A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
By Benjamin J. Montoya
About the Author:
John Piper was pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God’s call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (BD) and the University of Munich (DTheol). For six years he taught biblical studies at Bethel College in Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books including Desiring God, Don’t Waste Your Life, This Momentary Marriage, and Spectacular Sins, and more than 25 years of his preaching and teaching is available for download at DesiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and an increasing number of grandchildren.
Summary
Chapter 1: Battling Anxiety
Many people struggle with anxiety, worry about the future. People might worry about finances, their careers, family, etc. Others struggle with anxiety related to performance of some kind, e.g., public speaking. What is at the root of anxiety? Some may be think that the root is something like the fear of failure; nevertheless, the Bible explains that the root of all anxiety is unbelief. When we fail to trust God for His future grace, we become anxious. That does not sound like very good news to find that out, though. To make things better, then, we need to fight against unbelief and fight for faith in future grace.
The Bible has at least seven promises of future grace against anxiety that can help. First, Christians should not be anxious about their lives because God will take care of them (Matt 6:25). Second, God has shown that He will do such because He already takes care of the lesser more insignificant creatures like the birds of the air (Matt 6:26). Third, anxiety does no one any good whatsoever; it certainly does not extend one’s life (Matt 6:27–28). Fourth, God prioritizes taking care of His children over nature, though He still takes care of it (Matt 6:28–30). Fifth, God, our heavenly Father, knows what we need before we ask. He cares deeply about us (Matt 6:31–32). Sixth, we should give ourselves to the kingdom of God and His righteousness rather than worrying about our earthly needs; when we do that, He will take care of us (Matt 6:33). Seventh, we need to avoid anxiety because God will give us the grace and mercy we need to be sustained (Matt 6:34; 1 Cor 10:13). When we face worry and anxiety, we need to fight against the unbelief that drives them and fight for faith in future grace; these seven promises will help us.
Chapter 2: Battling Pride
When it comes to putting out faith in future grace, we encounter another problem within us—pride. We are all born prideful because of the Fall (Gen 3). We want to do things our way, not God’s. This sin makes it impossible for us to focus on faith in future grace. When we seek to rely on ourselves instead of God, we cannot receive His grace. Much of the world continues in this sin. It takes different forms. Some claim to be atheists, claiming that God does not exist. This viewpoint is driven by arrogance. If someone does not want to obey God, then they want to believe that there is no God at all; it makes life easier to live how they want if they do not think they have to answer to Him one day.
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