Look at the Book

Many in Paul’s day were accusing God of being unrighteous in electing some and not others. In this lab, John Piper explains what the righteousness of God is, showing his definition from several texts. In doing so, he shows that God indeed does all he does for the glory of his own name.

God’s unconditional election causes many to say that he must be unrighteous. He can’t choose some and not others, and be good and just. In this lab, John Piper begins to address this objection by studying the surface structure of Paul’s argument.

What did it mean for God to “love” Jacob and “hate” Esau, even before they were born? How can God elect some and still be good? In this lab, John Piper narrows in on the question of election, and why it’s good news for those who will believe.

God’s electing love is one of the most challenging realities in the Bible. In this lab, John Piper digs down underneath the doctrine of election to try and understand why God chooses who he chooses. How do the true sons and daughters of God become his children?

In Romans 9, Paul wants to show us why we should believe in God’s unconditional election. Isaac and Ishmael were examples in the previous verses, and now Jacob and Esau are presented as better examples. In this lab, John Piper highlights the similarities and differences between these brothers.

God made massive promises to Israel, but much of Israel has rejected the Christ. How, then, can we trust the promises of God to us today? In this lab, John Piper looks at promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament, how they are being fulfilled, and the implications for us.

The crisis in the first verses of Romans 9 is the unbelief of Israel, God’s chosen people. How can we trust God’s promises to us, if his promises to Israel did not come true? In this lab, John Piper wrestles with the tragedy of Israel turning away from God after everything they have been given.

The Christian life is an undeniably hard, yet gloriously satisfying life. How is it that we can be unbelievably heartbroken over the lost in our lives and unshakably happy in the promises of God all at the same time? In this lab, John Piper digs at the root of this emotional mystery.

Romans 9 potentially creates a massive problem for the glorious promises of Romans 8. In this lab, John Piper begins a series through this difficult, but critical chapter by explaining the crisis of unbelieving Israel and the sure hope of the new people of God in the word of God.

God exalts himself by serving us, not by having us serve him, and that sets him apart from all the gods. In this lab, John Piper shows why we should never think we have served God as though he needed anything. He ends by asking if we can serve God at all.

Why did God make human beings? Was it because he needed something that he didn’t already have? This series of labs asks what sets our God apart from all others. In this lab, John Piper asks how we can ever repay God for all he’s done for us.

The God of the Bible is not like any god of any other religion. This series of labs asks what sets our God apart from all the alternatives. In this lab, John Piper looks at the beauty of an infinitely high and holy God stooping to forgive and receive sinners like us.

The Bible says several times that our God is utterly unique among all the gods in the world and in history. But what makes him so unique? In this lab, John Piper begins a series looking at key texts for understanding why there is no god like our God.

The Bible says that the whole world already knows God, but also says that much of the world does not know him. How does someone know him, and yet not know him? In this lab, John Piper explores this difficult, but critical tension and commissions us into the world to speak the gospel.

God wants to comfort and stabilize the anxious with truth. What truths calm our fears? In Part 1, John Piper identified nine arguments against our anxieties. In Part 2, he covered the first five. In this lab, he covers the last four, and highlights six lessons for Bible reading.

When you think about the future, what makes you most anxious? Jesus gives us plenty of reasons not to fear. In Part 1 of this series, John Piper identified nine arguments against our anxieties. In this lab, he slows down over the first five to highlight how they each help us.

This three-part series of labs takes on anxiety by studying Matthew 6:24–34. If the Bible is going to effectively speak to our anxious hearts, we need to learn how to read it well. In this lab, John Piper lays out the arguments and gives three short lessons for our daily Bible reading.

The gospel shines most brightly when Christians rejoice in the midst of really painful, even unjust suffering. In this lab, John Piper looks at Hebrews 10 to understand how we cultivate the kind of joy that can endure anything and that frees us to love and serve radically.

We all have been sinned against, in large or small ways. The Bible calls us not to avenge ourselves, but to entrust the pain and offense to God, who judges justly. In this lab, John Piper reminds us of the promise that God will repay every wrong ever committed against us.

Hebrews 11 calls us to look to God’s people who have gone before us to learn how to walk by faith. In this lab, John Piper highlights the life of Moses, who preferred the reward he had with God more than all the riches of Egypt.

The Bible is clear that people are perishing in rebellion against God. One of the most important questions we can ask is why people perish, and how we can avoid that fate. In this lab, John Piper looks at the relationship between what we believe and what we love in determining our eternal destiny.

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What we treasure has massive implications for the health and security of our hearts. In this lab, John Piper explains why treasure in heaven will satisfy us more than any other, and shows us the pathway to more of the joy found in Jesus.

Many people are afraid to give because they’re afraid they won’t have enough themselves or that they’ll miss out on something in the future. In this lab, John Piper highlights the liberating promise that God is a providing shepherd, father, and king. Therefore, we can give freely and generously.

What happened when you were saved? While Satan did everything he could to blind you to the beauty of Jesus Christ, God broke through in marvelous light, and you saw, and you believed. In this lab, John Piper highlights critical parallels between two key verses to explain the miracle of conversion.

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God has appointed other believers as one of the primary means of our perseverance. In this lab, John Piper explains how sin wages war against our souls, and how God equips us with weapons for the battle. We will see that this fight is not one we should fight alone.

When you come across an if/then statement, restate the condition and study the implications. For instance, can someone who has truly been saved fall away from the faith? John Piper answers in this lab.

John Piper has completed thirty labs working verse-by-verse through Romans 8. In this last lab, he sums up all that we have learned and explains how the highest points relate to each other. We need to be regularly stepping back in our Bible reading to see the bigger picture.

Romans 8 lands on the note of God’s unstoppable, unshakeable love for us in Christ. Nothing — however dark or hard — can separate us from him. In this lab, John Piper reveals the love of God for us, and calls us all to love one another in response to this great love.

We learn a lot about the Bible when the Bible quotes itself. In this lab, John Piper looks at Paul’s use of Psalm 44 to see how we are more than conquerors in all our suffering. Understanding God’s love for us in Christ completely changes how we think about hard things in this life.

Satan is an accuser (Revelation 12:10), but Jesus disarmed him at the cross. In this lab, John Piper explains how the work of Christ wars against and defeats Satan’s schemes to accuse and condemn us. Are you able to wield the sword of Paul’s promises against the evil one?

God is for you, and therefore no one can defeat you. God gave his Son, so he will most definitely give you all things. This lab looks at a couple powerful rhetorical questions. John Piper searches the truths behind Paul’s questions to find massive rocks under the Christian’s life.

A promise as mind-blowing as Romans 8:28 needs massive faith-sustaining truth underneath it. Romans 8:30 lays out a process in which God exalts Christ by bringing ungodly people to glory. In this lab, John Piper offers assurance in God’s invincible plan of salvation.

God’s purpose in creation and redemption is to have a family of children conformed to the image of his Son. But how does that happen in me? In this lab, Pastor John explains the ways in which we are made like Jesus

The phrase “foreknown by God” has caused significant controversy and conflict within Christianity. Did God simply know ahead of time that we would believe, or did he choose who would believe? In this lab, John Piper explains as he tackles the next verse in Romans 8.

When God calls a man or woman, what happens? In this lab, the third of three labs focused on Romans 8:28, John Piper draws in several other verses to try and understand the call of God. He explains why those who love God should rest secure in his sovereign care.

The Bible makes promises to those who love God. But how do we know if we do? In this lab, John Piper digs into the relationship between saving faith and loving God. He goes on to show why and how God works all things for good for those who love him.

As God’s chosen child, all of your present suffering is serving your future glory.

These two verses are two of the hardest in Romans 8. John Piper asks two important questions to uncover how the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. He shows how God — all three persons — is active in helping and keeping us through the hardest things in life.

Knowing that the whole creation, including us, is suffering because of the corruption of sin, what hope can we have that things will get better? In this lab, John Piper talks about the tensions we feel as we strive to believe God’s promises while sometimes suffering greatly.

Suffering might be the hardest, most confusing reality in the Christian life. In this lab, John Piper uncovers deep and durable truths that will help you suffer well. God made and saves the world in the way he did in to make Christ the center of the universe.

There is no more familiar prayer in the Bible than the Lord’s Prayer. In the last lab of his three-part series, John Piper highlights two major new insights he’s seen over the years in the structure and relationships within this paradigm-creating prayer of Jesus.

Jesus’s prayer for you is clear: Today, you need God to provide for you, forgive you, and deliver you. Every single day, you need God to move in these three ways. In this lab, John Piper unfolds these simple, but critical prayers.

In five short verses in Matthew, Jesus taught us to pray. There are prayer-life-changing glories to be seen in these most familiar words *if* we slow down enough to see them. In this lab, John Piper begins a three-part series on the Lord’s Prayer.

At the beginning of another year, people will make new resolutions. But should Christians make these New Years commitments? In this lab, John Piper shows that resolutions can be deeply Christian and grace-filled.

We have every reason to look each other in the eye and say from the bottom of our heart, “Merry Christmas.” His birth means we have hope.

John Piper says this passage has been one of the most pivotal for him and his ministry. These four verses hold profound and precious truths about life and about death. In this lab, Piper shows why Christ is most magnified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

What child is this, the baby boy we celebrate every Christmas? Mary met the true identity of her son in the words of an angel, recorded in Luke 1. In this lab, John Piper prepares our hearts for Christmas by slowing down over these verses.

Our adoption as sons and daughters of God is a deep and glorious blessing. In this lab, drawing on several other texts, John Piper asks what it means that we will be glorified with Christ and share in his inheritance.

The Holy Spirit has a massive role in Romans 8, and in the rest of the Bible, but he is often overlooked. In this lab, John Piper highlights the work of the Holy Spirit, specifically three ways he testifies that we are the children of God.