The Future of Justification by John Piper - Literature review Example

Topic: Book Review Affiliation: Many people are likely to forego reading noticesof the latest literary production, but the nonfictional book based on theology, The future of Justification by John Piper is one item that should not be overlooked. The book comes in the age where the doctrine of Christianity has been popularized and where most folks do not understand the theory of Christ. It is a nonfiction book that was published by Piper in response to the views presented by N. T. Wright on his book entitled the Final Judgment. The book identifies key areas in the biblical concepts such as judgment, homosexuality and salvation and in so doing the writer gives his opinion as opposed to or in line with Wright. The book was published in the year 2007 by Crossway Books publishing ministry of Good News Publishers whose headquarters are in Illinois. Among the several books that J. Piper has published includes God’s Passion for His Glory, The Pleasures of God, Future Grace, A hunger for God and Desiring God among others. Based on the many items on theology, the author has produced a book that provides a basis for today Christian living. The various concepts displayed in the book relate to academic, biblical and psychological understanding of the writer on key items as presented in the bible. John Piper addresses main topics basing his ideas on the works of N.T Wright and citing his works throughout his book which centres on justification and judgment. The scope of the book is wide as the writer outlines his ideas concerning previous works of others, maintaining his thought on various issues and using ideas to base his argument. Among the issues discussed in the book are such as the relationship between law and covenant, dynamics of justification, justification and gospel, and places of Christian works in justification. The author also analyses the concept of justification on the death of Christ being able to cleanse sin. In this, he notes that avoiding sin is essential for the forgiveness of sin but noting with precedence that his death was to ensure human justification. He cites Colossian 2:14, Revelation 1:5, Galatians 2:21 among other books to show that the death of Christ is sufficient to cover human sins. He is opposed to the view of the writers of the New Testament who saw the death of the Messiah as the ultimate end to His life (Piper, 2007, p.43). Piper’s view is that the Lord continually seems to manifest himself in us implying He lives as implored in the story of the resurrection. According to him, the obedience of Christ to die for us at the cross can be drawn from various points such as during his arrest, his piercing or even his departure. His view is that when Paul the apostle spoke of the obedience of Christ as a cause for us to be justified, he implied the cross as the ultimate part of His life of obedience and not primarily the final acts of obedience. John Piper shows that Jesus throughout his life, he lived in obedience till his death on the cross which is the ultimate end of His life. The concept here is a bit confusing but seems to create a unique picture of what it means to live in love and truth to the laws of Christ. My ideology concerning the person of John Piper is that the presentation of the gospel in the context of justification is conceited and does not display a message of truth as seen in the bible and is somewhat distorted. It can hardly be considered truthful and worthy to be followed. The reason could be that Piper has a clear grasp of the biblical truth, but the mode of conveying the concept of justification and the biblical meaning is lost. However, in my analysis what he has written can be used in knowing the bible more and even provide a clear understanding of the Lordship of the messiah. The message contained is good news and provides proper guidance in spreading the good news especially to the guilty. The book is a crucial creation by Piper based on the previous writings by N.T. Wright who is a British scholar of the New Testament and clearly provides a blend of academic material, proper leadership, social engagement and even musical talent. Wright is an Anglican Bishop of Durham in England and has various scholarly achievements as well as being equipped in the art of theological analysis. This makes a theological source of information, crucial for direct use and referral as a source of reference. Among the many books Wright has written include: The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology (1991), Jesus and the Victory of God (1996) and The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture (2005) and other scholarly works (Piper, 2007, p.69). Based on this context, Wright has a large field of analysis and presentation from previous rulings and writings. The book provides doctrines on homosexuality, the resurrection of Christ, the belief in Jesus and the celebration of the big picture of his Lordship. I appreciate the work of Piper in providing biblical truths concerning the many principles and key topics that govern the morality of human beings. However, the book fails to describe aspects clearly and provide concise matters for observation. On the view of a believer who is actually deep rooted in the word, this is just but a presentation that has no foundations and an imagination of the author. I disagree with the author on certain contents such as his views concerning the law and the covenant. His claim that by dying on the cross Christ did not fulfil the law, but the law is fulfilled in us is opposed to my line of thought. On the contrary, the death of the Messiah is the fulfilment of the plan and foundation of God himself and through peoples obedience of the laws of Christ set as the Ten Commandments, then we are justified if we believe. The foundations of the faith of Christians are based on death and the resurrection of Jesus, and if this is contradicted, then the church has no basis to that faith (Piper, 2007, p.117). Piper on the other side accepts other concepts as depicted in the bible and argues based on such belief and doctrines as set by Paul and other believers as shown in the scriptures. The impact of the book is enormous and shows different ideologies for people who venture more and who would like to have an in depth understanding of the concept of righteousness and justification (Piper, 2007, p.121). Reference Piper, J. (2007). The Future of Justification: a Response to N. T. Wright, Wheaton: Crossway. Read More