Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (.Pdf Book)
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SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 1 The experience of human suffering has perplexed minds ever since the fall. For Christians, the question of suffering rises to a new level of importance because of our belief in the sovereignty of our loving and merciful God. In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, John Piper and friends tackle some of the hardest and most significant issues of Christian concern, producing one of the most honest, faithful, and helpful volumes ever made available to thinking Christians. It is filled with pastoral wis- dom, theological conviction, biblical insight, and spiritual counsel. This book answers one of the greatest needs of our times—to affirm the sovereignty of God and to ponder the meaning of human suffering. We need this book. —R. ALBERT MOHLER, JR. President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky For all who don’t live a charmed life, for all who have given themselves to the point of exhaustion, for all who have been betrayed by pious back- stabbers, for all who wonder if they can even go on, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God will be green pastures and deep, still waters. The wis- dom of this book stands forth like a kind friend, pointing us to the Crucified and Triumphant One, who says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” —RAYMOND C. ORTLUND, JR. Senior Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church Nashville, Tennessee With courage and honesty, this book squarely faces some of the tough- est challenges for Christians. The writers combine utter faithfulness to Scripture with unassuming authenticity. They write as people whose minds have been shaped by God’s Word and whose lives have been formed in the crucible of suffering. This book will challenge you to believe that God is truly sovereign, not just in the safe haven of theo- logical inquiry, but also in the painful messiness of real life. You will be encouraged to live more consistently by God’s grace and for his glory. —MARK D. ROBERTS Senior Pastor, Irvine Presbyterian Church Irvine, California SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 2 Most Christians readily rationalize away God’s role in personal and human suffering. In an effort to protect God’s moral nature and his being the source of only that which is good, an understanding of his sovereignty is diminished as well as the glory he derives when we recog- nize his victory over all that is evil. John Piper and Justin Taylor have collaborated with a number of other writers to communicate a refresh- ing perspective on Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. This is not another theological volume that complicates what appears to be an irrec- oncilable paradox; it is a book that grows out of practical experience and applies Scripture to a realistic world where we all live. —JERRY RANKIN President, Southern Baptist International Mission Board SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 3 Suffering and the Sovereignty of God John Piper | Justin Taylor EDITORS CROSSWAY BOOKS A PUBLISHING MINISTRY OF GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS WHEATON, ILLINOIS SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 4 Suffering and the Sovereignty of God Copyright © 2006 by Desiring God Published by Crossway Books a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law. Cover design: Jon McGrath Cover photo: photos.com First printing 2006 Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AT are the author’s translation or paraphrase. Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible.® Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. Scripture references marked NIV are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. Scripture references marked NLT are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Ill., 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture references marked RSV are from The Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the authors. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Suffering and the Sovereignty of God / edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 13: 978-1-58134-809-5 (tpb) ISBN 10: 1-58134-809-6 (tpb) 1. Suffering—religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Providence and government of God. 3.God—omnipotence. 4. Theodicy. I. Piper, John, 1946– . II. Taylor, Justin, 1976– . BT732.7.S835 2006 231'.8—dc22 2006018431 ML 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 5 To The white-robed army of martyrs “. until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete.” SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 6 SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 7 Contents Contributors 9 Introduction 11 Justin Taylor Part 1: The Sovereignty of God in Suffering 1 Suffering and the Sovereignty of God: Ten Aspects of God’s 17 Sovereignty Over Suffering and Satan’s Hand in It John Piper 2 “All the Good That Is Ours in Christ”: Seeing God’s Gracious 31 Hand in the Hurts Others Do to Us Mark R. Talbot Part 2: The Purposes of God in Suffering 3 The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God 81 John Piper 4 Why God Appoints Suffering for His Servants 91 John Piper 5 Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions 111 Stephen F. Saint 6 The Sovereignty of God and Ethnic-Based Suffering 123 Carl F. Ellis, Jr. Part 3: The Grace of God in Suffering 7 God’s Grace and Your Sufferings 145 David Powlison 8 Waiting for the Morning during the Long Night of Weeping 175 Dustin Shramek 9 Hope . the Best of Things 191 Joni Eareckson Tada SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 8 Appendices Don’t Waste Your Cancer 207 John Piper and David Powlison An Interview with John Piper 219 John Piper and Justin Taylor Subject Index 242 Person Index 245 Scripture Index 247 Desiring God: Note on Resources 255 SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 9 Contributors Carl F. Ellis, Jr. President, Project Joseph, Chattanooga, Tennessee John Piper. Pastor for preaching and vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota David Powlison. Counselor and teacher, Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, Glenside, Pennsylvania Stephen F. Saint. Founder, I-TEC (Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Center), Dunnellon, Florida Dustin Shramek. Cross cultural peacemaker, the Middle East and Minnesota Joni Eareckson Tada. Founder and chief executive officer, Joni and Friends, Agoura Hills, California Mark R. Talbot. Associate professor of philosophy, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois Justin Taylor. ESV Bible project manager and associate publisher, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 10 SufferingSoverGod.48096.i04.qxd 9/21/07 9:22 AM Page 11 Introduction Justin Taylor ost of the chapters in this book originated as talks given at the 2005 MDesiring God National Conference on “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.” The contributors have graciously agreed to con- vert their oral presentations into written chapters in order to serve a wider audience. All of the authors of this volume have addressed, in one way or another, the issue of how God’s sovereignty relates to human suffering. But they have done so by addressing different questions such as: In what ways is God sovereign over Satan’s work? How can we be free and responsible if God ordains our choices? What is the ultimate reason that suffering exists? How does suffering help to advance the mission of the church? How should we understand the origin of ethnic-based clashes and suffering? How does God’s grace enter our sufferings? Why is it good for us to meditate upon the depth and pain of severe suffering? What is the role of hope when things look utterly hopeless? Though some very deep and difficult truths are imbedded within these pages, this is not an academic book. The authors do not write as mere theoreticians, waxing eloquent about abstract themes. No, this is a book of applied theology. Its theology has been forged in the furnace of affliction. Two of the contributors are paralyzed and deal with chronic pain. Two experienced the death of a parent when they were young. Two had children who died in the past few years. Two are cur- rently battling prostate cancer. The point of mentioning this is not to portray them as victims or to elicit your sympathy, but rather to reiter- ate that they are fellow soldiers in the battle, fellow pilgrims on the jour- ney.