Hello all! Here is my review/summary of John Piper's book.
Title: The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die
Author: John Piper
Published: by Crossway Book in 2004
Background Information: John Piper is the Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. He has written numerous books and you can listen and learn more about him by checking out his website at: http://www.desiringgod.org/
I am mostly familiar with John Piper through his sermon messages, I have read, I think, one other book by him besides this one. This book I'm reviewing has 122 pages, it would be a great book to supplement your daily devotions, use as a supplement to family devotions, or just to read. :-) The chapters are short, two pages, that answer the question of "Why Christ Suffered and Died."
The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die...
His introduction is titled "The Christ, The Crucifixion, and the Concentration Camps." Main points/titles from the Introduction are: God Meant it for Good, What Does the Word Passion Mean?, How was the Passion of Jesus Unique? His Passion Was Vindicated by the Resurrection, and The Passion of Christ and the Passion of Auschwitz. He writes a few answers/paragraphs on each of those points.
I am including all 50 reasons, which are the titles for each of the chapters. Each chapter deals with each if the reasons in more depth. At the end, I will give a few quotes/points that I liked from reading it.
1. To Absorb the Wrath of God
2. To Please His Heavenly Father
3. To Learn Obedience and Be Perfected
4. To Achieve His Own Resurrection from the Dead
5. To Show the Wealth of God's Love and Grace for Sinners
6. To Show His Own Love for Us
7. To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us
8. To Become a Ransom for Many
9. For the Forgiveness of Our Sins
10. To Provide the Basis for Our Justification
11. To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness
12. To Take Away Our Condemnation
13. To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation
14. To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful
15. To Make Us Holy, Blameless, and Perfect
16. To Give Us a Clear Conscience
17. To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us
18. To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness
19. To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him
20. To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age
21. To Reconcile Us to God
22. To Bring Us to God
23. So That We Might Belong to Him
24. To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place
25. To Become for Us the Place Where We Meet God
26. To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End and Become the Eternal High Priest
27. To Become a Sympathetic and Helpful Priest
28. To Free Us from the Futility of Our Ancestry
29. To Free us from the Slavery of Sin
30. That We Might Die to Sin and Live to Righteousness
31. So That We Would Die to the Law and Bear Fruit for God
32. To Enable Us to Live for Christ and Not Ourselves
33. To Make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting
34. To Enable Us to Live by Faith in Him
35. To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning
36. To Create a People Passionate for Good Works
37. To Call Us to Follow His Example of Lowliness and Costly Love
38. To Create a Band of Crucified Followers
39. To Free Us from Bondage to the Fear of Death
40. So That We would Be with Him Immediately After Death
41. To Secure Our Resurrection from the Dead
42. To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities
43. To Unleash the Power of God in the Gospel
44. To Destroy the Hostility Between Races
45. To Ransom People from Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation
46. To Gather All His Sheep from Around the World
47. To Rescue Us from Final Judgement
48. To Gain His Joy and Ours
49. So That He would Be Crowned with Glory and Honor
50. To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant by God for Good
All emphasis below are my own.
In Chapter 16, dealing with the issue of conscience he writes:
"So here we are in the modern age--the age of science, Internet, organ transplants, instant messaging, cell phones--and our problem is fundamentally the same as always: Our conscience condemns us. We don't feel good enough to come to God. And no matter how distorted our consciences are, this much is true: We are not good enough to come to him."
At the end of the same chapter he writes:
"The only answer in these modern times, as in all other times, is the blood of Christ. When our conscience rises up and condemns us, where will we turn? We turn to Christ. We turn to the suffering and death of Christ--the blood of Christ. This is the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death." (p. 51)
In chapter 20, dealing with " to deliver us from the present evil age" he writes:
"The resounding cry of freedom in the Bible is, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12: 2) In other words, be free! Don't be duped by the gurus of the age. They are here today and gone tomorrow. One enslaving fad follows another. Thirty years from now today's tattoos will not be marks of freedom, but indelible reminders of conformity." He also writes:
"Don't follow a defeated foe. Follow Christ. It is costly. You will be an exile is this age. But you will be free." (p. 59)
In chapter 33, he deals with "To make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting" he writes:
"We are not as Christ-centered and cross-cherishing as we should be, because we do not ponder the truth that everything good, and everything bad that God turns for good, was purchased by the sufferings of Christ." He concludes:
"Being dead to the world means that every legitimate pleasure in the world becomes a blood-bought evidence of Christ's love and an occasion of boasting in the cross. When our hearts run back along the beam of blessing to the source in the cross, then the worldliness of the blessing is dead, and Christ crucified is everything." (p. 85)
In chapter 42 when he writes about "To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities" he is referring to demonic powers, Satan, etc. in that chapter, not earthly governments. (just thought I should clarify that) At the end of the chapter he writes:
"Let us then turn away from the temptations of the devil. His promises are lies, and his power is stripped." (p 103).
And finally, in chapter 50 when he writes about "To show that the worst evil is meant by God for good" he says:
"But the most astonishing thing is that evil and suffering were Christ's appointed way of victory over evil and suffering. Every act of treachery and brutality against Jesus was sinful and evil. But God was in it." He concludes:
"Is not then the passion of Jesus Christ meant by God to show the world that there is no sin and no evil too great that God, in Christ, cannot bring from it everlasting righteousness and joy? The very suffering that we caused became the hope of our salvation."Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:24)" (p. 119)
Hope that was helpful to you! There was a lot more I could of pulled out, but I resisted the temptation to drag out the post! :-) I enjoyed the book a lot, and would recommend it to anyone. Any comments? Which of the chapter points stands out to you the most? Do you want me to discuss/pull any more quotes out of the book from any particular chapter?
Have a great day!
Title: The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die
Author: John Piper
Published: by Crossway Book in 2004
Background Information: John Piper is the Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. He has written numerous books and you can listen and learn more about him by checking out his website at: http://www.desiringgod.org/
I am mostly familiar with John Piper through his sermon messages, I have read, I think, one other book by him besides this one. This book I'm reviewing has 122 pages, it would be a great book to supplement your daily devotions, use as a supplement to family devotions, or just to read. :-) The chapters are short, two pages, that answer the question of "Why Christ Suffered and Died."
The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die...
His introduction is titled "The Christ, The Crucifixion, and the Concentration Camps." Main points/titles from the Introduction are: God Meant it for Good, What Does the Word Passion Mean?, How was the Passion of Jesus Unique? His Passion Was Vindicated by the Resurrection, and The Passion of Christ and the Passion of Auschwitz. He writes a few answers/paragraphs on each of those points.
I am including all 50 reasons, which are the titles for each of the chapters. Each chapter deals with each if the reasons in more depth. At the end, I will give a few quotes/points that I liked from reading it.
1. To Absorb the Wrath of God
2. To Please His Heavenly Father
3. To Learn Obedience and Be Perfected
4. To Achieve His Own Resurrection from the Dead
5. To Show the Wealth of God's Love and Grace for Sinners
6. To Show His Own Love for Us
7. To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us
8. To Become a Ransom for Many
9. For the Forgiveness of Our Sins
10. To Provide the Basis for Our Justification
11. To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness
12. To Take Away Our Condemnation
13. To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation
14. To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful
15. To Make Us Holy, Blameless, and Perfect
16. To Give Us a Clear Conscience
17. To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us
18. To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness
19. To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him
20. To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age
21. To Reconcile Us to God
22. To Bring Us to God
23. So That We Might Belong to Him
24. To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place
25. To Become for Us the Place Where We Meet God
26. To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End and Become the Eternal High Priest
27. To Become a Sympathetic and Helpful Priest
28. To Free Us from the Futility of Our Ancestry
29. To Free us from the Slavery of Sin
30. That We Might Die to Sin and Live to Righteousness
31. So That We Would Die to the Law and Bear Fruit for God
32. To Enable Us to Live for Christ and Not Ourselves
33. To Make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting
34. To Enable Us to Live by Faith in Him
35. To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning
36. To Create a People Passionate for Good Works
37. To Call Us to Follow His Example of Lowliness and Costly Love
38. To Create a Band of Crucified Followers
39. To Free Us from Bondage to the Fear of Death
40. So That We would Be with Him Immediately After Death
41. To Secure Our Resurrection from the Dead
42. To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities
43. To Unleash the Power of God in the Gospel
44. To Destroy the Hostility Between Races
45. To Ransom People from Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation
46. To Gather All His Sheep from Around the World
47. To Rescue Us from Final Judgement
48. To Gain His Joy and Ours
49. So That He would Be Crowned with Glory and Honor
50. To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant by God for Good
All emphasis below are my own.
In Chapter 16, dealing with the issue of conscience he writes:
"So here we are in the modern age--the age of science, Internet, organ transplants, instant messaging, cell phones--and our problem is fundamentally the same as always: Our conscience condemns us. We don't feel good enough to come to God. And no matter how distorted our consciences are, this much is true: We are not good enough to come to him."
At the end of the same chapter he writes:
"The only answer in these modern times, as in all other times, is the blood of Christ. When our conscience rises up and condemns us, where will we turn? We turn to Christ. We turn to the suffering and death of Christ--the blood of Christ. This is the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death." (p. 51)
In chapter 20, dealing with " to deliver us from the present evil age" he writes:
"The resounding cry of freedom in the Bible is, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12: 2) In other words, be free! Don't be duped by the gurus of the age. They are here today and gone tomorrow. One enslaving fad follows another. Thirty years from now today's tattoos will not be marks of freedom, but indelible reminders of conformity." He also writes:
"Don't follow a defeated foe. Follow Christ. It is costly. You will be an exile is this age. But you will be free." (p. 59)
In chapter 33, he deals with "To make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting" he writes:
"We are not as Christ-centered and cross-cherishing as we should be, because we do not ponder the truth that everything good, and everything bad that God turns for good, was purchased by the sufferings of Christ." He concludes:
"Being dead to the world means that every legitimate pleasure in the world becomes a blood-bought evidence of Christ's love and an occasion of boasting in the cross. When our hearts run back along the beam of blessing to the source in the cross, then the worldliness of the blessing is dead, and Christ crucified is everything." (p. 85)
In chapter 42 when he writes about "To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities" he is referring to demonic powers, Satan, etc. in that chapter, not earthly governments. (just thought I should clarify that) At the end of the chapter he writes:
"Let us then turn away from the temptations of the devil. His promises are lies, and his power is stripped." (p 103).
And finally, in chapter 50 when he writes about "To show that the worst evil is meant by God for good" he says:
"But the most astonishing thing is that evil and suffering were Christ's appointed way of victory over evil and suffering. Every act of treachery and brutality against Jesus was sinful and evil. But God was in it." He concludes:
"Is not then the passion of Jesus Christ meant by God to show the world that there is no sin and no evil too great that God, in Christ, cannot bring from it everlasting righteousness and joy? The very suffering that we caused became the hope of our salvation."Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:24)" (p. 119)
Hope that was helpful to you! There was a lot more I could of pulled out, but I resisted the temptation to drag out the post! :-) I enjoyed the book a lot, and would recommend it to anyone. Any comments? Which of the chapter points stands out to you the most? Do you want me to discuss/pull any more quotes out of the book from any particular chapter?
Have a great day!
4 comments:
Didn't this book come out around the same time as "The Passion of the Christ" movie?
Yes, I think it did! I had forgotten about that. :-) We may have even passed the books out in the community as a church project. However, that was awhile ago, so I'm having trouble remembering if we did that. :-) But I think we did. :-)Have you read it? In some ways it reminds me of the "Gospel Primer" book from the Na conference.
Have a great day!
Amanda :-)
I remember the church giving away those books back when we first started coming to Valley Chapel.
I think Dad got a copy of the book. I might have to scavenger through our books to see if I can find it. :-)
Cool! Yep, it's a pretty short read, and worth it. If you can't find your copy, you can borrow ours, or Pastor probably has one. :-)(I got this from the August Youth Retreat, I think Dad has one around here somewhere too... :-) )
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