(By David Giarrizzo)

[On Friday of this week, July 16^th, two Ardent Cries bloggers—Chad Bennett and myself—will celebrate 5 years of marriage to our wonderful wives. In light of that occasion, here is a short review I wrote about a month ago of Piper’s recent book on marriage.]

In a world where subjectivism, relativity, and personal feelings reign supreme, God has blessed some men with the wonderful ability of cutting through culture’s philosophical garbage heap and explaining the truths of God’s Word in a powerful, unambiguous way.

In my opinion, John Piper is one of those men.

His name has become a common word in the YouTube search field of many “New Calvinists.” His sermons have been downloaded and listened to on thousands of iPods. His books have been a blessing to Christians from differing denominational affiliations around the world. And it’s no wonder why Piper has become so well-known. Piper—alongside men like Sproul, MacArthur, White, Mohler, Dever, Horton, etc.—is telling the truth about God, His Son, His Word, and His world. It’s clear by his preaching, teaching, and writing that Piper get’s the Gospel; and it’s clear he wants others to spend their lifetimes getting the Gospel too. So I respect John Piper for being right about the most important things in Christianity.

This Momentary Marriage

Like all humans, however, Piper has his shortcomings. Some of Piper’s doctrinal flaws are readily apparent in his book, This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence. This work is a vivid example of Piper’s theological hits and misses interlaced within the same binding. I want to take the rest of this opportunity to briefly outline some of those hits and misses. I’ll start with the points of disagreement between Piper and myself (and truly, between Piper and a great number of others beyond myself) simply because I want to end on a positive note. For all of the positive statements that I want to make about this book, I am first compelled to highlight the negative aspects of the book because Piper devotes so much of his ink to them.

Misses

The Thesis—

 “…therefore, the highest meaning and the most ultimate purpose of marriage is to put the covenant relationship of Christ and his church on display. That is why marriage exists. If you are married, that is why you are married. If you hope to be, that should be your dream.”

With these words from chapter one, Piper establishes his central point and lays the foundation for the rest of his book. But the problem with this thesis is that while marriage does indeed reflect the relationship between Christ and His Church, in the beginning, when God created Adam and Eve and instituted marriage, He said nothing about marriage reflecting the covenantal love between Christ and His Bride. Instead, God said something specific about His purpose for marriage in Genesis 2:18: “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” Companionship, then, was God’s purpose for marriage.

The reason this distinction is so important here is because upon this foundation Piper builds his argument against all cases of divorce and any possible allowance of remarriage. As Reformed Baptists, however, we do not make the same conclusion about the purpose of marriage. To quote our Confession: “Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and for preventing uncleanness” (LBC 1689 25:2).

Divorce and Remarriage—

“Whether you agree with me concerning the grounds of divorce and remarriage or not, I pray that we will all recognize the deepest and high­est meaning of marriage—not sexual intimacy, as good as that is, not friendship, or mutual helpfulness, or childbearing, or child-rearing, but the flesh-and-blood display in the world of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church.”

Piper spends two of the final chapters of his book laying out his argument against divorce and against remarriage after divorce. Piper himself has admitted that he holds a “radical, narrow” view amongst believers on this topic; in fact, Piper’s view of remarriage after divorce is not even the held position of his church. Nevertheless, he holds to his view strongly and explains it in part in chapters 14 & 15 of This Momentary Marriage. One of the strongest lines emotionally in chapter 14 is also one of the weakest lines logically: “Therefore, if Christ ever abandons and discards his church, then a man may divorce his wife. And if the blood-bought church, under a new covenant, ever ceases to be the bride of Christ, then a wife may legitimately divorce her husband” (p 159). Using this poor premise Piper continued to construct an invalid conclusion about the Bible’s position on divorce and remarriage.

Other Thoughts—On a non-theological level, I felt that This Momentary Marriage was pieced together from a series of different topics under the umbrella of the theme of marriage. While the book made sense, it just wasn’t as fluid as I hoped it would be.

Additionally, I felt as if this book could have been a lot shorter. Here’s what I mean: The amount of time Piper spent on reasserting his thesis (The purpose of marriage is to represent the covenantal love between Christ and the Church) and summarizing a previous chapter at the beginning of a new chapter was truly excessive. Piper is a naturally gifted communicator; and summary and recap is often important in asserting a specific point; but I felt like I was reading the same things over-and-over without much expansion on the original idea. In other words, Piper should have tried harder to keep it short and sweet.

Hits

 “There never has been a generation whose general view of marriage is high enough. The chasm between the biblical vision of mar­riage and the common human vision is now, and has always been, gargantuan. Some cultures in history respect the importance and the permanence of marriage more than others. Some, like our own, have such low, casual, take-it-or-leave-it attitudes toward marriage as to make the biblical vision seem ludicrous to most people.”

A High View of Marriage—In light of the poor arguments Piper presents, mostly on the topic of divorce and remarriage, what I really appreciate is Piper’s high view of marriage and low view of divorce. I appreciate this about the book because that’s the view I see presented to us in God’s Word.

“Staying Married Is Not Mainly about Staying in Love”—What a wonderful way to start a book on marriage. I think it was this chapter’s title (chapter 1) that first enticed me to read the whole book. There is so much truth packed into that statement.

Husbands and Wives—As expected, Piper does a fine job dealing with the roles of husband and wife in marriage. He lays out the biblically-defined roles of headship and submission, wraps each with the understanding of Christ-like love, and encourages Gospel-centered living within the home.

Singles and Married Couples—To be honest, I was a little surprised to see a chapter in a book on marriage devoted to a discussion about singles and singleness; but I think that’s the point. Piper acknowledged that many married couples in the body of Christ are in need of a greater awareness for the non-married within the flock. Essentially, this part of the book served as a reminder to show love and hospitality to others in our churches.

The Gospel—Finally, I wasn’t at all surprised to see how much of the message of the gospel Piper infused into this book. I am thankful for Piper’s ability to focus our eyes on Christ and a God-centered view of married life. For all of this book’s flaws, it still has much to offer to married believers.

(By: Eddie Goodwin)

RBAP is pleased to announce the release of Dr. W. Gary Crampton’s From Paedobaptism to Credobaptism: A Critique of the Westminster Standards on the Subjects of Baptism.  This new work can be purchased for $14.30 when using the coupon code: drcrampton during the checkout process.

From Padeobaptism to Credobaptism has recommendations from ARBCA members Drs. Fred Malone, James Renihan, Mike Renihan and Sam Waldron along with our friends Greg Nichols and Robert W. Oliver, Ph.D.

**********

Following the Westminster Confession’s definition of baptism, Gary Crampton presents a compelling argument for credobaptism versus paedobaptism. He examines each phrase of this definition as the outline of his work, finding that neither Scripture, the Apostolic Fathers, the Church Fathers, nor many modern paedobaptists support the definition in favor of infant baptism. His work is thorough in its research, broad in its survey, forceful in its irenic argument, and very readable for all. It betrays Dr. Crampton’s own wrestling with the Scriptures, historical theology, and his own personal convictions as a former paedobaptist to become a convinced and biblical Baptist.

I highly commend this work for those studying paedobaptism versus credobaptism. For the open heart, it should make you a Baptist. May the Lord use it to raise up more Reformed Baptist churches! 

Fred A. Malone, Ph.D.

Pastor, First Baptist Church, Clinton, LA

Author of The Baptism of Disciples Alone

(By: Eddie Goodwin)

I would greatly appreciate your prayers for a Ladies’ Summer Book Study that my wife, Donna, is facilitating beginning Monday June 7th.  The study is not Cornerstone specific and many of our ladies are inviting both converted and unconverted friends.  My family is also distributing a neighborhood invitation letter throughout our entire subdivision.


Thanks in advance for coming alongside us as co-laborers in the gospel!

(By David Giarrizzo)

[I’m borrowing the title of this post from the subtitle of Robert Spinney’s booklet entitled, Did God Create Sports Also?: Thinking Christianly About Sports.]

Last week was game 1 of the Phoenix Suns-L.A. Lakers match-up for the NBA Western Conference finals. I had a group of about 8 guys over to watch the game. We had the usual trappings of a game-night party: chips, drinks, bratwursts, veggies, and cookies.

Oh, and a devotional.

When I sent out the text-message invite earlier that day, a brother of mine responded by suggesting a half-time devotional. I thought it was a great idea, and I was reminded of the book by Robert Spinney about sports.

In just 21 pages, Spinney makes it clear that sports, while they can be used to glorify God and benefit us, they can also be misused and made into an idol. I found this quote to be the central theme of the book:

“We should not accept blindly our culture’s understanding of anything, including hobbies, politics, vulgar speech, or care for the elderly. Nor should we simply assume that our culture uses sports as God intended them to be used. We must think Christianly about the subjects of entertainment and physical recreation. Like work, marriage, child-rearing, and education, this area of life must be taken captive to the obedience of Christ and submitted to His lordship (2 Corinthians 10:5).”

Here’s an outline of Spinney’s major points:

1. Sports are a part of God’s good creation. They can both glorify God and profit our souls.
2. We can engage in recreation in such a way that it doesn’t glorify God and doesn’t bless us.
3. We misuse sports when they (not God) address our deepest needs and become our purpose in life.
4. Sports do not glorify God when they distract us from biblical behaviors and require too much time.
5. Our sports do not glorify God when they nurture in us an excessive and unhealthy competitiveness.
6. For many, sports expose how we behave when we love something and are deeply committed to it.

It’s not surprising any more that some Christians want little to do with professional sports today. These Christians may choose to abstain from following sports like they may choose to abstain from watching any television or going to the movies or listening to “secular” music, etc. But as I’ve written before, we must not equate abstinence to holiness. While we can all acknowledge that sports and TV and film and music have all been used and abused by a sinful society, we cannot say that God does not also use these same things to bring glory to Himself. In fact, God created sports and man’s athletic abilities, and we know that all things God created are good. Sports and art and other aspects of culture are gifts from God to mankind. We must remember to use everything God has given to us to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31).

So be encouraged, brothers and sisters, as you enjoy the gifts of God through culture, always giving thanks and glory to the Maker of all good things. Like Eric Liddell, enjoy sports to the glory of God. Go Suns!

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” –Abraham Kuyper

(By: Eddie Goodwin)

Two years ago, in May of 2008, I had the privilege of working my way through the Redeemer Church Planter Manual.  This valuable tool is produced by the Redeemer Church Planting Center, a ministry of Redeemer Presbyterian Church which is pastored by Tim Keller.

Since the manual is somewhat hefty and I had encountered several pastors who would said they would like to read it, but feared they did not have the time, I created a brief synopsis of each chapter.  Over the next few weeks, I would like to post those highlights and make an occasional observation with the view of benefiting others who may be in the same boat as those other pastors.

(By: Nick Kennicott)

I am amazed at the skills of my friends who are plumbers, carpenters, and tile men, to name a few. Their ability to utilize a few simple tools to complete very difficult and sometimes very beautiful projects gives me reason to rejoice in their gifts, thankful that God has given us all different abilities for the common good. While I have virtually no experience in the trades, I have a few tools to do minor tasks around the house when necessary, and when I think it possible without creating a bigger problem! When asked about my numerous books and peculiar reading habits, I typically refer back to my friends – the ones with skills. I firmly believe that for the pastor, a book can be compared to the plumber’s pipe shears, a carpenter’s hammer, or a tile man’s trowel. And yet, while this is certainly true for a pastor, I believe there are certain tools (books) that every Christian should own and become acquainted with – to have available when the necessity arises. Obviously, this can be somewhat subjective, but I’ve tried to offer what I believe to be some of the most universally helpful books for Christians.

1. English Standard Version Study Bible
Without hesitation, I believe that the ESV Study Bible is one of the greatest resource to have ever been printed in the English language. A lofty statement, I know. Obviously, the primary advantage rests in that it’s a Bible – but the extensive notes, sound essays, colorful embedded maps, and long list of notable scholars who worked on it make it the number 1 tool that every Christian should have in their toolbox.

2. An Exhaustive or Comprehensive Concordance
Most Bibles have a small concordance in the back, and some are better than others. While these may be helpful to find common verses and words, one will quickly see the need for something more extensive. A comprehensive concordance lists the use of every word in a Bible version except for “common-use” words such as a, about, after, also, and, the, etc. An exhaustive concordance lists these common words. Both (typically) include word study references in the back for the Hebrew and Greek, pointing out various nuances of words that may have multiple meanings in the original languages.

3. Systematic Theology
Christians are commanded to “make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe” all that Christ has commanded his Church (Matthew 28:19-20, emphasis mine). In order to fulfill this mandate, Christians must learn and understand the theological teachings of Scripture. A systematic theology is essentially the collection and summarizing of the truths of Scripture, divided into various theological topics for explanation. There have been many different systematic theology books written throughout Christian history, many of which are incredibly insightful. Some of my favorite systematic theologies are written by Wayne Grudem, Millard Erickson, Charles Hodge, James P. Boyce, and Louis Berkhof. I frequently use my systematic theology books and believe that every Christian should have at least one.

4. The Pilgrim’s Progress
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is one of the most significant works in the English Language. Bunyan wrote this Christian allegory from prison in 1678. Since its initial publication, it has been translated into over 200 languages, has never been out of print, and has repeatedly been one of the world’s most popular books, 2nd only to the Bible. Many cultural references come from this great American work. The journey of the main character Christian, from his hometown The City of Destruction to the Celestial City on mount Zion, typifies the Christian journey as it is described in Scripture, and as it plays out in everyday life. Every Christian should read The Pilgrim’s Progress.

5. Spurgeon on Prayer and Spiritual Warfare
Aside from Bible reading/intake, prayer is the most important, yet most neglected Christian discipline. This collection of Spurgeon’s sermons on the subjects of prayer and spiritual warfare are some of the most helpful, soul-stirring words to date. In six “books”, the prince of preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon expounds on the following:

1. The Power in Prayer
2. Praying Successfully
3. The Golden Key of Prayer
4. Finding Peace in Life’s Storms
5. The Practice of Praise
6. Satan, a Defeated Foe

6. Commentary and Reference Survey
John Glynn’s comprehensive guide to biblical and theological resources is invaluable for any student of Scripture who wants to build a reference library. Currently, this book is in its 10thedition and is a reliable resource that rates various Christian commentaries and reference sources on several different levels. Glynn has rated some 900 different commentary series’ and over 1600 other biblical resources to include new chapters on Bible software for the computer. This is a great tool to point you to other, more specific tools that will greatly enhance your study.

7. The Mortification of Sin
John Owen was arguably the greatest of the puritan theologians. In The Mortification of Sin, Owen shows the great need for Christians to engage in the daily war against sin, striving for personal piety and holiness. Of greatest importance, Owen emphasizes the need to depend on the strength of God through the Holy Spirit to achieve the great end for which God created man, namely to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Owen warns against self-righteousness, superstition, and “anxiety of conscience.” Owen is insightful and practical, but be forewarned that he takes time and concentration to read – but it’s well worth every effort.

8. Institutes of the Christian Religion
It’s big and intimidating, but incredibly rewarding to read through and study repeatedly. Even 500 years later, John Calvin proves to be highly readable, practical, and biblically faithful (unless we’re talking baptism, of course!). I spent time reading through this entire volume last year and am eager to read it again.

9. The Valley of Vision
Arthur Bennett has done the church a great service in bringing together and editing nearly 200 puritan prayers and devotions from various sources. This book has proven to be incredibly helpful in stirring my soul in prayer as I strive to deepen my affections for Christ. Honest, heartfelt, and inspiring, these prayers express to God what I could never in my own words begin to piece together. I use this book every day in my private worship and commend it as a tool for anyone who desires to know God more deeply in prayer.

10. 1689 London Baptist Confession: A Modern Exposition
I promise this is not a plug to help my brother ARBCA pastor Sam Waldron sell more books! I have bought and distributed many copies of this important work as the most thorough and helpful examination of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith available to date. Now in its third edition, Dr. Waldron has provided an invaluable tool to assist in understanding the “things most surely believed among us.” For anyone interested in knowing more of what confessional baptists (like the men on this blog) believe, this book is a great place to start.

As I stated in the beginning, I know this is very subjective, and in time as I read more works, I am certain my list will change. Nevertheless, I am certain I will always find these tools to be important and valuable for every Christian.

What book(s) would you add to the list?