Look at the Book

Because of the redemption Christ has accomplished, we are free to submit without fear to human rulers as we pursue the good works God has given us.

The church needs pastors through whom the word of God overflows in everyday speech, including in words of exhortation and authoritative rebuke.

When Christ gave himself for our sake, what did he accomplish? His redeeming work breaks the power of sin and purifies us so that we belong to him.

Jesus’s second coming is supposed to be our greatest hope. But what is it about that hope that should make us wait so eagerly?

How do we know the difference between a godly desire and a worldly desire? A godly desire will only grow sweeter as our desire for God grows.

The training regimen of grace goes deeper than moral imperatives — “Do this” and “Do that.” God’s grace trains us to start and end at the cross of Christ.

Where does grace start, and where does it go? Before all ages, God planned to save us by his grace and to make us holy through that same power.

In the most vulnerable places in society, God has called believers who will make his salvation beautiful through their submission, diligence, and joy.

What could be more important for young men than self-control? Paul finishes his instructions to various generations with a word to young men and Titus.

What does love for the word of God look like for women in various stages of life? By God’s design, older women can guide younger women in Christ’s ways.

Sound doctrine — God’s revelation in Christ — has the power to guard us from silliness and immaturity and frivolity, and to make us healthy in every way.

Any good deed could be an act of hypocrisy if it denies the promises of God. So, what kind of heart makes good deeds actually good?

Why would Paul quote — and agree with — someone who seems to insult everyone in his mission field? Paul is aiming for rebuke that leads to restoration.

In a world full of evil, an elder’s job is not to fight an impossible battle against outside influences but to silence error within the church.

What enables elders to rebuke and exhort with all authority? Only their tight grip on the healthy doctrine given to them in the word of God.

What do the various elder qualifications mean, and where can we go to learn more about them? Each is rooted to Scripture and crucial for pastors.

In Paul’s list of elder qualifications, does “husband of one wife” mean “never remarried” — and does “his children are faithful” mean they must be Christians?

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?