That is to say, one more thing you have to do: read John Piper's book The Future of Justification: a Response to N.T. Wright.
NT Wright is a Bible scholar who has done a great job responding to the Jesus seminar, teaching on Biblical theology, and teaching about the resurrection - and undermining (though not denying) the gospel of grace. Piper, in a kind, clear fashion evaluates and critiques Wright.
Though if you haven't run across people that are denying the doctrine of the imputation of Jesus' righteousness through faith - then, this book will probably be of no use to you.
And if you don't know what the imputation of Jesus' righteousness is, then read this. If you don't understand imputation, you need to.
Piper? You mean the guy who uses every flowery adjective 17 times in a sentence to describe Christ? "The exalted, supreme, supremacy, fantabulous, stupendous, remarkable, undeniable, yad, yada, yada...that Piper?
ReplyDeleteI can take about 7 seconds of that stuff...max.
Trouble with Piper is that he never just hands Christ over. There is always some catch...some strings attached."You need to..." "You must feel this way..." To should , ought, must..." He is a law banger.
Give me a guy who just gives Christ away, any day of the week.
Thanks!
- Steve Martin
Steve, thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI do think Piper's style (use of adjectives, for example) turns a lot of people off. I know my mother (who actually now attends Bethlehem) was at first really annoyed by the way he speaks.
As far as being a law-banger - you know, I'm sensitive to that, and I don't take that from him - except from maybe the book 'Future Grace' - which has contents that he's retracted from as of late.
Perhaps this is more a disagreement about the uses of the Law. Being that you're a Lutheran, I'm assuming you don't agree with the third use (according to Calvin).
Also - this doesn't really have much to do with the book, does it? :) I still say you should read it. It is a wonderful, God-exalting, exegetical, irenic, winsome, well-written, Scripture-saturated, zealous, beautiful, joy-producing defense of the doctrine of justification that Luther rediscovered!