I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. –2 Timothy 2:10

The doctrine of election is a sharp scalpel. 

It can be wielded with care and skill, and taken up to give life and heal. Or, in the hands of an untrained fanatic or detractor, it can be used to harm, to sever vital arteries and mutilate hurting people by spinning out untrue implications.

In this five-minute clip of his most recent sermon, John Piper encourages us to follow the apostle Paul's powerful example in 2 Timothy 2:10 and wield the dear doctrine of election with gospel care.

Stream or download this week's entire sermon.

Not only does God's work in us (sanctification) help his work through us (mission), but it works the other way too. Engaging in God's mission can jumpstart our sanctification as well.

In this brief video, pastor Darrin Patrick explains the importance of living the Christian life among the lost for our own sanctification. Sometimes we don't see how much we need Jesus, he says, until we're deeply involved with people who don't know him. There's something about being around broken people that helps you draw near to God.

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Sanctification is the theme of our National Conference this September. Visit the event page to learn more. Register by Friday, July 27 for the early bird rate.

It’s one of the stranger asides in all the Gospels.

In Mark’s first chapter, verses 12–13, after Jesus’s baptism, “The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals . . . .”

Say what? Jesus with the wild animals? What significance does that carry in this grand opening chapter of Mark?

No Random Detail

Mark has such limited space to tell about the history-altering life of the Son of God come as man. Why bother mentioning that in his forty-day wilderness venture Jesus “was with the wild animals”?

I doubt we should assume it’s a random detail. Mark’s narrative is much too carefully c…

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Has it ever seemed like your sanctification is plateauing? Ever felt like you were spinning your spiritual tires?

In such times—relax, we’ve all had them—you may run through the typical means-of-grace checklist, whether in your own mind or with a friend’s help. Am I reading the Bible? Praying? Invested in community with fellow Christians? It’s not a bad thing to do (even the pros do it), but maybe we’ve been overlooking something.

The Sanctifying Power of Mission

Have you considered that your spiritual lethargy might be because you’re keeping too much distance from the missional frontlines? Perhaps your sanctification seems stalled because your faith has been quarantined and, evangelis…

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Christianity Today's four-part dialogue between John Piper and David Brickner of Jews for Jesus is now fully published online. The topic is the relationship and attitudes American Christians should have toward Israel.

In Piper's second and final response (part four), he draws attention to the apologetic of Israel's ongoing existence:

On the 60th anniversary of the birth of the modern state of Israel (May 7, 2008), I celebrated the astonishing apologetical power of the sheer existence of Israel. I drew attention to Anne Rice, the vampire novelist who some years ago turned from 30 years of atheism because of Israel. Even her more recent misgivings about institutional Christianity do…

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At one time, it would have cost you a pretty penny to finish off your Piper book collection.

A few fanatics would pony up what it took to obtain a Cambridge-University hardback or Baker softcover of John Piper's out-of-print dissertation Love Your Enemies. But most of us saner types, even if we claimed to have "read everything by Piper," never had access to the monograph he wrote in Germany in his mid-twenties.

But Crossway has stepped in to fill the gap. The just-released 2012 republication of Piper's dissertation retains the original text — "we have let it stand as it was for historical purposes," says Piper — and adds a new preface in which Piper reflects on the book, and his three…

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Paul is en fuego in his letter to the Galatians. He’s flaming with a righteous apostolic anger. Best advice perhaps is don’t try this at home.

But do read it at home. Hear it preached. Study it. Write about it. Even tweet it. Whatever it takes to have Paul’s blazing fire warm the coals of your love for Jesus and for his gospel of grace.

Here’s installment number four in tweeting Paul’s epistles. We started with Romans. Then 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Now batting: The Book of Galatians.

For starters, here’s a one-tweet summary of the letter:

Jesus’s astounding grace is to be admired and appreciated, not added to. #Galatians

What follows are 29 more designed to walk you through…

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Some Muslims have vowed to extinguish Israel. Many Israelis feel the same animosity toward their Middle Eastern neighbors. Near-apocalyptic tensions rarely subside in Israel-Palestine, the most controversial place on earth.

How should Christians — carrying Bibles with lots to say about Israel, her land, and her enemies — orient today toward these ongoing pressures in the Middle East?

Christianity Today is hosting an online four-part dialogue between John Piper and David Brickner (Jews for Jesus) on whether Jews today have a divine right to "the Promised Land."

Brickner's first post comes in response to articles, sermons, and blog posts from John Piper in recent years — the following th…

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We're getting down and dirty this fall. And we want you to join us.

Get off your theological high horse, get level with the gravel, and let's talk how sanctification really happens in the trenches of everyday life.

Don't get the wrong impression about the Desiring God 2012 National Conference (September 28-30, Minneapolis)—this will be a profoundly theological conference. But theological in all the right ways, as we delve into the nitty-gritty of applying biblical texts and doctrines to the daily fight for humility, purity, and love.

We're thrilled with this theme, and would love to have you join us for the most practical conference we've ever done.

Below John Piper says mor…

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In his 2012 biographical address on "The Frank and Manly Mr. Ryle," John Piper highlighted the value of a masculine ministry — and with it, the importance of Christianity having a masculine feel. It's a provocative thing to say when, not only in our day, but throughout history, true masculinity has seemed too often like an endangered species, under assault from both the left and the right.

Such a controversial claim is open to swift misinterpretation, especially when heard from presuppositions not shared by the speaker. Does Piper mean that the church should be masculine only, and in no sense feminine? Or might he mean there's an essential place for both, relating to each other, all the …

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