I have never read a whole book or listened to a whole sermon by John Piper. I haven't given him a fair chance. The little I tried, he seemed to vacillate between proof-texting and highly-emotional appeal both of which was a turn off due to my, well, past. (As a side note, I walked right past his church in Minneapolis on a Sunday morning and would have gone in had I known he was the pastor there.
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Nevertheless, I know many who think highly of him because he doesn't write marshmallow devotionals and, well, he is one of the few reformed preachers that actually have wide appeal among Evangelicals.
His Book
Seeing and Savoring Christ is one he is giving away for $1 to those who want to use it for an outreach. When I was researching it on Amazon, it got many five stars. There was one comment that stood out to me because it reflects the issues we deal with. What do you think of the comment and how has been your reaction to John Piper's ministry?
This is a general comment on Piper's books and ministry. I deeply appreciate the work of John Piper--especially his emphasis on missions and on living God-centered, Christ-exalting lives of worship. And I am Augustinian, so I love Piper's theology and am thrilled that he has become so popular. But I do want to provide a warning. Piper's main emphasis is (and you'll read this over and over again) "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him"--or when we "savor" Him or "delight" in Him. (You can tell from the titles of his books that Piper uses numerous terms to describe this same principle.) This is a biblical and wonderful proposition that Piper became aware of through the writings of Jonathan Edwards. And to Edwards, this was one small part of his theology. But Piper has taken this idea, which he calls "Christian Hedonism," and built his whole life and ministry around it. The problem is that if you read enough Piper, you will begin to focus on the FEELING of being delighted in Christ, rather than on Christ Himself. And when your feelings don't match what you want them to be, you will become disheartened. (And let's face it, few of us have the emotional intensity of John Piper.) At that point, your feelings (of being delighted in God) become the object of your desires and, thus, an idol. Yes, they are feelings TOWARD God--but those feelings are NOT GOD. And when the focus of your life has become your emotions, it has deceptively become an idol. I know Piper fights against this tendency. But I'm afraid he is often unsuccessful. The fact is, the Christian life is not going to be one of unending joy in God. Read the Psalms to see how often the psalmists cry out in agony and desperation and sadness to the Lord. Read Romans 7 to find out how tough and discouraging the Christian life can really be. According to Piper, our happiness in God should be the driving motivation in our life. But when Christians are inevitably not overflowing with delight in God, then under Piper's framework, the only soluton is to seek that feeling of joy rather than just do our duty. There are times when duty and obligation (which Piper hates) are the only motivations for the Christian to be obedient and live a life of faith. I agree wholeheartedly with Piper that delight in God is a much better motivation for the Christian than duty. But when that delight is not there, we still must be faithful and obedient, and we can't always wait on our feelings to drive us on toward the prize. (I suppose one of the reasons Piper has become so popular is the fascination we post-modern people have with our own feelings and subjective experiences.) Read Piper's books. And enjoy his passionate and Christ-exalting preaching. But beware and repent when your emotions--rather than the Triune God Himself--become the focus of your life.
