorces, the devastation is multiplied.
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