Look at the Book

An elder’s ability to lead his family reflects more than his ability to lead the church — it reflects how outsiders will view the church itself.

What task could be so important that an apostle would leave behind a trusted friend to see it accomplished? For Paul, it was establishing leaders in the churches.

Paul had a trusted messenger all over the Roman Empire, grounded in the same faith and so dear to him that he called him his child. Who was this Titus?

When Paul talks about the hope of eternal life, he considers the word a crucial ingredient — but does he mean the word he preached or the Word who became flesh?

Before the beginning of time, God promised eternal life — and not only that, but he planned everything it would take to bring about his purposes.

What can hold up our faith, deepen our knowledge, and set free our godliness so that it overflows to others? Only the hope of eternal life.

How does internal godliness reveal itself? For the elect, the knowledge of the truth can’t help but produce good works.

With boldness and delight, the New Testament talks about God’s people as elect from before the foundation of the world. Why don’t we talk that way more?

When Jesus changed Paul from a persecutor to a preacher, he gave Paul authority as an apostle. But what does that apostleship mean for the church today?

If Christians are sons of God, why does Paul call himself a slave of God? John Piper describes what it means to be a slave (and yet a friend) of God.

What is the message of Paul’s letter to Titus? John Piper points out three mountain peaks to guide those who study this powerful text.

After all that Paul says in his final letter, what parting desire did he have for Timothy? He wanted him to experience the Lord Jesus’s presence with his spirit.

At the end of his letter and his life, Paul bursts into a doxology at the thought that God will rescue him from the lion’s mouth and bring him safely home.

What hope do we have in suffering and persecution? John Piper meditates on the power of God to strengthen us even when everyone else has turned away.

What can unbelievers expect in return for rejecting God’s grace? Alexander the coppersmith, a strong opponent of the gospel, serves as a sobering example.

What gives us the strength to keep believing until the end? John Piper points to the hope of Jesus’s second coming as essential for finishing our race.

When Paul writes about receiving “the crown of righteousness,” does he mean Jesus’s righteousness given to us, or our lived-out righteousness in him?

As Paul approaches the end of his life, he knows he has lived like an athlete who wrestles and runs to win the prize. But what is the good fight?

From conversion through suffering to death, Paul considered his life a resource to be spent for the faith of God’s elect.

As Paul approaches the end of his life, what is his climactic plea to Timothy? John Piper examines four marks of a fulfilled ministry.

Why does preaching matter? By tracing the path away from sound teaching, John Piper shows the importance of preaching in the life of every believer.

How can preachers rebuke and exhort without wandering into hypocrisy and pride? John Piper offers six hallmarks of godly, humble preaching.

When Paul tells Timothy to preach, he uses some of the weightiest language found in any biblical command. John Piper draws out four initial implications.

How do we know the Bible is the word of God? John Piper explores Jesus’s teaching alongside Paul’s claim that all Scripture is God-breathed.

What is the Bible for, and how do we make the most of it? John Piper offers tools for digging into the inspired word of God.

What was Paul’s aim in the midst of deadly persecutions and trials? John Piper unpacks the apostle’s realism and hope in his encouragements to Timothy.

What marks false teachers and their followers? John Piper confronts the impulse to hide sin behind a noncommittal appearance of godliness.

In the last days, some will be lovers of self, lovers of money, and full of every kind of sin, yet they will still maintain the appearance of godliness. How?

Should we love pleasure, or is doing so a sinful sign of the last days? John Piper contrasts loving pleasure for its own sake with loving pleasure in God.

When Paul starts listing sins that define unbelievers in the last days, he leads with an example more heinous than the rest: unrighteous self-love.

Paul says the last days will be full of deceivers and difficulties. But why should that be so? John Piper offers six possible reasons.

When Jesus came as God’s Messiah, he ushered in a new age — but not in the way so many expected. John Piper examines our place in the last days.

If God alone grants repentance, why should parents, friends, and pastors still labor for the salvation of unbelievers?

How do we escape Satan’s clutches, especially when we have no hope of loving the truth on our own? We come to our senses only when God grants repentance.

If the Christian life is about fleeing sin and pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace, how do we do so? John Piper offers some means of grace.

How do we get a pure heart? John Piper meditates on righteousness, faith, love, and peace as vital pursuits for the Christian life.

What does it mean to be an honorable part of God’s great household? John Piper encourages believers to pursue usefulness in every good work.

When Christianity seems fragile, and false teaching leads people toward more and more ungodliness, how do we know that God’s purposes haven’t failed?

Irreverent babble leads only to more ungodliness. John Piper warns against teaching that is as poisonous as it is empty.

How do we teach the word of God in a manner approved by God? John Piper emphasizes the importance of faith and grace in the work of ministry.

When it comes to defending the words of the Bible, how do we know when we’ve begun ruining our hearers with quarrels? Pastor John offers five guidelines.

God promises to keep everyone he saves, yet Scripture also mentions conditions Christians must meet in order to get to glory. How do those two truths fit together?

Does God remain faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to him? John Piper considers the promise that God will never deny himself.

What does the doctrine of election do for evangelism? It puts the omnipotent, unfailing power of God behind the gospel call.

The word of God is not bound by anything. Yet God chooses to use human heralds and their faithful suffering to advance the good news.

Mature Christians are much occupied with Jesus. They do not forget him but remember him hourly and in everything.

Diligent thinking and God’s gift of understanding are not at odds. They are two sides of the same coin.

In 2 Timothy 2, Paul uses three different images to depict the Christian life: soldier, athlete, and farmer. What can we learn from each?

Why is suffering an essential part of the Christian life? Among other reasons, because Christians are out of step with the world, which leads to conflict.

Each generation needs faithful men to pass on the apostolic teaching that was entrusted to them. By the Spirit’s power, we preserve the truth until Christ returns.