Audio Transcript

Once again John Piper had the privilege of preaching at the Together for the Gospel conference. His address was titled: “The Bondage of the Will, the Sovereignty of Grace, and the Glory of God.” The debate over the freedom of the will was not secondary to the Reformation, it was central, he argues. And the bondage of the will is worthy of our attention because it has everything to do with our loves and affections. Here’s a clip from John Piper’s T4G message.

John 3:19–20. “This is the judgment that light has come into the world and people loved darkness rather than light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light.” This is a love hate issue. This is not a decision issue. Hates the light, does not come to the light, “lest his works should be exposed.”

So the bondage of the human heart that keeps it from coming to Christ is not that light is lacking, but that light is hated and darkness is loved. This is a real bondage. You cannot embrace as bright and beautiful what you hate. You cannot. You cannot repudiate as dark and ugly what you love. You cannot. Hate and love are not decisions. They are profound, controlling preferences of the palate of the soul.

You don’t choose what you love and hate. You come into the world hating and loving. Darkness tastes good to the natural palate and light tastes bitter to the natural palate. You cannot enjoy as sweet what tastes bitter to you. And you cannot have distaste for what tastes good to you. You cannot. These are real cannots. They are real cannots and they are the kind of cannots, the kind of inability, that are blameworthy and culpable because they are not things we are forced to do against our will, they are our will.

What is it about darkness?

Let’s ask this. I ask darkness, “Darkness, what is that? What is there about darkness that we love so much? It tastes so good. What is it?”

“Love and hate are not decisions, they are controlling preferences of the soul’s palate.”

I think Jesus tells us. I think probably the deepest part of it, at least part of it. John 5:43–44. “I have come in my Father’s name. You don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name you will receive him.” Now why would that be? This is the key sentence. It is a rhetorical question. What do you do with rhetorical questions? They don’t have any answer because he expects you to know the answer by converting the rhetorical question to a statement that is clear as day.

So here is the question that he asked: “How can you, Jewish leaders, believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” Meaning you can’t. Why? It tastes too good to be praised by people.

Here comes Jesus on his way to a cross bidding me to follow. “That is insane. That is foolish. I will stumble over that because I love the praise of men! Oh, I love this darkness. It tastes so good.”

That is what Jesus says is the heart of darkness.

How can you believe in me, a dying, self-denying, sacrificial lamb — how can you believe on me when you love the praise of men? You can’t. That is the point. You can’t. This is bondage. This is bondage to our loves.

“I am the light of the world that ends all this darkness,” says Jesus. “That craving is ugly in my light. That tastes wretched. That bondage, that craving for approval, that need of other people to make much of me, that tastes horrid in my light.”

This is a real cannot. You are in bondage to the love of the darkness of self-glorification.