John Piper was once regarded as a great contender for the faith. He was the go-to guy for apologetics in Reformed theology and the one that was looked to when those with twisted soteriology espoused their false doctrine. He has written excellent books on living a holy life for God and had a way of explaining Scripture that made him a desirable teacher for those truly looking to enhance their theological understanding of and relationship with God.
Yet, behind every fallen creature is a tendency to slide away from God. Behind every fallen creature is the tendency to please man. Behind every fallen creature is the tendency to become so engrossed in your own popularity that you fail to see the grave error that is taking over your life and ministry.
In recent years, John Piper has shown where his true allegiance is. He has staunchly defended false teachers such as Rick Warren and Mark Driscoll. The movement that has gripped his ministry, and taken him by the seat of his pants is known as New Calvinism. New Calvinism is a form of seeker-friendly semi-reformed theology. New Calvinists believe that as long as they have their Calvinistic theology right, there is much room for disagreement and liberty in most other areas.
While most New Calvinists fall into the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” category, Piper is certainly no young buck. Yet, the crowd he now runs around with certainly are.
He has been a repeat speaker at the popular student conference, Passion. The conference is a prime example of the compromised theology of the New Calvinist movement. The conference hosts false teachers such as Word of Faith pastrix out of Hillsong, Australia, Christine Caine, and several other false or compromised teachers, including Beth Moore, Louie Giglio, Levi Lusko and Francis Chan.
Why would he want to associate with these people? Why does he want to lend them credibility? The Scriptures clearly teach that believers are not to associate with false teachers for any other reason except to expose them (Eph 5:11). I think we can safely chalk this up to his disobedience of 1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV),
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
In 2012, at the Passion Conference John Piper first experimented with a mystical form of prayer and meditative Scripture reading presented by Louie Giglio that is very similar to the heretical Lectio Divina. Since then, his passion for Passion hasn’t dwindled in the least. He will once again be sharing a stage in 2017 with these false teachers.
Piper has historically claimed a strong position of complementarianism–the theological view that teaches that men and women have complementary roles according to the Scriptures. Yet his passion for this has clearly subsided. Scripture teaches that a woman’s role in a church setting is to submit themselves to male leadership.
1 Timothy 2:12 (ESV) says,
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet,
and 1 Corinthians 14:33-34 (ESV) says,
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.
Women have a responsibility in the church to teach and take care of the children and to build each other up. But it is the responsibility of godly men to lead the church, teach the congregation, preach the Word, administer the ordinances, and handle the Scriptures appropriately. Yet, Piper continually affirms women who usurp the authority of male leadership by sharing the stage with them at seeker-sensitive conferences and defending them publicly in their sin.
John Piper put out a video at Desiring God affirming that it’s okay for men to listen to female Bible “teachers,” like Beth Moore, as long as “they don’t become their pastor.” In the video, he was asked by a listener, “I’m a guy, is it wrong for me to listen to Beth Moore?”
No, unless you begin to become dependent on her as your shepherd. It’s the way I feel about occassional women speaking in Sunday School.
Notice, his reply doesn’t come from Scripture, but solely from his “feelings.” I don’t see anywhere in Scripture that makes exceptions to the complementarian role of women in the church and home for “special occasions,” or “as long as you don’t become dependent on her.” This is not a biblical answer. This is hogwash.
He then goes on to defend his position by mangling the clear teaching of Scripture by saying that women who occasionally teach are not “authoritative teachers,” whatever that means.
Let’s see here, where in Scripture does it say that you can teach the Word of God without authority? Nowhere. It’s almost as if he’s never read the Scriptures pertaining to the roles of men and women in the Church. Further, how can speakers like Beth Moore and Christine Caine regularly take the stage in front of thousands of men and women, attempt to preach the Word of God, and not claim any authority?
This is apostasy of the most basic definition–abandoning your once-held beliefs. 2 John 9-11 essentially says that by taking part with apostates, you become one. It shows that John Piper has taken on an unbiblical position in order to remain popular with a wider audience. It shows that John Piper is not seeking to please God, but man.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
[Contributed by Pulpit & Pen]
