God is the Gospel

Some books, you don’t simply read. They’re not light, casual reading to pass the time with. Typically, they require deep thought, long pauses, and much self-examination. I found God is the Gospel by John Piper to be this kind of read.

I posted his question – what I would say is the question – in this book in a previous post, but it bears pondering over.

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all of the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all of the natural beauty you ever saw, all of the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

The reality is that the Gospel is only “good news” when it is God-centered. A gospel that hinges upon man “deserving” heaven and forgiveness is not good news at all because it directs God to man. However, if we can understand and grasp and latch-on to the reality that the Gospel hinges upon a perfect, holy, and righteous Savior rescuing fallen, depraved humanity in order that they might see and savor all that He is, then and only then can we understand that it is indeed “good news.”

“Christ…suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

“The Christian gospel is not merely that Jesus died and rose again; and not merely that these events appease God’s wrath, forgive sin, and justify sinners; and not merely that this redemption gets us out of hell and into heaven; but that they bring us to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as our supreme. all-satisfying, and everlasting treasure.” (p. 167

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