Justin Taylor's Blog

The Remarkably Successful 7-Point Plan from 40 Years Ago to Normalize Homosexuality

Nearly 40 years ago, in November of 1987, two American gay men, each around 30 years of age, wrote an article in Guide magazine entitled “The Overhauling of Straight America.”

Soon after, Michael A. Kirk (a neuropsychiatry researcher) and Hunter Madsen (a public relations consultant) expanded their blueprint into a full-length 398-page bestselling book, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s (Doubleday, 1989).

Here were the seven steps they laid out.* Their plan, remarkably and tragically, resulted in one of the fastest and most decisive moral and cultural revolutions in history.

God’s truth does not change, but culture does. Here was their plan, which has worked for a long time now, though it will ultimately not prevail as a rejection of God’s good and gracious design.

 

Unsplash/Sophie PopplewellStep 1: Talk about gays and gayness as loudly and often as possible

“Talk about gays and gayness as loudly and as often as possible. . . . Open and frank talk makes the subject seem less furtive, alien, and sinful, more above-board. Constant talk builds the impression that public opinion is at least divided. . . .”

 

Unsplash/Ehimetalor Akhere UnuabonaStep 2: Portray gays as victims

“Portray gays as victims of circumstance and depression, not as aggressive challengers . . . to make straights feel very uncomfortable . . . and to lay groundwork for the process of conversion.”

 

iStock.com/Philipp BerezhnoyStep 3: Desensitize the public

“The first order of business is desensitization of the American public . . . to help it view homosexuality with indifference instead of with keen emotion. . . . No big deal.”

 

iStock.com/monkeybusinessimagesStep 4: Marginalize extremes; emphasize the mainstream

“Cocky mustachioed leather‑men, drag queens, and bull dykes would not appear in gay commercials. . . . Conventional young people, middle‑age women, and older folks of all races . . . would be featured.”

 

iStock.com/Ulyana MoskalchukStep 5: Promote the “born gay” narrative

“We argue that, for all practical purposes, gays should be considered to have been born gay. . . . To suggest in public that homosexuality might be chosen is to open the can of worms. . . .”

 

iStock.com/GrandbrothersStep 6: Muddy the moral waters

“Use talk to muddy the moral waters . . . publicizing support by moderate churches and raising serious theological objections to conservative biblical teachings.”

 

JCWilmore, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia CommonsStep 7: Make opponents look bad

“We intend to make the anti‑gays look so nasty that average Americans will want to dissociate themselves from such types. . . . The public should be shown images of ranting homophobes. . . .”

* The plan was actually six steps, but I’ve expanded broken out one of their points since it had two parts.

The Women at the Tomb: Clarifying the Marys and the First Witnesses of the Resurrection

In our book The Final Days of Jesus Andreas Köstenberger and I try to provide some help in understanding the identity and role of Jesus’s female disciples, especially with respect to their discovery of the empty tomb and their eyewitnesses testimony to the risen Christ.

There are a number of things about the narrative of the women that can perplexing when we seek to harmonize their actions across the four accounts. The sheer number of Marys sometimes adds to the confusion! And it even can be difficult to untangle the Greek grammar. For example, is John 19:25 about three women or four?

Option 1

“his mother andhis mother’s sister,Mary the wife of Clopas, andMary Magdalene”

Option 2:

“his mother andhis mother’s sister, [that is,] Mary the wife of Clopas, andMary Magdalene”

Under option 1, the reference is likely to Salome (which would make the sons of Zebedee—James and John—the cousins of Jesus).

However, option B is more likely, meaning that Mary the wife of Clopas is Mary’s sister (or sister-in-law) and thus Jesus’s aunt.

We don’t pretend to offer definitive solutions in our book, but I thought it might be helpful for those preaching or thinking through this material to highlight the relevant entries in our reference guide at the end of the book. There is more information on these important women than we have often recognized.

Here are the list of the key women.

Joanna (wife of Chuza)

Mary Magdalene

Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary (mother of James and Joses/Joseph)

Mary (wife of Clopas)

Salome (mother of James and John)

And here are some descriptions and where their stories can be found:

1. Joanna (wife of Chuza)She was among the first women to discover the empty tomb (Luke 24:10).She was the wife of Chuza, the household manager or steward of King Herod Antipas (Luke 8:3).She was a follower of Jesus.She helped to provide financially for Jesus’s ministry, along with Susanna and many others (Luke 8:3).2. Mary MagdaleneShe was a Galilean woman probably from the town of Magdala (on the west bank of the Sea of Galilee).Jesus delivered her from seven demons (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9).She was a follower of Jesus (Matt. 27:57).She was a witness to the crucifixion and burial (Matt. 27:61; 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; John 19:25).She was among the women who went to the tomb on Sunday (Mark 16:1; John 20:1).She was the first person to see Jesus alive (Mark 16:9).She told the other disciples (Luke 24:10; John 20:18).3. Mary (mother of Jesus, widow of Joseph of Nazareth)She gave birth to Jesus as a virgin.She married Joseph of Nazareth.She helped to raise Jesus.She was present at his execution and burial.She witnessed his resurrection life.From the cross Jesus entrusted his widowed mother to John’s care, and she went to live in his home ( John 19:25-27)—perhaps because Mary’s other sons were not yet believers ( John 7:5; see also Matt. 13:57; Mark 3:21, 31; 6:4).

Jesus was the oldest of at least six half-siblings.

Joseph and Mary’s other sons (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:2-3; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:4-5; Gal. 1:19) were:

James (author of the biblical book of James)Joseph/JosesSimonJudas/Jude (author of the biblical book of Jude)

She also had at least two daughters (Mark 6:3).

4. Mary (mother of James and Joses/Joseph)She was a witness of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection appearances.Her sons were named James the Younger (hence her husband must have been named James) and Joses/Joseph (Matt. 27:61; 27:56; Mark 15:40, 47).

The fact that two Marys in the story have sons with the same names (James and Joseph/Joses) shows the commonality of certain names in first-century Galilee. The name Mary, in particular, was exceedingly common in first-century Palestine, hence the need to distinguish between different Marys in the Gospels, whether by way of their hometown (Mary Magdalene) or in association with their husband (Mary of Clopas) or sons (Mary mother of James and Joses).

5. Mary (wife of Clopas)She was a Galilean witness of Jesus’s crucifixion.She may be identified as Jesus’s “mother’s sister” ( John 19:25)—though see discussion under Salome below.According to Hegesippus, as quoted by the historian Eusebius, Clopas was the brother of Joseph of Nazareth (Hist. Eccl. 3.11; 3.32.6; 4.22.4). If so, Mary and Clopas were Jesus’s aunt and uncle. Their son Simeon (Jesus’s cousin) became a leader of the Jerusalem church succeeding James the brother of Jesus.6. Salome (mother of James and John)She was of Jesus’s female followers in Galilee.She witnessed the crucifixion.She went to the tomb on Sunday (Mark 15:40; 16:1).The parallel passage in Matthew 27:56 makes it likely that she is the mother of the sons of Zebedee (i.e., James and John).

In a piece we wrote for Christianity Today online, Andreas and I looked at Five Errors to Drop from Your Easter Sermon. Here is a comment on the role of the women that may be helpful to remember:

As you preach this Easter, do not bypass the testimony of the women as an incidental detail.

In the first century, women were not even eligible to testify in a Jewish court of law.

Josephus said that even the witness of multiple women was not acceptable “because of the levity and boldness of their sex.”

Celsus, the second-century critic of Christianity, mocked the idea of Mary Magdalene as an alleged resurrection witness, referring to her as a “hysterical female . . . deluded by . . . sorcery.”

This background matters because it points to two crucial truths.

First, it is a theological reminder that the kingdom of the Messiah turns the system of the world on its head. Into this culture, Jesus radically affirmed the full dignity of women and the vital value of their witness.

Second, it is a powerful apologetic reminder of the historical accuracy of the resurrection accounts. If these were “cleverly devised myths” (2 Pet. 1:16), women would never have been presented as the first eyewitnesses of the risen Christ.

His Glory and My Good: A New Song from City Alight

CityAlight, the music ministry from St Paul’s Castle Hill, has a new song out with beautiful theological truth:

To our God be the glory
To our God be praise
He alone, the name above all names

I will boast ever only in the Lord my God
For I know
His glory is my good

You can watch the video below, followed by the lyrics:

1. I have seen my Father’s glory
Revealed in Jesus Christ
And the more that I behold Him
The more He satisfies

When I gaze upon His beauty
When I see Him as I should
Then my eyes are lifted upward
For His glory and my good

2. There is hope in every trial
For I can trust the Lord
He will turn my heart towards Him
And help me bear the thorn

So in faith I follow Jesus
On the road not understood
For I know that He is working
For His glory and my good

To our God be the glory
To our God be praise
He alone, the name above all names

I will boast ever only in the Lord my God
For I know
His glory is my good

3. See the open arms of Jesus
Upon the cross that day
What they understood as weakness
Deserves my every praise

For the charge that was against me
It was nailed into the wood
Yes I know that He has saved me
For His glory and my good

4. Would I gladly be made nothing
That Christ would be made more
Would I seek the only kingdom
That far outweighs them all

I will stand before my Father
Where the faithful saints have stood
And with joy my heart shall praise Him
For His glory and my good

“His Glory and My Good” Words and Music by Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson and Ben Fielding ©2024 CityAlight Music CCLI 7235691

A Conversation with Kevin DeYoung and Jonathan Leeman on Politics and Christianity

At the inaugural Coram Deo Pastors Conference, held at Christ Covenant Church in Matthew, NC (March 12–14, 2024), I led a panel with Kevin DeYoung and Jonathan Leeman.

I thought it was a very fruitful conversation. One of the questions I asked them was something like this: “Is it a good idea for a pastor to teach a Sunday School class or to preach a sermon on Christianity and politics? If you were to do so, what are the two Bible texts you would expound (and one of them can’t be Romans 13)?”

I also ask them how they would respond to someone in their congregation who had more Anabaptist or more theonomic inclinations.

DeYoung (a Presbyterian) and Leeman (a Baptist) disagree to some degree on some issues, but also model how to listen with the aim of understanding and to talk through them constructively.

What Does the Great Commission Mean When It Says to Disciple a Nation?

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands the church to “disciple all the nations” (μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη). He has the authority to give the command (28:18) and he will enable and empower the mission with his presence (28:20). King Jesus did not give his people an assignment they will fail to complete.

Jeremy Sexton, a pastor of Christ the King Church in Springfield, Missouri, writes that every eschatological view agrees with this, but “Postmillennialists hold that this phrase envisages the conversion of entire people groups, the Christianization of all nations as nations.”

And at first glance, this seems like it could be plausible:

After all, “the nations” (τὰ ἔθνη) describes people groups.

Moreover, “all the nations” (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη) follows the verb “disciple” (μαθητεύσατε) as its direct object.

So, infer postmillennialists, Jesus does not merely command his church to disciple individuals within the nations; he more specifically directs us to disciple the nations qua nations.

Exegesis, however, is the Achilles’ heel of postmillennialism, and the claim does not hold up to scrutiny.

Sexton offers four arguments against their reading. I want to reproduce one of them, since it alone seems sufficient to establish the case:

The clause “disciple all the nations” implicitly contains a reference to individuals; it means “disciple individuals from all the nations.” . . .

And the rest of the Great Commission confirms that the church’s disciple-making mission, like the one described in Isaiah 66:19–20, targets persons rather than political units.

Immediately after our Lord issues his directive to “disciple all the nations,” he expands on what he means: “baptizing them … teaching them” (Matt 28:19–20).

“Them” (αὐτούς) is a masculine personal pronoun that refers not to the nations as such, since ἔθνη (“nations”) is a neuter noun, but to individuals from the nations.

If the author had wanted to describe “the collective conversion of national groups,” then “αὐτά, the neuter plural pronoun, would be expected rather than αὐτούς.”

The antecedent of “them,” persons, is contained implicitly in the clause “disciple all the nations.”

Indeed, the objects of the discipling that Jesus has in mind are persons qua persons, those who can be baptized into the Triune name and be taught to obey, for “baptism and instruction in obedience belong to discipleship.”

A nation qua nation cannot experience the personal discipleship in view any more than it can receive Trinitarian baptism.

The point is not that there can be no such thing as a genuinely Christian nation in this age. The point is that Matthew 28:18–20 envisions no such thing. The aim of the Great Commission, concludes Carson, “is to make disciples of all men everywhere, without distinction.”

David Schrock—pastor for preaching and theology at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia—addresses the same issue in his essay on Postmillennialism and Theonomy.

He points out that when Jesus  uses that word “nation” in Matthew 28:19, he could be using it in one of two ways:

He could be using it as a collective singular, such that he’s really referring to the members of all nations. Matthew does this, for instance, when he writes, “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him” (3:5). Matthew doesn’t mean the entire city of Jerusalem, or everyone in the region of Judea, was going out to be baptized by John. Rather, a large number of people from the city and the state were seeking baptism.

Conversely, Jesus could be treating the word more as a proper singular, as when one says, “Germany declared war on America.” Many postmillennials seem to treat “nation” in the latter way, declaring that the whole country can or should seek baptism. . . .

Like Sexton, Schrock shows that Jesus must have been referring to a collective singular, rather than a proper singular, because of the switch from the neuter “nation” (ethnē) to the masculine “them” (autous). “Them”—that is, the member of the nation—is personal.

This part-of-the-whole rendering interpretation fits with Revelation 5:9, which refers to a final heavenly people “from” all nations.

Moreover, it fits with the way disciples are made in the book of Acts. Individuals, not city-states, are converted—even as city-states are impacted by the gospel.

Schrock also probes some of the assumptions behind their idiosyncratic interpretive move:

Postmillennialism . . . sacralizes the temporary nations of this world—in large part because many postmillennialists see nations as intrinsic to creation and not a result of the fall. Space does not permit that discussion here, but suffice it to say, I am less optimistic that nations should derive their origin story from creation. I would place that story in Genesis 3–11, not Genesis 1–2.

If God is making one new man (Eph. 2:15), one household of faith (1 Tim. 3:15), one chosen race, and one holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9–10), then it follows that from all the nations (Rev. 5:9) God is creating one eternal people. The new creation restores to nature what was lost by the fall—namely, the unity of humanity.

For more details, and for a wider discussion, all three pieces are worth consulting:

Jeremy Sexton, Postmillennialism: A Biblical Critique.Jeremy Sexton, Postmillennialism: A Reply to Doug Wilson.David Schrock, Postmillennialism and Theonomy.

How Do I Find a Good Church?

In his book What Is a Healthy Church? (a shorter, more accessible version of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church), Mark Dever offers some quick tips on how to find a good church:

1. Pray.

2. Seek counsel from a godly pastor (or from elders).

3. Keep your priorities straight.

The gospel must be

truly affirmed,clearly preached, andfaithfully lived out.

A serious lack in any of these expressions of the gospel is very dangerous.

The preaching must be

faithful to Scripture,personally challenging, andcentral to the congregation’s life.

You will only grow spiritually where Scripture is treated as the highest authority.

• Also very important is to consider

how the church regulatesbaptism,the Lord’s Supper,church membership,church discipline, andwho has the final say in decision making.

In short, read chapters 5 to 13 in What Is a Healthy Church? 

4. Ask yourself diagnostic questions such as:

Would I want to find a spouse who has been brought up under this church’s teaching?What picture of Christianity will my children see in this church— something distinct or something a lot like the world?Would I be happy to invite non-Christians to this church? That is, would they clearly hear the gospel and see lives consistent with it? Does the church have a heart for welcoming and reaching non-Christians?Is this church a place where I can minister and serve?

5. Consider geography.

Would the church’s physical proximity to your home encourage or discourage frequent involvement and service?

If you’re moving to a new area, try to locate a good church home before you buy a house.

Dever also offers some counsel on what to do before you decide to leave a church:

Before You Decide to Leave

1. Pray.

2. Let your current pastor know about your thinking before you move to another church or make your decision to relocate to another city. Ask for his counsel.

3. Weigh your motives.

Is your desire to leave because of sinful, personal conflict or disappointment?

If it’s because of doctrinal reasons, are these doctrinal issues significant?

4. Do everything within your power to reconcile any broken relationships.

5. Be sure to consider all the “evidences of grace” you’ve seen in the church’s life—places where God’s work is evident.

If you cannot see any evidences of God’s grace, you might want to examine your own heart once more (Matt. 7:3–5).

6. Be humble.

Recognize you don’t have all the facts and assess people and circumstances charitably (give them the benefit of the doubt).

If You Go

1. Don’t divide the body.

2. Take the utmost care not to sow discontent even among your closest friends.

Remember, you don’t want anything to hinder their growth in grace in this church.

Deny any desire to gossip (sometimes referred to as “venting” or “saying how you feel”).

3. Pray for and bless the congregation and its leadership. Look for ways of doing this practically.

4. If there has been hurt, then forgive—even as you have been forgiven.

Whenever anyone asks me about church recommendations for an area I don’t know—whether because of relocation or visiting on vacation—I almost always use the church search tools at TGC and 9Marks.

Was the Father Angry with the Son upon the Cross?

John Calvin (rightly) says no:

Yet we do not suggest that God was ever inimical or angry toward him.

How could he be angry toward his beloved Son, “in whom his heart reposed” [cf. Matthew 3:17]?

How could Christ by his intercession appease the Father toward others, if he were himself hateful to God?

This is what we are saying: he bore the weight of divine severity, since he was “stricken and afflicted” [cf. Isaiah 53:5] by God’s hand, and experienced all the signs of a wrathful and avenging God.

—Institutes, II.xvi.11

Jesus Reigned as Lord from the Tree

The early church father, Tertullian, writing in the early third century, asks:

Which king ever displayed the sign of his dominion upon his shoulder,
and not in a crown upon his head or a scepter in his hand,
or some mark of appropriate apparel?

No, only the new king of the new ages, Christ Jesus, the king of new glory,
has lifted up upon his shoulder his own dominion and majesty,
which is the cross,
so that henceforth, as the previous prophecy stated, he reigned as Lord from the tree.

—Tertullian, Against Marcion 3.19.1–3, SC 399:164–66, in Isaiah, ed. Robert Louis Wilken, 128; cited in Daniel J. Treier, Lord Jesus Christ, 133.

 

A Remarkable Achievement: The New “Ask Pastor John” Book

The Ask Pastor John Podcast is a quiet phenomenon, now over a ten years old.

In that first decade (2013–2022), host Tony Reinke produced 1,881 episodes with John Piper. At around 10 minutes per episode, that adds up to over 313 hours of content, or 2.3 million words in its edited transcribed form.

The podcast has been played 230 million times, or about 125,000 times per episode.

Now, Tony has put together an absolutely remarkable achievement: Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life’s Most Important Questions (Crossway, 2024).

It’s 534 pages. You may be tempted to think it’s the podcast in printed form. (If that was the case, the book would be over 4,600 pages!).

Or you may think it’s an anthology of the best of the best episodes.

But it’s neither of those.

Tony calls it “a guided tour, a narrated synthesis of our 750 most popular episodes, mostly on situational ethics. . . . This book is a core sample of John Piper’s mind and theology. ”

He explains further:

This book doesn’t replace the podcast, it complements it as an easily browsable companion guide, a summary of our most popular episodes, particularly focused on the situational dilemmas we will face. It’s a CliffsNotes version of our most popular episodes to aid meditation, retainment, and recall.

Books can be easily stacked on shelves. Even magazines can be kept in a box or basket. But podcasts are strictly digital things—ephemeral audio files meant to stream, play, and then disappear like a soundwave in the air. But APJ was designed, from the start, to endure as a permanent audio archive.

What you hold in your hands is a guided tour—a topically arranged encyclopedia to a podcast archive. I don’t intend for that to make immediate sense, because I think this book inaugurates a new genre.

Basically, my prayer is that by making dozens of the major podcast themes browsable in print this book will make the archive more useful to you at the very moment when you need it. This book doesn’t have an index; it is the index. An index to serve you as you serve others.

Tony notes, “even though we maintain a huge digital archive—fully transcribed and searchable—many people cannot easily find those episodes when they need them.”

Tony also wants to celebrate John Piper’s investment in this podcast. (For every 10-minute episode, Piper spends about an hour in preparation.) Tony writes:

His answers are not simply the product of a concordance. John Piper is a renowned New Testament scholar, world-class preacher, and veteran pastor with over three decades of church leadership practice added to his personal experience in marriage, parenting, and grandparenting.

He watches his life and doctrine more closely than anyone else I’ve known (1 Tim. 4:16).

And he was born to answer Bible questions. He has a keen eye for the crux, skilled in rapidly pinpointing the core problem in a given dilemma, a gift I’ve seen operate in tense meetings, complex email chains, and now in hundreds of APJ responses.

While there’s always much more to say on a topic, he can isolate the main thing that needs to be said in a ten-minute episode.

His willingness to invest hundreds of hours of preparation into his responses, personal piety, earnestness, devotion to Scripture, skill in pinpointing core issues, and deep experience are the ingredients to the secret sauce of the podcast’s popularity now, and of its potential to endure for decades ahead.

Again, I’m in awe of the synthesis that Tony has produced. Perhaps you want to take that commendation with a grain of salt, given my role at Crossway. So I’ll let others seek to persuade you of the value and the achievement:

“My first thought on seeing these pages was that perhaps not since Richard Baxter penned his massive Christian Directory has a book like Ask Pastor John been offered to Christians. From the vast number of questions to which John Piper has responded over a decade of podcasting, these pages contain 750 of the most listened-to answers. And while Piper’s ministry is separated from Baxter’s by more than three centuries, a common thread binds them together—the deep-seated conviction that the God-breathed Scriptures make us ‘wise for salvation’ in the fullest sense because, in providing teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, they are sufficient to equip us ‘for every good work’ (2 Tim. 3:15–17). The value of these pages is as evident as it is manifold. At one level, theological, pastoral, and ethical questions are assessed, analyzed, and consistently answered by bringing them to the touchstone of Scripture. But in addition, this is done with a rigorous and determined attention to both the wording and the interior logic of God’s word with a desire to help us to think God’s thoughts after him. And this in turn serves all of us as a pattern to learn and apply in our own Bible reading, and as a model that encourages us to live according to Scripture. In addition, the step-by-step care with which John Piper seeks to handle Scripture helps us—as he would wish—to discern how what he says applies in our own lives, and, indeed, where it might not. And so as a theologian he guides our understanding, and as a pastor he encourages us to grow in discernment so that we are not simply becoming automatons but are learning to think through and apply God’s word by ourselves, for ourselves, and to ourselves. We owe a debt of grateful thanks to John Piper for the labor of love and devotion of time and pastoral care this book reflects, and to his long-time colleague Tony Reinke, who—from an archive of over two million words!—has expertly selected and edited these pages. Here is one of those rare contemporary books that can be described as ‘should be in every Christian home,’ and to which we can turn again and again for guidance from God’s word, encouragement in Christ, and challenge to walk according to the Spirit.”
—Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; author, The Whole Christ and Worthy

“I don’t know what is more remarkable, that the Ask Pastor John podcast has nearly two thousand episodes and over 230 million listens or that Tony Reinke has distilled all that content in order to give us a guided tour of 220 hours of audio recordings. Have you ever wished you could sit down with John Piper (or any wise, seasoned pastor) and ask him all your practical, nitty-gritty questions about life, ministry, parenting, sex, Bible reading, divorce, abuse, dating, gambling, eating, drinking, movies, demons, depression, poetry, and selfie sticks? Then this is the book for you. Even if you don’t agree with Piper on every jot and tittle of application, you will find that he is always thoughtful, always careful, always pastoral, and always tied to the Bible. Read the book straight through, a little each day, or use these five hundred pages as an encyclopedia on situational ethics and practical theology. Either way, I can’t imagine any Christian who wouldn’t be helped (and fascinated) by the hundreds of topics covered in this amazing resource.”
—Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

“Throw a hard question at John Piper and he will isolate the main challenge and address it with a sage answer, drawn from the Bible, delivered in a kind tone that lacks even a hint of hubris. He willingly answers all sorts of dilemmas, from hard Bible verses to the daily struggles of the Christian life to culturally charged questions that border on the embarrassing to the bizarre. For years I have been an avid listener because each episode draws me deeper into God’s word. Pastor John has spoken so wisely on such a wide array of topics that I am always ferreting through past episodes to learn more. But that vast archive can be daunting. With many years of experience as the host, Tony Reinke has pulled together the 750 most popular episodes from their first decade together into a single guide touching on dozens of themes. This book is an index to the podcast archive, drawing together multiple episodes on single topics, making it easy for me to find the audio I need, when I need it. As a podcast listener, I couldn’t be more pleased. I’m thankful to Reinke for compiling this encyclopedia and—now for over a decade—drawing out, documenting, and helping us all more richly benefit from America’s most beloved theologian!”
—Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder and CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

“This book is a remarkable achievement, cataloging John Piper’s answers to hundreds of challenges and dilemmas in the Christian life. A modern-day Table Talk, reminiscent of Martin Luther, this book is like sitting across a table from a Bible-saturated pastor addressing issues that are timely and issues that are timeless. You likely won’t agree with every answer. I didn’t. But what I appreciate about this book is how, even when I disagreed, Pastor John pointed me back to the Scriptures and pressed my nose deeper into those pages where, through studying and savoring, I find the unerring words of life. I am thankful for this encyclopedia of wisdom and insight. It increases my love for God and his word.”
—Trevin Wax, Vice President of Research and Resource Development, North American Mission Board; Visiting Professor, Cedarville University; author, The Thrill of Orthodoxy; Rethink Your Self; and This Is Our Time

“For years, the Ask Pastor John podcast has served me as a go-to reservoir for pastoral encouragement and practical help. There is nothing else like it. If you’re serious about your joy in Jesus, turn these pages and find accessible, God-centered answers to life’s biggest questions. The book is brilliantly organized; few will sufficiently appreciate what Reinke has pulled off here.”
—Matt Smethurst, Lead Pastor, River City Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia; author, Before You Open Your Bible and Before You Share Your Faith

Here is the table of contents:

Foreword by John Piper
Introduction: A Little History of APJ (and Why I Wrote This Book)
A Word before We Begin

Chapter 1: On Bible Reading, Bible Neglect, and Bible Memory
Chapter 2: On Politics, Patriotism, and Culture Wars
Chapter 3: On Careers, Calling, and Overworking
Chapter 4: On Purpose, Productivity, and Laziness
Chapter 5: On Money, Shopping, and the Prosperity Gospel
Chapter 6: On Gambling, Lotteries, and the Stock Market
Chapter 7: On Pouting, Sulking, and Self-Pity
Chapter 8: On Cussing, Lying, and Gossip
Chapter 9: On Dating, Romance Idols, and Fornication
Chapter 10: On Married Sex, Bedroom Taboos, and Fading Attraction
Chapter 11: On Barrenness, Conception, and Birth Control
Chapter 12: On Hard Marriages, Divorce, and Abuse
Chapter 13: On Male Headship, Guns, and the Midlife Crisis
Chapter 14: On Fearless Women, Feminine Beauty, and Modesty
Chapter 15: On Gyms, Exercise, and Body Image
Chapter 16: On Food, Fasting, and Feasting
Chapter 17: On Alcohol, Tobacco, and Pot
Chapter 18: On Smartphones, Social Media, and Selfie Sticks
Chapter 19: On Television, Movies, and Fun
Chapter 20: On Lust, Porn, and TV Nudity
Chapter 21: On Satan, Demons, and the Unforgivable Sin
Chapter 22: On the Reprobate, Capriciousness, and Divine Unfairness
Chapter 23: On Trials, Sorrow, and Chronic Pain
Chapter 24: On Deadness, Depression, and Desertion
Chapter 25: On Writing, Grammar, and Poetry
Chapter 26: On Joining, Leaving, and Finding a Church
Chapter 27: On Retirement, Snowbirding, and Finishing Well
Chapter 28: On Suicide, Euthanasia, and the Will to Live

Appendix: Favorite Episodes
Episode Index: Full Index of Episodes Featuring John Piper (2013–2022)

When the Walk Becomes a Crawl: One of the Most Hopeful Reminders I’ve Read about Sanctification

I miss the late David Powlison (1949–2019).

I was recently reminded of the section below adapted from his 2017 book, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken. It has stayed with me and encouraged me and instructed me.

The key to getting a long view of sanctification is to understand direction.

What matters most is not the distance you’ve covered.

It’s not the speed you’re going.

It’s not how long you’ve been a Christian.

It’s the direction you’re heading. . . .

Some people, during a season of life, leap like gazelles.

Let’s say you’ve been living in flagrant sexual sins. You turn from sin to Christ, and the open sins disappear.

No more fornication: you stop sleeping with your girlfriend or boyfriend.

No more exhibitionism: you stop wearing that particularly revealing blouse.

No more pornography: you stop surfing the net or reading the latest salacious romances.

No more adultery or homosexual encounters: you break it off once and for all. Never again.

It sometimes happens like that. Not always, of course, but a gazelle season is a joy to all.

For other people (or the same people at another season of life) sanctification is a steady, measured walk.

You learn truth.

You face your fears and step out toward God and people.

You learn to serve others constructively.

You build new disciplines.

You learn basic life wisdom.

You learn who God is, who you are, how life works.

You learn to worship, to pray, to give time, money, and care.

And you grow steadily—wonder of wonders!

Other people (or the same people in another season) are trudging.

It’s hard going.

You limp.

You don’t seem to get very far very fast.

Old patterns of desire or fear are stubborn.

But if you trudge in the right direction—high praises to the Lord of glory! One day, you will see him face-to-face. You will be like him.

Some people crawl on their hands and knees for a long or short season.

Progress is painful.

You’re barely moving.

But praise God for the glory of his grace, you are inching in the right direction.

And there may be times when you’re not even moving—stuck in gridlock, broken down—but you’re still facing in the right direction.

That’s Psalm 88, the “basement” of the Psalms. The writer feels dark despair—but it’s despair oriented in the Lord’s direction. In other words, it’s still faith, even when faith feels so discouraged you can only say, “You are my only hope. Help. Where are You?” That kind of prayer counts—it made it into the Bible.

There are times you might fall asleep in the blizzard and lie down, comatose and forgetful—but grace wakes you up, reminds you, and gets you moving again.

There are times you slowly wander off in the wrong direction, beguiled by some false promise, or disappointed by a true promise that you falsely understood.

But he who began a good work in you awakens you from your sleepwalk, sooner or later, and puts you back on the path.

And then there are times you revolt and do a face-plant in the muck, a swan dive into the abyss—but grace picks you up and washes you off again, and turns you back.

Slowly you get the point. Perhaps then you leap and bound, or walk steadily, or trudge, or crawl, or face with greater hope in the right direction.

We love gazelles. Graceful leaps make for great stories about God’s wonder-working power.

And we like steady and predictable. It seems to vindicate our efforts at making the Christian life work in a businesslike manner.

But, in fact, there’s no formula, no secret, no technique, no program, no schedule, and no truth that guarantees the speed, distance, or time frame. On the day you die, you’ll still be somewhere in the middle. But you will be further along.

When we lengthen the battle, we realize that our business is the direction.