God’s purpose in Romans 9:23 is “to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.” John Piper states in a sermon, “God’s Ultimate Purpose: Vessels of Mercy Knowing the Riches of His Glory”- As a Christian you are a vessel of mercy. You were called out of spiritual … More By mercy, through mercy, and for mercy.
Our read-through-the-Bible plan brings us to Romans 9 today, a difficult passage to understand. John Piper has written a whole book, “The Justification of God” which covers the first 23 verses of chapter 9 of Romans. In 2002, he preached a sermon on Romans 9 and said this, “because of Romans 9 I left teaching … More Piper: The God of Romans 9 has been the Rock-solid foundation
Romans 8 is such a beautiful, wonderful passage of promise and hope. It was hard to know what part to highlight on our read-through-the-Bible plan. Here are John Piper’s comments: Verse 35 says that there will be tribulation and distress and persecution and sword. Verse 36 says that Christians are being killed all day long, … More O how different we will be if we believe that God is for us and no one can be against us!
God has spoken in his holiness: (Psalm 60:6 ESV) Spurgeon, in The Treasury of David: Faith is never happier than when it can fall back upon the promise of God. She sets this over against all discouraging circumstances; let outward providences say what they will, the voice of a faithful God drowns every sound … More Faith regards the promise not as fiction but fact
Today, we come to Romans 7 in our read-through-the-Bible plan. We come to an important question, which can have some very practical consequences in our lives. Is Paul writing this description of his life and experience before he became a Christian? Or does it describe his present struggles as a Christian? You could find advocates of … More No Christian lives in continual victory over sin
The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.” —Psalm 58:10-11 Imprecatory psalms are difficult to understand. Here are two comments that help us: … More Joy in God’s justice and glory
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But … More Piper: Do not jump to the conclusion that the battle is a charade
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been … More How does God deal with people who have different levels of exposure to divine truth?
Psalm 46 tells us that we all have a need to slow down and just “be still.” We need time for quiet reflection, but oh how little we actually do just that. John Piper, in a 1991 sermon, “God: Refuge for His People, Exalted Among the Nations” explains: One of the reasons we invest our lives in … More Piper: The impact of God’s awesome reality doesn’t hit us and hold us and shape us unless we become still
Bob Deffinbaugh (Bible.org) comments on Paul and the shipwreck of Acts 27: Two full weeks had passed, and the storm showed no sign of weakening. No one had seen the sun, the moon, or the stars for many days (verse 20). Since ancient sailors navigated by the heavens, this meant they had no idea where … More When God does the impossible, no man can lay claim to any part of the glory that belongs only to Him
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 