Review: Finally Alive

If I hadn’t been asked to review this book, I may not have read it. So I’m glad I was asked. Finally Alive by John Piper is simply terrific, and I suggest you grab a copy today.

Piper looks at new birth (regeneration), which is when the Holy Spirit supernaturally gives us new spiritual life by connecting us with Jesus Christ through faith. Or, to say it another way, the Spirit unites us to Christ where there is cleansing for our sins (pictured by water), and he replaces our hard, unresponsive heart with a soft heart that treasures Jesus above all things and is being transformed by the presence of the Spirit into the kind of heart that loves to do the will of God… (p. 42)

Five things struck me and made me thankful for the new birth and the book. Firstly, God decides to make us alive. Moreover, he doesn’t consult us first, or find some spark in us that he fans into flame; this is sovereign, unilateral grace.

Secondly, it must be God who makes us alive, because we were spiritually dead and unable to respond to him. If I could believe with my old heart, why do I need a new one? Piper’s summary of the biblical explanation for our condition as it exists apart from new birth is excellent (p. 48ff).

Thirdly, being born again means being united to Christ, for life is found in him. I remember a series of sermons by a famous preacher on the marks of the new birth. He had lots of good points, but Christ was missing. Piper certainly doesn’t make that mistake. I was left with my confidence resting firmly in Jesus, not in my having been born again.

Fourthly, the gospel is the instrument the Spirit uses to unite us to Christ. “The call creates what it commands” (p. 84). This is the strong, biblical meat that drives fervent, optimistic evangelism. Piper’s “Ten encouragements for gospel-telling” certainly are encouraging (p. 181ff). And by the way, “You must be born again” is not the gospel.

Fifthly, Piper is careful to distinguish, but not separate, faith and love. As he runs through 1 John, Piper shows how the new birth enables us to love others with the love of God. He also shows how the new birth strikes at the very heart of the world’s problems: “There will be no final peace, no final justice, no triumph over hate and selfishness and racism without this profound change in human nature” (p. 189). What does the world need? Regeneration. And so we preach Christ.

With all that gratitude as a backdrop, I’ll mention just one thing where Piper and I differ. Piper rightly emphasizes that the Spirit connects us to Christ through faith, and that if we want people to be born again, we should speak the news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. To this, I say a hearty “Amen!” But Piper (probably unintentionally) overstates the case: “People are born again through hearing that [gospel] news, and never born again without it” (p. 178). Never? What about elect infants dying in infancy? What about those with severe mental disabilities? Surely God is free to regenerate apart from the word. In fact, David was born again before he was born (Ps 71:5-6)! I’d prefer to say that regeneration by the Spirit is ordinarily accomplished by the proclamation of the gospel.

However, as I said earlier, I’m very grateful—grateful for the doctrine of regeneration—grateful for the fact that God has replaced my heart of stone with a heart of flesh. He has made me alive with Christ. His gospel is powerful, and it brings new life. Finally Alive begins with Christ and ends with preaching Christ. It certainly moved me to keep doing that.