Delivered to Bethlehem Baptist Church in 2004. True then, still true now.
Tag Archives: John Piper
Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. There has been much in the way of blog posts devoted to this over the past week and into today, yet I leave myself wondering much the same as Pastor John Piper in his book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. I’ve included some worthy quotes from the chapter in that book entitled “Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn”, along with commentary of my own and some relevant Scripture:
“I believe pastors should put their lives and ministries on the line in this issue [abortion]. The cowardice of some pastors when it comes to preaching against abortion appalls me. Many treat the dismemberment of unborn humans as an untouchable issue on the par with partisan politics. Some have bought into the incredible notion that they can be personally pro-life but publicly pro-choice or non-committal.”
The question for us today really is, where are the pastors, the evangelicals, even those who speak out for every injustice you can think of, on the issue of abortion? Why is the Trumpet for the Unborn not being sounded loudly and clearly? Where is the voice of those who are created in the image of God, speaking out for those who are also created in the image of God, yet never given a chance for life outside the womb. It is not merely a matter of politics to be “dealt with” every four years. It is a moral issue. It is a justice issue. It is a life issue. Equally, it is a murder issue. A complicity to commit murder issue. It is a murder for hire issue.
“The law of our land is immoral and unjust. That should be declared from tens of thousands of pulpits in America.” – John Piper, Brothers
Psalm 139:13 “For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
Job 31:13-15 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?”
Psalm 82:3-4 “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
“They [abortionists] know there is a lethal inconsistency between doing fetal surgery on babies in the womb to save them while their cousin, at a similar stage of development, is being killed just down the hall” – Piper, Brothers
“I am personally pro-life, but politically pro-choice” – Pontius Pilate (via Piper)
As the Church, we must repent and pray.
Here are links to some to a few well-written and timely posts on abortion:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/01/22/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-jane-roe
http://www.dennyburk.com/crushed-with-regret-after-an-abortion/
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/01/20/anniversary-pictures-remembering-roe-v-wade/
DG 2010 Piper-Warren gate: Anticlimactic
With the conclusion of the 2010 Desiring God conference yesterday in Minneapolis, MN those within reformed circles and to an extent, evangelical circles, were interested in the response that Rick Warren would draw after speaking at the event and then after sitting down in a Question and Answer session with Desiring God Ministries founder and Bethlehem Baptist pastor John Piper who was solely responsible for inviting Warren to this year’s event. Unfortunately, do to multiple illnesses in his family, Rick Warren was unable to attend the conference, but provided a previously taped message. I’ve read through the transcript, but have not as of yet watched or listened to all of the message. What I take away from it is typical Warren-esque communication and delivery wrapped around a pragmatic purpose driven approach rather than a Christ-centered gospel driven message. You can watch the video and judge for yourself here: http://desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/the-battle-for-your-mind
While the rest of us will have to wait for the Q&A session between Piper and Warren (I suspect this will occur after Piper’s leave of absence concludes in January as he notes he has 13 pages of questions to ask Warren), I did find an interview from this weekend with Christianity Today most interesting. Below is the first of the question/answers from the interview:
You invited Rick Warren; would you say he exemplifies “thinking”?
No, I don’t think he exactly exemplifies what I’m after. But he is biblical. He quoted 50 Scriptures from memory. Unbelievable, his mind is Vesuvius. So I asked him what impact reading Jonathan Edwards had on him. What these authors like Karl Barth and Edwards do for him is give him a surge of theological energy that then comes through his wiring. What I wanted to do with Rick is force him to talk about thinking so pragmatists out there can say, “A lot of thinking goes into what he does.”
It might well be noted that a few of the passages Warren quoted were taken out of context and it’s never a good idea to use multiple translations for the sake of “wordplay” to fit a theme or application, and that he actually read most of the verses from his notes not via memorization but I digress. If by biblical John Piper means Warren is knowledgeable from a pragmatic application standpoint, then I agree. But regarding exposition and exegesis he needs work.
A second, and perhaps more interesting question and response from the interview is below:
You received some negative feedback for inviting him.
It was real risky. I don’t even know if I did the right thing. If somebody said, “Are you sure you should have invited him?” “No.” I think the first thing I’d say—maybe the only thing—is I think he’s been slandered. I think we probably need to work harder at getting him right.
I actually think it is refreshing to hear Dr. Piper admit that 1)It was a risky decision 2)Question whether it was the right thing 3)No he’s not sure he should have invited him. This at least lets me know that Piper is acutely aware of the discrepancies between things that Warren has said/done/written/taught and what the Bible teaches. However, he leaves a slight opening in the door by being a Warren apologist stating that “he’s been slandered” and we “need to work harder at getting him right.” Has he been slandered? I’m sure quotes have been taken out of context or he has been misquoted and in doing so people have jumped to conclusions, but at the same time his Purpose Driven Life contains no semblance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his ecumenical, pluralistic pragmatic methods are not Biblical. Is it slander to point that out? Or is it contending for the faith in making others aware of the dangers? Nobody doubts that Warren is an intelligent man and an effective communicator, but it would be the hope of most everyone who questioned his invitation to this conference that he would apply a more solid Biblical foundation when using those gifts.
More to come when the Piper v Warren Q&A takes place.
SEE ALSO:
You can read the full John Piper interview here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/octoberweb-only/50-11.0.html?start=1
John Piper v. Rick Warren Postponed via Christianity Today
For all of the 2010 Desiring God Conference sessions see the Desiring God blog: