One of the strengths of Piper’s writing style is that he explains everything extremely well. Thus his case against universalism and annihilationism are both very strong, and the argument he makes is well thought out. Piper states “If Judas were destined for glory eventually (an in universalism) or even destined for extinction (as in annihilationism) it is difficult to imagine why it would have been better for him not to have been born” (Piper, p 140). When a person denies the eternal suffering of someone in hell, they are stating that hell cannot possibly be as bad as Jesus makes it seem. The annihilationism states that similar to people suffering on earth, they will only suffer in hell for a time before they are destroyed. However, this view
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His wife let their daughter play unattended with rat poison, and because of this instance he hit her. Regardless of the culture, women must be treated with respect, and a man who beats his wife should not be deemed worthy to be the pastor of a church, regardless of his preaching skills. These people need to pray that God raises up another leader who is humble from their midst so that he can lead the church. Even though the culture accepts the practice of wife beating, to let something like this slide is to primarily lean on the power of man to accomplish Christ’s mission. Their argument states that this man needs to continue to preach because he is a gifted expositor. This is wrong. The merit of the preacher has little to do with the acceptance of the gospel, and people in comparison to God are dumb and shortsighted. These people need to pray that God raise up another leader, and while they wait, they must preach and faithfully trust that God will provide for His people another expositor. The office of pastor should never be given to one who has a lot of character flaws; it should only be given to those men who are above reproach. To compromise ANYTHING that is a major problem with the pastor is to focus more on human proclamation rather than the power of God. To compromise the integrity of these missionaries and this young church by keeping this pastor is a grave mistake that will surely have a lasting impact upon the
His wife let their daughter play unattended with rat poison, and because of this instance he hit her. Regardless of the culture, women must be treated with respect, and a man who beats his wife should not be deemed worthy to be the pastor of a church, regardless of his preaching skills. These people need to pray that God raises up another leader who is humble from their midst so that he can lead the church. Even though the culture accepts the practice of wife beating, to let something like this slide is to primarily lean on the power of man to accomplish Christ’s mission. Their argument states that this man needs to continue to preach because he is a gifted expositor. This is wrong. The merit of the preacher has little to do with the acceptance of the gospel, and people in comparison to God are dumb and shortsighted. These people need to pray that God raise up another leader, and while they wait, they must preach and faithfully trust that God will provide for His people another expositor. The office of pastor should never be given to one who has a lot of character flaws; it should only be given to those men who are above reproach. To compromise ANYTHING that is a major problem with the pastor is to focus more on human proclamation rather than the power of God. To compromise the integrity of these missionaries and this young church by keeping this pastor is a grave mistake that will surely have a lasting impact upon the