Why I Love the Apostle Paul

Perhaps I didn't really enjoy this book because it's a PERSONAL collection of opinions about the Apostle Paul and reasons why John Piper loves him. It was a little dry and boring, which is unfortunate because Paul is super special to me and I was expecting to love this book. Other readers may get more out of it, though, so I'd still recommend checking it out if you're a fan of Paul or John Piper.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a big fan of John Piper and was thrilled to receive this ARC. Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for offering this. As always John's book is brimming with wisdom that this world desperately needs. I found Piper's insights about the Apostle Paul spot on.

John Piper needs no introduction. This Christian hedonist preacher is known for his meaty expositions of Scriptures, rigorous theological insights, pastoral gentleness, and scripture soaked boldness.

I have greatly benefitted from Piper’s ministry. So, whenever Piper publishes a new book, I don’t hesitate to go and buy the book. Piper’s thoughtful biblical exegesis makes his books filled with word-soaked wisdom.

What is this book about?

Why I Love the Apostle Paul is no exception. This new book is essentially a hagiography of St Paul. Piper openly confesses his love for Paul, ‘ I deeply appreciate Paul’s life-giving teaching, and I have huge admiration for the extraordinary traits of excellence in his life. His words have been my salvation…After the Lord Jesus himself, no one has won my appreciation and admiration more’. His love for Paul has compelled him to pen this book. It contains Piper’s reflections on his sixty-plus years of friendship with the Apostle.

Piper wants to share his love for Paul with others. So his hope is that by the end of the book, you’d be able to see why Paul is worthy of our friendship and love. That is to say, the author wants to take readers on a journey of friendship and exploration. In short, Piper’s purpose is that, as the result of this book, we too would come to love Paul.

Possible Audiences?

I found this book to be very useful. I am a pastor who attempts to keep his eyes wide open for godly counsel and wisdom. Why I Love the Apostle Paul wasn’t a disappointment. I especially liked the chapter on suffering. Piper suggests that Paul is very honest about suffering in the Christian life. Yet, suffering produces peculiar glory for Christians. I have found this promise to be very encouraging for my ministry.

But this excellent book is written for all kind of audiences, not just pastors. If you are interested in thinking about Christian maturity as it is seen in Paul’s life, this book is for you.

The clear exhortation of the book is to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, to love as the apostle loved believers and unbelievers, to weep as Paul wept for people, to endure suffering for Christ along with Paul, to hold strongly to the assurance of God, and to put unwavering trust in God’s sovereignty – just like Paul.

I thank Crossway Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

John Piper gives us another excellent book. He details out the life of the Apostle Paul and better yet tells us why he loves the hard charging in your face Apostle.

Many of us love the Epistles from the Apostle Paul and enjoy the story of how he went from condoning the stoning of Stephen to being an Apostle for the Lord Jesus Christ who's main task was to reach out to the Gentile Community. But he was a difficult character to understand.

He kicked the young disciple Mark off the team because Mark deserted him and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. But then later in his letter to Timothy he desires Mark to come to him "because he is useful to me in ministry." Hard charging, in your face confrontation, but then a softer side that makes us fall in love with him.

I can't imagine the thoughts running through Onesimus the run away slave when Paul sends him back to his master. But writes to Philemon that Onesimus is like a son to him and should be considered a beloved brother, not a slave.

Piper gives us a great look into the life of Paul and then tells us why he, Piper, personally loves the Apostle and was and still is challenged by him in how he does ministry.

If nothing else this will give you a glimpse into Piper's mind as well as that of the Apostle Paul.

Enjoy!

This review could be titled: 'Why I Love John Piper's new book.' Yes, I absolutely love his new book entitled 'Why I Love the Apostle Paul.' I've been greatly enriched by this book -- and after reading it I see the unique place it holds among the huge list of the books previously written by the author. Why so? Because it provides the reader with a treasury of texts out of Paul's letters that reveal the heart of who Paul was, and how he thought, and how he dealt with his own sin, and how he faced trying times, and how he loved, and how he grew as a follower of Christ.
As I read this book, I repeatedly thought to myself: 'This would be a powerful resource to use as a tool in a small group discipleship context.’ It would also be a rich guide for one’s own daily devotions. Its 30 brief chapters are easy to follow and digest. The content is Bible-soaked and has an ever-present unity as it all comes out of texts found in Paul's own writings.
I own all of John Piper's books, and I believe this newest book will hold a special place among all of the others -- as it drives the reader into the heart of what it means to grow in Christ -- and does so in an extremely relational manner. It is full of rich biblical insights (always taken directly out of the text of Scripture) -- which then are taken into practical application regarding how we live as believers today – and how John Piper has applied them in his own life.
I give this book my highest recommendation for its ability to display the way in which an anthology of Pauline texts can be mined for rich guidance into practical Christian growth. Don't miss this one -- it is a jewel.

This is such an in-depth book that starts and surrounds its chapters with the promenant figure of Paul, but gives the reader so much more if they’re open to it.
The exploration of the hostorical figure, the man within the bible and the God who inspired him is not only educational of the figure of Paul, but on who a person can become by exploring his example.
While the book does not fit within the a-level specification directly, it would be an ideal independent read for those wishing to explore Jesus’ wisdom and authority from another perspective than those offered within the textbook.

This was an excellent, I'll call it essay on the reasons John Piper loves the Apostle Paul, and many were reasons that had not occurred to me honestly! It was genuine and informative and I really enjoyed reading it.

The book is written as a “highly personal pilgrimage.” It comes down to reader’s personal preferences. I prefer straight forward presentation of facts. I don’t like constant convincing with overly personal experiences. Therefore, I didn’t enjoy this book.

John Piper (as always) writes from his heart to the heart of the readers. Although this book is "about" the Apostle, he is only a vehicle to get to the grace of our God in the Gospel,

This book is about the story of Grace in the life of a 1st century Jewish leader name Saul who got taken hold of in his way to Damascus.

The story of a man who goes from persecuting the church he hated, to being persecuted to death for his love for this same church.

Highly recommended

3.5 Stars
Whilst you can tell from even the basic description of this book that it is going to be a personal account, I don't think I was prepared for how personal it is. I like concrete facts more than opinions and this comes off slightly more about the author than it does about the Apostle Paul. I found it interesting, and overall, I actually thought it was worth reading, but it won't add a lot to your knowledge of the Apostle Paul, if that is why you pick up this book.

Still, even though it is highly subjective to the opinion of the author, it is well written and beautifully thought out. The author clearly has a solid faith and it is nice to see that. I encourage you to give this book a try and form your own opinion.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

In the introduction John Piper describes this book as being “personal and idiosyncratic” rather than any kind of systematic treatment of the apostle’s life and teachings. This made for a rather different reading experience than the average serious theology book. Though it was occasionally a bit too gushing for my taste, Piper’s warmth and enthusiasm are moving as he describes the impact that Paul’s testimony and writings have had on on his life. Some people portray paul as harsh and dour, but Piper finds such love, joy, and hope. Overall, it was an encouraging book, though (as advertised) personal and idiosyncratic.

This is not a biography of Apostle Paul or an analysis of his writings. This is simply John Piper writing why he loves the Apostle Paul and what kind of personal impact he has had in his life and thinking. It’s an admiring tribute to the Apostle, nothing more.

This book is not for everyone. It’s for those who are familiar with both the work of John Piper and the greatness of Apostle Paul. Without an appreciation of both, this book will fall flat. On the other hand, you will see how deeply indebted Piper is to Paul’s life and writings, how they shaped his theology and the greatest theological discoveries of his life. We wouldn’t have “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” without Apostle Paul.

Piper gets really personal in this book. It’s not about teaching people something new. It’s about sharing his personal journey in relation to how the teachings in Paul’s writings helped him, including his personal struggles with his cancer, habitual sins, or racism.

This book is definitely not his best, in structure or eloquence, but still Piper-esque.

Moderately recommended.

“Why I Love the Apostle Paul” by John Piper gives us 30 reasons to be affectionate toward the Apostle Paul. Piper doesn’t claim that these are the only or even the best reasons to love Paul but offers 30 great reasons why he personally appreciates the man who wrote a large portion of the New Testament.

Some parts of the book are very eye opening, such as Piper explaining how Paul was given 39 lashes 5 times. 2 Corinthians 11:24 directly states that this happened to Paul, but Piper does an excellent job of causing readers to pause and reflect on what that actually entailed. At other times, the author shares deeply personal reasons for his affection towards the Apostle, like his experience with cancer and the comforting words of Paul to remind him “This is not the wrath of God” (1 Thess. 5:9-10).

“Why I Love the Apostle Paul” is incredibly insightful into the person and life of Paul the Apostle. Piper shares great lessons from Paul and admires him for things such as his great love for God and people and success as a missionary. The book is both inspiring and eye opening. I was also very happy with the way Piper both admired Paul while pointing to God, and while deeply personal to John Piper, there is plenty for the average Christian to take from this for their own spiritual walk.

This book is a profound and personal description of the impact the Apostle Paul's writings have had on John Piper's life. I enjoyed the structure of the book as Piper broke out the different ways that Paul's teachings have affected him. This book is a love letter to the New Testament epistles and a testimony of the transformative power of the sword of the Spirit, which pierces to the soul and spirit.

The apostle Paul was a passionate man. After he became a Christian, he was on fire for God. Isn't he someone that all Christians should emulate? Do you think we could end up shining as bright for our world, as he did back in biblical times?

"He held a more negative view of depraved human nature than most people can fathom, and a more exalted view of human destiny than most people can dream."

So many excellent topics are covered, including contentment, suffering, love, leaving sin behind, friendships, joy, and the amazingness of God's hand in our life... and still much more. Loads of wonderful ideas to ponder over.

This book revealed character traits of Paul's to me, which remind me so deeply of my own grandfather. Both men being missionaries, their focus on life being to go where the gospel hasn't gone before, and to run the race well.

"Love means gladly embracing the quest to bring others into your experience of joy in God, even if it costs you your life."

Minimum age to read: 16 and up. It vaguely mentions a topic or two suited only for older teens and adults, but it doesn't go into detail about it.

Overall? This isn't an average biography on Paul, in fact, it's really not one at all. So even if you think you know Paul's story front to back, I guarantee at least 1 of these 30 reasons will shock you into thinking about him in a new perspective. More than likely though, you'll find new ideas aplenty from Piper's book.

Why I Love the Apostle Paul by John Piper was to me a thought-provoking book. I just loved it. He breaks his thoughts on the matter up into 30 reasons of why he loves Paul and how these truths minister to him as he faces life. To follow his train of thought, to me, was quite a trip. I found myself nodding my head yes as I read. Piper speaks of why Paul is SO crucial to consider and reflect on for the Christian faith. One of the things I’ve always loved most of Piper’s writing and speaking is that he uses Scripture all the time and that’s definitely the case in this book as well. It’s full of Truth. Would be a great 30-day devotional in my opinion.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


****Also posted on Amazon, CBD, B&N