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The Audio Book and its Topic
Battling Unbelief is a book about defeating sin. John Piper illustrates that the root of the eight types of sin he discusses here is a lack of faith in the promises of God. That is, a lack of faith in future grace.
Battling Unbelief is an excerpt from a much larger book called Future Grace. The eight chapters extracted and discussed here are the practical ones. Therefore, this is a short and practical book. My favorite type! I will also try and get through the larger one for a more thorough understanding.
If you have never read (or listened to!) any of John Piper’s books, I want to strongly encourage you to start. As Rob Bell puts it in the endnotes of his popular book, Velvet Elvis: “Read everything John Piper has ever written…”
This book is particularly handy, since it shows us how to defeat sin. Is this important? You bet! It is the one thing that can still steal the joy of saved Christians, and the one thing that can cause you to lose your salvation. Yes… you heard right.
Lose your salvation…
It is a distinct possibility and the scariest thought imaginable. See, John Piper illustrates that faith that justifies (grants eternal life) is faith that sanctifies (makes holy). If your faith is not sanctifying you, be afraid my friend. It is very possible that your faith is also not going to justify you when you are judged one day.
You might be thinking that John Piper is being legalistic by making such claims. He is not saying you are saved by works. He is merely saying that there will be visible results of being saved. Proof of salvation. If you can’t see any, maybe ask God earnestly for a different, justifying faith.
Do you have respect for the teachings of Apostle Paul? Surely He wasn’t joking when he said “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14 NIV).
Or, if that is not enough to convince you, consider the words of Jesus Christ himself: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21 NIV).
If you believe these claims and want to be serious with God, listen to this audio book and learn how you can obtain victory sin. Eliminate those sins in your life that is causing you to miss out on God’s best for your life. Start living in faith. Faith in all the promises God gives you during this life, but even more importantly, all the promises God gives concerning your eternity.
We are not here for a long time, and we have to make every day count! Remember, it is impossible to please God without faith (Heb.11:6).
BookDisciple.com Power Quote
ourselves from anxiety, pride, misplaced shame, impatience,
covetousness, bitterness, despondency and lust. My conviction
is that unbelief in the promises of God, that is future grace,
is the root of that which sustains the life of these sins.
Hence the title, Battling Unbelief.”
– Battling Unbelief Audio Book, approx. six minutes in.
So, how does it sound?
It sounds good. Rob Lamont, the narrator does a good job of reading this 3 hour and 55 minutes long work to us. I could also imagine that this was the true voice of John Piper, since I do not know what he sounds like. Fairly good fit (I think)…
If I have to give a criticism I would say that sometimes it sounds like Rob needs to stop and take a few deep breaths. Almost like he is struggling to keep up and slightly short of breath. Or it could be that the microphone is too close to his mouth while he speaks. But, trust me, that is nitpicking. He did a good job.
What did this audio book mean to me personally?
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV). I am careful of not claiming this. I am sinful, and need to improve constantly, always. Therefore, this book was written for me specifically. And for everyone brave enough to admit that they need help...
Some of the types of sin discussed here (see power quote) are real stumbling blocks for me. Stuff that has tripped me up in the past, and if I don’t start trusting God for what He promises, stuff that will trip me up again in the future.
John Piper and this handy audio book will help me on my quest to defeat sin with superior pleasure. Like he suggests, I want to cry with the father from Mark 9: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV).
Conclusion
Listen to Battling Unbelief and repent! I personally need to, over and over again… We were not saved to live a life of defeat and slavery to sin. We were saved to live a victorious life! A useful life. The real purpose of the cross...
Through the grace of God, Battling Unbelief will help you get there.
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