In this 208-page book, John Piper offers his reasons for being
so fond of the Apostle Paul. Obviously,
these are his opinions, and you or I may be drawn to other notable figures in
scripture. However, it is good to slow
down and dig deeply into the reasons why we are so fond of such people. While there are 30 chapters – reasons – each
chapter really goes much deeper than one mere reason, as we all know one
thought certainly leads to another.
In 2019, I decided to dedicate a considerable part of my reading
time to one man: John Owen. I’ve begun
with “Mortification of Sin in Believers”, and have been challenged much! I say that because I found chapter 10 of “Why
I Love the Apostle Paul” to be most interesting, most insightful: “Learning Lat
in Life to Know and Kill My Most Besetting Sins”. That’s not because the other 29 chapters are
no good, but simply because my mind is presently fixed on the theme of killing
sin. In that chapter, Pipers writing
supports and even clarifies some thoughts Owen wrote…not because Owen did not
say it well, but because another vantage point is worthwhile when it opens a
door just a little wider, allowing light to shine on a thought.
Years ago, Piper said something like this: It’s not
usually entire books that change people; not even entire chapters; but
paragraphs change people. The thoughts
in chapter 10 truly were worth the time of reading this book, so I included a few
of his clarifications in my “Mortification” book study journal.
I give the book 4 stars.
It certainly isn’t on my favorites shelf at home (especially since I
read the Kindle version), but it is truly worth reading.
Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from
Crossway in exchange for my unbiased review of it. All opinions are mine, and I was not required
to provide a positive review of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment