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Book Review: The Legacy Of Sovereign Joy
This book by John Piper was first published in 2000. It provides brief biographies of three of God’s most influential Saints. Piper weaves a connection of God’s triumphant grace in the lives of Augustine of Hippo, John Calvin and Martin Luther.This four part book opens with a chapter that discusses the pure grace demonstrated by God in the use of three greatly flawed men for His glory. The next three sections are each brief biographies of Augustine, Luther and Calvin respectively.
Each of these brief biographies is nowhere close to exhaustive, nor are they intended to be. Still, they provide a great treat to have discussions of arguably three of the most influential men in the history of Christendom. The focus of these biographies is on the admiration or accomplishments of these men. The biographies concern how these enormous men greatly impacted the kingdom in spite of their major flaws and sinful lives.
Everyone loves to root for an underdog. We love to watch as the flawed, less then perfect competitor triumphs for the victory that nobody anticipated. How refreshing to read that God received so much glory from such flawed and sinful individuals. If God can use such sinners to accomplish so much, maybe He can use me.
Piper, always a fluid writer, does a superb job at outlining deep scriptural truths in a way that is digestible to the average reader. Piper helps the reader understand who these men really were, and how glorious God is by achieving so much through flawed vessels.
Posted on February 5, 2008