filling up the afflictions of christ

128 Pages·2009·1.26 MB·English

Filling Up the AFFlictions
oF christ
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Other Books in
The Swans Are Not Silent Series
The Legacy of Sovereign Joy
The Hidden Smile of God
The Roots of Endurance
Contending for Our All
Other Books by John Piper
God’s Passion for His Glory Sex and the Supremacy of Christ
The Pleasures of God (with Justin Taylor)
Desiring God Taste and See
The Dangerous Duty of Delight Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came
to Die
Future Grace
God Is the Gospel
A Hunger for God
What Jesus Demands from the
Let the Nations Be Glad!
World
A Godward Life
Amazing Grace in the Life of
Pierced by the Word William Wilberforce
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ Battling Unbelief
The Misery of Job and the Mercy Suffering and the Sovereignty of God
of God (with Justin Taylor)
The Innkeeper 50 Crucial Questions
The Prodigal’s Sister When the Darkness Will Not Lift
Recovering Biblical Manhood The Future of Justification
and Womanhood
The Supremacy of Christ in a
What’s the Difference? Postmodern World
The Justification of God (with Justin Taylor)
Counted Righteous in Christ Spectacular Sins
Brothers, We Are Not Professionals Finally Alive: What Happens When
We Are Born Again
The Supremacy of God in Preaching
John Calvin and His Passion for the
Beyond the Bounds
Majesty of God
(with Justin Taylor)
Rethinking Retirement
Don’t Waste Your Life
This Momentary Marriage:
The Passion of Jesus Christ
A Parable of Permanence
Life as a Vapor
Stand: A Call for the Endurance of
A God-Entranced Vision of All
the Saints (with Justin Taylor)
Things (with Justin Taylor)
Velvet Steel
When I Don’t Desire God
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e s w a n s are not sil
h e
t n
t
B O O K F I V E
Filling
up the
AFFLICTIONS

CHRIST
of
The Cost of Bringing the Gospel to the
Nations in the Lives of William Tyndale,
Adoniram Judson, and John Paton
J P
o h n i P e r
CROSSWAY BOOKS
WHEATON, ILLINOIS
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Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ
Copyright © 2009 by Desiring God Foundation
Published by Crossway Books
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as pro-
vided for by USA copyright law.
Cover design: Amy Bristow
Cover photo: iStock
First printing, 2009
Printed in the United States of America
Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible: English Standard
Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News
Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-1046-5
ISBN PDF: 978-1-4335-1047-2
ISBN Mobipocket: 978-1-4335-1048-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Piper, John, 1946-
Filling up the afflictions of Christ : the cost of bringing the gospel to the
nations in the lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton /
John Piper.
p. cm. — (The swans are not silent; bk. 5)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-4335-1046-5 (hc)
1. Paton, John Gibson, 1824–1907. 2. Missionaries—Vanuatu—
Biography. 3. Missionaries—Scotland—Biography. 4. Judson, Adoniram,
1788–1850. 5. Missionaries—Burma—Biography. 6. Missionaries—
United States—Biography. 7. Tyndale, William, d. 1536. 8. Reformation—
England—Biography I. Title. II. Series.
BV3700.P56 2009
266.0092'2—dc22 2009001557
LB 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To those who suffer
to spread the gospel
“Remember those who are in prison,
as though in prison with them,
and those who are mistreated,
since you also are in the body.”
Hebrews 13:3
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Contents
Preface 9
Acknowledgments 11
INTRODUCTION 13
Tears of Blood to Bless the World
CHAPTER ONE 27
William Tyndale
“Always Singing One Note”—A Vernacular Bible:
The Cost of Bringing the Bible to England
CHAPTER TWO 53
John G. Paton
“You Will Be Eaten by Cannibals!”:
Courage in the Face of Fierce Opposition
CHAPTER THREE 85
Adoniram Judson
“How Few There Are Who Die So Hard”:
The Cost of Bringing Christ to Burma
CONCLUSION 109
This Momentary Affliction for Eternal Glory
Index of Scriptures 119
Index of Persons 121
Index of Subjects 123
A NOTE ON RESOURCES 127
Desiring God Ministries
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A letter from John Calvin to five young Frenchmen about to be
martyred in 1553 for carrying the gospel into France:
We who are here shall do our duty in praying that He would
glorify Himself more and more by your constancy, and that He
may, by the comfort of His Spirit, sweeten and endear all that is
bitter to the flesh, and so absorb your spirits in Himself, that in
contemplating that heavenly crown, you may be ready without
regret to leave all that belongs to this world.
Now, at this present hour, necessity itself exhorts you more than
ever to turn your whole mind heavenward. As yet, we know not
what will be the event. But, since it appears as though God would
use your blood to seal His truth, there is nothing better for you
than to prepare yourselves for that end, beseeching Him so to
subdue you to His good pleasure, that nothing may hinder you
from following whithersoever He shall call. . . . Since it pleases
Him to employ you to the death in maintaining His quarrel,
He will strengthen your hands in the fight and will not suffer a
single drop of your blood to be shed in vain.
Your humble brother, John Calvin
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Preface
This is the fifth book in a collection called “The Swans Are Not
Silent.” By swans I mean the inspiring lives of faithful Christians
in history. They are not silent in the sense that their lives still
speak powerfully for our encouragement and guidance.
The terminology of swans not being silent comes from the
story of St. Augustine’s retirement as the Bishop of Hippo in
North Africa in a.d. 430. He was one of the greatest voices
for biblical truth in the history of the Christian church. When
Eraclius, his humble successor, preached at the retirement cel-
ebration, he said, “The cricket chirps, the swan is silent.”
When I first read that years ago, I said, No, Eraclius, the
swans are not silent. They go on speaking. That is, they continue
speaking, if someone tells their story and gives them a voice. That
is what I am trying to do with these stories—fifteen of them now
(three in each book).
One of the most sobering discoveries of my life is that God
spreads the life-giving news about Jesus Christ by means of suf-
fering and martyrdom. That’s what the lives of William Tyndale,
Adoniram Judson, and John Paton illustrate. They were living—
and dying—examples of Colossians 1:24: “I rejoice in my suf-
ferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is
lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the
church.”
Afflictions are not merely the result of missionary fruitful-
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10 Filling Up the AFFlictions oF christ
ness, but also the means. God has appointed our pain to be part
of his powerful display of the glory of Christ. The worth of Jesus
in the world shines more brightly in the lives of those who say
by their sacrificial lives, “I have suffered the loss of all things
and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”
(Philippians 3:8).
Few things inspire me to live radically for Christ more than
the story of those who did. I pray that this will be the effect on
you as well. The nations are in desperate need. And Christ is a
great Savior.
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