Friday, May 13, 2011
Reviewing John Piper's Jesus: The Only Way to God
Although I do not know John Piper, he has made a significant impact in my life. Pastor Piper is the author of more than forty books, and Jesus: The Only Way to God is one of over a dozen books of his I have read. It was published less than one year ago and can combat much of the junk that is printed today. The 123 pager is divided into seven chapters (plus an introduction, conclusion, and a Desiring God resource page) and completing it will take you about the same time it takes to watch a movie. If you believe in relativism (There is no absolute truth), universalism (All people will go to Heaven), or annihilationism (When a person dies, they no longer exists), prepare to be challenged. Jesus: The Only Way to God is solid theological teaching that makes no qualms about who Jesus is. Jesus is the Son of God who became sin for us. His work on the cross is what saves us. One must place their faith in Him or they will be eternally tormented in Hell when they pass from this world. Only Jesus gives us access to God. Only Jesus gives us eternal life in Heaven. We are to live for Him because He died for us. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Interesting--I'd be interested to read this. Does he go into any word studies on "kerux?" The historical background for this in Rom 10:15 is pretty fascinating.
ReplyDeleteNot that I recall Brandon. I would be interested in hearing more about this. I hope your studies are going well.
ReplyDeleteStudies are going well. This actually came out of a Greek class the other day.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to do more study on it, but a couple things in that passage in Romans, actually going back to include 10:14, were helpful recently.
One is that a "kerux," the word Paul uses which is translated preacher ("And how will they hear without a preacher?"), is really a "herald." An ancient herald stood up in the town square and pronounced not his own words but the source's words.
Which leads to the second--the one who hears the kerux doesn't hear the kerux, but the source. This is reflected in the original which uses one of the two cases possible with the verb "akouo"--"to hear." The case used points to a person directly heard, so that "How will they believe in Him *whom* they have not heard?" (NASB) is better than "How are they to believe in him *of whom* they have never heard?" (ESV) In other words, the kerux proclaims not his words but Christ's, and the hearer hears Christ's words, which are the gospel, and which are essential to hear to be saved.
That helps to answer the question in the subtitle of the book, and to answer the issues of inclusivism, contextualization, etc. I really enjoyed Piper's book on Missions, and I would be interested to read this one as well.
Hope you guys are doing well!