John Piper: Do You Agree with him?

JP says that unbelievers must maintain a certain level of morality to preserve their “potential” of being saved,

 “When Is Saving Repentance Impossible? … there is a spiritual condition that makes repentance and salvation impossible … there is a situation where repentance and pressing on to maturity is impossible … The prospect exists that you and I who believe we are chosen and called and justified might slide into a slow process of indifference and hardening and eventually fall away and reject Christ and put him to an open shame. We may actually come to a point where there is no return, because we have been forsaken utterly by God … Oh, how it should put you on an urgent pursuit of mercy this morning!” {1}

Piper says that all unbelievers have the “potential” to be saved. However, if the unbeliever does not maintain some level of morality, then the unbeliever forfeits their ““potential”” to be saved. In other words, the only unbelievers that can be saved are the ones who have maintained a certain level of morality.

For example, if an unbeliever joins a church but then slides into a “slow process of indifference”, then they forfeit their “potential” to be saved. And if a person is not in an “urgent pursuit of mercy”, then they forfeit their “potential” to be saved. Piper would say that: God put the image of God in them – they had their “potential” – but they didn’t try to use the light they had in them.

Notice in the quote below – Piper talks about the “potential” for all unbelievers to be saved, as long as they maintain a certain level of morality –

“… we should feel a desire for the salvation of the unbelieving because they were made in the image of God and THEIR POTENTIAL TO LIVE FOR HIS GLORY IS THERE AS LONG AS THEY LIVE ON EARTH. It is a far greater tragedy when a person dies without Christ than when a dog dies without Christ. When a person dies without Christ, THE POTENTIAL of the image of God is gone forever. All the glory that could have been will never be. If they had only believed, they could have shone like the sun in the kingdom of God. And while they live, they may yet believe. And O how we should desire it! THAT THE IMAGE OF GOD MIGHT SHINE TO HIS GLORY!” {2}

So unbelievers have “the potential” to be saved – “they were made in the image of God and their potential to live for his glory is there as long as they live on earth”.

Indeed, an unbeliever having the image of God = the potential for that unbeliever to be saved (according to JP). That means that if all unbelievers did NOT have the image of God in them, then they could NOT all have the potential to be saved. However, since all unbelievers are in the image of God (according to Piper), he thinks that they all have the potential to be saved. Of course, they can only be saved if they maintain a certain level of morality. (If they fall below a certain level of morality, Piper says the unbeliever reaches a “spiritual condition that makes repentance and salvation impossible).

For example, Piper tells his congregation that if they commit certain sins, they will lose the opportunity of ever being saved.

“.. there is a hardening against God that goes over the line and can no longer repent.  … There are “sins,” “encumbrances” and “single meals” that we need to be renounce. I invite you to take a moment and seek God’s insight into what they are in your life. Write them on the leaflet of the worship folder, commit yourself to this renunciation, pray for God’s grace in a time of need, and symbolically drop them in the receptacle on your way out. … THE COMMANDS OF GOD ARE NOT GIVEN TO US SO THAT WE MIGHT GET GOD TO ACT FOR US. They are given to us so that we might trust that – even in our hardest times – God is already at work for us to accomplish the very things he commands us to do. I am designing to bring about your holiness in all your pain . . .” {3}

My comment: I suppose if they had not written on the “leaflet of the worship folder … and symbolically dropped them in the receptacle”, they would have been taking a step towards “the spiritual condition that makes salvation and repentance impossible.”  The act that kept them from the state where “repentance is impossible” is their abstinence from certain sins.

Clearly, this is salvation by works. The book of Romans says the Law was designed that “offence (sin) might abound”. And because sin abounded, that meant that Christ could come and obey the Law for his people – “by the obedience of One shall many be justified” (Rom 5:19).  So Christ imputes this righteousness to hiss people (and that’s the purpose of the Law – to condemn the elect, that Christ might do everything necessary to save them, without them lifting their finger).

But Piper turns the Law into a scheme whereby unbelievers who abstain from certain sins still have “the potential to be saved”. Whilst other unbelievers – who maintain a lower level of morality – reach a “spiritual condition that makes salvation and repentance impossible”. So, according to Piper, there are two groups of unbelievers – 1) those that still have the potential to be saved because they maintain a certain level of morality and 2) those that have lost “the potential” to be saved, because they feel below a certain level of morality.

Now, for the first group – the group that still have the potential to be saved – conversion for them, is when their “potential” is completed. Indeed, Piper says that unbelievers are already a bit “like God”, so conversion is “coming to yourself” (realising the “god” in you, I suppose?). Perhaps Piper’s next catchphrase will be “conversion is when you become a little more like God”.  He says,

“When you are alienated from God you are always alienated from yourself. … You were made by God in the image of God for God. These are the three main things about your identity as a human being; YOU ARE made by God, LIKE GOD, for God. Therefore CONVERSION IS “COMING TO YOURSELF” as well as coming to God.”{4}

ANOTHER IMPLICATION: Piper’s whole idea – that unbelievers already know God “deep down” even without the Bible – has serious implications. Because if God communicates with unbelievers outside of the Bible, wouldn’t God also do extra-biblical revelation with believers?

If Piper is right (and God puts his “voice” in unbelievers’ consciences), then wouldn’t God lead believers extra-biblically too? Yes, according to Piper, who writes,

“Right now I am praying for a friend who grew up in a Christian home …  but is now repudiating his faith and is actively pursuing the lust of the … I don’t know if this is temporary or not. I am still hopeful that it is temporary and so I am interceding for him. There may come a time, however, when the SPIRIT WILL DIRECT ME to use that energy in praying for someone else.” {5}

What ever happened to “Sola Scriptura”? You know, the teaching that the Holy Spirit does NOT communicate outside the Bible? How can someone say the Holy Spirit “directs them” outside the words of Scripture?

Surely, it is not a coincidence – Piper says that God communicates with unbelievers by means other than the Bible (apparently, God puts his “voice” in their conscience). And then Piper also says that God with “direct” him when to change his prayer schedule. So Piper holds the views that God communicates extra-biblically with 1) believers and 2) unbelievers. The two views stand or fall together.

It’s sad. Because Piper says that God’s truth is in both believers and unbelievers – he also says that the truth in the believer cannot give the believer comfort that he is saved. Indeed, the truth is a common, useless thing, according to Piper. (I say “useless”, because Piper says you can have the truth in you, and still not believe. Unbelievers can “suppress” the truth in them, according to Piper. In other words, God’s truth can be overpowered by the will of man, JP implies.)

And since the truth is a common, useless thing in Piper’s teaching, this forces him to make humility and love, the grounds of assurance of salvation. The truth cannot be the grounds of assurance of salvation, since unbelievers already have it in them. Therefore the assurance of salvation must be based on your humility and love.

Piper writes,
==== “The evidence that the Holy Spirit presents to our own spirits and to the community is first of all the EVIDENCE OF LOVE. The Spirit puts within us a HUMBLE HEART of love and so gives EVIDENCE of his presence and power…. === {6}

=== Assurance will diminish in the presence of concealed sin…We must often wait patiently for the return of assurance.” === {7}

Is it any wonder that Piper’s assurance is “diminished” when he sins grievously?

Notice from the quote above that he is basing his assurance on his humility and love. It’s his “humble heart” that proves to him he is saved. This means that when he sins grievously — for example, showing a lack of humility — his “proof” has disappeared, and he loses his assurance. In other words, Piper has made his assurance dependent on his works, and will have doubts about his salvation whenever he realises how far his works fall short of God’s Law.

There is a major problem with basing our assurance on our works. If we have to base our assurance on our works, the more we come to understand the Bible, the less assurance we will have. How ironic!! Because the more we understand the demands of God’s law, the more we will see how far short we fall of it. And if we are basing our assurance on our works, we will LOSE OUR ASSURANCE as we see more and more how much our works fail to meet the requirements of the Law.

Don’t get me wrong. It is true that all believers experience love and humility. However, these are not the basis of assurance. In fact, believer obeys God of THANKS and gratitude. They obey because they already know God saved them! And HOW do they know he has saved them? Because they believe the facts of the Gospel. Indeed, if belief is sufficient proof we are saved, and believers are sealed at all times as believers, then we will never doubt our salvation. The belief in the Gospel will always prove to us we are saved.

Or was Paul wrong when he said in Colossians 2:2 that they should be COMFORTED because they UNDERSTOOD? Aren’t we to base the evidence our salvation on our belief of the truth? The Apostle also said to the Roman believers, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace IN BELIEVING” Rom 15:13. Why did the Romans have peace and joy? How did they know they were saved? What evidence proved to them, they were saved? It was their belief of the truth!! They were to have their peace and joy “IN BELIEVING”. Paul says NOTHING about finding their peace and joy in their good works.  And to the Hebrews, he said, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance OF FAITH, our hearts having been sprinkled from an evil conscience” Heb 10:22. Why were Hebrews to draw near to God? Was it because they looked at their works? No!!! The reason they knew they were saved was by their BELIEF. They were assured because of their FAITH.

We are at a crossroads. Shall we follow Piper down a road that destroys assurance of salvation? He is teaching that…

1) The lost can believe the Gospel
2) Belief in the Gospel cannot prove to us we are saved
3) So we must base the evidence of salvation on our works

Now, is it any coincidence that Piper has doubted his salvation in the past?

On the other hand, there is an alternative view to Piper which says

1) The lost possess no knowledge of God (they hear but do not believe)
2) Therefore, belief of the truth proves to the believer he is saved
3) Thus, the believer loves God out of thanks and gratitude, knowing even before he does his good works, that God has saved him.

This is the only view that guarantees the assurance of salvation that the Bible says all believers have. The Scripture says that believers are “not being moved away from the hope” and are “holding fast the boldness”. In fact they have assurance “from the beginning to the end”. Their belief proves to them at all times that they are saved.

“But Christ as Son over His house, whose house we are, IF TRULY WE HOLD FAST THE BOLDNESS and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Heb 3:6. “For we have become partakers of Christ, if truly we hold the BEGINNING OF THE ASSURANCE FIRM TO THE END” Heb 3:14  “he reconciled [you] … if indeed you continue in the faith GROUNDED and SETTLED and not being moved away from the HOPE of the gospel” (Col 1:21-23)

And John 3:33 says that people who receive the testimony of God have “set to their seal that God is true”.

So if belief is sufficient proof we are saved, and believers are sealed at all times as believers, then we will never doubt our salvation. The belief in the Gospel will always prove to us we are saved.

Remember, the unregenerate possess no knowledge of God (they hear but do not believe), so if you believe the Gospel, it is IMPOSSIBLE for you be a lost person.

Isaiah 1:3 and Jeremiah 8:7 says that animals have more recognition of their environment, than the unregenerate do about God. Deep down, the unregenerate do NOT believe in the True God. They say in their hearts, “there is no God”, that is, they do not believe in the Just God and Savior. Also, the Galatians were “not knowing God” but after their conversion were “knowing God”. Can a man go from knowing nothing about God at one point in time — then when he realises who the True God is — can he doubt he has been converted? Surely, you could never doubt you have been converted, after having such a radical change of mind !

Can somebody standing in broad sunlight doubt they are in the light? 2 Corinthians 4:6 says the light of Christ shines into the believer’s heart. So a believer can never doubt his salvation, since you cannot be in the light and not know it. Doesn’t Hebrews 3:4-14 say that all believers “HOLD FAST THE BOLDNESS and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” and that they “hold the BEGINNING OF THE ASSURANCE FIRM TO THE END” ?

If you cannot perceive Christ in your mind, you are not saved (2 Cor 13:5). After all, believers never thirst for everlasting life (John 4:14). Think about it. If a believer doubted their salvation, they would be thirsting for salvation. But Christ said believers NEVER thirst, so believers never doubt their salvation. Moreover, all believers have EQUALLY PRECIOUS FAITH WITH THE APOSTLES (2 Pet 1:1). Since the Apostles never doubted, neither will believers today. Anyone who doubts is “unstable in ALL his ways”, and “cannot expect anything from God” (Jam 1:6-8). If you doubt God’s promise you are calling God a liar (1 John 5:10).

CONCLUSION

We need a clear definition of what faith is. To say that faith in Christ is having the words of the Gospel abiding and believed in your mind is easy to understand.   Again such a definition makes it easy for believer to know that they have faith. They simply examine whether or not they believe the facts of the Gospel. (By the way the Bible does define faith this way in Hebrews 11:3 faith is simply assurance / a conviction, in 1 John 5:10 it is receiving the testimony of God, in John 3:33 it is being certain what God says is true, in John 17:3 it is having the knowledge of God and Christ, in 2 John 9 it is having the doctrine of Christ, in John 8:32 it is having the knowledge of the truth, in 1 John 5:20 it is hearing and believing the Gospel)

If we held to this view, we would always be infallibly assured of our salvation. Because we would think “I believe the words of Christ, therefore I am hearing Christ, and I am a believer.”

Our belief in the facts of the Gospel would prove to us we are saved! And we would never doubt we are saved, because since we believe at all times, the proof would always be there.

Note — For the definition of the Gospel — http://Godnoliar.com/gospel.htm

And — Does 1 John teach assurance by works — http://Godnoliar.com/1john.htm

Check out the Psalms Project too — http://psalms.pbwiki.com

References

{1} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1996/971_When_Is_Saving_Repentance_Impossible/
{2} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1986/473_My_Hearts_Desire_That_They_Might_Be_Saved/
{3} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1996/970_Let_Us_Press_On_To_Maturity/
{4} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1995/921_Coming_to_Yourself_and_Coming_to_The_Father/
{5} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1985/494_Our_Father_Hears_Us/
{6} www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1985/488_Test_the_Spirits_to_See_Whether_They_are_of_God/
{7} www.desiringgod.org/…/TasteAndSee/ByDate/
1999/1134_Helping_People_Have_the_Assurance_of_Salvation/

John Piper Denies Total Depravity?

** John Piper says unbelievers have a nature that spreads an aroma of sanctity and reverence

“[Speaking to his congregation, he says] … BEWARE OF DESPISING ANYONE. Every time you disapprove of someone – a politician, a colleague, a church member or leader, a person of another culture or race – remember that God has written his law on that person’s heart and given him or her the knowledge of himself. This is to be marveled and wondered at, not despised. HUMAN NATURE in the image of God, fallen and depraved as it is, SHOULD nevertheless SPREAD THE AROMA OF SANCTITY AND REVERENCE over all our repugnance or disagreement. THERE IS AN HONOR THAT BELONGS TO MAN as man in the image of God, who wrote his law on all our hearts.”{1}

{Question for JP: Unbelievers have a nature that spreads an aroma of sanctity and reverence??? And unbelievers are in the image of God? I thought Jude 1:10 says they are “brute beasts” and Genesis 6 says they are just FLESH – they’re now in the image of the devil! He “works in their hearts”, “blinds their thoughts” (2 Cor 4:4) and all unbelievers are “deceived”, “darkened in the intellect” (Eph 4). Obviously, they are NOT in the image of God – in fact, unbelievers don’t even know the difference between good and evil – they call “light, darkness and darkness light”! And “by the mouth the heart overflows” (Luke 6). So the confusion and stupidity that comes out of unbelievers’ mouths shows us that there is NO TRUTH IN THEM}

** JP says that all the sinful desires of unbelievers are actually desires for God

“… we all know that the beauty we crave for our physical eyes is only satisfying if we see it as the outward form of a deeper moral, spiritual, and personal beauty, ultimately God’s Beauty. … Whether you know it or not, ALL THE LONGINGS OF YOUR LIFE FOR BEAUTY ARE LONGINGS FOR THIS: “THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL of the beauty of Christ who is the image of God. Turn to Jesus as Lord! Open yourself to the Spirit of Christ. And the veil will be lifted. … I think, is that there is in every person a God-given sense that beauty must have meaning that is larger and more permanent than personal quirks. THIS URGE FOR ULTIMATE MEANING IS EVIDENCE OF OUR CREATION IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.” {2}

{My Comment: Apparently, the fact that unbelievers have an “urge for ultimate meaning” proves God exists.  Well sure – its logically *possible* that the urge in unbelievers for meaning was implanted there by a god. But is this the only logical possibility? Of couse not. According to Piper’s logic – couldn’t there be many gods, and they all chose to implant an “urge for meaning” in man? Remember, there are often MULTIPLE architects behind one building.  So Piper’s logic no more proves the existence of many gods (who could have implanted the urge), than it proves the existence of one god. Piper is committing a logical fallacy and should read Hebrews 11:3 – man by nature does NOT know “deep down” that God created the worlds – it’s only by BELIEF in God’s word that a man can know, understand and believe that fact.

The age-old argument from design (there is evidently design, so the God of the Bible is true) is completely fallacious. It no more proves that Jehovah exists, than it proves Allah exists! Drop the arguments and accept that it’s “BY FAITH (belief) men understand that God created the worlds”. We don’t understand that through your logical fallacies, OK??}

** Back in 1993, JP said Bill Clinton is in the “likeness of the living God”

“My question today is: How can I as a pro-life Christian honor President-elect Bill Clinton… We will honor you, Mr. President … by acknowledging that you are a man, created in the image of God, and distinct among all the beings in the world … You are not a mere animal. You have the glorious potential, like all humans, of being a child of God (if you aren’t already) and shining like the sun in the kingdom of God for ever and ever. WE HONOR YOU AS AN UTTERLY UNIQUE, HUMAN BEING CREATED IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF THE LIVING GOD WITH UNTOLD POTENTIAL.”{3}

{Q for JP: is Bill Clinton really “an utterly unique, human being created in the image and LIKENESS OF THE LIVING GOD with untold potential”? What do God and Bill Clinton have in common?}

** JP Tells Unbelievers they are “like God”  …

“When you are alienated from God you are always alienated from yourself. … You were made by God in the image of God for God. These are the three main things about your identity as a human being; YOU ARE made by God, LIKE GOD, for God. Therefore CONVERSION IS “COMING TO YOURSELF” as well as coming to God. It is discovering where you came from and who you are and why you exist. Running from God is always a running from ourselves. Repentance is waking up to this truth.”{4}

{Q for JP: Unbelievers are “like God”? And conversion is “coming to yourself”?? Also — Piper over and over tells unbelievers that they “have truth in them”, “know God and his law” and “have God’s voice in them”. I wonder – Why does Piper have to remind unbelievers of this so much? If they actually have the “voice of God in them”, wouldn’t they know it already? Or, can you have the voice of God in your conscience, and not even know it? The problem is – Why is Piper saying that God’s voice in the unbeliever’s conscience is USELESS? The unbeliever has the ability to suppress, ignore and forget the voice of God in their conscience (according to Piper). That’s just another way of saying that the will of man can overpower the truth of God. Clearly, the reason unbelievers don’t believe is — THEY ARE WITHOUT TRUTH — their minds are full of lies, logical fallacies and confusion. Proverbs says they are “void of understanding”! This view says that IF GOD PUTS TRUTH IN SOMEONE THEY WILL LOVE AND OBEY IT. (See the whole Bible) But Piper would lead us to think that unbelievers do have understanding and truth in them and YET can ignore, supress and forget about the truth. Talk about making the truth of “none effect”, JP!}

** And after telling unbelievers that they are “like God”, Piper also says that God desires to save all unbelievers

“If you don’t find God and his ways and promises satisfying, and you turn to the world as your real love, then you put emotion between you and God and bring down the wrath of God. … GOD IS JEALOUS FOR YOUR AFFECTION and admiration. He has created you so that he might be your supreme love and satisfaction.”  {5}

{This teaching that unbelievers have the image of God and dignity has implications. It means that there is something in unbelievers for God to love. God would literally see some of his own character in the unbeliever (the unbeliever would be in his image or a reflection of himself).  And God would admire that part of the unbeliever (since it reflects himself). And with God on their side – to some extent – that would mean that all unbelievers have some ground of hope. And Piper gives unbelievers some hope and says, “God is jealous for your affection”. What a weak “god” (Piper’s god). Your god just can’t get what he wants, can he?? He wants the affections of all unbelievers, but can’t get them!}

** JP says unbelievers “deserve respect” and that some unbelievers are better (less depraved) than others  …

“The first ground of respect is that every person has been created in the image of God, no matter what. So YOU CAN EVEN HAVE A KIND OF RESPECT FOR A MURDERER, by holding him accountable and punishing him, unlike you would do with a snake if it killed a man. But in every day life there are different degrees and different kinds of respect, and these are emphatically based on what we see. … Religion matters too–we should have LESS RESPECT FOR A PERSON WHOSE RELIGION IS SATANISM and who engages in satanic ritual abuse, THAN WE DO, say, FOR A JEWISH PERSON who strives to live by the ten commandments.” {6}

{Q for JP: Are Jews any better than Satanists — see John 8 – whom did Christ say the father of the Jews is? His name starts with a D! And seriously — what’s with saying that some unbelievers deserve more respect than others? If we esteem one unbeliever above another, aren’t we saying that one unbeliever is LESS depraved than another? Or that some unbelievers are more righteous than others?}

** JP says the dreams and regrets of unbelievers is the image of God in them

He says, “…  is this all that life is – the accumulation of memories? The closing of one chapter after another? … Or does this very ACHE IN OUR HEART – this reflex of rebellion against the closing of chapters – SIGNIFY THAT WE ARE MADE FOR SOMETHING MORE? Something future? Something permanent? … Is this IMMENSE LONGING in my heart to experience something precious and deep and true and beautiful and personal and satisfying that is permanent and not passing away … you and I are created in the image of God. …  All that makes your life personal, rather than mechanistic – all your love and all your sense of justice and duty and right and wrong and ALL YOUR REGRETS and DREAMS – ARE THE ECHO OF THE IMAGE OF GOD in you and PROVE to your own conscience that you are a person in the presence of a living Creator…” {7}

{Q for JP: So, “longing … in your heart … to experience something precious” proves that God exists? Hmm. Your longings fluctuate, don’t they? Sometimes you’re more concerned with have meaning in your life, than other times? Sometimes you long for, and desire things, more than at other times. Well, that must mean that the evidence and proof of God’s existence fluctuates. Because longing = the proof God exists and so if longing fluctuates, so would the proof for God’s existence. Wow. Can’t anyone see where Piper’s arguement leads. His made his emotions the grounds for his belief in God. And since his emotions will fluctuate, so will his “evidence” of God’s existence. I’m sure he’ll have the “steadfast” hope of the Gospel! (Heb 3)

Now, I do agree with Piper that unbelievers do have deeply imbeded ideas about “a god” and “right and wrong”. They feel guilt and sorrow when they fall short of their own standards. 

This raises the question: WHERE did the unbeliever get their ideas about “right and wrong” from? And how did they form the opinion that there’s “a god”?

Funnily enough, John Piper has the answer for us – Satan deludes unbelievers into believing in a FALSE GOD. And Satan makes unbelievers feel guilty when they FAIL TO OBEY THE GOD OF THEIR IMAGINATION. This, of course, “god” comes in a few slight variations – from the god of Roman Catholicism, of Arminianism etc etc.

Now, remember how Satan used Eve to deceive Adam? Well, today, Satan uses the same old tactics – only know he uses parents, teachers, pastors etc, to make unbelievers believe in a false god (and subsequently they feel guilt when they fall short of the god of their imagination).

Piper eloquently describes how a Roman Catholic teacher further deluded him into believing a false god (and how he felt guilty when he feel short of the imaginary god).

“what is mortal sin? …  if you would have asked me in first grade when I was six years old, I could have told you the answer with great confidence. Because our religion teacher in first grade taught us the difference between mortal sin and venial sin. Mortal sins were the big ones—sins like murder, adultery (whatever that was), missing church on a Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation without being sick, eating meat on Friday, or stealing something big. Every other sin was a venial sin. … We were taught that one unconfessed mortal sin would wind us up in hell, whereas a million venial sins would not send us to hell, though they may lengthen our stay in Purgatory. Now, I’m not sure how many bishops of the Catholic Church today would teach this the same way my first grade teacher did. And by saying this I don’t mean to make light of my first grade teacher. GOD USED HER IN A REMARKABLE WAY TO HELP ME TAKE AT LEAST SOME SINS VERY SERIOUSLY. I’M GRATEFUL FOR THAT.  But the point here is to illustrate one of the common ways the term “mortal sin” is defined, namely, as a specific serious sin.” {8}

My comment: So, it was JP’s Romanist first grade teacher that helped him “take at least some sins very seriously”. The True God did NOT write His Law on Piper’s heart. Instead, it was a Roman Catholic teacher that wrote Roman Catholic law on Piper’s heart.  And it was NOT the God of the Bible convicting Piper’s conscience of sin. Rather, Piper was feeling guilty about disobeying a god of purgatory – a god that needs men to help with salvation — a god of his own imagination. 

The fact of the matter – unbelievers have NO truth in them. They merely have the ideas and opinions put on them by Satan (who uses parents, teachers and pastors to delude people). Didn’t Isaiah say, ” If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because THERE IS NO LIGHT IN THEM!” (Isa 8:20). So the unregenerate have NO LIGHT — no knowledge of the truth — in them. And here’s a question for Piper.  How can unbelievers have God’s law on their hearts, when they have been seared “in their own conscience as with a hot iron” (1 Tim 4:2). Surely, if their consciences are seared, the Law is not there at all ! (In fact, Jeremiah 31 says God writes the Laws on a man’s hearts only when He converts the man, not before!) 

Ask yourself. Does the unbeliever know God deep down, or are “All his thoughts, There is no God.” ? (Psa 10:4, ASV). If the unregenerate are saying in their heart “there is no God”, then DEEP DOWN THEY ARE ALL ATHEISTS, and do not believe in the God who saves and damns men by his own pleasure (Rom 9)

Consider also — When he was an unbeliever, did Saul (later Paul) know “deep down” that murder was a sin against the True God, or did he do it “IGNORANTLY” (1 Tim 1:13) ? Clearly, Saul HEARD about God’s Law from his childhood, but he was still IGNORANT of “the righteousness of God” (the imputed righteousness of Christ). And has a man understood the Law, until he understands how Christ had to obey it perfectly to save His people?

Of course, all men feel some guilt when they break societal norms. But when a Muslim sins,  for instance, he thinks he is sinning against Allah. And when an Arminian sins, he thinks he is disobeying the pansy Arminian god. The Arminian, for example, has NO IDEA that he is actually sinning against the All-controlling Jehovah who “works ALL thing according to the counsel of His will”. And “deep down” the Arminian thinks he is responsible to a miserably weak “christ” who FAILED to save all for whom he died. The freewiller has NO IDEA that he is actually sinning against the Christ who “SAVES his people from their sins”. The Arminian is IGNORANT of the Law, because he doesn’t know Who wrote it, (the God who creates light, darkness, good, and evil — Isa 45:7 and does not save men because they are “willing or running …. or working” but according to his “mercy” Rom 9:16).

So, yes, Arminians “deep down” believe in a god — but it is a god that “cannot save”, a feeble god that wants everyone to be saved, but fails to save them — and thus they “know nothing” of the Just God and Savior (Isa 45:20-21).

You probably think this teaching is dogmatic, intolerant and exclusive. It is, just like Paul’s gospel. And ironically, it is this teaching — not Piper’s — that “LIBERATES PEOPLE FROM FEARS and desires THAT ENSLAVE THE SOUL”.

Let me how explain how this teaching gives believers full assurance of salvation AT ALL TIMES.
 
First, if unbelievers are “darkened in the INTELLECT” (Eph 4:18), then if you “believe” in your intellect “that Jesus is the Christ” you must be “born of God” (1 Jn 5:1). And can a man believe the Gospel, and even for a moment, doubt he is a believer of it?

Second, if Satan has “blinded the THOUGHTS of the unbelieving” (2 Cor 4:4), then if you have the “MIND of Christ” you have “known the Lord” (1 Cor 2:16). And can a believer call God a liar in this promise? Or aren’t those that doubt God’s promises, “not believing God”, that is, unbelievers (1 Jn 5:10) ?
 
Third, because unbelievers do “not know…the Righteous Father” (Jn 17:25) — they don’t know God — then if you believe the God who is “Just and Justifying” believers by the righteousness of Christ by putting it “upon” them (Rom 3), God assures you, that you are saved by the righteousness you believe in. And will a believer ever deny God by doubting their salvation? Of course not, they have SET TO THEIR SEAL THAT GOD IS TRUE. John 3:33. And if a believer knows God is true, could they call him a liar when he says, “EVERYONE BELIEVING IS JUSTIFIED” (Acts 13) ? No, believers are “hold fast the beginning of the assurance firm to the end” — they have assurance at all times — and “hold fast to the boldness and rejoicing in the hope” (Heb 3) — they are never without boldness and confidence that Christ’s righteousness is enough for them.

Forth, if animals have more knowledge of their masters, than unbelievers do about God (Isa 1:3, Jer 8:7), then if you possess the knowledge that Christ was “made under the Law” and is the “fulfillment of the Law for righteousness”, you must be a believer.
If unbelievers are simply “flesh” and their every thought is “evil all day” (Gen 6:5), then if you believe Christ “died according to the Scriptures” 1 Cor 15 (i.e. you believe he died for his people / the sheep only) then you believe the Gospel and are saved (Mk 16:16). And the unregenerate are “NOT KNOWING GOD” (2 Thes 1:8), so if you believe that “by the obedience of One, many shall be constituted righteous” (Rom 5:19) you have been converted to the knowledge of the Just God and Savior.

Almost every page of the New Testament says all believers ARE saved. So how could a believer ever doubt their salvation? Isn’t the promise of God a “SURE” and “STEADFAST ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL” (Heb 6), or at some times do the promises of God fail to assure believers of their salvation? Does even the faith of even the youngest believer (the faith of a grain of a mustard seed) move mountains and is without doubt (Mt 17:20), or not? Are not believers, “GROUNDED and SETTLED and NOT BEING MOVED AWAY FROM THE HOPE of the Gospel” (Col 1:23). In other words, believers never doubt their salvation, do they, because that would mean the Holy Spirit had failed to “witness to their spirits that they are children of God” (Rom 8)? And if believers have the “spirit of adoption, crying abba father”, you won’t find them wondering whether or not they believe.

CONCLUSION
 
Piper’s view that all men know “deep down” God destroys assurance of salvation because it makes it impossible for the believer to ascertain whether his faith is based on “innate longings for God” he has naturally, or actually based on the work of the Spirit.

Moreover, Piper’s further erodes assurance of salvation when it is added that “we can believe the promises of God and still be lost” (Future Grace, p199). After all, if belief cannot prove to a man he is saved, what can? His works? But how can he produce a “labor of love”, if he doesn’t ALREADY know he is saved ? Can a man love God, ignorant of God’s love for Him? Of course not. So works cannot prove to a man he is saved, since, in order to do the works, the man needed to already know God had redeemed him. “We love Him because he first loved us.”

Now, if we say the unregenerate “KNOW NOTHING” in themselves about God (Isa 45:20), then we will always have assurance of salvation. Because we will think, “I believe in the facts of the Gospel, and the lost know nothing of God in themselves, so I must be a believer.” Indeed, we will always be assured at all times, because we will know that the natural man CANNOT receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are FOOLISHNESS to him, and he is UNABLE TO KNOW THEM. And thus, we will think, “The facts of the Gospel are foolishness to the natural man, but they are truth to me, so I must be a believer.”

Give the lost NO knowledge of God in themselves, and be assured fully of your salvation.

On the other hand, if you give the unregenerate a “heart-pang” and “innate longing” for God, you will be forever wondering if you are simply an unregenerate seeker. Or if you say, “we can believe the promises of God and still be lost” (Future Grace, p199), you will be forever wondering if you are a “lost believer”, as Piper calls them.

Of course, don’t forget that if you have any doubts about Christ being in you, you are not saved (2 Cor 13:5).

Search the Scripture! The lost have no knowledge in them — faith is simply the knowledge of the facts of the Gospel — and thus believers know at all times they are saved, for can someone have such a simple thing as a belief of the truth, and not realise it? Of course not.

Further Reading

Do Romans 1 and 2 teach that unbelievers know God “deep down”?

http://Godnoliar.com/rom1.htm

http://Godnoliar.com/rom2.htm

References
  {1} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1998/1063_There_Is_No_Partiality_With_God_Part_1/

{2} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1982/338_Jesus_Is_Precious_Because_We_Yearn_for_Beauty/
 
{3} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1993/825_Being_ProLife_Christians_Under_a_ProChoice_President/
 
{4} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1995/921_Coming_to_Yourself_and_Coming_to_The_Father/
 
{5} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1998/1027_Where_Does_Child_Killing_Come_From/

{6} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1992/814_How_the_Saints_Minister_to_the_Body/

{7} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
2000/36_Thank_God_for_the_Mercies_of_Christ/

{8} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1985/494_Our_Father_Hears_Us/

Weird Quote from John Piper

Piper says,

“We will never recognize the truth of Jesus until our will is to do God’s will, namely, to love the glory of God above our own. … you will NEVER KNOW THIS ABOUT HIM (and thus never receive him for who he is) UNLESS YOU HAVE A WILL THAT INCLINES to do the will of God. How shall someone know if Jesus’ teaching is of God? A person shall know (according to a literal rendering) “if one is willing to do his (that is, God’s) will.” THE CONDITION OF KNOWING IS WILLING. … a certain kind of willing (or wanting or desiring or inclining or preferring) must precede our receiving Christ … a certain kind of willing must precede our knowing, our recognizing, that Christ is worthy of being received. … you have to want Jesus in order to receive Jesus … YOU HAVE TO WANT YOUR LIFE TO BE SHAPED BY THE WILL OF GOD IN ORDER TO EVEN RECOGNIZE JESUS. (All quotes in this note taken from http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1986/568_Preparing_to_Receive_Christ_Willing_to_Do_the_Will_of_God/)

This is strange. How can someone want to obey God, if they don’t know who the True God is? Or is Piper saying you can know Jehovah, without knowing who Christ is? He does say, “you have to want your life to be shaped by the will of God in order to recongize Jesus”.  I mean, can you want to obey 1/3 of the Trinity — the Father — and not know about the other 1/3 (Christ)? Of course not. I suppose Piper thinks unbelievers already deep down know 1/3 of God already. And then when an unbeliever “gets religion” and starts doing more works, God rewards the unbeliever with the ability to recognise Jesus. So “Christ” is kind of like the bonus that unbelievers get when they start getting self-righteous (establishing a righteousness of their own). The reward for unbelievers when they start to DO SOMETHING (you know, get a little “holier”), is that God will give them the ability to recognize Christ (according to Piper).

Piper says,

1) “You have to want your life to be shaped by the will of God”

2) “IN ORDER to recognize Jesus”

This is just another way of saying

1) You must establish a righteousness of your own

BEFORE

2) God will give you the righteousness of Christ

(Warning — Piper will say that God helps you establish your own righteousness, and then will give you Christ’s righteousness as your reward. He says, “… in order to recognize the divine truth of Jesus’ teaching the rebellion of your will must be overcome so that it wills what God wills”. So he saying, that before you are saved, God will first make you a little holier / more moral (God will improve your affections/desires — your will). And after God has made you a little more righteous, then he will give you Christ’s righteousness. Now, Piper will say that since it is God that makes you a little more righteous, then God is getting all the glory in salvation. But pause and think. Does Christ get all the glory, if he FAILED to fulfill the Law COMPLETELY? If we must FINISH OFF what he failed to do, then is God getting all the glory? Because Piper is saying that we must first be made a little more righteous before God will give us Christ’s righteousness. So that means Christ’s righteousness is NOT ENOUGH, according to Piper. We need to help Christ out, says Piper, by finishing off what he failed to do.)

I’m not making this up! These are the words from John Piper’s mouth

“We will never recognize the truth of Jesus until our will is to do God’s will…  you will NEVER KNOW THIS ABOUT HIM (and thus never receive him for who he is) UNLESS YOU HAVE A WILL THAT INCLINES to do the will of God”

Wow. This is equivalent to saying

1) We will not have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us

UNLESS 2) We first establish a righteousness of our own

OK, now everyone will say I am misrepresenting Piper. So I want to post a few more quotes from him. He says,

“Preparing to Receive Christ: Willing to Do the Will of God … you have to want your whole life to be shaped by the will of God in order to even recognize Jesus. … a certain kind of willing must precede our knowing, our recognizing, that Christ is worthy of being received. …  Prepare Your Hearts to Receive the Lord … Prepare your hearts this advent season to receive the Lord for who he really is. Cultivate a love for the glory of God. If you wanted to develop a love for the glory of classical music, you would study it and spend time talking with people who love it, and you would listen and listen and listen.

Piper is right, than when you want to become good at something in life, you practice it. But I’m not sure why he uses this analogy. Is he saying, that in order to have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, we need to get righteous first ourselves? That to know about Christ’s righteousness and THE WORK he has done, we must first do some works ourselves?

Let’s keep going. How can you want your “life to be shaped by the will of God in order to even recognize Jesus”? Here Piper seems to be saying 1) You must love God (want to obey Him) BEFORE 2) you know he loves you. Or, to put it another way — he is saying a) You must have appreciation, gratitude and will to obey God out of thanks BEFORE you know b) who Christ is and what He did.

But how can a man love God, if he doesn’t know and understand what Christ has done?

This raises a few questions. Suppose the local doctor’s name is Dr Healer and there is a sick person in town called Mr Dying. Now, must Mr. Dying “want to have his medical life influenced by Dr Healer BEFORE he can recognize who Dr Healer is?”  OK, let’s not stop now. Imagine a little girl, Mary, will be married in 10 years time to a little boy –  John — she has not yet met. Now, can Mary “want to obey John before she can recognize who John is”?  Indeed, the list of analogies are endless. In the last two analogies, the sick person and Mary were ALIVE. And we see how stupid it is to say that Mary MUST want to love/obey her future husband — John — before she can recognize him. How can she love him, when she doesn’t know anything about him?  But remember Mary is ALIVE.

Now, from earthly to spiritual things. Now the sick person is now longer sick. THEY ARE DEAD and are buried! I suppose, Mr Dead must now “want to have his medical life influenced by Dr Healer, before he can recognize who Dr. Healer is”? And remember Mary and John? Well, Mary tragically lost her hearing and sight and all ability to communicate when she contracted a disease. And she still has never met her future husband John. I guess deaf and blind Mary must “love/want to obey John before she can recognize who he is”?. She’s never met John — has NO IDEA what he is like — and she’s blind and dumb and cannot understand anything, but is totally confused. Yet, she MUST love/want to obey a man she knows nothing about, in order to recognize him!

Sadly, most Calvinists like Piper. They teach that regeneration is an “infusion of grace” or a “change in dispositions of the heart”. They say that this moral changes occurs in someone BEFORE they have faith. These Calvinists teach that God gives someone good dispositions before faith. In other words, they think holy unbelievers exist !!

Clearly, this view of regeneration leads to all sorts of heresies. For instance, it’s made some Calvinists divide unbelievers into two groups. They say, “Oh, it looks like the Holy Spirit is working in this unbeliever … look at their conviction or sin”. The Calvinist then says there’s another group of unbelievers who “resist the workings of the Holy Spirit in them.”

John Owen thought that regeneration was an “infusion of grace” and a “change in dispositions” that happens before faith. Well, this lead Owen to assert that believers could doubt the gospel !! After all, said Owen, as long as you have “good dispositions of the heart” you are regenerate. He writes,

” When the saints enter into rest … Faith shall be heightened into vision, as was proved before; which doth not destroy its nature, but cause it to cease as unto its manner of operation towards things invisible. If a man have a weak, small faith in this life, with LITTLE EVIDENCE AND NO ASSURANCE, so that HE DOUBTS OF ALL THINGS, QUESTIONS ALL THINGS, and HATH NO COMFORT from what he doth believe; if afterward, through supplies of grace, he hath a mighty prevailing evidence of the things believed, is filled with comfort and assurance; this is not by a faith or grace of another kind than what he had before…” {http://www.reformed.org/books/owen/vol7/spiritual_006.html}

My response: Owen says that believers can have a faith with “no assurance” (his words) !! The “greatest Puritan” John Owen said believers can have a faith which “doubts all things”!!!

It makes sense that Owen said that someone can doubt the gospel, and still be saved. After all, Owen said that regeneration was a change in dispositions. So, as long as you have a change in dispositions you’re regenerate. Now, that means that someone can doubt the gospel and still be regenerate!!

On the other hand, if you teach that regeneration is a change of mind about the gospel, then anyone who doubts the gospel is not regenerate. If they were regenerate, they would have had the change of mind.

Here are some Scripture that teaches that regeneration is ONLY the Holy Spirit giving someone a change of mind about the gospel.

“the dead SHALL HEAR THE VOICE of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” Jn 5:25

Paul says: “for in Christ Jesus I begot you THROUGH THE GOSPEL” 1 Cor 4:15-17

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, BY THE WORD of God.” 1 Pet 1:23

Now, there is so much confusion out there about what in means to have Christ “in you”. Most Calvinists seem to think that their “christ” or “holy spirit” witnesses to their spirits APART FROM THE BIBLE. The Puritans thought that God “called” them to the ministry OUTSIDE THE BIBLE. But the Holy Spirit does not utter a single syllable outside the Scriptures.

In fact, since the Holy Spirit and Christ are 100% God, they are equally present everywhere. This means that when the Bible says Christ “abides” in a believer, it means that the THOUGHTS of a person have become Christ like. It also means that God the Holy Spirit CONVICTS our consciences that the Bible is true.

The problem with the Pharisees is that did “not have His WORD ABIDING ” in them. Jn 5:38

For believers, is “THROUGH FAITH Christ may dwell in your hearts” Eph 3:17

Let’s move onto sanctification. To sanctify means to set apart. Believers are commanded to think thoughts that are true and not false. They are to set apart their mind for the task of deducing more and more truth. Also, they are to physically labor. They are to set apart time and energy for work to support their family and other believers.

Now, what about love, joy, and peace in believing? Do all believers have these? Yes, these are “the fruits of the Spirit.” But how does the Spirit make a believer joyful? Is it through a warm-fuzzy feeling in their stomach? Is it through speaking nonsense (in “tongues”)?

No. The only reason a believer loves God is because they intellectually know that he has justified them by Christ’s work. “We love Him because He first loved us.”

And how do they know Christ died and obeyed the Law for them? By Scripture. So we see that believers deduce their election from the Scripture (the Scripture says that all who believe are elect, I believe, therefore I am elect.) And the moment someone knows they are justified from all things, they will REJOICE.

Thus, when a believer says “Praise God”, it is solely because that believer knows by the Scripture that all who believe are justified and since they believe, they conclude “I am justified”.

This means that love, peace and joy do NOT come from prayer, or taking communion. Instead believers pray BECAUSE they know in their minds they are justified. And believers take communion BECAUSE they know Christ their propitiation.

ALL sanctification occurs BY THE WORD

“sanctify them BY THE TRUTH”, Jn 17.

“sanctified, BY FAITH that is toward Me.” Acts 26:18

“as newborn babes desire the pure soul-nourishing milk [THE BIBLE], that you may GROW BY IT” 1 Pet 2:2

The reason most Calvinists doubt their salvation is because they do not understand the doctrines of regeneration or sanctification. They are looking for mystical “motions” of their “holy spirit” in themselves. They say that a “mere assent to the gospel” is not saving faith. So they are always wondering if they have saving faith.

I was talking to a man the other day who said “we cannot describe what saving faith is in words.” This man — as long as he holds this to this damnable heresy — cannot have assurance (knowledge) of salvation.

Think about it. In order to know we are saved, we need to know that we have the “equally precious faith” of the apostles. Now, if saving faith is “beyond words” that means that the apostles could not have described their faith in the Scripture. And if the faith of the apostles is “beyond words” we can NEVER know whether or not we have the same faith as they did. If saving faith is “beyond words” we cannot even know any other believers. After all, another believer would never be able to describe their belief (if it’s beyond words)!!

In the Scripture, saving faith is simply believing/assenting to the propositions that

1) the God-man Jesus Christ lay down His life for the sheep (died according to the Scriptures) and

2) Christ obeyed the Law and imputes His righteousness to all who believe.

If that is saving faith, then a believer can NEVER doubt their salvation. They will know BY THE WORD that “the one abiding in the doctrine of Christ HAS THE FATHER AND THE SON” (2 Jn 9) and that “everyone that BELIEVES that Jesus is the Christ is BORN OF GOD.” (1 Jn 5:1)

Full assurance of salvation is the privilege of every believer.

Reference

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1986/
568_Preparing_to_Receive_Christ_Willing_to_Do_the_Will_of_God

John Piper — Pied Piper?

John Piper says,

“Jews [were] schooled in the Old Testament … IT SHOULD MAKE US TREMBLE to think that a people who had such a strong God consciousness and who BELIEVED that God would keep his promises could nevertheless be called a “brood of vipers” and be threatened with hell fire. Are there not religious people today who don’t believe this much but feel secure?” {1}

Piper is certainly consistent. He says that UNREGENERATE Jews believed the promises of God, and had a “God consciousness”. Piper then concludes that believers should therefore “tremble”. Now that’s consistency. If Piper is right when he says a) the LOST Jews believed the promises of God and had a God consciousness, it does logically follow that b) even if you believe the promises of God you can be lost.

Piper makes his teaching even clearer when he writes,

“we can believe the promises of God and still be lost” (Future Grace, p199).

And why is this so? Why can someone who believes God’s promises be under God’s wrath?

The answer is simple – just remember one thing – Piper is consistent. He holds to the view that unbelievers have truth, light, knowledge, understanding in them and a conscience convicted by God’s law.

And it’s just a small step between saying 1) there are lost people who believe and 2) saying there are believers who are lost.

I now want to post a long and important quote from Piper. Here he expounds upon his view that unbelievers a) already know the difference between truth and falsehood, and b) have a “deep sense of Christ’s truth in their hearts”.

While reading this quote, ask yourself.

If BOTH unbelievers and believers “deep down know the difference between truth and falsehood”, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN believers and non-believers? If unregenerate people have a “deep sense of Christ’s truth already in their hearts” – then, what is faith?

Here is Piper’s explanation of what an unbeliever is –


===== “Jesus [says] “One of you will betray me.” In verse 25 Judas says, “Is it I, Master?” And Jesus says, “You have said so.” … “You have said so,” is an indirect way of saying Yes, and at the same time calling attention to what the other person really knows deep down. “YOU have said so.” Your words betray SOMETHING DEEP WITHIN YOU that is being concealed, perhaps even concealed from yourself.” “YOU have said so. SOMETHING IN YOU KNOWS the answer to your question. DEEP INSIDE YOU see that it is so and you fear that it is so, and so you ask defensively and skeptically whether it is so. Your heart betrays you; you have seen that it is so. And you say so.” Are there any illustrations of this in our society today—instances of DEEPLY KNOWING A TRUTH and yet feeling so threatened by that truth that we deny it (even perhaps call it blasphemy) and yet can’t deny it fully? … ***DEEP DOWN EVERYONE*** knows this truth—that THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG, ***TRUE AND FALSE***, murder and justified killing is rooted in something greater and more objective than an individual’s choice. We knew this truth… Deep down we know so much truth that we fear and therefore deny. We sense in the depth of our souls that Jesus is the true Messiah and Lord, and that the unborn are true human beings; but the truth is so threatening to our sovereign self-determination or just to our way of life, that we hold down the truth and even become blind to what we know. … My heart’s desire this morning as I speak to you is that you all would own up to the DEEP SENSE OF CHRIST’S TRUTH THAT IS ALREADY IN YOUR HEART. {2} =====


Wow. Are you scatching your head in wonder? There seems to be NO difference between believers and unbelievers INTELLECTUALLY (according to Piper).

Non-believers have a “deep sense of Christ’s truth already in their hearts” and “know the difference between true and false”.

So as far as their THOUGHTS, UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE go, believers and unbelievers are basically in the same boat (according to Piper).

=====“the basic reason why [unregenerate] people do not own up to the truth of what he teaches is not that they lack sufficient evidence, but that their wills—or we could say their hearts—are against God. The fundamental PROBLEM IS NOT INTELLECTUAL BUT MORAL. The great obstacle to recognizing the truth of Christ is not deficient resources but deep rebellion against God.” {3}=====


And elsewhre he says,


===== “every person we know, and every person we will ever talk to, already knows God, deep down, and knows God’s law. That is an astonishing truth for everyone who wants to communicate the gospel. Think on it specifically for a moment. … everyone knows God, in the sense that everyone knows that God exists and that he is “eternal” and “powerful” and “glorious” and “beneficent.” At least that much … is made known in nature and is buried somewhere in the subconscious of every person – in some deep, and in some just beneath the surface. We may suppress it, but we know it. It is there, and it has effects on our lives. … everyone knows not only that God exists and is eternal and powerful and glorious and beneficent, but also that God has a “righteous ordinance” … What Does this Mean for Evangelism? Not that everyone you talk to will necessarily admit that he or she knows this. But you come to them with the tremendous (Biblical) confidence that you are NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH IN ESTABLISHING THE TRUTH IN THEIR SOUL. THEY ARE NOT BLANK TABLETS. They may have buried it, distorted it, hidden it, drugged it, run from it by overwork or excessive play and entertainment; but you know it is there.
… You speak with the confidence that what you are saying CAN RING TRUTH WITH SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE OF THEM. {4} =====



Now, can everyone see the foundation of John Piper’s theology? Is the fundamental idea – the presupposition – of Piper’s teaching now clear for all to see?

He is saying that “deep down in everyone’s heart is truth”.

And so Piper MUST say that faith is MORE than believing the truth. He is FORCED to say that saving faith is something more than a simple belief in God’s promise, because unbelievers already have a “deep sense of Christ’s truth” in their hearts and “know the difference between … truth and false”.

Now, if unbelievers already have truth in them, WHAT IS CONVERSION?

Obviously, Piper CANNOT say that conversion is simply the “enlightening of the mind”, “coming to your senses”, being “begotten by the word”, “hearing and believing” Christ’s Gospel, “receiving the testimony of God” (1 Jn 5:1), “hearing a voice coming behind you”, “hearing Christ’s voice” (Jn 10).

For Piper, conversion is NOT the above. It simple CANNOT be, because Piper says that unbelievers already have a “deep sense of Christ’s truth”, and “know the difference between truth and false”, SO conversion must be something ON TOP of knowing the truth.

And for Piper, that’s FEELING or DOING something. That’s conversion – and that’s all conversion ever will be for John Piper, as long as he holds to the view that unbelievers have truth in them.

Thus, Piper says,

===== “What God leads you to is repentance, … [you] turn to Jesus IN HUMILITY {5} =====

===== This is the meaning of repentance: a turning of the direction of our life and the AFFECTIONS of our heart, so that we become oriented on God {6} =====

===== “LOVE to God is the main thing in saving faith … faith is by NO MEANS … SEPARATE FROM THE AFFECTIONS” (The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p79) =====

So for Piper, when God gives an unbeliever faith, he doesn’t simply “give him an understanding” (1 Jn 5) that the Gospel is true. God would be wasting his time. The unbeliever already has understanding, knowledge and truth. Remember, according to Piper, “The fundamental PROBLEM IS NOT INTELLECTUAL BUT MORAL.”

Thus, Piper is forced to say that conversion is God making a man “humble”, “affectionate”, and “loving”.

Wow. This is not exactly black and white.

When God converts unbelievers, does he always make turn them into the same level of humility? Just HOW affectionate does God make these unbelievers?

Piper never tells us.

In fact, he resorts to VAGUE, mystical statements such as:

===== “SOMETHING has to happen deep down in the root of our will to remove the rebellion against God that we all have by nature. SOMETHING has to happen to take away our antagonism against the authority of God. …. our hard, fallen, rebellious will must become soft and docile and compliant” =====

But HOW can God make an unbeliever “docile and compliant”.

According to Piper, the unbeliever already “has a deep sense of Christ’s truth”, and “knows the difference between true and false”. Now if CHRIST’S TRUTH in your mind cannot make you “docile and compliant”, WHAT CAN?

If the knowledge of the True God cannot make you “soft and compliant”, what in the world can?

“SOMETHING”???

Is that actually Piper’s answer? “Something will happen”. Thanks a lot for the clear and logical explanation, John.

Now, anybody should be able to see where this is leading.

Thus far, Piper has told us – a) that unbelievers already believe the truth, so b) an unbeliever is converted when they become a bit more humble.

It’s now easy to see Piper’s grand conclusion. And what is John Piper’s last word?

He says we can never be sure we are saved.

And how could we, if we hold to his teaching? If you agree with Piper that, “we can believe the promises of God and still be lost” (Future Grace, p199), THEN you might well be a “lost believer” (according to Piper). Ha! There goes your assurance.

And if you agree with Piper that conversion is when “Something happens … deep down … where we become docile, soft and compliant”.

If you agree with that – how can you ever be sure you are sufficiently docile? Or how do you know you are soft and compliant enough? Anyways, there are multitudes of sincere, moral people in hell. E.g. the Jews who had a “zeal for God” but “not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:3).

So when Piper tells you, “You can believe and be lost”, and “Conversion = becoming humble”, its no wonder he also says,

=====”DEMAND FOR A KIND OF ABSOLUTE, mathematical CERTAINTY about [your] right standing with God is ASKING FOR TOO MUCH.”(When I Don’t Desire God, p217-218) =====

It’s asking for too much, people. You simply CANNOT have “certainty about your right standing” if you hold to Piper’s teaching. That’s his words, not mine.

Now, by saying that humility = faith, Piper has made humility the ground of a man’s confidence before God. He writes,

===== “The evidence that the Holy Spirit presents to our own spirits and to the community is first of all the evidence of love. The Spirit puts within us a HUMBLE heart of love and so gives EVIDENCE of his presence and power…. Assurance will diminish in the presence of concealed sin…We must often wait patiently for the return of assurance.” {7} =====

So if you follow Piper’s view that humility = faith, you confidence before God will go up and down depending on how humble you are. After all, unbelievers have truth in them already – so having the truth in you can’t give you hope you are elect. No way! The truth is so common (according to Piper), everyone has it is them. So you can’t have “peace and joy IN BELIEVING” (Romans 15:13), if you subscribe to Piper’s view. You might as well base your assurance on the fact you have a belly button. Because just as everyone has belly button’s, so does every single person “deep down have a sense of Christ’s truth”.

This is why Piper HAS to base his assurance on his humility. The truth is common to all men, so it can’t assure him (even reprobates have the truth in them, according to JP). So it’s our humility, affections and “softness” that gives us assurance we are saved. But only God knows how we became humble and affectionate! It certainly wasn’t being “begotten by the truth” that made us humble. Because unbelievers have the truth in them – and they’re not humble – so it can’t be the truth that makes you humble. (CAN ANYONE SEE WHERE PIPER’S THEOLOGY LEADS???)

Now…

What if I said that unbelievers have “no light in them” (Isa 8:20)? What does it mean for us, if unbelievers are “without understanding” (Rom 1:31), “darkened in the intellect” (Eph 4:18) and that their “thoughts” are “blinded” (2 Cor 4:4) ? What logically follows if the unbeliever has “no knowledge of the Just God and Savior” (Isa 45:20) ?

If the unbeliever has no knowledge in his conscience of the True God, it logically follows that if we do believe in the True God and Christ, then we are believers. And because the unbeliever is completely in the dark that would mean that believers would never have to worry about whether or not they are saved. The light of Christ “shining in their hearts” (2 Cor 4:6) would be sufficient to prove to them at all times they are saved.

The Apostle John doesn’t say we need to have a “heart-felt faith” or an “affectionate faith” to know we are born of God. He simply says if we have a belief that Jesus is the Christ — that is, the Sovereign Savior of the Elect — then we are born of God. Of course, we will have affections and love towards God. But we can only love God if we know he has saved us. And how can we know that? John says that the belief is enough to prove to us, that we are born of God.

The view that unbelievers have no knowledge means that the knowledge believers have, proves to them at all times they are saved. The believer can think, “I have a simple belief in the True Gospel, so I must be a believer.” But Piper’s view that the lost believe the truth destroys the believer’s assurance of salvation. Because Piper would try to make us think, “I believe the truth, but so do unbelievers, so maybe I’m an unbeliever.” His view causes doubting and uncertainty. The Biblical one, however, eliminates all uncertainty and liberates from doubting. Believers would indeed “hold fast to the boldness and rejoicing in the hope firm to the end” (Heb 3) because their knowledge of the truth would prove to them at all times they are saved. They would draw near to God with an “full assurance of FAITH”, because they would know that only the elect can believe the truth.

Further Reading

What about Romans 1? http://psalms.pbwiki.com/Rom1

And Romans 2? http://psalms.pbwiki.com/Rom2

See also http://psalms.pbwiki.com


== References ==

{1} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1981/
281_John_the_Baptist_and_the_Brood_of_Vipers/

{2} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1990/718
_You_will_see_the_Son_of_Man_Seated_at_the_Right_Hand_of_Power_and_Coming_on_the_Clouds_of_Heaven/

{3} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1986/568
_Preparing_to_Receive_Christ_Willing_to_Do_the_Will_of_God/

{4} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1998/
1057_Doing_and_Endorsing_Evil/

{5} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1998/
105_Gods_Response_to_Hypocrisy_Kindness_and_Judgment/

{6} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1981/
281_John_the_Baptist_and_the_Brood_of_Vipers/

{7} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1985/
488_Test_the_Spirits_to_See_Whether_They_Are_of_God/

John Piper Quotes on the left.

Scripture on the right, summarized by the acronym LOGIC.

Take Note — Piper has just said that unbelievers have truth in them.

Now, is it a coincidence that Piper also teaches that faith is MORE than possessing the truth. Since he says unbelievers have truth in them, this FORCES PIPER to say that faith is more than believing the truth. 

Did you notice something? Because Piper says that faith is more than belief — faith is hard to define — he therefore concludes that believers will often be left wondering if they have faith (since no one can say exactly what faith is, we can never know if we have faith (it’s mystical!), according to Piper)

Wow. Can you see how all Piper’s points are intertwined?

Piper says faith is emotional / a commitment. So someone without the knowledge of imputed righteousness, can be a believer because their sincerity proves they are saved, according to Piper. Faith = sincerity, says Piper, so people zealous for the name of “Jesus” are saved, even if the Jesus they are preaching is a false, nonexistent christ (the christ that died for billions who will never be saved)

This gets back to the original point. Piper says that faith is more than possessing the truth, since he thinks that all men already have some truth in them. So faith something more than belief. Piper chooses to make faith = love. Therefore, Arminians — who are often loving and sincere (of a false god who is overpowered by man) — may still go to heaven, even though they are ignorant of imputed righteousness (the Gospel)

Obviously Piper wants every excuse he can get for doubting his salvation. Not to mention providing a false comfort for people who doubt in his congregation. So he uses the Psalms — which are actually describing Christ under the Father’s wrath — to try to prove David and believers can doubt their salvation. He is basically saying believers will experience what Christ experienced on the cross!! So much for there being “no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”.

“I will NOT give My Glory to another” — that includes America

Paul said in Galatians we are to glory ONLY in the cross of Christ. Indeed, Paul didn’t want to be known by his nationality — he couldn’t care less that he was a Jew. He associated his former patriotism with false religion, dead works, and self-righteousness (Phil 3:6-9).

Do you stand for the offense of the cross, or for pathetic patriotic displays? Notice that Paul never said “God Bless Israel”. He knew that the conditional covenant has now passed away. The system of God blessing/cursing a nation based on national obedience was a temporary set-up with Israel. In fact, the whole point of the conditional covenant (between God and man) perpetually failing was to show that MAN CANNOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE COVENANT. See John 6 — the covenant of Grace is between the Father and the Son. The elect sinner does NOT contribute to the “sure and steadfast” covenant, he merely reaps the benefits of it.

The Father’s covenant with Christ is that “all that the father gives to him shall come to him”. On the topic — you wonder how can we say, “God Bless America”, when the vast majority of Americans are reprobates (non-elect, never in the covenant) anyways? Does God love those Christ never died for? Of course not. God has determined from all eternity to make most Americans a display of his wrath. “FEW are chosen” from America — or any country — and the “rest are hardened”. (By the way, I say this as someone who is a US citizen by birth and desire to see all the Sheep saved who happen to live in the US)

So what’s my point? Songs like “God Bless America”, “The Star-spangled Banner”, and “America The Beautiful” glorify a nation. But Paul says the nations seek after unrighteousness (Rom 9:30). So how can we glorify America — an unrighteous nation?

Let’s be like Paul and glory only in Christ, not in where we live, or where we were born.

“Let the WORD OF CHRIST” — not the words of men — “dwell in you richly, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Col 3:16)

Here are paraphrases of some Psalms.

The Morning Star Banner (to the tune of the US National Anthem)

God Bless Almighty Christ (to the tune of “God Bless America”)

Christ Not Beautiful In Men’s Eyes (to the tune of “America the Beautiful”)

Christ said the Psalms were about Himself. But the Pharisees didn’t believe that — they thought the Psalms were about David — so they crucified Jesus for saying the Psalms were about Himself.

Who do you think the Psalms are about? We’ve set up a site to list all the Psalms that are about Christ. The site is just like Wikipedia. Anyone (yes, that means you) can edit / contribute the content! And guess what? We’ve almost proven the Pharisees wrong. Already, its been shown that 36 of the Psalms are about Christ. But we need to prove that the other 114 Psalms are about Christ too. Can you help? Please add any verses you think are relevant at http://psalms.pbwiki.com

More Links….

Why does John Piper think that, “DEMAND FOR A KIND OF ABSOLUTE, mathematical CERTAINTY about [your] right standing with God is ASKING FOR TOO MUCH.” (When I Don’t Desire God, p217-218)

Is Piper is correct when he says that unbelievers seek/long after God? He writes, “Moses… cried… “I pray thee, show me thy glory”. THIS IS THE HEART-PANG OF EVERY HUMAN BEING … Only a few diagnose the LONGING BENEATH EVERY HUMAN DESIRE — the LONGING TO SEE GOD.” (The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p 108)

JP applies Psalms 27,40, 77, etc. to David’s own experiences. But didn’t the apostles apply these Psalms to Christ?

Can believers today doubt like John the Baptist did in prison?

3 Verses Proving that People that Doubt their salvation are NOT believers

6 College Students who Doubt their salvation Answered

David was ONLY a prophet speaking about Christ (He did NOT experience the Psalms)

How can Christ say “my iniquity” in the Psalms? Christ didn’t have iniquity, did he?

Assurance By Works? What about 1 John when it says “we know we are of God when we love the brethren”? Are Arminians Saved?

What is the True Gospel?

Who were the Bereans in Scotland?

A list proving all the Psalms are about Christ

Psalms are All Messianic

Is Psalm 51 About Christ?

Doubting Thomas?

But Don’t Demons Believe?

Faith simply is Belief

Lies in the Westminster Confession and Catechisms

No Natural Theology

The Sky does NOT reveal God

Assurance Defended

Doubting Calvinists?

Regeneration is Intellectual

Does Romans 1 teach that unbelievers know God “deep down” ?

Does Romans 2 teach that unbelievers have God’s laws on their hearts?

Did Calvin believe by salvation by works?

John Owen’s Blunder

Was Spurgeon the “prince of preachers”?

When John Piper basing his assurance on his “humble heart”, is it any wonder he has doubts about his salvation?

Indeed, JP’s view that faith is more than belief, seems to be the reason he writes that assurance is an “agonizing problem” for him. Piper requires unbelievers to believe Christ died for them, when Christ probably did not. Scary, isn’t it?

Last article — How JP’s view that all men know God by nature, forces him to make saving faith mystical, i.e. more than knowledge.

John Calvin Writes,

John Piper: Popular, but Biblical ?

Piper is one of the most popular preachers coming in the name of Sovereign Grace. He often says that believers are saved by Christ’s righteousness alone.

However, a preacher may use words such as “Imputed Righteousness”, but still deny the sufficiency of Chrst’s righteousness. For example, if a man preaches that a believer can doubt their salvation, then isn’t he saying that Christ’s righteousness is NOT enough to comfort believers?

Why does John Piper think that, “DEMAND FOR A KIND OF ABSOLUTE, mathematical CERTAINTY about [your] right standing with God is ASKING FOR TOO MUCH. (When I Don’t Desire God, p217-218) Read Part 1 of a series analysing Piper’s view of faith.

If Piper is correct when he says that unbelievers seek/long after God? He writes, “Moses… cried… “I pray thee, show me thy glory”. THIS IS THE HEART-PANG OF EVERY HUMAN BEING … Only a few diagnose the LONGING BENEATH EVERY HUMAN DESIRE — the LONGING TO SEE GOD.” (The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p 108) Look at Part 2

JP applies Psalms 27,40, 77, etc. to David’s own experiences. But didn’t the apostles apply these Psalms to Christ? Peruse Part 3

When Piper basing his assurance on his “humble heart”, is it any wonder he has doubts about his salvation? Read Part 4

Indeed, JP’s view that faith is more than belief, seems to be the reason he writes that assurance is an “agonizing problem” for him. Look at Part 5

Piper requires unbelievers to believe Christ died for them, when Christ probably did not. Scary, huh? More here: Part 6

How JP’s view that all men know God by nature, forces him to make saving faith mystical, i.e. more than knowledge. Read Part 7

Note — I do agree with Piper that Christ died only for the elect, that all believers are sanctified and persevere, and that believers experience godly sorrow and repentance. However, his view that faith in the Gospel is more than believing the facts of the Gospel is troublesome to say the least. If you read the seven-part series, you may, God willing, understand why.