The Beauty of Reformed Theology

Speaker: John Piper
Conference: Next Conference | Irving

[Spadfa]

Praise the Lord for putting this sermon in my feed. What a beautiful reminder of the grace filled sovereignty of the one and only true God. Bless His holy name from now into eternity. ❤

[misfitstranger]

I love my theology PRECISELY because it points me in every way to Christ my Savior and rightly gives HIM all the glory, fills my heart with gratitude and joy, fills my mind with peace, fills my mouth with praise the likes of which I never knew/experienced in all my previous 50 years as an Arminian. Nobody could ever connect the inconsistent dots of the non-Reformed faith, the unscriptural reasoning that is used to justify a man-centered theology. I’ve no idea how anyone who has actually studied the Reformed faith (which is to say SCRIPTURE) can come away saying it’s dangerous. That’s the statement of one who clearly does not understand what Calvinism teaches. I praise God that He’s opened my eyes to the truth about who He is and who I am in relation to Him. I will praise Him and glorify Him forevermore!

[TheCreepypro]

thank You Lord for Your intervention in our lives! You are the vine we are the branches apart from You we can do nothing!

[misfitstranger]

“There is no other theology that takes the deadness, the ugliness, the depravity, the helplessness of human nature more seriously than Reformed theology.”
AMEN, AMEN, and AMEN.

[minorsingingairhead]

Only John Piper is skillful enough to make reformed theology look beautiful to a large mass of young and old Christians. He is truly remarkable.

[Descriptor_]

Reformed theology emphasizes the parts of the gospel that people find most offensive. It makes so much of God and so little of man in salvation that even those claim Christ are offended by it. It is glorious.

[israelampong]

Amazing!!!
I love reform theology too specially the 5 points of calvinism after God opens my spiritual eyes in the summer of 2013❤

[PatricksLesson]

Rob Bell called Reformed theology boring, but when life smacks you in the face and steps on your neck… We look at the cross! For we have been lead like sheep to a slaughter, knowing the sovereign God holds us in this life or the next. We believe He can save us but even if He doesn’t we will praise Him for His glorious purposes!

[constancewaller]

Without Theology, we are fallible humans who, left to ourselves, can run ourselves into a ditch where we are stranded without help. Among other things, Theology tells us Who each Person of the Trinity is along with His attributes; the function of every Person of the Trinity; and how They planned and carry through salvation. And if you trust in Him, you had nothing to do with it (your salvation Eph 2: 4-5), but the inevitable response, “Thank you, Lord Jesus!!”🌟♥️

[rubensandoval]

Ah Lord God you made the Heavens and the Earth with your great power and your outstretch Arm there’s nothing too hard for you!!! 💪🙏👍❤️

[misfitstranger]

I totally fail to understand why so often congregations laugh at things he says which ought to be drawing a “Hallelujah!” or an “Amen!”, or something that would demonstrate that they understand the profundity of what he’s saying. It’s rather like clapping after hearing a worship song. We still see this stuff as entertainment rather than contemplating our own sinfulness in light of God’s glory.

[PaulLee-rsuw]

Amen to Jesus😊1st❤ will be magnify 😊❤ in Christ. Romans 8:1😊❤-39😊❤ in Christ😊❤

[miguelgrados]

Okay, I've observed Piper, I've read his content, and I think he has some great takes on what it means to live under salvation (Christian Hedonism as he coins it). The five-point theology has been addressed by this whole comment section exhaustingly, some big opinions I see. Got my phd in foolishness and church dads, but I'll leave some ideas for you.

If you research the earliest Christians, you'll come to find out that pre-Constantine and compulsory "christianity, " that the least likely, the outcast, the most "non-ideal" of us would come to change their whole lifestyles over time, without compulsion, when exposed to the Word of God - meaning that The Word had to come to them, and from there they had to make the decision to accept or deny it. God didn't create us to be robots, what blasphemy! But these early believers also understood that he knew our makeup and our disposition... before we even had it. Think of it like exposing a clay stick and candle stick to the same radiant sun. One will harden up, the other will melt. In a similar way, there are those who naturally melt by the Gospel and those who naturally despise it, or in Pharaoh's case out of Exodus, hardened to the Word... because that's how God made them. That's why the overseers and deacons were always to be tested, to prove that they will themselves to stand firm by their faith. So it's this dichotomy of to believe, or not to believe. It also seems Paul saw the same thing in Moses! Read it below:

2 Corinthians 3:12-16 (with emphasis added)
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were HARDENED. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, THAT SAME VEIL REMAINS UNLIFTED, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But WHEN ONE TURNS TO the Lord, the veil is removed.

My favorite part of 16 is that it didn't say "when God turns one to Jesus, then the veil is torn, " because it gives man autonomy to live by their own will, either to death or to life. Why? Because He loves you. Even in the OT, you'll find that God does not condemn us, we did that, but even still He wants us to follow after life! "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse, THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE, that you and your offspring may live" - Deuteronomy 30:19 (emph.) If you want further clarification, read the Didache, excellent work from 50 AD to referrence.


So if God created our substance, and we're made in his image (again, not robots), and we inherit the curse of Adam, and find a new birth in Christ by repentance and baptism, then is it entirely up to Him whether we're saved? Because He died for us, if we reply in kind, even if we did everything right according to the good book, does God reserve the veil-tearing only for a few? If so, then is it really the good news? Or on the other hand, is it in the power of the believer himself, to believe and allow Jesus to tear the veil, securing the soul? I'll let you answer that for yourselves, grace and peace to the brothers in Christ!

[misfitstranger]

I’m just gonna say it again because it needs to be said;
Why, please somebody tell me why, when he says things like, “It didn’t happen that way, ” (43:08) are people laughing as though it’s a humorous thing? Why aren’t they rather shouting “Amen!” with hearts filled with sorrow and compassion that ANYBODY would EVER believe that they contributed to their own salvation? I’ve got a great sense of humor but utterly fail to see where the humor is in what he’s saying. It’s a very serious matter and one I am eternally grateful for God having opened my eyes to the truth of many years ago.

[CowboyFantastic]

If you have no affection for Jesus. You need to CHECK YOUR HEART

[SpotterVideo]

Why is the term "New Covenant" not found in the man-made confessions of "Reformed Covenant Theology"? The term is found in the Bible multiple times.

New Covenant Whole Gospel: How many modern Christians cannot honestly answer the questions below?

Who is the King of Israel in John 1:49? Is the King of Israel now the Head of the Church, and are we His Body? Who is the “son” that is the “heir” to the land in Matthew 21:37-43? Why did God allow the Romans to destroy the Old Covenant temple and the Old Covenant city, about 40 years after His Son fulfilled the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 in blood at Calvary?

What the modern Church needs is a New Covenant Revival (Heb. 9:10) in which members of various denominations are willing to re-examine everything they believe and see if it agrees with the Bible, instead of the traditions of men. We need to be like the Bereans. It will be a battle between our flesh and the Holy Spirit. It will not be easy. If you get mad and upset when someone challenges your man-made Bible doctrines, that is your flesh resisting the truth found in God's Word. Nobody can completely understand the Bible unless they understand the relationship between the Old Covenant given to Moses at Mount Sinai and the New Covenant fulfilled in blood at Calvary.

God is not now a “racist”. He has extended His love to all races of people through the New Covenant fulfilled by His Son’s blood at Calvary. The Apostle Paul warned against using “genealogies” in our faith in 1 Tim. 1:4, and Titus 3:9.

If the New Covenant is "everlasting" in Hebrews 13:20 and the Old Covenant is "obsolete" in Hebrews 8:13, why would any Christian believe God is going back to the Old Covenant system during a future time period.

What brings all local churches together into one Body under the blood of Christ? The answer is found below.

Let us now share the Old Testament Gospel found below with the whole world. On the road to Emmaus He said the Old Testament is about Him.
He is the very Word of God in John 1:1, 14. Awaken Church to this truth.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Is the most important genealogy in the Bible found in Matthew 1:1 (Gal. 3:16)? Is God's Son the ultimate fulfillment of Israel (John 1:49)? Why has the modern Church done a pitiful job of sharing the Gospel with modern Orthodox Jews? Why would someone tell them they are God's chosen people and then fail to share the Gospel with them? Who is the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15? What did Paul say about Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:8, 3:16? Who is the "son" in Psalm 2? Who is the "suffering servant" of Isaiah 53? Who would fulfill the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34? Who would fulfill the timeline of Daniel chapter 9 before the second temple was destroyed? Why have we not heard this simple Old Testament Gospel preached on Christian television in the United States on a regular basis?

Once a person comes to understand the New Covenant promised to Israel and Judah in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is found fulfilled by Christ during the first century in Hebrews 8:6-13, and Hebrews 10:16-18, and specifically applied to the Church in 2 Corinthians 3:6-8, and Hebrews 12:22-24, man-made Bible doctrines fall apart.

Let us now learn to preach the whole Gospel until He comes back. The King of Israel is risen from the dead! (John 1:49, Acts 2:36)

We are not come to Mount Sinai in Hebrews 12:18. We are come instead to the New Covenant church of Mount Zion and the blood in Hebrews 12:22-24.

1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

The following verses prove the Holy Spirit is the master teacher for those now in the New Covenant.

Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Mar 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Act 11:16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Watch the YouTube videos “The New Covenant” by David Wilkerson, or Bob George, and David H.J. Gay.

[JODTAC]

Reformed Theology is in no way comparable with Hedonism... So what Theology is he talking about.

[philipbenjamin]

TOTAL DEPRAVITY REFUTED
To refute total depravity we need to find examples in scripture of people we definitely know are not believers definitely acting rightly (with the acting rightly not being their conversion). Below are two examples:
Mark 12:34 ESV
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Acts 17:22-23 ESV
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

Remember - if any single TULIP doctrine falls - or original sin falls - all of Calvinism falls.

[philipbenjamin]

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS REFUTED
Romans 11:22 ESV
Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

The fact that Paul says to the same group of people BOTH that they only need to continue how they have begun to be saved - and that if they did not they would be cut off - shows that perseverance of the saints must be wrong doctrine. (People must have the freedom to turn away from God).

Remember - if any single TULIP doctrine falls - or original sin falls - all of Calvinism falls.

[philipbenjamin]

ORIGINAL SIN REFUTED
Deuteronomy 1:39 ESV
And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
Isaiah 7:16 ESV
For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

The only way that original sin survives these verses is if sinning is ONLY about doing the act - not about the state of one's moral development and heart and mind. But if that was the case we would be required to believe that Jesus is as angry with the woman at the well as he is with the Pharisees he calls a brood of vipers.
I rest my case.

I have been asked to supply alternative doctrine in the threads where I refute Calvinist doctrines. So here goes (for how we come to sin). Normally when a believer approaches the bible they consider both how the passage they are reading related to people at the time - and also to us now. Original sin makes an exception to that - Genesis 1 to 3 becomes about how two people make wrong choices - with this stuffing up everyone else's lives. No! We should read Genesis 1 to 3 as if it is not only a description about how the two people - Adam and Eve - came to sin - but ALSO a description of how we came to sin. Proof that we should do this is revealed in Paul's reasoning in 1 Timothy 2. Eve being the first to be deceived and become a sinner is NOT a reason for why all women should not teach or have spiritual authority over all men - UNLESS Adam and Eve are ALSO representatives or all men and all women. We each rebel against God - responding to the influence of sin in the world (Romans 5:12) - when we reach an age of responsibility (the verses I quoted above show that some are too young to be considered sinners). Romans 1:18-32 reveals this and explains that as a result of our rebellion God judges us in two ways - he allows us to become inclined towards sin (THIS is why we experience inclination towards sin - when we are not relying on God) - and also darkened understanding. Receiving God in the cross reverses these two judgements.

Remember - if any single TULIP doctrine falls - or original sin falls - all of Calvinism falls.