John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2023), 400 pp.

In John Piper’s newly revised work, What Jesus Demands from the World, the author demonstrates (much to the chagrin of some evangelicals) that Jesus not only makes demands, he does so many times in the gospels. The central theme is this: “God gives the grace for what he demands.” In other words, whenever Jesus commands or makes a demand, he doesn’t leave God’s people without the necessary resources to carry out his commands. He gives grace for what he demands!

Piper’s work includes fifty demands that emerge in the pages of Scripture. Each chapter clearly outlines the demand and presents the pertinent theological rationale behind the demand. And as already noted, readers are encouraged with the fact that God’s grace is granted which enable them to obey.

What Jesus Demands from the World is a weighty book. It is a book that is designed to be read slowly and reflectively. Some may be surprised that instead of being burdened with guilt they will be confronted with the power of the gospel. Yes, readers will be challenged. Yes, readers will be convicted. Yes, they will be confronted with the many ways they fall short of God’s glory. But in the final analysis, they will be comforted with the fact that God grants grace for everything his Son demands!

This book should be required reading for new believers and those who have walked with Christ for many years. It is an entry level book for beginners and a much-needed tool for those who are veterans of the Christian faith. Tole lege!