Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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Book Review – Future Grace by John Piper

Future GraceJohn Piper is not one of my favorite authors. I have several of his books in my library, and have enjoyed some of them immensely. But I still have a tough time enjoying reading much of his stuff.

I still read some of it though. Because it challenges me to think. And thinking is the point of reading such material, isn’t it?

For example, take Piper’s book, Future Grace. In this volume, Piper takes a close look at God’s grace. While we tend to view God’s grace through an event that happened in the past, resulting in continuing work in our lives, Piper looks at the concept of future grace, revealing how the promises of God’s grace can help us break the chains of sinful issues in our lives.

I don’t disagree with him about the reality of grace, both past and present. God’s grace is something that we can depend on for our survival in a world filled with temptations and distractions. Grace is something that we need, continually.

But grace cannot be described so easily, and so matter-of-fact-ly. Grace is a bigger concept that we can fathom, even though we strive to understand it. To so blithely describe grace, saying “This is what it is…” seems to simplify the matter, trivializing it.

Don’t get me wrong. I gained a lot from reading Future Grace. I just think that Piper is attempting to put grace in a box that it doesn’t fit in, and spills over the edges.

There were a few points where Piper’s Calvinism showed. Those are the points where I scribbled my disagreements in the margins, not being a Calvinist myself.

Overall, I found Future Grace to be interesting and thought-provoking, especially in the area of understanding the Calvinistic view of grace. But it wasn’t a book that struck me as ground-breaking, and isn’t a resource that I will refer to very often.

You’ll find gems of truth in it, but I wouldn’t recommend purchasing this book, unless you get a great deal on it.

What is your favorite Bible passage on grace? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Future Grace, by John Piper, you can purchase it at Amazon.com in print or for Kindle.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Multnomah Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:3-5

In Paul’s final chapter of 1 Timothy, he returns to the original topic of the letter, the need for Timothy to address the false teachers that are infiltrating the Ephesian church.

You can see this week’s passage in 1 Timothy 6:3-5:

1 Timothy 6:3-5

The Problems

Paul has just instructed Timothy to teach “these things,” in verse two. In contrast to that command, the next portion of his letter address the false teachings that have permeated his entire letter. This teaching is different from what Timothy is to stand firm upon, because it “does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Nor does it conform to “godly teaching.” Paul’s word “sound” literally means “healthy.” In other words, Timothy is to provide doctrine that promotes spiritual health. The false teachers are not doing so. These false teachers are not promoting a life of reverence or worship to God; in fact, what they are teaching is just the opposite, and have abandoned the truth of the gospel of Christ. This is their underlying error.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:1-2

The beginning of the final chapter of Paul’s letter to Timothy continues his instructions concerning church relationships. He has already addressed widows and elders. He now turns to slaves.

See the passage for yourself at 1 Timothy 6:1-2:

1 Timothy 6:1-2

Slavery in New Testament times was significantly different than it has been in recent centuries, especially as experienced in the US. As a result of this, we have very little comprehension of just what it was like to be a slave in those days. We can’t even imagine what it must have been like.

Slavery in the New Testament had very little to do with nationality, ethnicity or skin color. It was more based upon economic circumstances, or because of war. In fact, it was not a rare occurrence for a person to sell themselves into slavery to improve their situation or pay a debt. Slavery to a good master was often a better place to be than a poor free person.

Slaves made up a significant portion of many of the early churches written to in the New Testament, and Paul addressed slavery in many of his letters, such as 1 Corinthians 7:21-24, Colossians 3:22-25, Ephesians 6:5-8, and Titus 2:9-10. Peter also addressed slavery in 1 Peter 2:18-25.

But why would Paul address slavery in this letter to Timothy? It may be that some problems had arisen among slaves and master, similar to those issues and attitudes among the younger widows, which Paul spends some time discussing.

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Philemon

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

The shortest of all Paul’s letters is his personal correspondence with Philemon concerning his slave, Onesimus, who had run away. Though short, Paul skillfully weaves several key Christian principles into the fabric of this letter.

Shackles

Onesimus, a slave, had run away from his owner and escaped. Over the course of time, he met Paul, who introduced him to Jesus, and accepted him as Lord and Savior.

This places Paul in a bind, both legally and spiritually. Paul is obligated to report to his friend and Christian brother, Philemon, that he has found Onesimus, and is sending him home. But what if Philemon didn’t accept Onesimus in a favorable manner? What if there were extenuating circumstances, as verse 18 seems to imply? And is seems that Paul may even want Philemon to release Onesimus, perhaps even to assist Paul in his ministry.

Out of this dilemma, Paul writes this brief masterpiece. He writes to Philemon to appeal to his love as a Christian for Onesimus, encouraging him to release him from slavery. In fact, it seems that Paul could require this, as indicated by the suggestion that Philemon owes his own conversion to Paul’s efforts as well.

By the fact that this letter was preserved in the canon of Scripture, we can assume that Philemon complied to this request. And, in the early second century, there is an Onesimus who is mentioned as a bishop of the Ephesian church. It is not provable if this is the same Onesimus, but the timing certainly fits.

Out of this brief letter, which takes only moments to read, I find a couple of passages to be extremely encouraging. Here are my favorite passages from the letter to Philemon:

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:23-25

Chapter five of 1 Timothy closes with what seem to be a personal recommendation from Paul to Timothy. After this brief digression, he returns to the discussion on elders for one final thought, before moving on to the topic of slavery.

Take a look at 1 Timothy 5:23-25:

1 Timothy 5:23-25

Drink a little wine…

Paul interrupts himself on the topic of elders to give a little fatherly advice to Timothy. There are a couple of different possibilities for his reasoning here. First, Timothy may have been taking Paul’s admonishment for elders and deacons not to abuse wine as support for his practice of only drinking water. But since those comments are also in this letter, that reasoning doesn’t seem likely.

It’s more likely that Timothy may have been influenced by the legalistic tendencies of the false teachers that he was addressing. Their teaching may have prohibited any wine or stronger drink, and to drink only water.

Paul mentions Timothy’s illnesses. There is no indication whatsoever what these illness could have been. They may have been a stomach issue resulting from drinking only water. In New Testament times, wine was seen as medicinal in nature as well as a social drink. The water wasn’t often clean and pure, and the alcohol in wine, weak though it might be, may have been an effective prescription for dealing with whatever bugs might be taken in with the water.

A third possibility is that Paul may have known that Timothy would have a difficult time dealing with church leaders, and encouraged him to float away his troubles… No, of course not!

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Nehemiah

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

One of the most encouraging stories in the Old Testament is the story of Nehemiah.

Tied in closely with the book of Ezra, this short piece of the Old Testament is an amazing bit of history.

Rock Wall

The nation of Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon somewhere around 587 BC. Fifty years later, Cyrus sent some of the people back to rebuild the temple of God. During this time, Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, Ezra brought the Law back into the life of Israel, and Nehemiah rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, making it secure in the face of intense conflict and opposition.

Nehemiah’s abilities in administration and perseverance helped him mold the Jewish people back into the people of God so they could obey God’s commands and have a distinction from the people around them.

This is really the beauty of the story. Not only did Nehemiah have to rebuild a wall around the city, he had to rebuild a people to the point where they could stand on their own as an independent nation, following God’s lead.

Although the book is only thirteen short chapters in length, it is full of sage wisdom and leadership advice. You will gain much by studying this incredible little book.

Here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of Nehemiah:

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:21-22

As Paul wraps up his instructions concerning elders who need correction, he states his charge to Timothy. Some feel that this is a charge concerning all of Paul’s teaching in the letter to this point. However, the context suggests that this is more in line with his discussion of the elders in the previous few verses.

You can see the passage in 1 Timothy 5:21-22:

1 Timothy 5:21-22

Paul’s charge is a solemn charge, carrying the weight of responsibility for Timothy’s leadership in the Ephesian church. In a way, this charge is given before God, Christ and the angels as witnesses. That indicates the seriousness of this responsibility that Paul is bestowing upon his young friend.

The idea here is that Timothy is called to judge others; but he is to keep in mind that he will be judged himself as well. With that in mind, let’s look at the areas that Timothy needs to watch.

Do nothing with partiality

Partiality conveys the idea that the case has been already judged and closed. Partiality indicates that the decision has been made. Paul warns Timothy to avoid this at all costs.

Do not show favoritism

The idea of favoritism suggests that there is the inclination to side with one side over the other. Again, Paul tells Timothy that this isn’t an acceptable characteristic for a leader to have, and warns Timothy against it.