The Power of Words and the Wonder of God by John Piper

Author:John Piper
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub, pdf
Tags: Language Arts & Disciplines, Communication, Christian Life, Devotional, Religion, Spiritual Growth
ISBN: 1433523760
Publisher: Crossway Books
Published: 2009-09-02T23:36:14+00:00

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Mark Driscol

in intimidation, hoping to devour them (Ps. 22:16, 20). In the New

Testament, Philippians 3:2 says, “Look out for the dogs, look out for

the evildoers.” Galatians 5:15 warns, “But if you bite and devour one

another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” In

addition, Revelation 22:15 paints this image of heaven: “Outside are

the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and

idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

Dogs are those people who bark at God’s people in an effort to

control them, intimidate them, manipulate them, use them, abuse

them, terrify them, harm them, and devour them. Their barks can be

threats, demands, false teaching, relational manipulation, emotional

control, pushiness, rudeness, and unfounded criticism.

A good pastoral shepherd must consider his responsibility to feed

and defend the sheep when considering how to deal with the dogs.

Thus, when the dogs encircle the flock, it is the shepherd’s duty to take

his staff in his hand and beat the dogs with great force until they yelp

and flee in defeat. The staff in the shepherd’s hand is often the stinging

weapon of strong language, humor, irony, sarcasm, ridicule, and mock-

ery. Regarding this mighty staff for the beating of the dogs, the renowned

Reformed Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “The man

who serves his God with his whole heart is apt to forget his surround-

ings, and to fling himself so completely into his work that the whole of

his nature comes into action, and even his humor, if he be possessed of

that faculty, rushes into the battle.”11 Spurgeon also said, “I do not know

why ridicule is to be given up to Satan as a weapon to be used against us,

and not to be employed by us as a weapon against him.12

Elsewhere, Spurgeon mentions Martin Luther’s devastating use

of humor to beat some dogs in his day. Church historian Roland H.

Bainton writes:

Luther delighted less in muck than many of the literary men of his

age; but if he did indulge, he excelled in this as in every other area

of speech. The volume of coarseness, in his total output is slight.

Detractors have sifted from the pitchblende of his ninety tomes a

few pages of radioactive vulgarity.13

Some of Luther’s sharpest blows were reserved for dogs who

refused to argue from Scripture. Luther lost patience with those who

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