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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Swans are not silent! The first in a series, May 24, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (Hardcover)
What freed Augustine from bondage to sexual immorality? What gave Martin Luther lion-like boldness in defending the supremacy of Scripture? What fueled John Calvin's God-entranced preaching and writing ministry? A stoic, disinterested obligation to do what is right? No! It was white-hot passion for their Sovereign Joy: God. They were radically converted as they encountered the real, risen Jesus and His liberating gospel in the written Word of God. And for the joy of having found the Pearl of great price, they sold everything to obtain it. Join Piper as he examines what captured the hearts of these three flawed saints whom God has used so powerfully to teach His church what grace really means. "How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You . . . took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure . . ." Aurelius Augustine,(The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, p. 57)
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41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Historical Foundations for Christian Hedonists!, June 18, 2000
This review is from: The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (Hardcover)
This insightful book lays historical foundations for the philosophy of Christian Hedonism (Biblically known simply as discipleship to Jesus Christ!) which John Piper first outlined in his book Desiring God: The Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. These chapters on Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (originally lectures delivered at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors) are thought-provoking, heart-stirring mini-biographical studies aimed at fanning the flames of God-centeredness in the lives of Christians. Piper beautifully develops the Augustinian understanding of grace as "sovereign joy" which liberates us from the power of sin, by showing how this dynamic worked to free Augustine himself from the bondage of lust. From Luther's life, Piper delves into the importance of studying the Word of God even in the midst of suffering. And with Calvin, we are told how devotion to the exposition of Scripture is the means by which the Majesty of God is revealed with life-transforming power. Piper preserves the careful balance of admiring the virtues of these men without condoning their flaws. He gives insightful and objective reflection on Augustine's sacramentalism, Luther's vulgarity, and Calvin's consent to the barbarity of his violent age. But he doesn't let these sad mistakes obstruct from view the important contributions each of these men have made to the history of the church. I am glad that these studies are being published (this is the first book of a series of such biographies). They will prove helpful to both the serious student of Christian History, as well as the average curious reader.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece of the Master's Joy!, September 14, 2000
This review is from: The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (Hardcover)
An excellent addition to the literature on biblical joy, following the lead of Sherwood Wirt's 'Jesus: Man of Joy', et al. John Piper is one of the foremost champions of classical theism in its contemporary battle against inroads from a minority view called 'open theism', which seems to (even if unwittingly, by implication, in all sincere intentions) unbiblically restrict God's absolute sovereignty. Many these days recoil at such a concept, but the author puts the doctrine in Scriptural perspective: part of God's sovereignty is Sovereign Joy. A wonderful invitation to research the works of Augustine, Luther, Calvin, other fathers of the evangelical faith to discover a deeper, brighter, more robust, full-orbed, delightful insight into another facet of the Character of our Wonderful God. Must reading, especially for those open to 'open theism' (see BGC Foreknowledge website for some of Piper's and others' excellent essays) to recapture a more plenarily Biblical theology for personal life and witness.
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