This is one of the best video I’ve ever watched. This is how I feel! My pastor loves preaching John Piper’s words and his words are so easy to understand. Thank you for being here on Earth to explain and give the gospel so clearly to believers and nonbelievers.
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Wow! Just doesn't get any better than that. I loved his explanation about the Trinity. Just blew my mind...would love just to sit and talk with John Piper one day. Very awesome man of God :)
I have never found a single dictionary that gives the definition of "AND" as being "BY". And has always been explained as "AS WELL AS". We glorify God by our obedience to His will no matter whether we understand it or not.
I don't think this is "wrong" or anything, but I feel like it's just a bad way of looking at how we should live our lives. When we truly love God we will want to do His will, and if we do live out His will, we will be satisfied and happy, and so will God and He will be glorified as well. I don't think we should live trying to find happiness and be joyful, because that's not the point. The point is to live for God and do His will, and the joy comes when we do that, if we really do love God.
The interaction between faith, obedience and joy can be described in different ways, and different people have to come at it from different directions in order to get it. I come from a background that focused on obedience, and it was just oppressive to me. When I came across John Piper explaining it this way, it all became clear to me, when I had only had short glimpses of it before, like trying to remember a dream I just woke up from, or a problem I can't quite see the solution to. If you read Piper's book Desiring God, you will see many examples from the Bible that pursuing joy is in fact how the righteous pursue obedience.
Excellent response!!! This "Christian Hedonism" phrase should be left out and is NOT biblical!! Just leave the worldly phraseology out of explaining anything to do with Holy Scripture. We don't need to the Westminister catechism or to care what the likes of what other men think - just read the Bible and trust in the Lord for yourselves!!
Dale Dunn, really?? The Holy Bible focuses on being OBEDIENT to God First and Foremost!! The Bible focuses on us delighting ourselves in the LORD FIRST and then He will give us the desires of our heart. Just read the Bible, don't need these extra-biblical books where the truth is scewed in many instances!
When you give up your thoughts or die then the thinking of God can be manifested or glorified. Christ is the thinking of God. By giving up your thoughts to serve God you will be most happy or hedonism will be achieved. Were the THought of God is is where your happiness is. Follow God's voice and be happy. Four baptisms to be in contract with the Lord.
While I agree with Piper, at least for the most part, in his explanation of "Christian Hedonism," I do not, and cannot agree with the label of Christian Hedonism. Hedonism is always 100% self-serving, and always refers to satisfying one's pleasures, one's sensual pleasures. Hedonism, no matter how you redefine it, has nothing whatsoever to do with Christ or Christianity. He may as well call it Christian adultery, or Christian fornication. Piper should know better. And he should apologize to everyone, and clear up what he means by calling it something else, something that actually describes what he is talking about.
Hi there, I've checked the definition of the word 'Hedonism' online and this is what it says 'pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.' Even though I also agree that this word has a very negative connotation, and I was confused when seeing the title initially, I personally feel the word captures the essence completely. Hedonism is bad because whatever we use on earth to satisfy our desires is either a)Bad(lust, drugs etc.) or b)Limiting. However, hedonism, with its actual meaning does not state a negative cause. Its because of the association which makes us think it is a bad word, hence I don't agree with the "Christian adultery" or "Christian fornication". I personally feel that Piper intended to use this word for a 'jarring' effect, but nonetheless I thank God for us understanding the meaning behind this phrase
God is glorified in the fact that he is our highest source of joy. The parable of the hidden treasure: The person gave up everything to get the field with the treasure, in his joy.
Truly delusional. Does God disagree with humanity's independence or is it inspired? Are we to operate independently of His wishes or conform to His views? What is hedonism if we have to operate within His vision?
***** I'm sorry, I'm just not a big fan of Piper. He talks so passionately about God, I sometimes like his sermons, but I am diametrically opposed with his views on how God works in people's lives. According to this "so very passionate man about the things of God", God does not even work in many people's lives, God simply forsakes a lot of people and abandons them to stay forever lost in their sins without ever reaching out to them. God created these lost souls, according to Piper, for the sole purpose of damning them to hell! The god he preaches is not the God of scripture! So if I seem irritated by his "passion" for God, that is why! The God of the bible. died for all, loves all and wants all to come to repentance! God gives every man an opportunity to accept or reject Him! Piper, though, does not think that way! He believes God only selected certain people to save and that God damns the rest without ever drawing them, ever, in their lives! So, yes, I can get very frustrated when listening to him espouse the "goodness" of God!
+Rachel Hi. I think we should be careful to listen to certain preachers who may manipulate parts of Scripture to spread an incomplete or even false image of God. No one is pre-destined to go to Hell. If that were the case, why does scripture state He desires no man to perish? Even in Isaiah, God speaks of salvation to all men, from all nations. God has foreknowledge of who will go to Hell, but He does not send them there. God has no favor over any individual. He has favor as in kindness, but not preference for one person's soul over another. He has given everyone a choice, he is knocking on the hearts of all who live. He ultimately knows what we will decide, but His intentional will is not for anyone to perish in Hell. Otherwise, why would He weep for the souls who are perishing? Why send His son at all to die for everyone's sins if He were just going to pluck out a few that He would save, and leave the rest to die? God is sovereign, and in absolute control, but our free will plays a part in our eternal destination . If anyone ends up in Hell, it is not because God predestined them to be there, but because of something on our part. Listening to someone who preaches false doctrines turn people from the church and the message of Christ . An unbeliever may hear this Calvinist theory and turn from God and hate God, when this is a false representation of God. At the same time, a Calvinist will justify this falling away and essentially blame it on God, saying it was His divine purpose that this person perish. If that were the case, why would anyone need to share the gospel? Why would we need to die to sin daily and repent? Why is it our mission to win souls for God's Kingdom? This Calvinist theory is just a way for men to magnify themselves to each other by proclaiming some of us are more special than others since birth. "God has chosen us to live and for you to die. Sorry, this is God's sovereignty. " That is not the case since Christ died for all and thereby salvation is free to all who are willing to receive it.
Jessica Redmon , amen! Completely agree with you! Just be aware when talking with Calvinists, you said, "Why send His son at all to die for everyone's sins if He were just going to pluck out a few that He would save, and leave the rest to die?" They will just respond with Limited Atonement, another false doctrine of Calvinism, because Christ did surely die for every single soul! Just know that response to your statement will happen sooner or later. :)
Muttley Mutt Thanks! And all i can do is tell the truth. If a Calvinist decides not to heed it, then there is nothing I can do but pray for them. Also, limited atonement is not in the Bible, it is not even implied in the Bible. I don't see how anyone can justify Calvinism with that term because you can't back it up with God's word. Keep refuting lies with truth though! Because this absolutely can affect a person's salvation!
Jessica Redmon "Because this absolutely can affect a person's salvation!" Very true! It seems you have about as much disdain for Calvinism as I do! I always say, our view of the person and character of God affects everything else! How we think of God, how we believe God to be like, affects how we live, it affects everything! Yes, Limited Atonement is another complete lie, a false doctrine made by men! Every last point of TULIP is absolutely contrary to scripture!
Lots of things are when you first hear them. Keep working on it. I know that Piper was also helped greatly by C.S. Lewis's bit on praise. I'll paste it here, The most obvious fact about praise-whether of God or anything-strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless …shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise-lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game - praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised least...Except where intolerably adverse circumstances interfere, praise almost seems to be inner health made audible.… I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what we indeed can’t help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed… If it were possible for a created soul fully… to “appreciate”, that is to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme beautitude… The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.
@@ladejobidimeji695 just be careful and watch.... The word hedonism is defined as self pleasure. And we(Christians) know that that there is NOTHING good in "self"....Romans 7:18 KJV - For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This is one of the best video I’ve ever watched. This is how I feel! My pastor loves preaching John Piper’s words and his words are so easy to understand. Thank you for being here on Earth to explain and give the gospel so clearly to believers and nonbelievers.
God is fun to glorify because He is the Source of all light, love and life.
Jesus not accept the glory of human beings! all have sinned
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Thank you Pastor John. You continue to help me see more and more of Christ through his Spirit and holy word 🤗❤
Amen. Psalm 37:4 "delight in The Lord"
For the joy set before him, he endured...
Thank you!❤
Hearing about this hedonism thing made me worry a little but it makes sense.
Well, it’s because John Piper is a false teacher. He preaches a false doctrine, and he flirts with mixing Christianity and new age.
Wow! Just doesn't get any better than that. I loved his explanation about the Trinity. Just blew my mind...would love just to sit and talk with John Piper one day. Very awesome man of God :)
I have never found a single dictionary that gives the definition of "AND" as being "BY". And has always been explained as "AS WELL AS". We glorify God by our obedience to His will no matter whether we understand it or not.
He doesn’t imply that “And” and “By” are synonyms, no. He simply omitted “And” replacing it with “BY”.
Very good...❣❣❣
Beautiful .....
I don't think this is "wrong" or anything, but I feel like it's just a bad way of looking at how we should live our lives. When we truly love God we will want to do His will, and if we do live out His will, we will be satisfied and happy, and so will God and He will be glorified as well. I don't think we should live trying to find happiness and be joyful, because that's not the point. The point is to live for God and do His will, and the joy comes when we do that, if we really do love God.
The interaction between faith, obedience and joy can be described in different ways, and different people have to come at it from different directions in order to get it. I come from a background that focused on obedience, and it was just oppressive to me. When I came across John Piper explaining it this way, it all became clear to me, when I had only had short glimpses of it before, like trying to remember a dream I just woke up from, or a problem I can't quite see the solution to. If you read Piper's book Desiring God, you will see many examples from the Bible that pursuing joy is in fact how the righteous pursue obedience.
Excellent response!!! This "Christian Hedonism" phrase should be left out and is NOT biblical!! Just leave the worldly phraseology out of explaining anything to do with Holy Scripture. We don't need to the Westminister catechism or to care what the likes of what other men think - just read the Bible and trust in the Lord for yourselves!!
Dale Dunn, really?? The Holy Bible focuses on being OBEDIENT to God First and Foremost!! The Bible focuses on us delighting ourselves in the LORD FIRST and then He will give us the desires of our heart. Just read the Bible, don't need these extra-biblical books where the truth is scewed in many instances!
Wow! So wonderfully said! Amen!
What an oxymoron
Christian and pagan word of pleasures of the sense has no business being in the same sentence.
How daft.
When you give up your thoughts or die then the thinking of God can be manifested or glorified. Christ is the thinking of God. By giving up your thoughts to serve God you will be most happy or hedonism will be achieved. Were the THought of God is is where your happiness is. Follow God's voice and be happy. Four baptisms to be in contract with the Lord.
While I agree with Piper, at least for the most part, in his explanation of "Christian Hedonism," I do not, and cannot agree with the label of Christian Hedonism. Hedonism is always 100% self-serving, and always refers to satisfying one's pleasures, one's sensual pleasures. Hedonism, no matter how you redefine it, has nothing whatsoever to do with Christ or Christianity. He may as well call it Christian adultery, or Christian fornication. Piper should know better. And he should apologize to everyone, and clear up what he means by calling it something else, something that actually describes what he is talking about.
Hi there, I've checked the definition of the word 'Hedonism' online and this is what it says 'pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.' Even though I also agree that this word has a very negative connotation, and I was confused when seeing the title initially, I personally feel the word captures the essence completely. Hedonism is bad because whatever we use on earth to satisfy our desires is either a)Bad(lust, drugs etc.) or b)Limiting. However, hedonism, with its actual meaning does not state a negative cause. Its because of the association which makes us think it is a bad word, hence I don't agree with the "Christian adultery" or "Christian fornication". I personally feel that Piper intended to use this word for a 'jarring' effect, but nonetheless I thank God for us understanding the meaning behind this phrase
Well said.
I love this :-)
This is great!
So the ultimate goal is that we need to please ourselves through God? "Our" pleasure is the ultimate goal? Our (mere human) pleasure? Seriously?!
God is glorified in the fact that he is our highest source of joy. The parable of the hidden treasure: The person gave up everything to get the field with the treasure, in his joy.
Truly delusional. Does God disagree with humanity's independence or is it inspired?
Are we to operate independently of His wishes or conform to His views?
What is hedonism if we have to operate within His vision?
Wow! It takes Piper ten minutes to say something that could have been said in two! We got it! It is not that hard of a concept to understand!
***** I'm sorry, I'm just not a big fan of Piper. He talks so passionately about God, I sometimes like his sermons, but I am diametrically opposed with his views on how God works in people's lives. According to this "so very passionate man about the things of God", God does not even work in many people's lives, God simply forsakes a lot of people and abandons them to stay forever lost in their sins without ever reaching out to them. God created these lost souls, according to Piper, for the sole purpose of damning them to hell! The god he preaches is not the God of scripture! So if I seem irritated by his "passion" for God, that is why! The God of the bible. died for all, loves all and wants all to come to repentance! God gives every man an opportunity to accept or reject Him! Piper, though, does not think that way! He believes God only selected certain people to save and that God damns the rest without ever drawing them, ever, in their lives! So, yes, I can get very frustrated when listening to him espouse the "goodness" of God!
+Rachel Hi. I think we should be careful to listen to certain preachers who may manipulate parts of Scripture to spread an incomplete or even false image of God. No one is pre-destined to go to Hell. If that were the case, why does scripture state He desires no man to perish? Even in Isaiah, God speaks of salvation to all men, from all nations. God has foreknowledge of who will go to Hell, but He does not send them there. God has no favor over any individual. He has favor as in kindness, but not preference for one person's soul over another. He has given everyone a choice, he is knocking on the hearts of all who live. He ultimately knows what we will decide, but His intentional will is not for anyone to perish in Hell. Otherwise, why would He weep for the souls who are perishing? Why send His son at all to die for everyone's sins if He were just going to pluck out a few that He would save, and leave the rest to die? God is sovereign, and in absolute control, but our free will plays a part in our eternal destination . If anyone ends up in Hell, it is not because God predestined them to be there, but because of something on our part. Listening to someone who preaches false doctrines turn people from the church and the message of Christ . An unbeliever may hear this Calvinist theory and turn from God and hate God, when this is a false representation of God. At the same time, a Calvinist will justify this falling away and essentially blame it on God, saying it was His divine purpose that this person perish. If that were the case, why would anyone need to share the gospel? Why would we need to die to sin daily and repent? Why is it our mission to win souls for God's Kingdom? This Calvinist theory is just a way for men to magnify themselves to each other by proclaiming some of us are more special than others since birth. "God has chosen us to live and for you to die. Sorry, this is God's sovereignty. " That is not the case since Christ died for all and thereby salvation is free to all who are willing to receive it.
Jessica Redmon , amen! Completely agree with you! Just be aware when talking with Calvinists, you said, "Why send His son at all to die for everyone's sins if He were just going to pluck out a few that He would save, and leave the rest to die?" They will just respond with Limited Atonement, another false doctrine of Calvinism, because Christ did surely die for every single soul! Just know that response to your statement will happen sooner or later. :)
Muttley Mutt Thanks! And all i can do is tell the truth. If a Calvinist decides not to heed it, then there is nothing I can do but pray for them. Also, limited atonement is not in the Bible, it is not even implied in the Bible. I don't see how anyone can justify Calvinism with that term because you can't back it up with God's word. Keep refuting lies with truth though! Because this absolutely can affect a person's salvation!
Jessica Redmon "Because this absolutely can affect a person's salvation!" Very true! It seems you have about as much disdain for Calvinism as I do! I always say, our view of the person and character of God affects everything else! How we think of God, how we believe God to be like, affects how we live, it affects everything!
Yes, Limited Atonement is another complete lie, a false doctrine made by men! Every last point of TULIP is absolutely contrary to scripture!
this sounds like gibberish
Lots of things are when you first hear them. Keep working on it.
I know that Piper was also helped greatly by C.S. Lewis's bit on praise. I'll paste it here,
The most obvious fact about praise-whether of God or anything-strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless …shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise-lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game - praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised least...Except where intolerably adverse circumstances interfere, praise almost seems to be inner health made audible.…
I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what we indeed can’t help doing, about everything else we value.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.
It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed… If it were possible for a created soul fully… to “appreciate”, that is to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme beautitude…
The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.
Oxymoron
simply put... its an abomination.
How, I'm confused
@@ladejobidimeji695 just be careful and watch.... The word hedonism is defined as self pleasure. And we(Christians) know that that there is NOTHING good in "self"....Romans 7:18 KJV - For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
That is the point. Mr. Piper teaches that pursuing pleasure in God is the key, not ourselves.
An absolute mess!