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Are All Who Laugh or Have Wealth Cursed?

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Luke 6:20-26 appears to make no qualification whatsoever:

  • Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God…Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
  • Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied…Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
  • Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh…Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

We may be inclined to race to Matthew’s parallel passage so we can qualify the text with “poor in spirit,” “hunger for righteousness,” etc. But that would violate a fundamental principle of observing and interpreting Luke’s intended message for his audience.

So what should we make of these extreme statements?

In a recent episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper masterfully demonstrates why context matters. He takes up this question on this text, and he observes the context of Luke’s argument to help us understand and apply these verses as Luke intended.

The podcast would be a great use of 11 minutes of you day. Check it out!

How to Know if Your Interpretation is Correct

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I’ve shared before John Piper’s crucial definition of the Bible’s “meaning”: What the author intended to communicate with his words.

Now in another brief video, Piper builds on that definition by showing us how that definition gives us an objective means by which we can evaluate whether an interpretation is right or wrong.

Check it out!

Does Jesus Commend Dishonesty?

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If you’ve ever read the parable in Luke 16:1-9 about the fraudulent servant who gets fired, further cheats his employer, and is commended—you might have wondered what in the world was going on. When Jesus criticizes the sons of light for failing to be as shrewd as as the sons of this world (Luke 16:8), is he expecting his people to act like the crook?

John Piper answers this question for us by looking carefully at the text, within the context of Luke, and by drawing application from the parable’s main point. He shows us how to answer difficult questions with good Bible study skills.

Check it out!

Teaching Bible Study to Teenagers

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In answering a question about how to train teenagers to study the Bible, John Piper highlights a critical goal:

…the goal of this teaching is a lifelong habit of mind and heart to approach the Scriptures in a certain way. In other words, being able to do a particular technique is not the goal. Trying to reproduce Piper lab experiences is not the goal. But the habits of mind and the habits of heart that you inculcate, or that you build into your children while working through those techniques — that’s the goal.


I would explain that goal to my children. I’d say, “That’s what we’re after here. I’m not trying to make a little John Piper out of you (or a little whatever out of you). I just want to build into you certain habits of mind and habits of heart so that you will approach the Scriptures fruitfully for the rest of your life.”

Piper describes the importance of creating a cultural setting where you can develop habitual skills with your teens. Then he proposes 7 skills to focus on:

  1. Define the terms.
  2. Find the propositions.
  3. Clarify the relationships.
  4. Determine the main point.
  5. Compare texts.
  6. Face reality.
  7. Apply the text.

The OIA method provides a simple way to package such skills so they sink in and are memorable. Then Piper concludes:

Keep in mind the aim is not to master a technique like arcing or lab with John Piper. That’s not the aim. The aim is lifelong habits of mind and heart that humbly and eagerly ask and answer questions from the Bible.

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. May the Lord give us and our teens grace to pursue and acquire such lifelong habits.

Check it out!

What Do We Mean by the Word ‘Meaning’?

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In a recent Look at the Book video, John Piper clarifies what we mean when we talk about the Bible’s “meaning.” According to Piper:

The meaning of a text is what the author intended to communicate with his words.

The key idea is that meaning comes from the author, not the reader. In particular, the meaning of a text is NOT:

  • Whatever comes into our head
  • What we feel
  • All the ways we may respond

These beliefs arise from thinking that meaning comes from the reader, not the author.

Piper explains what he means, and then he gives examples of how the Bible assumes this definition of “meaning.” It is very important that we understand this as we come to study any passage of Scripture.

Check it out!

Objection: Bible Study and Preliteracy

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When I discuss the importance of Bible study skills, an objection that occasionally arises has to do with illiterate or preliterate people groups. It appears that literacy was not widespread in the ancient world, and, for centuries, most Christians did not own copies of the Bible.

And yet they could follow Jesus and mature as disciples just fine. So why do we put so much emphasis on personal Bible study?

John Piper fields a question along these lines, and I appreciate his insights in responding. His argument seems to go like this:

  1. It is not necessary for people to be able to read in order for them to believe in Christ and have eternal life.
  2. Therefore, we can and should preach the gospel to preliterate or illiterate people, and do all we can to instruct them in the faith.
  3. Yet, for the good of the world, we cannot stop there. We cannot be content with this (preliterate discipleship) as a perpetual state of affairs.
  4. The Bible speaks of itself as a treasure more valuable than any other earthly treasure because it reveals Jesus to us (e.g. Ps 19:10, 119:72).
  5. The Bible itself commends the act of reading the Bible to know Christ (e.g. Eph 3:4).
  6. If Christian teachers and missionaries (who are able to read and study the Bible, and who therefore know the true Christ revealed therein) are the only people who can read the Bible for themselves, this creates a paternalism or imperialism that leaves the masses dependent on the élite few.
  7. Therefore, Christianity has always sought to build schools, to educate, and to teach people to read so they can mine these treasures for themselves. Then they can know Christ without requiring a human priestly mediator besides him.
  8. Therefore, the long-term, widespread good of the world and joy of all people demand that we labor to teach all people good Bible study skills (which may begin with taking time, whenever possible, to teach people to read, and eventually to get the Bible translated into their languages).

Now I’m adding a bit to what Piper said, in order to flesh out the argument I believe he’s making. I have tried not to misrepresent him. And I encourage you to consider his brief and valuable response in full.

Check it out!

What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Reading Your Bible

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John Piper addresses the question of desire: What do we do when we don’t feel like reading the Bible? After reflecting on the prayer of Psalm 119:36 (“Incline my heart to your testimonies”), he writes:

Over the years in my pastoral ministry, many people have complained to me that they do not have motivation to read the Bible. They have a sense of duty that they should, but the desire is not there. It is remarkable how many of those people feel that the absence of the desire is the last nail in the coffin of joyful meditation on God’s word.

When I ask them to describe to me what they are doing about it, they look at me as if I had misunderstood the problem. What can you do about the absence of desire, they wonder. “It’s not a matter of doing. It’s a matter of feeling,” they protest. The problem with this response is that these folks have not just lost desire for God’s word, but they have lost sight of the sovereign power of God, who gives that desire. They are acting like practical atheists. They have adopted a kind of fatalism that ignores the way the psalmist prays.

Evidently, the psalmist too felt this terrible tendency to drift away from the word of God. Evidently, he too knew the cooling of desire and the tendency of his heart to incline more to other things — especially money. Otherwise why would he have cried out, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain”? He is pleading with God to give him desire for the word. He knows that ultimately God is sovereign over the desires of the heart. So, he calls on God to cause what he cannot make happen on his own. This is the answer to fatalism. This is the answer to acting like an atheist — as if there were no God who rules the heart, and can restore what we have lost.

Repent. Pray. Trust God to give what we cannot drum up ourselves. Then act as though we expect him to answer. This is great advice.

Check it out!

What Value is the Old Testament to the Christian Life?

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On the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper fields this question: “What are the best uses of the Old Testament for giving shape to our Christian lives today?” After all, we clearly don’t keep many of the instructions in the Old Testament anymore (offering sacrifices, pursuing ceremonial purification, etc.).

After a brief but thorough explanation, Piper concludes with two glorious suggestions:

First, meeting God for who he really is so that we can know him and worship him since his character was revealed as truly in the Old Testament as in the New Testament.

Second, letting the hundreds of promises in the Old Testament wash over you as your blood-bought birthright in Christ Jesus so that every day, you set yourself free from sin by the superior pleasures of the promises of God.

Piper gives a skillful and clear answer to an important question. Check it out!

The Golden Rule of Bible Reading

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This short video from John Piper explains what he calls “The Golden Rule of Bible Reading”: Figure out what the original, divinely inspired author intended to communicate. Piper readily concedes that this rule is an attempt to define what “meaning” is, as in, “How do we decide the meaning of a passage of Scripture?” So he gives four reasons for this definition of “meaning.”

  1. The Bible assumes this definition of “meaning.”
  2. We should treat the biblical authors the way we wish they would treat us (Matt 7:12).
  3. Humility requires it of us.
  4. God’s authority over us requires it of us.

https://vimeo.com/223505453

Piper’s challenge is one we would do well to heed. The video is well worth your time.

Check it out!