Racism remains on ongoing blight in our day. Many have tried to address this gross immorality with pleas that amount to little more than more morality, but Piper goes deeper and shows how the cross of Christ is the only true way to deal with racism. This book is saturated with the gospel and saturated with the hope of reconciliation with one another—reconciliation that is fueled by the blood of Christ. A timely, needed word.

The bloodline of Jesus Christ is deeper than the bloodlines of race. The death and resurrection of the Son of God for sinners is the only sufficient power to bring the bloodlines of race into the single bloodline of the cross. [13]

If we abandon the fullness of the gospel to make racial and ethnic diversity quicker or easier, we create a mere shadow of the kingdom, an imitation. And we lose the one thing that can bring about Christ-exalting diversity and harmony. [40]

The gospel of Jesus Christ touches this issue in more ways than any of us can see. It has a way of working that goes beyond what we can imagine or predict. It does not simply provide help to do what we think needs to be done, as though we were all-wise and just needed a little spiritual boost to carry out our plans. It goes over and under and around and through our imperfect plans. It destroys some and transforms others. Mainly, it deals explosively with us, not with our plans and strategies. [83]

The racial landscape in America, and the little patch of it where you live, will change in ways you cannot even imagine to the degree that you are freed from the desire to get rich and replace it with the desire to serve others. [97]

True religion—true Christianity—is moved by a Christ-shaped heart of mercy. It bridles the tongue when talking about people created in God’s image. It cares for the poor—the ones who can easily be taken advantage of and don’t have any power to care for themselves. And it keeps itself free from the impurities of pornography and gluttony and greed. [182]

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Two long-standing evangelical voices each discuss the dual nature of pastors as scholars (and vice versa). Those original lectures were combined into this brief, but helpful book. Both Piper and Carson recount segments of their own journeys, highlighting their understanding of these areas and offering practical ways they should function in today’s climate. Recognizing inherent differences, the general exhortation is that all pastors must be scholars to some degree, and the converse is true as well.  

The Internet world we live in today is awash in narcissism and vanity, with some people taking their clothes off literally, because exposure gives them a rush, and others doing it spiritually—because the addicting power of talking about yourself, where anyone in the world can read it, is overpowering. [24]

To cut yourself off from a local church with a sense of self-sufficiency is, in the long run, suicidal. [37]

Many pastors, especially those who love the glorious vision of God’s being and beauty and plan of salvation, have a scholarly bent that threatens to over-intellectualize the Christian faith, which means they turn it mainly into a system to be thought about rather than a way of live to be felt and lived. Of course, it is a system as well as a life. But the danger is that the whole thing can be made to feel academic rather than heart-wrenchingly real. [49]

The pastor’s job is to look at the Bible and work hard to understand what’s in it, and then work hard to make it understandable and attractive and compelling to our people. [61]

What ‘scholarly’ would mean for me is that the greatest object of knowledge is God and that He has revealed Himself authoritatively in a book; and that I should work with all my might and all my heart and all my soul and all my mind to know and enjoy Him and to make Him known for the joy of others. [67]

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Five authors swipe their brushes to collectively paint a canvas of adoption. They begin with God’s adoption of His children in Christ and then extend to our adoption of orphans. A proper understanding of God’s adoption, they argue, is necessary for seeing how our adoption of others is to play out. This is a poignant resource, full of gospel-centered truths and reminders for all of those who are considering adoption—and for those who should be. 

In adopting us, God gives us the very Spirit of His Son and grants us to feel the affections of belonging to the very family of God. In His mercy, God also works in our families to awaken in adopted children affections for their parents that are far more than legal alignment. These are deeply personal and spiritual bonds. Adopted children do not infer they are our children by checking out the adoption papers. A spirit pervades our relationship that bears witness to this reality. Like the other children in the family, they all cry, “Daddy.” [99]

Adoption was not Plan B in God’s mind. There was no Plan A with lots of children who never sin and never need to be redeemed. God predestined us for adoption before the creation of the world. Plan A was creation, fall, redemption, adoption so that the full range of God’s glory and mercy and grace could be known by His adopted children. Adoption was not second best. It was planned from the beginning. [102]

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Piper explores the book of Ruth with his trademark blend of pastoral care and doctrinal soundness. Many of the issues found in Ruth are universal—suffering, challenges to purity, and the inability to understand why God is working the way He is. But God is working. Overarching everything in Ruth is the sovereign, providential hand of God and Piper helps us to see that same hand at work in every area of our lives as well.

The point of this book is not just that God is preparing the way for the coming of the King of Glory, but that He is doing it in such a way that all of us should learn that the worst of times are not wasted. They are not wasted globally, historically, or personally. [24]

God is at work in the darkest of times for the good of His people. The life of believers is not a straight path to glory, but they do get there. [111]

Don’t let the shifting of peoples and cultures that you see threaten your faith. Don’t cleave to the way things are as if your citizenship is merely on earth…a follower of Christ in any ethnic group is a closer relative to us than any blood relative who rejects our Savior. [135]

The painful things that come into our lives are not described by God as accidental or as out of His control. This would be no comfort. That God cannot stop a germ or a car or a bullet or a demon is not good news; it is not the news of the Bible. God can. And ten thousand times He does. But when He doesn’t, He has His reasons. And in Christ Jesus they are all loving. We are taught this sovereignty so that we will drink it in till it saturates our bones. He is getting us ready to suffer without feeling unloved. [136]

It does not speak well of our faith if we doubt His love or if we become angry at God when He ordains pain in our lives. [137]

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Piper’s latest effort encourages Christians to think, fulfilling (in part) the command to love God with all our mind. Piper cautions, however, that proper thinking is not necessarily connected with formal education or superior intellect. The goal of right thinking is to glorify God, so it must be done humbly—but it must be done. The alternative is a mind-numbing acquiescence to popular thought or falsehoods in place of God’s truth. Another excellent book by Piper. 

I don’t want to overstate the case. It’s not about going to school or getting degrees or having prestige. It’s not about the superiority of intellectuals. It’s about using the means God has given us to know Him, love Him, and serve people. Thinking is one of those means. I would like to encourage you to think, but not to be too impressed with yourself when you do. [17]

This is the golden rule of reading: “Do unto authors as you would have them do unto you.” Authors want to be understood, not misunderstood. So, for the reader, the golden rule of reading implies: work hard with your mind to understand what an author intended to convey. [45]

Philosophical relativists park their relativism at the door when they go into the bank and read the language of the contract they are about to sign. People don’t embrace relativism because it is philosophically satisfying. They embrace it because it is physically and emotionally gratifying. It provides the cover they need at key moments in their lives to do what they want without intrusion from absolutes. [102]

There is no necessary correlation between extensive learning and the right use of the mind. Many PhDs think poorly, and many people with little formal education think with great clarity and depth. I am pleading for a hearty engagement of the mind in the pursuit of God. I am not pleading mainly for more formal education. That may or may not be good in different cases. But the right use of the mind is always good no matter how much or how little education one has. [128]

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Is Jesus necessary for salvation, or can people attain heaven through other religions or even merely by God’s general revelation through creation? These are the questions Piper carefully addresses in this short book which, though brief, is powerful in its treatment of these issues—critical points of contention in this postmodern, pluralistic age. Piper is unflinching in his affirmation of the Biblical truth of Jesus—there is no other name by which we may be saved.

Fearful squeamishness about what the Bible teaches is a bad sign in the church. It signifies a movement toward self, and away from God, as our authority. [10]

There is an idolatry in all our sins—a valuing of something more than God. Hell is God’s declaration to the universe that what every sin demeans is of infinite worth. [32]

No one is more full or fearsome in describing the horrors or the endlessness of hell than Jesus. This is not a teaching created by the apostles or the early church. It was given to us by the Lord. The most loving man that ever walked the earth gave the strongest and fullest description of hell. [41]

The name of Jesus is the focus of faith and repentance. In order to believe on Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, you must believe on His name. Which means that you must have heard of Him and know who He is as a particular man who did a particular saving work and rose from the dead. [95]

Although the reality of general revelation is sufficient to hold humanity accountable to glorify God, nevertheless men suppress the truth in unrighteousness and do not thank God or honor Him the way they should and are therefore without excuse. General revelation is sufficient to hold all men accountable to worship God but not efficient to bring about the faith that saves. That is why the gospel must be preached to all people. God wills to honor His Son by accompanying the preaching of His name with heart-awakening power. [102]

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With refreshing honesty and candor, Piper examines marriage, singleness, divorce, sex, and gender roles from a Christian perspective. His conclusions are grounded firmly in Scripture and reveal that the highest purpose of marriage is to glorify Christ by modeling His covenant-keeping promise to His church. This book is helpful on many levels, and is highly recommended to anyone—married or not—who seeks to better understand the nature of self-sacrificial love and the bonds of covenant. 

There is no human marriage after death. The shadow of covenant-keeping between husband and wife gives way to the reality of covenant-keeping between Christ and his glorified Church. Nothing is lost. The music of every pleasure is transposed into an infinitely higher key. [14]

What makes divorce and remarriage so horrific in God’s eyes is not merely that it involves covenant-breaking to the spouse, but that it involves misrepresenting Christ and his covenant. Christ will never leave his wife. Ever. There may be times of painful distance and tragic backsliding on our part. But Christ keeps his covenant forever. Marriage is a display of that! That is the ultimate thing we can say about it. It puts the glory of Christ’s covenant-keeping love on display. [25]

Without a biblical view of God’s wrath, you will be tempted to think that your wrath—your anger—against your spouse is simply too big to overcome, because you have never really tasted what it is like to see an infinitely greater wrath overcome by grace, namely, God’s wrath against you. [44]

Focus first on your need to change, not on hers or his. It may be that your spouse is sinning against you far more that you are against him or her. But you will not give an account for that to the Lord Jesus. You will give an account for your responses to it. That is the great battle. Will you change? Yes, your spouse should change. No doubt about it. But I promise you, it will not bear the fruit you want, if that is your main focus. [65]

Knowing Christ is more important than making a living. Treasuring Christ is more important than bearing children. Being united to Christ by faith is a greater source of marital success than perfect sex and double-income prosperity. If we make secondary things primary, they cease to be secondary and become idolatrous. They have their place. But they are not first, and they are not guaranteed. [178] 

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In the tradition of Preaching The Cross, this book features the collected transcripts of the messages given at the 2008 Together for the Gospel conference. Each speaker focused his sermon on the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ and what his death means in terms of both doctrine and application. Although the variety of writing styles occasionally disrupts the continuity of the book, the overall message is coherent and their unified proclamation of the Gospel remains clear. 

God does not spare his people trials. He promises them. Suffering for followers of Christ is a sign of God’s merciful fatherhood. [176]

The supreme greatness and majesty and glory of the Son of God fit him to be the saving means of our justification and forgiveness and propitiation and sanctification and eternal life. But in that very means-work on the cross, the apex of his glory in them is displayed in the freedom of grace. And in the very moment of becoming the perfect means of our redemption, Christ becomes the supremely valuable, all-glorious end of our redemption. The glory that we will see and savor forever and ever will be the glory of the Lamb who was slain. That is the song of eternity. The final beauty that will satisfy our souls forever is the beauty most fully displayed in the rescue of sinners to see that beauty. [181]

All the pictures of the supremacy of Jesus in the book of Hebrews are pictures not only of the perfection of the all-sufficient means of our salvation but also of the all-satisfying goal or end of our salvation, namely, the supremacy of Christ himself experience with all-satisfying joy. He is the Great Reward. [182] 

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Why did Jesus say that people must be born again? Piper answers the question of the new birth with a thorough (but not comprehensive) examination of this teaching in Scripture. He discusses both the need for this new birth and its evidence in our lives. His exposition is, as usual, doctrinally sound and is delivered with a pastoral sense of care, taking it out of the academic realm and planting it firmly in his readers’ reality.  

Without the new birth, our condition is hopeless, and we cannot fix it with moral improvement. Dead men do not do better. Dead men need one thing before anything else can happen: they must be made alive. They must be born again. [59]

The perfection we do not have, Jesus provided. The judgment we do not want, Jesus bore. [74]

When we don’t have what we want, the world corrupts us with covetousness. And when we do have what we want, the world corrupts us with pride. [137]

The only people who are righteous are the ones who practice righteousness. Doing confirms being. [147]

My feelings are not God. God is God. My feelings do not define truth. God’s word defines truth. My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes – many times – my feeling are out of sync with the truth. When that happens – and it happens every day in some measure – I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth. [165]

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This book (the transcript of the 2008 Desiring God conference) deals with the role, importance, and usage of words. Exploring the connection between language and the Lordship of Christ is much-needed. The contributors here took some good jabs but couldn’t quite connect on the knockout punch. Each chapter seemed too distant from the others, almost as if the topic was too broad and nebulous to get a bead on. It’s solid, but well short of exceptional.

The cross is the place where our sin is seen as most horrible and God’s free grace shines most brightly. Both of these mean we deserve nothing. Therefore, the cross undercuts pride and exalts Christ, not us. [74]

God’s design both in the cross and in election is “that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor. 1:29). [75]

Self-exaltation and Christ-exaltation can’t go together. [76]

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Piper examines the connection between God’s sovereignty and the reality of sin/ While God cannot sin, God can and does use sin to accomplish His ultimate purpose. From the sale of Joseph into slavery to the crucifixion of Christ, the most ‘spectacular sins’ in Scripture are actually part of God’s divine purpose. It’s not just that God made good from these things, but that He actually meant these very sins for good. A thought-provoking, highly-recommended read.

The worst sin ever committed served to show the greatest glory of Christ and obtain the sin-conquering gift of God’s grace. God did not just overcome evil at the cross. He made evil serve the overcoming of evil. He made evil commit suicide in doing its worst evil. [12]

Never doubt that God is totally for you in Christ. If you trust Him with your life, you are in Christ. Never doubt that all the evil that befalls you – even if it takes your life – is God’s loving, purifying, saving, fatherly discipline. It is not an expression of His punishment in wrath. That wrath fell on Jesus Christ our substitute. Only mercy comes to us from God, not wrath, if we are His children through faith in Jesus. [51]

God’s plan to save us through grace was not a response to human decisions to sin. Saving grace was the plan that made sin necessary. God did not find sin in the world and then make a plan to remedy it. He had the plan before the ages, and that plan was for the glory of sin-conquering grace through the death of Jesus Christ. [58]

When God permits something, He does so for a reason. And that reason is part of a plan. God does not act whimsically or haphazardly or aimlessly. [69]

The brothers meant the sale of Joseph for evil, but God meant it for good. Notice it does not say that God used their evil for good after they meant it for evil. It says that in the very act of evil, there were two different designs: In the sinful act, they were designing evil, and in the same sinful act, God was designing good. [81] 

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How can Christians remain faithful to the end of their lives? Many Christians in America are preparing to retire or have already done so. Others face their senior years with little direction or purpose. The authors of this book (edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor) convincingly argue that the ‘golden years’ should be times of faithful service and increased devotion to the Lord. The result is a challenging book, recommended for believers of all ages. 

Growing old to the glory of God means using whatever strength and eyesight and hearing and mobility and resources we have left to treasure Christ and in that joy to serve people—that is, to seek to bring them with us into the everlasting enjoyment of Christ. Serving people, and not ourselves, as the overflow of treasuring Christ makes Christ look great. [39]

Perseverance is not the means by which we get God to be for us; it is the effect of the fact that God is already for us. You cannot ever make God be for you by your good works because true Christian good works are the fruit of God’s already being for you. [42]

The mindset of our peers is that we must reward ourselves now in this life for the long years of our labor. Eternal rest and joy after death is an irrelevant consideration. When you don’t believe in heaven to come and you are not content in the glory of Christ now, you will seek the kind of retirement that the world seeks. But what a strange reward for a Christian to set his sights on! [47] 

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A compilation of messages delivered at a Together for the Gospel conference, this book addresses the notion of preaching from the perspective of several men who have been called to the preaching ministry. Filled with practical advice and timely exhortation concerning the proclamation of the Word, this book is easily recommended to anyone who stands behind a pulpit, or for any who would seek to better understand what preaching should be and what preaching should do.

God did not ordain the cross of Christ or create the lake of fire in order to communicate the insignificance of belittling his glory. The death of the Son of God and the damnation of unrepentant human beings are the loudest shouts under heaven that God is infinitely holy, and sin is infinitely offensive, and wrath is infinitely just, and grace is infinitely precious, and our brief life – and the life of every person in your church and in your community – leads to everlasting joy or everlasting suffering. If our preaching does not carry the weight of these things to our people, what will? [105]

The Creator of the universe, who is more glorious and more to be desired than any treasure on earth, has revealed himself  in Jesus Christ to be known and enjoyed forever by anyone in the world who will lay down the arms of rebellion, receive his blood-bought amnesty, and embrace his Son as Savior, Lord, and Treasure of their lives. [115] 

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One problem with suffering is that we often fail to consider it until we are in the midst of it. In those moments, we are unlikely to hear anything over the roar of our pain. Thankfully, books like this one take us through these issues before we face them, answering real questions for real situations. It takes suffering out of the academic realm and frames it squarely in terms of how it applies to our suffering.  

The glory of God shines most brightly, most fully, most beautifully in the manifestation of the glory of his grace. Therefore, this is the ultimate aim and the final explanation of all things—including suffering. [81]

The suffering of the servants of God, borne with faith and even praise, is a shattering experience to apathetic saints whose lives are empty in the midst of countless comforts. [97]

Suffering with joy proves to the world that our treasure is in heaven and not on the earth, and that this treasure is greater than anything the world has to offer. [107]

Satan and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. [211]

Even though God had a plan for Joseph in his apparent abandonment, it looked like everything was going wrong. When Joseph tried to do his very best, it went wrong. But God was never against him. Never. As a Christian you’re interpreting your situation wrongly if you think that. If you cast yourself on the Lord, if you trust him, if you love him, he’s going to work everything together for your good, if it takes thirteen years or twenty-seven years. [228]

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Depression and despair are seldom spoken of (or admitted to) in Christian circles, yet they are part of the human condition, and times of darkness will enter nearly every life. In the pastoral style he has become so connected with, Piper delves into an honest discussion of these dark times and offers genuine, Scriptural help for those who are in the midst of night. His approach and his instruction are both equally helpful and much needed.

Night will come for almost every Christian. And when it comes, we must wait for the Lord, cry to him, and know that our own self-indictment, rendered in the darkness, is not as sure as God’s Word spoken in the light. [40]

Faith is sustained by looking at Christ, crucified and risen, not by turning from Christ to analyze your faith…Paradoxically, if we would experience the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. We must focus on the greatness of our Savior. [41]

Despair is relentless in the certainties of its pessimism. But we have seen again and again, from our own experience and others’, that absolute statements of hopelessness that we make in the dark are notoriously unreliable. Our dark certainties are not sureties. [42]

If we want the joy of seeing and savoring Christ, we must not make peace with our sins. We must make war. [54]

The almost incredible hope of confessing and renouncing sin is that the Lord does not then rub it in our face but cancels it. He does not count it against us. [55] 

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William Wilberforce was born into a life of privilege and power but following his conversion to Christianity, devoted the rest of his life as an elected official to the abolition of slavery. It was a hard-fought, decades-long battle, but Wilberforce endured. As Piper points out in this brief account, Scripture’s teaching of human equality coupled with his personal faith in Christ motivated Wilberforce to persevere. His gospel-driven tenacity stands as a clarion call to Christians today.

He believed with all his heart that new affections for God were the key to new morals and lasting political reformation. And these new affections and this reformation did not come from mere ethical systems. They came from what he called the “peculiar doctrines” of Christianity. [22]

He sustained himself and swayed others by his joy. If a man can rob you of your joy, he can rob you of your usefulness. Wilberforce’s joy was indomitable and therefore he was a compelling Christian and politician all his life. This was the strong root of his endurance. [61]

When we say that Wilberforce’s happiness was unshakeable and undefeatable because it was beyond the reach of human vicissitudes, we don’t mean it was beyond struggle; we mean he had learned the secret of “the good fight” (1 Tim. 6:12), and that his embattled joy reasserted itself in and after every tumult in society and in the soul. [67]

Is it not remarkable that one of the greatest politicians of Britain and one of the most preserving public warriors for social justice should elevate doctrine so highly? Perhaps this is why the impact of the church today is as weak as it is. Those who are most passionate about being practical for the public good are often the least doctrinally interested or informed. [75]

In all our zeal today for racial harmony, or the sanctity of human life, or the building of a moral culture, let us not forget these lessons: Never minimize the central place of God-centered, Christ-exalting doctrine; labor to be indomitably joyful in all that God is for us in Christ by trusting His great finished work; and never be idle in doing good—that men may see our good deeds and give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). [76]

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Calvin, as Piper explains, generates little indifference: he is either admired or discounted, but seldom ignored. This brief book (originally a chapter of Piper’s The Legacy of Sovereign Joy) explains the motivation behind Calvin’s theology. Calvin was so enamored with the majesty and glory of God that he devoted himself to expositional preaching and pastorally caring for people in a culture that killed many of his fellow believers. A short, but insightful, introduction into Calvin’s life.

We do not negotiate what we want for reality. God defines reality. When we come into existence, we stand before a God who made us and owns us. We have absolutely no choice in this matter. We do not choose to be. And when we are, we do not choose that God be. No ranting and raving, no sophisticated doubt or skepticism, has any effect on the existence of God. He simply and absolutely is. [12]

The great guardian of biblical orthodoxy throughout the centuries is a passion for the glory and the excellency of God in Christ. Where the center shifts from God, everything begins to shift everywhere—a fact which does not bode well for doctrinal faithfulness in our own non-God-centered day. [18]

Remember that theology, for John Calvin, was forged in the furnace of martyrdom, and that Calvin could not sit idly by without some effort to vindicate the faithful and the God for whom they suffered. I think we would, perhaps, do our theology better today if more were at stake in what we said. [30]

Since the Scriptures are the very voice of God, and since they are therefore self-authenticating in revealing the majesty of God, and since the majesty and glory of God are the reason for all existence, it follows that Calvin’s life would be marked by ‘invincible constancy’ in the exposition of Scripture. [45]

Preaching remains a central event in the life of the church even five hundred years after the printing press and the arrival of radio and TV and computers. God’s Word is mainly about the majesty of God and the glory of God...there is something in it that cries out for expository exultation. This is why preaching will never die. [50]

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Released around the time of The Passion of the Christ movie, this book by Piper explores fifty reasons (per the Bible) that Jesus came to die. Each is explained in about two pages, making this book ideal for daily readings. Piper’s words are saturated with Scripture and his thoughts challenge casual readers to go beyond previous assumptions. We could all use more books about Christ on our shelves—this would be a solid one to add.

The ultimate answer to the question, ‘Who crucified Jesus?’ is: God did. It is a staggering thought. Jesus was His Son. And the suffering was unsurpassed. But the whole message of the Bible leads to this conclusion. [11]

There is no salvation by balancing the records. There is only salvation by canceling records. The record of our bad deeds (including our defective good deeds), along with the just penalties that each deserves, must be blotted out—not balanced. This is what Christ suffered and died to accomplish. [33]

Faith is not the ground of our acceptance with God. Christ alone is. Faith unites us to Christ so that His righteousness is counted as ours. [42]

Becoming a Christian means death to sin. The old self that loved sin died with Jesus. Sin is like a prostitute that no longer looks beautiful. She is the murderer of my King and myself. Therefore, the believer is dead to sin, no longer dominated by her attractions. Sin, the prostitute who killed my friend, has no appeal. She has become an enemy. [79]

The only thing that damns anybody is unforgiven sin. Hexes, enchantments, voodoo, séances, curses, black magic, apparitions, voices—none of these casts a person into hell. They are the bells and whistles of the devil. The one lethal weapon he has is the power to deceive us. His chief lie is that self-exaltation is more to be desired than Christ-exaltation, and sin preferable to righteousness. [96]

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Written by preachers for preachers, this instructive work details the value of proclaiming God’s Word -- as it is written -- without ceding to the temptation to modernize or minimize what it says. It also addresses what makes preaching effective and what must be avoided. As with any compilation, some chapters are more helpful than others, but the whole volume remains a benefit to those called to preach (or to those wondering what biblical preaching entails).

This is the hardest work in the world – to change the minds and hearts of fallen human beings, and make God so precious to them that they count it all joy when trials come, and exult in their affliction, and rejoice in the plundering of their property, and say in the end, “To die is gain.” [132]  

The aim of the ministry of the preacher is to display Christ, to show that He is more to be desired than all earthly comforts and pleasures. And the suffering of the preacher is designed to make clear that Christ is in fact that valuable, that precious. [136]  

Our aim in preaching is not to help our people feel treasured, but to help them treasure God. We must aim to preach in such a way that we breed a kind of people who feel loved not when they are made much of, but when they are patiently helped to enjoy making much of God, even when they themselves are slandered, ridiculed, persecuted, and killed. This is impossible with man, but with God all things are possible. [142]  

There are things to see in the Word of God that our eyes can only see through the lens of tears. [142]  

The first thing you will learn to say to your people is that they will suffer. You will make it a theme running through all your messages: They will get sick, they will be persecuted; and they will die. They must be reminded of these things again and again, because almost all forces in the culture are pushing them away from those realities and trying to get them not to think about it and therefore not to be ready for it, and certainly not value it when it comes. [143]  

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This devotional book is a collection of 31 brief thoughts covering a wide range of topics, yet each connected to the Word of God and its effect on our lives. Written in Piper’s easily accessible style, this short book is replete with valuable kernels of wisdom gleaned from the way living Scripture interacts with believers. Although its breadth and brevity often minimize its depth, there is still much to learn here for those willing to work.

Yes, the Word pierces. And there is pain. But for those who trust in the living Word, Jesus Christ, all the piercing will be pleasant in the end. The boil will be lanced. The cancer cut out. The poison removed. For those who trust the severe mercy of Jesus, all piercing is healing. [11]

Forgiveness is precious for one final reason: It enables you to enjoy fellowship with God. If you don’t want forgiveness for that reason, you won’t have it at all. God will not be used as currency for the purchase of idols. [18]

Sin is not just a list of harmful things (killing, stealing, etc.). Sin is leaving God out of account in the ordinary affairs of your life. Sin is anything you do that you don’t do for the glory of God. [28]

Jesus is not lonely. He and the Father and the Spirit are profoundly satisfied in the fellowship of the Trinity. We, not He, are starving for something. And what Jesus wants is for us to experience what we were really made for – seeing and savoring His glory. [62]

God is just as free to bless us before we get our act together as He is after. Since we are “unworthy” slaves before we have done what we should, and “unworthy” slaves afterwards as well, it is only grace that would prompt God to help us. Therefore He is free to help us before and after. This is a great incentive to trust Him for help when we feel like our act is not together. And this trust is exactly what obtains the power to get our act together. [100] 

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Are Christians justified by an internal or external righteousness? Piper presents a thorough, step-by-step exegetical argument that leaves only one clear interpretation: Christians are justified by the imputation of an external righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Just as Adam’s sin is imputed to all of humanity, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to all those who are in Him. Piper’s work brings much needed clarity to one of the most critical and necessary components of Christian faith.

There is an almost universal bondage in America to the mindset that we can only feel loved when we are made much of. The truth is, we are loved most deeply when we are helped to be free from that bondage and to find our joy in treasuring Christ and making much of Him. [34]

If Christ being made sin for us implies the imputation of our sin to Christ, then it is not arbitrary or unnatural to construe the parallel – our “becoming the righteousness of God in him” – as the imputation of God’s righteousness to us. We “become” God’s righteousness the way Christ “was made” our sin. He did not become morally sinful in the imputation; we do not become morally righteous in the imputation. He was counted as having our sin; we are counted as having God’s righteousness. This is the reality of imputation. And the righteousness imputed in not our faith but an external divine righteousness. [69]

Our justification before God is a divine righteousness that comes to us in a way analogous to the way Adam’s sin came to us. As we were in him and share in his sin, so we are in Christ and share in his righteousness. [93]

Our righteousness before God, our justification, is not based on what we have done, but on what Christ did. His righteous act, his obedience, is counted as ours. We are counted, or appointed, righteous in him. It is a real righteousness, and it is ours, but it is only ours by imputation. [110]

This doctrine [justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ] bestows on Jesus Christ the fullest honor that he deserves. Not only should he be honored as the one who died to pardon us, and not only should he be honored as the one who sovereignly works faith and obedience in us, but he should also be honored as the one who provided a perfect righteousness for us as the ground of our full acceptance and endorsement by God. [125] 

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In this revised edition of an earlier work, Piper details the manner in which preaching must—first and foremost—exalt God and magnify His greatness. This is critical because, as Piper smartly explains, glorifying God is best done by enjoying Him. A section on Jonathan Edwards (a theologian heavily studied by Piper) in the second half of the book helps flesh out these ideas more fully. Piper has produced a well-premised and useful approach to preaching. 

The greatness and the glory of God are relevant. It does not matter if surveys turn up a list of perceived needs that does not include the supreme greatness of the sovereign God of grace. That is the deepest need. Our people are starving for God. [14]

Man-centered humans are amazed that God should withhold life and joy from His creatures. But the God-centered Bible is amazed that God should withhold judgment from sinners. [34]

Labor on behalf of the elect is not icing on the cake of their eternal security. It is God’s appointed means of keeping them secure. Eternal security is a community project (Heb. 3:12-13), and preaching is part of God’s securing power. He calls effectually by the Word and He keeps effectually by the Word. [62]

Many people are willing to say that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But by and large they consider the enjoyment of God optional and do not understand that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. [79]

Lack of intensity in preaching can only communicate that the preacher does not believe or has never been seriously gripped by the reality of which he speaks—or that the subject matter is insignificant. [103]

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