How much did he leave?
“Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” Proverbs 23:5
People are badly cheated in this world. They imagine that the things they can see are the real things–that the gold, lands, and stocks are the true treasures. So they toil for those things and gather them into their possession, piling up what they suppose to be wealth. Thus they live in pomp, with their fine houses, and all their brilliant show. But one day their supposed riches sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Or they may keep their wealth, perchance, and die at last in the midst of it, and have a great funeral; but they find that they cannot carry a penny of it with them. “How much did he leave?” was asked about a rich man who had died. “All of it!” was the answer.
If only people knew that there are things which will never fly away–they would no longer live for fleeting worldly wealth. They would pass by the glittering unrealities, to lay hold of the true riches. He who is rich toward God–is the truly wealthy man.
(J. R. Miller, “Counsel and Help” 1907)
Read MoreThe “I’m not a Calvinist or an Arminian” Statement
Read MoreCalvinism and Arminianism are usually just used as shorthand for Monergism & Synergism. Either you believe regeneration precedes faith or you do not? Either you affirm that Christ is sufficient to provide all you need for salvation (including a new heart to believe) or you affirm Christ in necessary but not sufficient i.e. provides only the opportunity but not the effectual grace. You either believe in the necessity of the effectual work of the Holy Spirit in salvation or you do not. If you ask yourself, “is faith also part of the gift of grace Christ purchases for his own” (John 6:63-65) OR “is faith the product of our unregenerated human nature?” The answer to these questions make it clear wither you believe salvation is by grace alone OR grace PLUS something you contribute. This is the essence of what people mean when they compare these two understanding of the Bible. You are either a monergist or synergist: Christ Alone or Christ PLUS. There is no third option.
Next Week: Ask Pastor John Live
Read MoreA week from today we’ll be streaming our next live session of Ask Pastor John. If you aren’t familiar with the way we’ve been doing these recently, this is an event where John Piper hears and answers a variety of questions in front of a live viewing audience.
Where do the questions come from? They come from you! Anybody can submit a question, and the question can be about anything. Just make sure it’s less than 140 characters, though, since you have to send it through Twitter (and don’t forget to include the hashtag #apjwith it).
The event will run from 7:00pm to 8:30pm Central Time—primetime—March 31st on our live events webpage.
This could be a great opportunity to gather friends, family, roommates, or neighbors to ask and hear what God might have to say through Pastor John as he seeks to represent God’s word.
Calvinism Debate on the Dividing Line
Read MoreFor those interested, we will be covering three texts of Scripture on Thursday: John 6, Romans 8/9, and Ephesians 1. Each will have 8 minutes to provide their exegesis of the text; then we will have four minutes of cross-ex each, then three minute conclusions before moving on to the next text. I know, not a lot of time, but that still covers 90 full minutes (we will not be taking any breaks at all).
The following Thursday we will repeat the process, but this time covering Michael’s chosen texts, Luke 13:34-35 (Deut 5:28-29) Ezek 18:21-32 (Jer 3:19-20; Ezek 22:30-31) I John 2:1-2 (2 Pet 2:1).
Remember, to make room for Michael’s program (which cannot, like the DL, be moved around at will), we will be starting at 10am our time (1pm EDT).
