John Piper does an amazing job of showing his readers that
grace is a lot more than having gotten something they don’t deserve. Grace is
yesterday, today, and most of all tomorrow. Using his vast knowledge of scripture
(in English, and apparently in the original languages also) Piper talks of God's
promises as having come true even as they are still pending. Future Grace: The Purifying Power of the Promises
of God” (Colorado, Springs, CO, Multnomah Books, 2nd edition,
2012) points out again and again the depth of God's love as manifested
throughout the Old and New Testaments, and how we are still waiting for those
promises to be fulfilled in an eschatological sense.
This book is slightly easier to read than most textbooks,
but there is so much information presented that there is absolutely no way it
can be classified as popular press. Piper suggests that one of God's ‘most precious
promises’ is found at Romans 8:32 (“He who did not spare his own Son but gave
him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”)
The book has many scripture references, with 60 of them coming from Romans
chapter 8.
Insights such as shame being well-placed or misplaced not
depending on how bad you look before men, but how much glory you bring to God, (p
132-133) or ministry being what all Christians do, (or should be doing), (p
287) or lust interfering with intimacy with God (p 388) or even the fact that persecution
will be part of picking up the cross (p 346) jump and scream for the reader to
ponder their significance.
If you’re looking for a light read to take to the beach, don’t
bother with this book. If you want to be stretched, and come to know the God of
love better than you may have imagined possible, grab this book as quickly as
possible and plan on spending time devouring it: not gulping it down, but
taking it in small bites, chewing, savoring, and pondering it.
The book is well thought out, well researched, and it is obvious
that Piper is as scholar as well as a pastor
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for agreeing
to write an honest review.
5/5
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