Saturday, August 2, 2008

Jesus Christ the Damned?

Something serious seems to be happening right now with John Piper and CJ Mahaney regarding an unsettling position that they've evidently both taken on Christ's atoning work on the cross.



Steve Camp has posted a disturbing expose on this subject over at his blog in a piece entitled "THE SCREAM OF THE DAMNED...was Jesus really damned by God for our salvation?" that resulted from a pair of sermons that were delivered at the 2008 RESOLVED conference by Piper and Mahaney. Here is how Camp begins his post:



"I have listened now several times to two messages from the 2008 Resolved Conference by CJ Mahaney and John Piper. The shocking phrase they both chose to use to describe Jesus' finished work of redemption on the cross for the elect was, The Scream of the Damned. No, they are not referring to unregenerate people in hell, or the weeping and gnashing of teeth from perdition's flames, but using this to describe the sinless, holy Son of God as our divine Substitute. The Lord Jesus Christ the Righteous now called: The Damned. This is unthinkable. Those words not only stunned me, but it did stir my interest afresh to go back and study again the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross with those provocative words in mind."



I began listening to “God’s Wrath: Vengeance is Mine, I Will Repay” by John Piper tonight after carefully reading through Steve Camp's post and the comments meta and lo and behold what did I discover but that John Piper has evidently been teaching this doctrine for years!



My discovery prompted me to leave this comment in Steve's meta:



Steve,



Since I don't believe in coincidences I must believe that God's providence brought me to the following piece from John Piper dated February 27th, 2005 which is entitled "God's Wrath: 'Vengeance Is Mine, I Will Repay,' Says the Lord".



I was researching this piece because it was linked from another blog as a resource for defending the Biblical truth of the doctrine of hell over and against the myriads who despise and reject this doctrine, but I was shocked to hear Piper make the statement near the beginning of this sermon that Jesus Christ was damned on the cross.



Now you'll need to listen to the audio because the statement didn't make it into the sermon transcript, but beginning at about the 1:18 mark Piper makes the statement; "Jesus Christ perfectly righteous and perfectly damned on the cross in our place".



As I mentioned in my prior quote I'd never heard about this matter until today and suddenly I've stumbled across it twice now.



I pray that this matter will be earnestly and prayerfully resolved with all gravity.



This is no light matter my friends! Let us fervently pray that the One True and Living God and His Christ would be glorified as the details of this issue are sorted out in the light of inspired scripture.