I should start by saying that I find John Piper best live or on video. There's something about seeing him, animated and moving, that makes him both (1) easier to understand, and (2) more enjoyable. In fact, full disclosure, I find that he can be a bit repetitive for my tastes in print. Then again, he's unpacking these massive, earth-shattering, mind-altering truths that bear repeating, so it's hard to blame his style or repetition. All that out of the way, "God is the Gospel" is a fantastic book. I'd say it might best be suited as an early read or even an introduction to Piper. He lays out much of his basic theology, and you can then move to "Desiring God" or "The Pleasures of God" easily, two of Piper's real masterworks. "God is the Gospel" is shorter (about 175) pages and about half of the chapters are easy to get through. The other half of the chapters, though, are meaty and worth serious meditation and contemplation. Piper's basic thesis is that the gospel is not in fact just the means by which we are saved from hell, saved to heaven, gain eternal life, gain the Holy Spirit, etc. Rather, the gospel is the good news by which we may spend eternity getting God--spending time with Him, enjoying Him, worshiping Him, engaging with Him, being like Him, etc. This might seem pedestrian, until you think on it carefully. Even Protestant, conservative Evangelicalism rarely teaches this, and certainly not so plainly. The church today is largely about the benefits of the gospel: all the things you get with a so-called profession of faith. How do we talk to children about God? Avoid hell; get to heaven. But this is not the gospel, Piper argues from Scripture; rather, the gospel is getting to God. God is the gospel. You'll have to think to digest this, and if you can read this entire book without ever being challenged, then I'd daresay you've not read it well. Wonderful, well-documented with Scripture and quotations from giants like Edwards, Owen, and Warfield, and passionate; you won't regret this read. Savor God and enjoy Him: this is Piper's message.
