John Piper on faith

"The gospel has unleashed the omnipotent mercy of God so that thousands of other gifts flow to us from the gospel heart of God. I am thinking of a text like Romans 8:32 'He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?' This mean that the heart of the Gospel - God's not sparing His own Son - is the guarantee that 'all things' will be given to us.
All things? What does that mean? It means the same thing that Romans 8:28 means: 'And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.' God takes 'all things' and makes them serve our ultimate good. It doesn't mean we get everything our imperfect hears want. It means we get what's good for us...
The goal of the Gospel is my being so in love with Christ and so passionate about His glory that when my suffering can highlight His worth I will bear it 'gladly (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)'...This goal is not our ease or wealth or safety in this age, but our dependence on Christ and delight in His glory...
'I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, (Ps. 43:4).' So faith has tasted the glory of God in Christ and treasures it enough that the fullness of it is worth waiting for and suffering for. Faith has seen the truth that part of Christ's glory is his trustworthiness. Therefore, faith can cast itself on the promise of Christ and trust that the fullness of glory and the fullness of joy will surely come." John Piper

John Piper on the cross

""I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? I think it means this: First, that the gruesome death of the all-glorious, innocent, loving Son of God for my sin is the most radical indictment of my hopeless condition imaginable. The crucifixion of Jesus is the open display of my hellish nature. And, second, when I see this and believe that he really died for me, then my old proud self which loves to display its power by climbing ladders of morality and intellect and beauty and daring dies. Self-reliance and self-confidence cannot live at the foot of the cross. Therefore, when Christ died I died." John Piper

John Piper on Faith

"Trusting in God to meet our needs breaks the power of sin's promise to make us happier…the essence of faith is being satisfied with all that God is for us in Christ." John Piper

John Piper on sin

"What makes sin sin is not first that it hurts people, but that it blasphemes God. This is the ultimate evil and the ultimate outrage in the universe.

The glory of God is not honored.
The holiness of God is not reverenced.
The greatness of God is not admired.
The power of God is not praised.
The truth of God is not sought.
The wisdom of God is not esteemed.
The beauty of God is not treasured.
The goodness of God is not savored.
The faithfulness of God is not trusted.
The promises of God are not relied upon.
The commandments of God are not obeyed.
The justice of God is not respected.
The wrath of God is not feared.
The grace of God is not cherished.
The presence of God is not prized.
The person of God is not loved.

The infinite, all-glorious Creator of the universe, by whom and for whom all things exist (Rom. 11:36) – who holds every person's life in being at every moment (Acts 17:25) – is disregarded, disbelieved, disobeyed, and dishonored by everybody in the world. That is the ultimate outrage of the universe.

Why is it that people can become emotionally and morally indignant over poverty and exploitation and prejudice and the injustice of man against man and yet feel little or no remorse or indignation that God is so belittled? It's because of sin. That is what sin is. Sin is esteeming and valuing and honoring and enjoying man and his creations above God. So even our man-centered anger at the hurt of sin is part of sin. God is marginal in human life. That is our sin, our condition." John Piper preaching on Romans 1-7

Piper on the centrality of Christ

Something of immense historical significance happened with the coming of the Son of God into the world. So great was the significance of this event that the focus of saving faith was henceforth made to center on Jesus Christ alone. So fully does Christ sum up all the revelation of God and all the hopes of God's people that it would henceforth be a dishonor to him should saving faith repose on anyone but him.

Piper on Prayer

“Christian hedonist, above all be people devoted to earnest prayer. Just as the thirsty deer buckles down to drink at the brook, so the characteristic posture of the Christian Hedonist is on his knees.” (John Piper)

“Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy, and exalts God as wealthy.” (John Piper)

“The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting for God is that we oppose God's will to exalt himself in mercy.
God aims to exalt himself by working for those who wait for him. Prayer is the essential activity of waiting for God: acknowledging our helplessness and his power, calling upon him for help, seeking his counsel. So it is evident why prayer is so often commanded by God, since his purpose in the world is to be exalted for his mercy. Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence that opposes God's goal of getting glory by working for those who wait for him.” (John Piper)

“The way to serve God so that he gets the glory is to look to him for mercy. Prayer prevents service from being an expression of pride…Good service is always and fundamentally receiving mercy, not rendering assistance. So there is no good service without prayer.” (John Piper)