John Piper on “Future Justification”

John Piper will be “weighing in” on the important, controversial topic of justification and the works of believers with a significant book called The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright–which, in case you missed it, is a play on words, since Wright and others like to talk of justification as being “future” (pronounced at the end of a believer’s life, and based on one’s faith in Christ and the works that flow from that faith). The other day DG posted a portion of the conclusion chapter. Here’s an excerpt:

Our only hope for living the radical demands of the Christian life is that God is totally for us now and forever. Therefore, God has not ordained that living the Christian life should be the basis of our hope that God is for us. That basis is the death and righteousness of Christ, counted as ours through faith alone. All the punishment required of us because of our sin, Christ endured for us on the cross. And all the obedience that God required of us, that he, as our Father, might be completely for us and not against us forever, Christ has performed for us in his perfect obedience to God.
This punishment and this obedience (not all obedience) is completed and past. It can never change. Our union with Christ and the enjoyment of these benefits is secure forever. Through faith alone, God establishes our union with Christ. This union will never fail, because in Christ, God is for us as an omnipotent Father who sustains our faith and works all things together for our everlasting good. The one and only instrument through which God preserves our union with Christ is faith in Christ—the purely receiving act of the soul.

I was blessed to have been able to read an early version of the manuscript. This book is a tour de force that will make a substantial impact on this crucial issue.