I admit it, I am a junkie! I have read almost everything John Piper has written. I refer to Desiring God.org when I study often and even preached a series based on his book "Desiring God" when I was a leading a young adult worship service several years back.
In Piper's newest book he takes us into the words of Jesus, specifically the commands/demands of Jesus. This is not my favorite Piper book but it certainly was a good one. It is not a book you will fly through. Let me put it another way, it is not a book you should fly through. I usually can crank out your average candy coated Christian book in a week. Dr. Piper's newest book took me a little over a month. I read and chewed. It was great to read about a Jesus who is truly magnificent and has every right to demand things of people.
We don't hear a lot about Jesus being the King who has all authority these days. There is a lot of emphasis on Jesus the teacher/rabbi which is cool but in the end He is a king that demands our allegiance. This demand He makes is actually the most loving thing He could do. Jesus the King truly wants what is best for us, Himself.
Let me leave you with a quote that I hope will give you the flavor of the book.
"The gospel - the good news-is that the rule of God has arrived in Jesus to save
sinners before the kingdom arrives at His second coming in judgment. So the
demand to repent is based on the the gracious offer that is present to
forgive and on the gracious warning that someday those who refuse the
offer will perish in God's judgement."
