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Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure
Pastor John Piper shows how to sever the clinging roots of sin that ensnare us, including anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust in Battling Unbelief .
When faith flickers, stoke the fire.
No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us, until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin.
Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.
When faith flickers, stoke the fire.
No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us, until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin.
Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2007
About the author
John Piper
605 books4,738 followersJohn Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.
John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.
John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
February 7, 2017
Upon finishing, I put the book down and pondered for a good long while how I'd like to apply this book to my life. This is what I love about Piper: his own satisfaction and joy in God spills out onto every page. His serious love is infectious. It makes me want to follow Jesus harder, to treasure Him more, and to know Him and his word better.
Essentially, this book is all about how to fight sin by trusting in God and His precious promises. Piper, in the classic Piper way, argues for superior joy in Christ as the proper method of sin-slaying, using the 'Sword of the Spirit', God's word.
A thoroughly good book on fighting sin by trusting God. Massively recommended.
Essentially, this book is all about how to fight sin by trusting in God and His precious promises. Piper, in the classic Piper way, argues for superior joy in Christ as the proper method of sin-slaying, using the 'Sword of the Spirit', God's word.
A thoroughly good book on fighting sin by trusting God. Massively recommended.
June 9, 2026
A good pool/ocean side listen! John Piper wrote this book as an abridged version of long book Future Grace - Explores Sanctification. This was perfectly digestible, I wouldn’t have wanted more in depth commentary or enumeration. Each chapter covers a typical sin we as humans fall to paired with the truth about how God is more desirable than anything sin could offer. We can counter the “promises” of sin with the superior promises of God.
June 29, 2026
In 1995, I read John Piper’s epic work, Future Grace. I was a young pastor, wrestling with theology and the implications of the gospel on the Christian life. That book was life-changing as it shone the spotlight on God’s invincible grace and the necessity of clinging to it as an all-sufficient treasure.
Over twenty years later, John Piper has gifted the church with a shorter, more accessible version of his earlier work. Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure is more than a mere synopsis or run-of-the-mill cut and paste. The author has synthesized Future Grace into a manageable and inviting treatise that invites readers to join him on a quest of “living by faith in future grace.”
Battling Unbelief focuses on seven fronts: battling anxiety, pride, misplaced shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust. Each chapter is a sort of treasure chest that alerts readers to the seriousness of a given sin and the solution for “defeating sin with superior pleasure.” Gratitude for past grace undergirds the battle plan in this book. Piper defines gratitude “a humble, happy response to the goodwill of someone who has willed to do us a favor.” He adds, “Only if we trust God to turn past calamities into future comfort can we look back with gratitude for everything.” But the author also urges a forward look, what he refers to as “future grace … which is so utterly crucial in God’s great plan to glorify himself and satisfy his people.”
Battling Unbelief should be required reading for every Christian. It is packed with gospel encouragement that will train the mind, engage the heart, and move hands and feet in a Godward direction.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
Over twenty years later, John Piper has gifted the church with a shorter, more accessible version of his earlier work. Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure is more than a mere synopsis or run-of-the-mill cut and paste. The author has synthesized Future Grace into a manageable and inviting treatise that invites readers to join him on a quest of “living by faith in future grace.”
Battling Unbelief focuses on seven fronts: battling anxiety, pride, misplaced shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust. Each chapter is a sort of treasure chest that alerts readers to the seriousness of a given sin and the solution for “defeating sin with superior pleasure.” Gratitude for past grace undergirds the battle plan in this book. Piper defines gratitude “a humble, happy response to the goodwill of someone who has willed to do us a favor.” He adds, “Only if we trust God to turn past calamities into future comfort can we look back with gratitude for everything.” But the author also urges a forward look, what he refers to as “future grace … which is so utterly crucial in God’s great plan to glorify himself and satisfy his people.”
Battling Unbelief should be required reading for every Christian. It is packed with gospel encouragement that will train the mind, engage the heart, and move hands and feet in a Godward direction.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
February 25, 2023
Que livro incrível! Comecei a ler esse livro pois a cada dia mais Deus tem me confrontado a cerca da minha própria incredulidade, mas eu não fazia ideia de como isso era muito mais profundo. Seja na minha ansiedade, no meu orgulho, na minha impaciente ou rancor, tudo isso tem raiz na minha falta de fé na graça futura. Saio dessa leitura muito confrontada, mas ao mesmo tempo grata a Deus, por me trazer a memória essa esperança. Acredito que não há quem leia esse livro e não seja incomodado pelas verdades que ele traz!
July 7, 2021
Ótimo livro, tanto para devocional, como para aconselhamento.
Piper faz uma boa investigação da incredulidade em suas raízes, e com base em textos bíblicos faz boas aplicações, tanto conceituais, como práticas.
Piper se mostra bastante focado e perspicaz no trato do tema.
Apenas, creio, que deve-se tomar cuidado, pois Piper gosta muito de "nomear" coisas que já estão nomeadas, seja na Escritura, seja na Teologia.
Isso não é propriamente um problema, mas pode passar a ideia de que é algo novo, quando não é; ou de que a questão só pode ser vista daquela forma.
Entretanto, de modo algum, a aplicabilidade de seu escrito fica prejudicada.
Recomendo. 👍🏻 ⭐️
Piper faz uma boa investigação da incredulidade em suas raízes, e com base em textos bíblicos faz boas aplicações, tanto conceituais, como práticas.
Piper se mostra bastante focado e perspicaz no trato do tema.
Apenas, creio, que deve-se tomar cuidado, pois Piper gosta muito de "nomear" coisas que já estão nomeadas, seja na Escritura, seja na Teologia.
Isso não é propriamente um problema, mas pode passar a ideia de que é algo novo, quando não é; ou de que a questão só pode ser vista daquela forma.
Entretanto, de modo algum, a aplicabilidade de seu escrito fica prejudicada.
Recomendo. 👍🏻 ⭐️
December 16, 2022
Reading this has been a beautiful balm to my soul. It is a succinct, but impactful call to faith in future grace. As Piper aptly puts it, “The grace that we have already experienced from God is infinitesimally small compared to the future grace that we will experience from now to eternity. This will always be so, since a finite duration, of even millions of years, is small compared to the infinity of the future.”
March 28, 2017
Después de "Piense" este es el segundo libro que leí de Piper.
Lo leí el año pasado y desde entonces de vez en cuando voy re-leyendo algunos capítulos. Este libro ha sido de muchísima bendición para mí vida y aplico su contenido todos los días.
Es un libro que tiene el potencial de revolucionar la manera de enfrentar los diversos pecados en la vida porque muestra como la teología puede vencer la biología.
Mil veces recomendado.
Lo leí el año pasado y desde entonces de vez en cuando voy re-leyendo algunos capítulos. Este libro ha sido de muchísima bendición para mí vida y aplico su contenido todos los días.
Es un libro que tiene el potencial de revolucionar la manera de enfrentar los diversos pecados en la vida porque muestra como la teología puede vencer la biología.
Mil veces recomendado.
August 31, 2019
What a wonderful little book! John Piper applies the understanding of future grace to unbelief in 8 different areas. Excellent content in each chapter deftly applied to the heart of a person struggling with unbelief. Great stories that help get at the heart of each struggle.
January 17, 2012
I highly recommend this book for all people. John Piper is used by God as a voice calling out His great love and grace He so desires to pour out on His Creation, human beings. I like the size of this book, not over powering, and right to the meat of his goal to share the way to battle unbelief and why.
"Our moral sense says this evil cannot be ignored, and the Word of God says we must forgive."
"If you Hold a grudge, you doubt the Judge."
"All sin will be avenged-severely and thoroughly and justly. Either in hell, or at the cross."
"We fight to be satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus that temptation to sin loses its power over us."
"Serving God is not payback, but more receiving. Moment by moment, as we bank on ever-arriving future grace, we go deeper and deeper into glorious debt."
Just reading the titles of each section of this book gives you a deeper understanding of how and why not to doubt the greatness of God. In the area of our time, all the disease, natural disaster, the poor and hungry, the neglected and abused, Christians can quickly start to doubt, and thus others begin to doubt our Faith and our Savior. John Piper illustrates the freedom from such doubt using Biblical applications of Scripture. John Piper did an excellent job of narrowing down his first book Future Grace to give us Battling Unbelief.
Awesome Book!!!
"Our moral sense says this evil cannot be ignored, and the Word of God says we must forgive."
"If you Hold a grudge, you doubt the Judge."
"All sin will be avenged-severely and thoroughly and justly. Either in hell, or at the cross."
"We fight to be satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus that temptation to sin loses its power over us."
"Serving God is not payback, but more receiving. Moment by moment, as we bank on ever-arriving future grace, we go deeper and deeper into glorious debt."
Just reading the titles of each section of this book gives you a deeper understanding of how and why not to doubt the greatness of God. In the area of our time, all the disease, natural disaster, the poor and hungry, the neglected and abused, Christians can quickly start to doubt, and thus others begin to doubt our Faith and our Savior. John Piper illustrates the freedom from such doubt using Biblical applications of Scripture. John Piper did an excellent job of narrowing down his first book Future Grace to give us Battling Unbelief.
Awesome Book!!!
May 12, 2025
What a rich and practical little book! John Piper is not afraid to call out our unbelief/doubts as pride/sin and yet he exhorts with such gentleness and care.
Here are some quotes that I have been lingering over:
“So when I say that we wield the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, what I mean is that we hold fast to this Christ-centered gospel truth with all its promises, and bank on them in every situation. We sever the lifeline of sin by the power of a superior promise. Or to put it more positively, we release the stream of love by faith in future grace.”
“belief in Jesus means coming to Jesus for the satisfaction of all that God is for us in him. And unbelief is a turning away from Jesus in order to seek satisfaction in other things…Belief is not merely an agreement with facts in the head; it is also an appetite for God in the heart, which fastens on Jesus for satisfaction.”
“The self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It never can be sufficient. We are but images of God, not the real thing. We are shadows and echoes. So there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self. The irony of this insatiable itch in the self-sufficient soul becomes even more evident when pride cannot get what it wants and begins to flounder in weakness. This calls for discernment. Weak pride is not easily recognized. It sounds like an oxymoron-like round squares. But it is not. Consider the relationship between boasting and self-pity. Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says, "I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much." Self-pity says, "I deserve admiration because I have sacrificed so much." Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing. The reason self-pity does not look like pride is that it appears to be needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego and the desire of the self-pitying is not really for others to see them as helpless but as heroes.”
“The need self-pity feels does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.”
“Anxiety does not look like pride. It looks weak. It looks as though you admit you don't control the future. Yes, in a sense the proud admit that. But the admission does not kill pride until the proud heart is willing to look to the one who does control the future and rest in him. Until then, the proud are hanging onto their right of self-sufficiency even as it crumbles on the horizon of the future.”
“Why is anxiety about the future a form of pride? God gives the answer: "I—the Lord, your Maker—I am He who comforts you, who promises to take care of you; and those who threaten you are mere men who die. So your fear must mean that you do not trust me. You must think that your protection hangs on you. And even though you are not sure that your own resources will take care of you, yet you opt for fragile self-reliance, rather than faith in future grace. So all your trembling—weak as it is—reveals pride." The remedy? Turn from self-reliance to God-reliance, and put your faith in the all-sufficient power of future grace.”
“Faith admits the need for help. Pride won't. Faith banks on God to give help. Pride won't. Faith casts anxieties on God. Pride won't. Therefore, the way to battle the unbelief of pride is to admit freely that you have anxieties, and to cherish the promise of future grace in the words, "He cares for you."’
“God is not glorified unless our pursuit is empowered by faith in his promises. And the God who revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25), is most glorified when we embrace his promises with joyful firmness because they are bought by the blood of his Son. God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace.”
“We cannot ignore inconsiderate acts in others; yet we cannot execute the penalty of law. We have no right to complete the moral cycle....Although we sense no spiritual inhibition against crying out against injustice, the purity of our moral life deteriorates the moment we attempt to administer justice.” -EDWARD JOHN CARNELL
“It's the deep sense of legitimacy that gives our bitterness its unbending compulsion. We feel that a great crime would be committed if the magnitude of the evil we've experienced were just dropped and we let bygones be bygones. We are torn: Our moral sense says this evil cannot be ignored, and the word of God says we must forgive. “
“We are not bound to trust an enemy, but we are bound to forgive him.” -Thomas Watson
“Therefore, Christianity does not make light of sin. It does not add insult to our injury. On the contrary, it takes the sins against us so seriously that, to make them right, God gave his own Son to suffer more than we could ever make anyone suffer for what they have done to us.”
“Ours is to love. God’s is to settle accounts justly.“
“The iron bolt which so mysteriously fastens the door of hope and holds our spirits in gloomy prison, needs a heavenly hand to push it back."Yet he did fight. He saw his depression as his "worst feature." "Despondency," he said, "is not a virtue; I believe it is a vice. I am heartily ashamed of myself for falling into it, but I am sure there is no remedy for it like a holy faith in God."
“The ultimate cause of all spiritual depression is unbelief.”
“In essence, he says, "In myself I feel very weak and helpless and unable to cope. My body is shot and my heart is almost dead. But whatever the reason for this despondency, I will not yield. I will trust God and not myself. He is my strength and my portion."’
"Is it by the instrumentality of faith we receive Christ as our justification, without the merit of any of our works? Well. But this same faith, if vital enough to embrace Christ, is also vital enough to 'work by love, 'to purify our hearts. This then is the virtue of the free gospel, as a ministry of sanctification, that the very faith which embraces the gift becomes an inevitable and a divinely powerful principle of obedience.”
“He breaks the power of canceled sin. He sets the prisoner free.” CHARLES WESLEY
“When faith has the upper hand in my heart, I am satisfied with Christ and his promises. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can smell the steak sizzling on the grill.”
Here are some quotes that I have been lingering over:
“So when I say that we wield the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, what I mean is that we hold fast to this Christ-centered gospel truth with all its promises, and bank on them in every situation. We sever the lifeline of sin by the power of a superior promise. Or to put it more positively, we release the stream of love by faith in future grace.”
“belief in Jesus means coming to Jesus for the satisfaction of all that God is for us in him. And unbelief is a turning away from Jesus in order to seek satisfaction in other things…Belief is not merely an agreement with facts in the head; it is also an appetite for God in the heart, which fastens on Jesus for satisfaction.”
“The self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It never can be sufficient. We are but images of God, not the real thing. We are shadows and echoes. So there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self. The irony of this insatiable itch in the self-sufficient soul becomes even more evident when pride cannot get what it wants and begins to flounder in weakness. This calls for discernment. Weak pride is not easily recognized. It sounds like an oxymoron-like round squares. But it is not. Consider the relationship between boasting and self-pity. Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says, "I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much." Self-pity says, "I deserve admiration because I have sacrificed so much." Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing. The reason self-pity does not look like pride is that it appears to be needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego and the desire of the self-pitying is not really for others to see them as helpless but as heroes.”
“The need self-pity feels does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.”
“Anxiety does not look like pride. It looks weak. It looks as though you admit you don't control the future. Yes, in a sense the proud admit that. But the admission does not kill pride until the proud heart is willing to look to the one who does control the future and rest in him. Until then, the proud are hanging onto their right of self-sufficiency even as it crumbles on the horizon of the future.”
“Why is anxiety about the future a form of pride? God gives the answer: "I—the Lord, your Maker—I am He who comforts you, who promises to take care of you; and those who threaten you are mere men who die. So your fear must mean that you do not trust me. You must think that your protection hangs on you. And even though you are not sure that your own resources will take care of you, yet you opt for fragile self-reliance, rather than faith in future grace. So all your trembling—weak as it is—reveals pride." The remedy? Turn from self-reliance to God-reliance, and put your faith in the all-sufficient power of future grace.”
“Faith admits the need for help. Pride won't. Faith banks on God to give help. Pride won't. Faith casts anxieties on God. Pride won't. Therefore, the way to battle the unbelief of pride is to admit freely that you have anxieties, and to cherish the promise of future grace in the words, "He cares for you."’
“God is not glorified unless our pursuit is empowered by faith in his promises. And the God who revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25), is most glorified when we embrace his promises with joyful firmness because they are bought by the blood of his Son. God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace.”
“We cannot ignore inconsiderate acts in others; yet we cannot execute the penalty of law. We have no right to complete the moral cycle....Although we sense no spiritual inhibition against crying out against injustice, the purity of our moral life deteriorates the moment we attempt to administer justice.” -EDWARD JOHN CARNELL
“It's the deep sense of legitimacy that gives our bitterness its unbending compulsion. We feel that a great crime would be committed if the magnitude of the evil we've experienced were just dropped and we let bygones be bygones. We are torn: Our moral sense says this evil cannot be ignored, and the word of God says we must forgive. “
“We are not bound to trust an enemy, but we are bound to forgive him.” -Thomas Watson
“Therefore, Christianity does not make light of sin. It does not add insult to our injury. On the contrary, it takes the sins against us so seriously that, to make them right, God gave his own Son to suffer more than we could ever make anyone suffer for what they have done to us.”
“Ours is to love. God’s is to settle accounts justly.“
“The iron bolt which so mysteriously fastens the door of hope and holds our spirits in gloomy prison, needs a heavenly hand to push it back."Yet he did fight. He saw his depression as his "worst feature." "Despondency," he said, "is not a virtue; I believe it is a vice. I am heartily ashamed of myself for falling into it, but I am sure there is no remedy for it like a holy faith in God."
“The ultimate cause of all spiritual depression is unbelief.”
“In essence, he says, "In myself I feel very weak and helpless and unable to cope. My body is shot and my heart is almost dead. But whatever the reason for this despondency, I will not yield. I will trust God and not myself. He is my strength and my portion."’
"Is it by the instrumentality of faith we receive Christ as our justification, without the merit of any of our works? Well. But this same faith, if vital enough to embrace Christ, is also vital enough to 'work by love, 'to purify our hearts. This then is the virtue of the free gospel, as a ministry of sanctification, that the very faith which embraces the gift becomes an inevitable and a divinely powerful principle of obedience.”
“He breaks the power of canceled sin. He sets the prisoner free.” CHARLES WESLEY
“When faith has the upper hand in my heart, I am satisfied with Christ and his promises. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can smell the steak sizzling on the grill.”
April 24, 2018
4.5 stars. This is a really great book. Any follower of Christ will benefit and grow greatly as they prayerfully read and meditate on the contents of this book. Outstanding for it's practical focus on various areas of sin that we all fail in many times (e.g. anxiety, bitterness). Grab the audio book on audible and tune in while you wash the dishes, you'll be better for it.
March 18, 2020
De fato Deus quer que vivamos pela fé, e fomos chamados pra ter tal viver, um livro que nos encoraja a crer nas promessas de Deus e nos ajuda a compreender como é amoroso e como Deus se compadece das nossas dificuldades. Que lutemos contra esse inimigo que é a incredulidade.
February 26, 2024
I will always need to be reminded what Galatians 3:3 says - “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” This book was a simple but great challenge to ask myself how little faith I have in future grace and the constant temptation to create my own righteousness aside from what Jesus purchased for me. The life of joyful obedience I want to live (and can live) comes through deeper faith and greater revelation of who God is.
July 10, 2026
I read Future Grace twenty years ago.
This book pulls the application chapters from that book. It is much more accessible as a book to hand to someone who might get bogged down in the heftier chapters of Future Grace.
This book is practically helpful and encouraging.
This book pulls the application chapters from that book. It is much more accessible as a book to hand to someone who might get bogged down in the heftier chapters of Future Grace.
This book is practically helpful and encouraging.
August 7, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and there were a lot of 'ah ha'! moments. I had forgotten how deep and spiritually rich John Piper's books are.
February 8, 2020
C’est le premier livre de John Piper que j’ai lu. L’enseignement est profond et tellement pertinent!
April 29, 2020
absolutely amazing. so powerful
May 30, 2023
Um livro incrível e que rendeu ótimas discussões em meu pequeno grupo! O John Piper explora temas tão intensos e difíceis, de forma tão clara e prática. Super recomendo.
September 7, 2024
Honestly didn't finish it but got a lot from it.
Feels very repetitive but definitely has a spot on message.
Feels very repetitive but definitely has a spot on message.
February 11, 2025
Another read for school that I really liked! It’s a short and hopeful read and the PDF is free online. Piper centers the book on idea that the Christian’s “Faith in future grace” provides the means to overcome struggles, and specifically applies this concept to anxiety, pride, misplaced shamed, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and just.
January 16, 2026
How to battle unbelief: faith in future grace.
“Being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus Christ is the essence of faith in future grace.”
“Being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus Christ is the essence of faith in future grace.”
July 13, 2026
This includes the shorter, more specific parts of Future Grace. I will be returning to this again and again.
June 3, 2023
Foi uma experiência incrível ler com um jovem da igreja. O conceito de graça futura que o Piper usa aqui é muito bem descrito na luta com alguns pecados específicos.
April 18, 2018
John Piper nesse livro inicia com uma tese a respeito da incredulidade: nós não cremos na graça futura de Deus porque preferimos crer nas promessas do pecado. Com isso, Piper apresenta oito pecados que nos enganam e que frequentemente temos de lutar contra eles. Sendo alguns: lascívia, amargura, impaciência. A abordagem do Piper é que devemos lutar para crer nas promessas do Senhor em Sua Palavra. Para vencer tais pecados, juntamente com a incredulidade que vem acompanhada, devemos crer nos prazeres que provém das promessas do Senhor, onde há plenitude de alegria e delícias perpétuas. Não devemos acreditar nas promessas do pecado, pois esses (os pecados) nunca cumprem o que prometem. Eles não nos tornam felizes ou estáveis, ao contrário, geram tristeza e afastamento Daquele que é a fonte da alegria: Cristo! Me surpreendi com a abordagem de Piper sobre a incredulidade nesse livro, e me fez pensar em outra perspectiva sobre ela. Um dos melhores livros de 2018. Recomendo!
November 19, 2012
A cracker of a book about the way our faith in God's future grace to us helps us fight against unbelief. 8 chapters on various common struggles (anxiety, pride, lust etc), pointing out that if we are sure of God's overflowing goodness to us now and into the future, we won't be tempted to search for what we need in short term counterfeits. It's a selection of the application chapters from the longer and more theological book Future Grace. Worked very well as an audio book, although the bloke's voice did nearly send me to sleep -- he sounded like he was narrating a kids story book :) I think I'm figuring out that I should stick to practical life application type books for audio books, I struggle to concentrate enough for heavy theology when I'm driving.
March 10, 2012
I struggle with John Piper's writing style, and since he's so popular I'm pretty confident that's more about me than him. But, I also struggle with his theology, and it was evident in this book. There were some good points and the main thesis is a good one, focus on future grace to help you deal with current issues. But the message I also heard was that I need to worry a lot about walking a particularly fine line between saved and unsaved as well as if I have the "right" kind of faith. That's not what my Dad wants me worrying about.
April 8, 2007
At the core, what you really struggle with is not believing in God's promises. This is what John Piper says. He terms the object of this belief "future grace" or the grace that you are promised to experience.
If you think you have faith, this book is a good re-evaluation or checkpoint for you. If you think you don't, this book will reiterate why it is you don't, and why it is you should.
If you think you have faith, this book is a good re-evaluation or checkpoint for you. If you think you don't, this book will reiterate why it is you don't, and why it is you should.
December 10, 2016
The title of this book is a little misleading, it sounds like it's an outreach book, not what it actually is an explanation of sin and how to defeat it. The sub title really gives it plainly saying "defeating sin with superior pleasure". I highly recommend this book
January 16, 2012
Excellent read. A lot to think on though. I believe it's one I'll have to leave out & refer back to often!
January 3, 2025
Lutar contra a incredulidade é ter fé na graça futura.
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