Chris’ Considerations

Book Review: John Piper, Legacy of Sovereign Joy, God’s Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther and Calvin, (Crossway, 2006)

It has been a while since I read this book, but since it’s helpful to re-view good books here we go!

This book is the first in a series of books, The Swans Are Not Silent, a collection of biographies by John Piper. They are based on the biography lectures Piper gives at the annual Desiring God Pastors’ Conference - which are free to download. They’re excellent – well worth a listen.

First off you may be wondering why read Christian biographies anyway? Why bother learning about sinners from the past? John Piper begins to answer in this short article: Thanksgiving for the Lives of Flawed Saints.

Back to the book. Piper so often has a helpful way of explaining things. He draws a brief biographical outline of each man but does not stop there. The author shows us Biblical lessons we can learn from studying the lives of these three men – Augustine’s passion for Sovereign Joy, Luther’s commitment to study the Holy Scriptures, and Calvin’s desire to glorify God in his preaching. Piper helpfully summarises four great lessons to learn from these three men in the conclusion:

1. Do not be paralyzed by your weaknesses and flaws.

… Oh, let us learn the secret of gutsy guilt from the steadfastness of sinful saints who were not paralyzed by their imperfections. God has a great work for everyone to do. Do it with all your might—yes, and even with all your flaws and all your sins. And in the obedience of this faith, magnify the glory of his grace, and do not grow weary in doing good.

2. In the battle against sin and surrender, learn the secret of sovereign joy.

Few have seen this or modeled it for us like Augustine. The quest for holiness is the quest for satisfaction in God. And satisfaction in God is a divine gift of sovereign joy. It is sovereign because, in its fullness, it triumphs over all contestants for the heart.

3. Supernatural change comes from seeing Christ in his sacred Word.

… The glory of the Lord, whom to see truly is “sovereign joy,” is seen in a gospel, a knowledge, a message, a Word. Oh, how Luther drove this truth with relentless force … We must learn from Luther that the Word became flesh, and the Word became Greek sentences. We behold the glory of the incarnate Word through the grammar of the written Word.

4. Therefore, let us exult over the exposition of the truth of the Gospel and herald the glory of Christ for the joy of all peoples.

When John Calvin saw the majesty of God in his Word, he was taken captive to preaching. Preaching, for John Calvin, was the faithful, regular exposition of the Word of God with a passion for the glory of Christ. It was exposition, but it was also exultation. Exultation over the majesty of God and the glory of Christ revealed in the written Word produced expository exultation.

pp.143-148

Want to find out more? You can read the book online for free and the three relevant biography lectures are also available to read and download:

• John Piper, Legacy of Sovereign Joy, download the whole book as a free pdf
• The Swan is Not Silent, Sovereign Joy in the Life and Thought of St. Augustine, 1998 (MP3)
• Martin Luther: Lessons from His Life and Labor, 1996 (MP3) 
• The Divine Majesty of the Word, John Calvin: The Man and His Preaching, 1997, (MP3)

Thanks to Crossway for the book cover and quotes.