In Depth:  John Piper

I write this on the eve of prostate surgery. I believe in God’s power to heal — by miracle and by medicine. I believe it is right and good to pray for both kinds of healing. Cancer is not wasted when it is healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists. So not to pray for healing may waste your cancer. But healing is not God’s plan for everyone. And there are many other ways to waste your cancer. I am praying for myself and for you that we will not waste this pain.

1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.

Jesus died to please his heavenly Father

'Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief' (Isaiah 53.10).

'Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God' (Ephesians 5.2).

1 We should not conceal aspects of our faith so as to avoid criticism or disapproval, and we should not ask others to do that. We believe it is just and loving to point out publicly the errors of other faiths, provided this is done with sufficient evidence that the sacred writings or representative spokesmen of those faiths do indeed express these errors. We must strive not to misrepresent other faiths, as that is not only disrespectful but also undermining of our own credibility.

2 We should acknowledge our sin and desperate need of salvation by a crucified and risen Saviour, and not posture ourselves as worthy of salvation as if we had superior intellect or wisdom or goodness. We are beggars who have, by grace, found the life-giving bread of truth, forgiveness, and joy. As we expose the errors of other religions, we should feel and express sorrow and compassion for those who do not embrace Christ so as to be saved.

How should Bible-believing Christians align themselves in the Jewish-Palestinian conflict?

There are biblical reasons for treating both sides with compassionate public justice in the same way that disputes should be settled between nations generally.