Customer Reviews

The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is THE book that convinced me of the Doctrines of Grace. I was an Arminian and very proud of it. I made it my personal challenge to refute the most revered works on election I could find. When I got to Piper's book I met my match. His exegesis was unbelievable. I fought him through the book but couldn't resist Piper's conclusions. As I moved through the book I saw my conceptions about God being shifted and at first I hated it. But as I saw Piper exposit the apostle's thought I saw the beauty in God's sovereignty and have loved Him more for it ever since. A hearty thanks to the modern day theologian who has done the most for my Christian walk.

For Calvinists who want to be Biblical (as all TRUE Calvinists do!) this book lays an excellent FOUNDATION. It is a thorough and insightful study of Romans 9:1-23. No difficult questions are dodged. Dr. Piper carefully exegetes the text (be prepared for technicalities!) and develops from it a thoroughly robust doctrine of the righteousness of God, which he defines as God's unwavering commitment to uphold and display the glory of His name. This is the foundation of the doctrines of grace - even before the sovereignty of God comes the glory of God.

To Arminian theology, this book is a FOE (though it might become a FRIEND to open-minded Arminians themselves!). Piper is kind to those he opposes and he fights for Biblical theology with fierce allegiance to the text and an eye to the glory of God. But he doesn't hold anything back. His arguments are like sharp double-edged swords beaten out in the fires of exegesis and honed on the anvil of meditation. No Arminian theologian has refuted it. Their swords just aren't strong enough or sharp enough.

To Christian Hedonists, this book is a FEAST! It is different from Piper's more popular books like Desiring God and The Pleasures of God. It is not as easy to read. This book is strong meat. But oh is it nourishing! If you want to know about the theology that undergirds Desiring God, then this is the book to read.

Here is a side of Piper that I had not seen before. While most of his books are written for the average person, here he unleashes exegesis of the highest quality, with all of the meticulous care that difficult passages like Romans 9:1-23 deserve. By examining carefully the context, semantics, and Hebrew background of this passage, Piper rises to the challenge in his attempt to rescue it from broad surface interpretations that are theologically motivated by those who oppose the doctrines of grace.

Among modern theologians with great influence among common people, Piper is as good as they come. He is fair to the text and to his opponents as always. This work left me in awe of the magnificent glory of God in His sovereign dealings with man. Another masterpiece for John Piper!

I rate this book a 4 only to let the buyer know that there is some difficulty with it. In truth, I rate it a 5 for myself. This book makes a thorough exegetical interpretation of Romans 9.

You will learn why God is Justified in condemning sinners when He has "made me like this". You will learn how God is glorified is their condemnation. This book is very meaty and will take some thought. You may even have to re-read chapters to digest the wonders of the passage.

The negatives of this book certainly do not outweigh any of the positives. Many evangelicals desire meaty sermons, but when given one more than 20 mnutes, they complain. This book is not for the wimpy Christian who says he wants to grow in the Grace and knowledge, but only reads the "purpose Driven Church" style of books. It also quotes the Biblical text in their original languages, therefore it is not friendly to the layman in that regard. Trust me though, I can not read Greek, and I found the book to be a humbling experience in the light of God's truth being presented.

To my knowledge, no one has ever given an exegetical refutation of this work. A must for anyone desiring to grow in their understanding of God's Sovereignty.

God Bless

In spite of the in depth greek anaylsis, I found this to be the best defense of Predestination from a scriptural standpoint.
The book is tightly and coherently written, so that each point builds upon itself. It is comprhensive and the extra chapters
on God's righteousness are very convincing and insightfull. Piper's ability to anylize Paul's opponents are not only helpful, but extrodinary. The book has many insights that you will not find in an ordinary commentary on the subject. I cannot see how anyone who reads this book could not be convinced that Predestiantion is taught in the bible. With a religious world clamouring for sciptural support, this book is the anwser to their delima. I'm on my seconding reading and my amazment of
the depth and theological consistency of this book continues to grow. It is one the greatest modern works by a Calvinist.

This book is definitely a sound defense of predestination theology and is one of the best books on the subject, period. Dr. Piper systematically goes through Romans 9: 1-23 and analyzes the text in the original Greek. Piper is a capable and qualified exegete and his knowledge of the Greek language and grammar is excellent. I believe that Piper does an excellent job of supporting his thesis and backing it up with solid exegesis, but there are still some lingering questions I have, and I don't believe this work is above scholarly criticism.

The positive aspects of this work are it's solid scriptural exegesis and it's coherent and cohesive system of argumentation. Piper does an awesome job of demonstrating why he believes the Reformed view of individual predestination is correct, and he supports his argument with solid evidence. I really wish someone from the opposing camp would produce a work of this calibre. Also, Piper's work is heavily supported by scholars and the research is simply phenomenal. Dr. Piper is to be applauded for his work because he doesn't ignore and brush aside objections or differing interpretations to his views, but instead interacts with them and shows why he believes they are incorrect. Finally, this work is very convincing and many if not most will find themselves agreeing with Piper's thesis by the time they finish this book.

That being said, I am not fully convinced that Piper's argument is correct for several reasons. First, Piper's opening defense hinges on the thesis that the list of privileges announced in Romans 9: 4-5 are soteriological in essence. Piper builds his case by showing that a word like uiothesia means divine sonship and is always used in reference to God's saving purpose. I wasn't convinced by this argument because the Old Covenant, or the Sinaitic Covenant, was by nature not a saving covenant. The book of Deuteronomy proves this over and over again because the whole purpose of this Covenant with Israel was to bestow physical and earthly blessings and not spiritual and salvific blessings. In fact, nowhere does God promise the Israelites salvation in return for obedience to the covenant in the Old Testament. Yes, physical Israel was called God's son in the Old Testament but this never implied salvific priviliges or rights. Second, I think Piper overlooks a key phrase in Romans 9:8 and that is the term "children of the promise." Properly understood, I think this phrase provides the key answer to Paul's question as to why not all of physical Israel is saved. In Galatians 3: 15-22 Paul deals with this issue and provides the answer as to exactly who or what constitutes spiritual Israel. The Jews were contending that since they were Abraham's natural descendants they must be saved since God made this promise to Abraham and to his seed. The Jews misunderstood the word seed and believed it meant all of Abraham's descendants. Paul refutes this idea and illustrates that the promise was made to Abraham and to his seed(singular), and that this seed is Jesus Christ. Therefore, in Paul's mind there are two Israel's: one is natural or fleshly Israel, and the other is the spiritual Israel or the children of the promise. I think Piper's idea of the two Israel's being the Israel of the flesh and the Israel of the election does not cohere with the total view of Pauline theology that is constructed from all of his works. Thus, Paul answers his objectors by showing that not all Israel is saved because not all Israel are children of the promise and that is what counts towards salvation.

In addition, Piper's insistence that faith is subsumed under the aegis of the actions of willing and running is extremely suspect. To support this view Piper refers to Galatians 5:7 and I Thessalonians 1:3 to prove that faith is an action of willing. Galatians 5:7 has nothing to do with this subject, and could only be remotely related if 5:6 is intended to be referenced as well. Galatians 5:6 speaks of one's faith working or operating through love; The Greek word energeia describes an operation, and therefore this verse is describing how one's faith works or operates, it says nothing about faith being a work. Therefore, Piper's reference to Galatians 5:7 is unwarranted and does not support his point. Similarly, I Thessalonians 1:3 seems to have in mind works of faith or an operative faith and not faith as a work. So again this verse does not support Piper's view that faith is some kind of work included under Paul's willing and running categories. The Greek word for faith is pistis and simply means trust. If I trust that an airplane will get me from point A to point B without crashing does my trust in that airplane's ability contribute to or faciliate it's operation? Obviously not!

For those of you who are confused about the 4 stars after reading this review don't be. This book is an excellent and scholarly piece of literature and one that nicely defends it's viewpoint. That being said, I did not agree with parts of it and that is why this review contains more criticism than praise. If you are a Calvinist looking to your strengthen your beliefs then read this book, if you are an Arminian wishing to challange your views then read this book.

John Piper's monograph on Romans 9 is at once a workout and a feast--both for the mind and soul. Finishing a work like this leaves one exhausted! Piper turns over ever leaf and provides tight and compelling arguments on every aspect of this difficult section of Paul's missionary letter to the Romans. Piper notes in this revised edition that the theology of Romans 9 drives every aspect of his ministry at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Everything points to the exaltation of the glory of God in the face of Christ unto the greatest number of joyful worshippers for all of eternity. God's purposes are achieved through double predestination--in the end, not a doctrine to be despised but one to be cherished!

Although this book has been praised as the best treatment on Romans 9 in the history of the church, it is sad to see the corresponding responses from those who disagree (e.g., Clark Pinnock and Norman Geisler) and those who ignore it entirely (e.g., N.T. Wright).

May God use it to further aid the church in spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is a serious work for serious students. It's too bad to because many more people need to understand the doctrine of grace. Unfortuantly the doctrine is not simple enough to be simplying defended.

I doubt if their is a better exegetical defense for predesination in Romans 9. I reccommend this book for anybody who is SERIOUS about understanding Romans 9. I don't reccommend it for pleasure reading though.

I gave it four our of five stars only because I wish it had been just a little more lucid at times. This isn't a judgement agaist Piper's writing ability (which is excellent) but more from a stance of the subject material in general (which is difficult) and my overall feelings of the book.

John Piper offers thorough exegesis in refuting the Arminian treatment of Romans Nine, Which basically says this great chapter refers to nations rather than individuals and service rather than salvation. If you want a quick read this is not the book for you. Written in a gracious tone, but firm in its conclusions. Excellent job, John!

Pastor Peter Holdaas
Blaine, WA
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During a meeting at the Cove Piper suggested to me that this book is the least readable of all his books. It is NOT user-friendly to the non-Greek Bible student, in fact, this book was the catalyst for my own three year journey in Greek studies at a local Bible college.
This book covers every argument and every objection to the Reformed interpretation using sound Biblical exegesis. Piper meets the text at every level of Greek grammar and syntax and unpacks God's truth for his readers in plain English.