Category: Reading Books Together

Finally Alive (Ch. 3)

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Comments Posted on Nov 30, 2009 Posted by Jeff Lash

Finally Alive by John PiperPiper begins with a quote from John Calvin that summarizes the main idea of the chapter and gives us a proper perspective on our own salvation. “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” (p. 45) These two parts are essential to the life of anyone who desires to know God. A person must understand himself in relation to God. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Our greatest offense comes against God (Psalm 51:4). The truth of the matter is that sin has separated us from him. Yet, the knowledge of God brings us to the understanding that he has made a provision for our separation. The knowledge of ourselves brings us to despair. The knowledge of God brings us to hope. You can’t have one without the other.

Having answered the question what is the new birth?, Piper moves on to the question why is the new birth necessary? He begins with a diagnosis of the human condition. Reflecting on Ephesians 2:1-5, Piper says, “We will never experience the fullness of the greatness of God’s love for us if we don’t see his love in relation to our former deadness, because verse 4 says that the greatness of his love is shown precisely in this: that it makes us alive when we were dead.” (p. 47) We can only properly appreciate God’s love when we realize how dead we are without him. It gives our salvation depth and greater meaning as a result. Our salvation “flows from the richness of God’s mercy and the greatness of his love.” (p. 47) Though we were dead and possessed nothing that warranted salvation, God chose to deliver us from sin, death, and judgment as the ultimate expression of love toward us. It is a beautiful truth.

Piper then gets to the heart of the matter by listing seven explanations of our condition apart from the new birth which answers the question of why we need to be born again. First, we are dead in our sins apart from the new birth. I think that sometimes we confuse the idea of being dead with being paralyzed. It’s not like we have been temporarily paralyzed by a stun gun and waiting to come to our senses. We are utterly dead. When a person is dead, he/she can make no movements. Dead is what Paul calls us in Ephesians 2:1-2. We need someone to come and resuscitate us. Second, we are by nature children of wrath apart from God (Eph. 2:3). Piper puts it very simply, “Apart from new birth, I am my problem.” (p. 49) We are our own worst enemy. By nature I am a self-serving and desire my own glory. Apart from new birth, “our nature is so rebellious and so selfish and so callous toward the majesty of Go that his holy anger is a natural and right response to us.

Third, we love darkness instead of light apart from the new birth (John 3:19-20. We are not neutral. Our inclination apart from Christ is to walk in darkness. Fourth, our hearts are hard apart from the new birth (Ezek. 36:26; Eph. 4:18). We are not ignorant of the truth but we suppress the truth in our natural state. Fifth, we cannot please or submit to God apart from the new birth (Rom. 8:7-8). This may be a point of contention for some people. However, I believe the Bible teaches that a person cannot choose or please God. If we are born in the flesh and our minds are hostile toward God being set on the flesh, it is impossible for such a person to choose God. It says that there is something in him that has the ability to do so which is contrary to how Scripture describes a person apart from Christ. Sixth, we are unable to accept the gospel apart from the new birth (Eph. 4:18; 1 Cor. 2:14). In the Corinthians passage, Paul says we are unable to accept the things of the Spirit in our natural state (apart from Christ). He goes on to say that they are foolish to such a person. “He means that the heart is so resistant to receiving them that the mind justifies the rebellion of the heart by seeing them as foolish. This rebellion is so complete that the heart really cannot receive the things of the Spirit. This is real inability.” (p. 52) Finally, we cannot claim Christ as Lord apart from the new birth. I think every point prior to this one has made this statement obvious.

So there you have it. We have been shown the desperate need we have for being reborn. Apart from the new birth that comes through Christ, we have no hope. It is why the new birth is so necessary and important.

Your turn…

Do you agree with Piper’s assessment of the human condition apart from the new birth? How does this make you feel? What encouragement or challenge did you draw from this chapter?

Next Reading:

Read chapter 4 this week and expect a post on Monday (December 7th).

Finally Alive (Ch. 2)

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Comments Posted on Nov 23, 2009 Posted by Jeff Lash

Finally Alive by John PiperPiper finishes up his three part answer to the question What happens in the new birth? by stressing the understanding of the new birth as new creation instead of simply the “improvement of your old human nature.” (p. 37) As Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17) When you are regenerated, the old self is displaced from the seat of prominence within your life. It is replaced with a new nature that has come from Jesus via the Spirit. “The new birth is not like the make-up that morticians use to try to make corpses look more like they are alive. The new birth is the creation of the spiritual life, not the imitation of life.” (p. 35) The Spirit plays a vital role in the creation of the new, spiritual life. Piper’s emphasis on the Spirit’s role in our regeneration is one the strongest points of this chapter (and maybe the book thus far). It is the reason why Jesus refers to blasphemy of the Spirit as the unforgivable sin (Matt. 12:31). The Father sent the Son who died and sent the Spirit. In turn, the Spirit brings us to Jesus who saves us and connects us to the Father. Blaspheming the Spirit eliminates any chance of getting to Jesus and the Father. Thus, we must not underestimate the role of the Spirit in our salvation.

Piper also addresses the misconception that Jesus is speaking of Christian baptism when he says that Nicodemus must be born of both water and spirit. Some Christians believe that baptism is necessary for salvation based on this passage (and others). Piper gives three reasons why Jesus’ reference to being born of water does not refer to baptism. “First, if this were a reference to Christian baptism and it were as essential for new birth as some say it is, it seems strange that it drops out of view in the rest of this chapter as Jesus tells us how to have eternal life.” (p. 38) We could take this a step further and say that rest of Scripture speaks of being saved without mentioning the necessity of baptism. There can be little doubt that salvation and baptism are closely connected. However, baptism is not necessary for salvation. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christa alone. Second, it would be hard to understand the point and meaning of the analogy of the wind (John 3:8) if water baptism were necessary for salvation. Third, it makes no sense for Jesus to call Nicodemus out (John 3:10) for a lack of understanding in this matter of new birth if the meaning of baptism is fully revealed until after this death. When Jesus says that Nicodemus must be born of water and the spirit, he means that Nicodemus must be born both physically (to begin with) and then spiritually as well.

So…when we are born again, we not only receive a right status before God but also receive the Spirit and a new heart. Piper is careful to point out that receiving the Spirit does not cancel our humanity. We are just as much human today as we were the days prior to our salvation. Jesus tells us that we must be born physically (which doesn’t change) and then born spiritually. We are made new but still carry on in this human existence nonetheless.

“So in the new birth, God takes out the heart of stone and puts in a heart of flesh.” (p. 41) He changes us from the inside out so that our lives bear the fruit of our greatest affection and allegiance. As Ezekiel puts it in 36:26-27, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Your turn…

How have you considered the role of the Spirit in your salvation? Do you agree with Piper’s explanation of the water reference in John 3? Why is forgiveness and cleansing not enough? What part(s) of this chapter encouraged and/or challenged you?

Next Reading:

Read chapter 3 this week and expect a post on Monday (December 1st).

Finally Alive (Ch. 1)

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Comments Posted on Nov 16, 2009 Posted by Jeff Lash

Finally Alive by John PiperJust as Jesus is straightforward with Nicodemus, so Piper is straightforward with us from the very beginning of this first chapter. This book does not set out to simply discuss theories on the new birth. As Piper says, “Eternity hangs in the balance when we are talking about the new birth.” (p. 26) The new birth is serious business. “You and I must be born again, or we will not see the kingdom of God. That means we will not be saved; we will not be part of God’s family, and we will not go to heaven. Instead, we will go to hell if we are not born again.” (p. 25)

In order to discuss the new birth at any length we must first ask this question: “What happens in the new birth?” (p. 26) Piper prefaces his answer by pointing out three reasons why the new birth may be unsettling to people. First, it shows us the hopelessness of our situation apart from being reborn. I think this type of news should be unsettling to us. People will not see the need to be born again unless there is something for which they need saved and changed from. Second, it refers to something that is done to us and not by us. This fact is a hard pill to swallow for many people. Independence and the ability to choose are two characteristics that are highly valued in many societies today. Yet Scripture tells us that it is God’s great mercy that has caused us to be born again (1 Peter 1:3). We cannot cause our new birth. Good works will not save us. “Any spiritually good thing that we do is a result of the new birth, not a cause of the new birth.” (p. 27) Third, it is God’s free choice to save whom he saves. Since we cannot earn our salvation, it is completely in God’s hands concerning who is saved. All of these reasons can leave a person unsettled about being born again. Yet it is for these very reasons that we must trust in God for our salvation.

All of this leads us back to our question: What happens in the new birth? Piper answers this question with three statements (two of which he deals with in this chapter). First, new birth is not new religion but new life. Jesus addresses this distinction by pointing it out to Nicodemus in John 3:3. Keeping the law and having a deep well of biblical knowledge cannot save a person. We are not talking about information gathering. We are talking about complete transformation. “All of Nicodemus’ religion, all of his amazing Pharasaic study and discipline and law-keeping, cannot replace the need for the new birth.” (p. 29)

Second, new birth is not simply acknowledging the supernatural in Jesus but experiencing it in our own lives. It is easy to be amazed by miraculous signs and wonders. It is another thing to experience it by personally being changed. We can appreciate a man being healed of his disease without being born again. But we can only truly know the supernatural work of the Spirit by being born again.

Let me end with a section that should yield a bit of discussion:

“The new life makes the faith possible, and since spiritual life always awakens faith and expresses itself in faith, there is no life without faith in Jesus. Therefore, we should never separate the new birth from faith in Jesus. From God’s side, we are united to Christ in the new birth. That’s what the Holy Spirit does. From our side, we experience this union by faith in Jesus.” (p. 32…also see the last two sentences on p. 33)

Your turn…

What do you think of Piper’s statement/summation of the new birth? Do you agree with his explanation of the relationship between new birth and faith? Are there any other parts that you found to be thought provoking?

Next Reading:

Read chapter 2 this week and expect a post on Monday (November 23rd).

Finally Alive (Intro)

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Comments Posted on Nov 09, 2009 Posted by Jeff Lash

Finally Alive by John PiperAlright…we’ll not waste any time with lengthy salutations and monologues. Let’s jump right in to our reading.

What is the aim of this book? What is it about? John Piper sets out to give an explanation of what it means to be born again according to the Scriptures. He contends that there is a misconception among many people about what it truly means to be regenerated by God. He begins the book with a great opening line: “The declaration of Jesus that we must be born again (John 3:7) is either deluded or devastating to the one who would be captain of his soul.” (p. 9) There is no middle way. Jesus’ words to Nicodemus were perplexing. How can a person be born again? What Jesus says goes beyond external obedience or conformity. Being born again means being completely transformed from the inside out.

Piper tells the story of two individuals, Augustine and C.S. Lewis, who had very different regeneration experiences. Augustine was struck by the utter filth of his own sin. As a result, he took up the Bible and read Romans 13:13-14. Paul’s words drew him to the Savior and Augustine was transformed. For Lewis, it was completely different. Upon the influence of a few friends who had been discussing Christianity with him, Lewis says he came to faith in Christ begrudgingly. He had no more arguments, no more reasons. Though their stories are different, “nothing is more important for two human souls than to say truly, ‘We know that we have passed out of death into life’ (1 John 3:14).” (p. 12)

The major issue that Piper highlights in this introduction is the fact that there are many “Christians” who look and live just like the world but still claim that they have been born again. How can this be true? If we have been regenerated, then we have been transformed into a new creation in which our lives are progressively becoming more like Christ. True regeneration absolutely leads to a changed life. There is no such thing as a carnal Christian. So it means that many people who call themselves Christians and yet bear no resemblance to Christ are not born again.

I think that gives us plenty to think about and discuss this week and in the weeks to come.

Your turn…

So what do you think about Piper’s claims? Is he right about being born again? And are there many people claiming to have been born again that really haven’t? Fire away.

Next Reading:

Read chapter 1 this week and expect a post on Monday (November 16th).

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