My wife picked up a copy of this book for me at the True Woman Conference a couple of months ago and I’m extremely glad she did.  Ever since I was first exposed to Piper’s theology of suffering at the 2005 Desiring God National Conference - Suffering and the Sovereignty of God - I have been greatly blessed by seeing in the Bible that God not only allowed the suffering I have endured in life, but has also used it for my good and for His glory.

This book is just a continuing explanation of that theology and as the subtitle says “Spectacular Sins - And Their Global Purpose In The Glory Of Christ”..

From the outset of the book there is no doubt why Piper chose to write this:

The coddled Western world will sooner or later give way to great affliction.  And when it does, whose vision of God will hold?  Where are Christians being prepared for great global sorrows?  Where is the Christian mind and soul being prepared for the horrors to come?  Christians in the West are weakened by wimpy worldviews.  And wimpy worldviews make wimpy Christians.  God is weightless in our lives.  He is not terrifyingly magnificent.  His sovereignty is secondary (at best) to his sensitivity.

And it just gets better from there.  While looking at the most spectacular sins of Satan, Adam, Joseph’s Brothers, Israel, The Tower Of Babel, and ultimately Judas Iscariot, Piper weaves a great thread of God’s purpose in all of it.  It’s a challenging book for sure.  It’s also, by Piper standards a fairly short book.  Checking in at 105 pages, it could be read in a couple hours.  It’s content, however, should be digested over a lifetime.  It’s that good.

If you’re someone who has endured a tremendous amount of suffering in life this book will provide you great comfort, encouragement, and hope in the God who has been there all along.  If you’re someone who hasn’t endured much suffering, this book will serve as great preparation because as the Bible points out - “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom”.    I’ll end by letter John Piper address you on why this book matters:

The reason why this book matters is this.  If you embrace the biblical truth (and I pray you will) that God ordains spectacular sins for the global glory of His Son, without God in any way becoming unholy or unrighteous or sinful in that act, then you will not shrink back from the cross of Christ as a work of God.  You will not be among the number of those who call the world’s most loving act “divine child abuse.”  You will come to the cross and fall on your face.  And you will say:  This is no mere human conspiracy.  This is the work of God and the love of God.  You will receive it as the highest gift.  And you will be saved.  And Christ will be glorified.  And I will not have written in vain.

Go order the book here...now!