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John Piper warns spiritual warfare lies beneath every human conflict

Michie

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Pastor and bestselling author John Piper recently explained that while Christians face real human conflict, such struggles are ultimately rooted in spiritual warfare, and emphasized the urgency of responding with Gospel-centered resilience and the armor of God.

In a recent episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, the 79-year-old chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, addressed a listener wrestling with the practical meaning of Ephesians 6:12: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.”

The listener asked how Christians can apply that verse to the tangible, often painful realities of daily life, especially when interpersonal conflict makes it feel like people, not demons, are the real problem.

Continued below.
 

linux.poet

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I think that Piper is correct here, but it’s still important not to rely on human thinking but on the power of God. Piper is blinded by his own psychology, selfishness (aka desire for pleasure, his doctrine is called “Christian Hedonism”), and lack of depth at points.

MacArthur and Piper are actually extreme dipoles that are a marked contrast if you read them back to back. MacArthur subjects the emotions to the intellect, and goes too far into legalism and insults, and Piper goes too far into emotionalism and forgets about the realities of human suffering and endurance in order to follow God.
 
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