There are many things that strike the mind and heart when reading Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper. There is an overwhelming sense of the grandeur, holiness and sovereignty of God in missions and the global task of sharing the good news of the gospel. In his marvelous and eloquent way, John Piper manages to transform missions from the everyday “going” of a few into the life goal and purpose of every believer. He integrates many things that are not often associated with a regular dialog about missions, such as: suffering, joy, and worship.
One of the first things to be realized in reading Let the Nations be Glad is a desire to have a real new covenant confidence in the sovereignty of God. In the chapter on the role of prayer in missions, Piper says the following in regard to this confidence, “the new covenant promises were that God would overcome hardness of heart and make people new on the inside.” This is a profound statement in regards to how we as goers and senders view missions and the vast task that lay before us. In other words, in Scripture we are promised through the new covenant of Christ that as we go and share the gospel with the nations of the world that it is God that will overcome the hardness of heart and transform lives. Piper uses the example of Luke and how he records repeatedly the sovereign initiative of God in growing the church. For example, when Cornelius and his household are converted, it is described as God’s doing. “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). “God visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14). When the gospel broke loose on European soil in Philippi beginning with Lydia, it was God who did it: “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). Over and over again Scripture records the sovereign act of God in the spreading of the gospel. Having confidence in this truth creates a sense of true freedom in regard to the large task that lay before the missionary. There is a freedom in sharing with people and leaving the results of their soul to the sovereign action of God. There is a freedom to go as a mere messenger, not being overwhelmed with the task but being confident in the sovereign hand of God. God does not put the gospel and his messengers in the world to wage war on their own. He is sovereign and orchestrates all things that take place on the mission field and in the hearts of the people being reached.
Piper examines the unity and motives for world missions in the thought and writings of Jonathan Edwards. He asks a question that is very necessary to examine and one that all must ask, “How does the motive of compassion for people relate to this primary motive of a passion for the glory of God?” These two truths are sometimes difficult to bring together in a clear juxtaposition. Someone has a desire and passion for the glory of God, but how does that translate into a compassion for people. Piper seeks to provide an answer from Edwards. All people have dishonored their King and in turn we are worthy of nothing more than execution and everlasting punishment. Everything that discredits God damages man. Every assault on God’s holiness is an assault on human happiness. Therefore Piper says, “Missions is driven by a passion not only to restore the glory of God to its rightful place in the worshiping soul but also to rescue sinners from everlasting pain.” Our passion for the glory of God should translate into a compassion for people and their need of a Savior and to be rescued from the eternal punishment that awaits if they do not receive him. All through the sermons of Edwards one can clearly see his desire to see people saved through the good news of Christ. He pleads with individuals, for example in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” to “fly to Christ” lest they fall to everlasting hell. The missionary must have a desire for the glory of God to be revered and lifted in the nations of the world. Then because of that desire they should plead with people to come to Christ in order that God’s glory would be exalted. Piper says, “the first great passion of missions is to honor the glory of God by restoring the rightful place of God in the hearts of people who presently think, feel, and act in ways that dishonor God every day.”
Piper labors in Let the Nations be Glad to develop in the mind and heart of the reader a more expanded and glorious view of missions. It is not simply going and doing, but going and doing with a real passion for the glory of God and the rescue of sinners from hell. It is not a seldom casual mentioning of missions in a sermon, but the development in the life of the church a heart for missions as they view the true supremacy of God over missions. He says, “If you love the glory of God, you cannot be indifferent to missions.”
Filed under: Book Recommendations, Books, John Piper, Missions
[...] Benge points out the glory of missions in his review of John Piper’s Let the Nations be [...]