With typical clarity and grace John Piper answers the question: "Why is homosexuality wrong?" The answer is not perfect or exhaustive, but extraordinarily helpful as a place to start.
3 comments:
aaron hart
said...
Thanks for that Matt, always a very loaded question, with so much of how a person will interact with you based on your answer. I too appreciate the depth Piper covers in grace and a timely manner. As he directed us to Romans 1:24-29, I went to Romans 1 and didn't make it much further than 16 and 17.
"16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17. (a)For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, (b)as it is written "The righteous shall live by faith." (Hab 2:4)"
Can I hear what God has taught you guys on this passage? Especially concerning the relationship between v17 a and b. Also, can we talk a bit on how important context is to Paul in his use of OT Scripture?
Well, I had a very good, well thought comment ready for post, and when I hit post, it said the page expired...and it's gone now. I guess that forces me to be brief so that I can get to bed sometime tonight!
To figure out this passage, I looked before and past this passage. First, I noticed that in the very beginning (v. 1-6), Paul articulates the gospel, and says that part of his calling is to bring about the obedience of faith in v. 5. He then speaks about how he wants to visit the Romans for mutual encouragement. Finally, he begins transitioning in verses 16-17.
Here's a paraphrase of mine for v. 16-17 without the explanation, as it was deleted, and in all likelihood, the paraphrase alone would suffice: "I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it's powerful. It leads to salvation, not just eternally, but also presently for everyone who believes. The gospel of Jesus displays God's righteousness, and as a result our faith is continually strengthened ('from faith for faith'). Your faith is strengthened so that you would live by it, for those made righteous in Jesus will become like him living out their faith."
Finally, Paul goes on to talk about how the unrighteous suppress the gospel about the Creator and live in sin. So, Paul is saying that the power of the gospel is eternal salvation as well as presnt salvation from sin, as the gospel delivers us from our slavery to it. He expounds on this in Chapters 6 and 8.
In summary, the gospel increases our faith which increases our obedience. To say that grace leads to more sin is utterly wrong, because the gospel is powerful in revealing God and building us up. It's those who suppress this that fall deeper into sin rather than being rescued from it.
I hope that helps. If it doesn't, I blame the website for allowing time to expire. As far as Paul's OT quotation habit, my gut says that he uses them in the midst of his arguments to strengthen his position. I think he usually uses them as proofs, so to speak. I could be wrong about this, as I have not studied them. Perhaps Matt can shed some light on this.
3 comments:
Thanks for that Matt, always a very loaded question, with so much of how a person will interact with you based on your answer. I too appreciate the depth Piper covers in grace and a timely manner. As he directed us to Romans 1:24-29, I went to Romans 1 and didn't make it much further than 16 and 17.
"16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17. (a)For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, (b)as it is written "The righteous shall live by faith." (Hab 2:4)"
Can I hear what God has taught you guys on this passage? Especially concerning the relationship between v17 a and b. Also, can we talk a bit on how important context is to Paul in his use of OT Scripture?
Well, I had a very good, well thought comment ready for post, and when I hit post, it said the page expired...and it's gone now. I guess that forces me to be brief so that I can get to bed sometime tonight!
To figure out this passage, I looked before and past this passage. First, I noticed that in the very beginning (v. 1-6), Paul articulates the gospel, and says that part of his calling is to bring about the obedience of faith in v. 5. He then speaks about how he wants to visit the Romans for mutual encouragement. Finally, he begins transitioning in verses 16-17.
Here's a paraphrase of mine for v. 16-17 without the explanation, as it was deleted, and in all likelihood, the paraphrase alone would suffice: "I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it's powerful. It leads to salvation, not just eternally, but also presently for everyone who believes. The gospel of Jesus displays God's righteousness, and as a result our faith is continually strengthened ('from faith for faith'). Your faith is strengthened so that you would live by it, for those made righteous in Jesus will become like him living out their faith."
Finally, Paul goes on to talk about how the unrighteous suppress the gospel about the Creator and live in sin. So, Paul is saying that the power of the gospel is eternal salvation as well as presnt salvation from sin, as the gospel delivers us from our slavery to it. He expounds on this in Chapters 6 and 8.
In summary, the gospel increases our faith which increases our obedience. To say that grace leads to more sin is utterly wrong, because the gospel is powerful in revealing God and building us up. It's those who suppress this that fall deeper into sin rather than being rescued from it.
I hope that helps. If it doesn't, I blame the website for allowing time to expire. As far as Paul's OT quotation habit, my gut says that he uses them in the midst of his arguments to strengthen his position. I think he usually uses them as proofs, so to speak. I could be wrong about this, as I have not studied them. Perhaps Matt can shed some light on this.
Excellent answer Kevin!
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