Advice from John Piper on Staying Close to God while in College

This short (13 minute) audio from the Ask Pastor John podcast  (episode 1081) is worth a listen. He responds to a question about how to stay close to God while in college. Here are his main points, but you really need to hear him flesh them out (or read the transcript).

1. Prepare for War
2. Love the Word
3. Invest in a Church
4. Find Good Friends
5. Ask for Help

Don't Exchange "Eulogy Virtues" for "Resume Virtues"

I recently read Ben Sasse's book, The Vanishing American Adult: Our coming-of -age crisis and how to rebuild a culture of self-reliance. In one place he writes to parents,

In our effort to develop our kids' talents, to provide them with a set of extracurricular experiences even more impressive than our own to help them stand out from the rest of the college-bound crowd, many of us might be unintentionally displacing lifelong "eulogy virtues" in favor of mere "resume virtures." 

This got me to thinking about the pressure in our culture, especially for high school and college students, to merely produce (and at times not even to produce so much as to get their names on a list or check off a box of having done something). There is a push to do a lot of things to build up our resume and make ourselves more marketable.

But what if that signifies a great loss for us and our culture.  Don't get me wrong, God did make us to produce, and He warns us against being lazy and self-indulgent. However, He made us to represent Him in all our production. This requires us growing in godly characteristics (see Titus 1 - 2 for example).

Perhaps we should still focus on building resumes (after all we will need them to find jobs), but what if we did it more with an eye of seeing how God would use us to serve others and how he would use those situations to develop a greater love in our hearts for Himself.

The usefulness of mere resume virtues will come to end one day. But "eulogy virtues" (or in biblical terms, godliness) is of lasting value.

If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come (1 Tim 4:6-8).

 If you are looking for a place to start "training yourself for godliness," why not start with the list of virtues God gives us in 1 Timothy and Titus (see below).

Five Vices to Replace

Vice	Opposite	Application
Arrogance/Self-will- Pushy and seeking one's own will instead of God's and instead of looking out for the interests of others. It is also a pride that won’t receive criticism well.	A humble servant who looks out for the interest of others instead of using power for personal gain (Matt. 20:25-28). A proper view of self (a sinner) which enables you to receive criticism.	Do you often push for your own way? How are you looking out for the interests of others? How do you handle criticism?  Do you examine it humbly to see if it is true or does it go “in one ear and out the other?”
Quick-Tempered- Having a “short fuse,” or being easily angered.	Humility, gentleness, patience, love (Eph. 4:1-2)	Are you easily provoked to anger by people and situations? If you ask someone to do something and they don’t do it the way you want or they fail, how do you respond? With patience or in anger?
Drunkard- A person whose companion is wine (or any other substance that causes a person to not be clear-headed/sober-minded).	Being self-controlled and filled with the Spirit (Eph. 4:18).	Are you free not to drink? Do you drink to the point of not being clear-headed? Do you see alcohol as a means of escaping life’s problems?
Violent- Abusiveness, meanness, or fighting to get one’s own way or to suppress opposition. Riding rough-shod over others or bullying them with physical violence or with your words.	Gentleness (1 Tim 3:3) and being a peacemaker (Rom. 12:18).	Do you like brawling to get your way (physically or striking with your words)? Are you argumentative or quick to attack those who get in your way or express a different opinion? Or, do you seek peace in situations?
Greedy for Gain- Seeking financial or material gain without integrity.  Loving money and material things. Unsatisfied with what you have.	Contentment (1 Tim. 6:6), seeking God’s Kingdom and His righteousness above all (Matt. 6). Being a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).	Are you content financially and materially? Or do you constantly seek happiness in having newer and nicer things (phones, clothes, etc.)?

Six Virtues to Put on

Virtue	Application
Hospitable- One who gives practical help to new comers.	Are you welcoming new people at church instead of just talking to your group of friends? Do you try to meet the needs of other Christians that you do not know that well? Or are you quick to make excuses and slow to inconvenience yourself for others?
Loving what is good- Loves what is good as opposed to sinful, worthless, and not God-glorifying.	Our close friendships should be with those who love good things. The ultimate “good” is Christ. So you should love those who love Christ. Do the TV shows you watch make light of that which is evil according to God?  The problem is not that you would go do the things you see, but that you are mentally delighting in what is not good.
Sensible- Being wise and thoughtful. Not being driven by emotion, but cool-headed.	Are you controlled in your thinking, not given to a lack of control and being “feelings” driven?
Upright- Living righteously and justly.	Do you seek to practice righteousness in your everyday life? Do you want to be just in your dealings with others?
Holy/Devout- Living a life that is pleasing to God.	Do you regularly confess and repent of your sin before the Lord (even if others don’t know about it)? Do you seek to find out what pleases the Lord from His Word? Do you seek to do what is pleasing to the Lord?
Disciplined/ Self-controlled- Having one’s desires in check and under control.	Are you ruled by your desires for money, sleep (laziness), food (overeating), and/or material things? Do you lack control with your use of time (wasting much time on TV or the Internet) or money? Or do you rule over your desires so that you might be focused on pursuing the one prize- namely, Jesus (1 Cor. 9:24-27)?

The Heresy of Racial Superiority

I have not really kept up with news recently, but based on the news out of Charlotte, I think it is worth reminding ourselves that ideas of racial superiority are not in line with the gospel.

Dr. Mohler has a good article entitled "Letter from Berlin: the lessons of history and the heresy of racial superiority." Below is a section that I wanted to highlight (but the whole thing is worth a read).

We must see claims of racial superiority–and mainly that means claims of white superiority–as heresy. 

That is not a word we use casually. Heresy leads to a denial of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the eclipse of the living God as revealed in the Bible. A claim of white superiority is not merely wrong, and not merely deadly. It is a denial of the glory of God in creating humanity—every single human being–in his own image. It is a rejection of God’s glory in creating a humanity of different skin pigmentation. It is a misconstrual of God’s judgment and glory in creating different ethnicities. 

Most urgently, it is a rejection of the gospel of Christ–the great good news of God’s saving purpose in the atonement accomplished by Christ. A claim of racial superiority denies our common humanity, our common sinfulness, our common salvation through faith in Christ, and God’s purpose to create a common new humanity in Christ. 

You cannot preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and hold to any notion of racial superiority. It is impossible.

Why is this true? Here are a few reasons ideas of racial superiority are antithetical to the gospel:

1. The gospel is predicated on the fact that there is one race - the human race- which began in Adam and in which we all find ourselves dead in sin. All of us are "in Adam" (Rom. 5). 
2. The gospel is the good news of God for our salvation - all of our salvation. Colossians 3:11 tells us that being in Christ is what saves us. When it comes to our salvation we all come to God through Jesus Christ. We are on equal footing. 
3. The gospel restores what was broken at the fall into sin, including a breaking down of hostility between people based on racial differences (Ephesians 2:13-15). 
4. White supremacy (or any other type) is not compatible with the gospel because it is a form of self-righteousness and pride. 

As Christians, as people shaped by the gospel, we must  clearly articulate that all people are created equal.