Melanie Carelli is a faithful podcast listener and she recently wrote us an amazing testimony

of how John Piper's 1985 sermon on Romans 8-28-30 changed her life as she came to understand

how she was saved.

It was an incredibly encouraging email to receive and it's great to be reminded of the

real-life implications of our theology and hoping the sermon would help others Melanie

sent us a clip for the podcast where John Piper explains why God's sovereignty in our

salvation matters for life.

Here's what he said.

The doctrines of unconditional election and predestination and effectual calling tend

to root out all boasting and pride and self-reliance.

You ever get gripped by these things, you will be a broken person.

You will not take one ounce of credit for your salvation, neither the provision of it

in the cross nor the application of it in faith.

You will give it all to God and you will humble yourself before Him.

Now here again, in talking with my friends who don't agree with me, this is one of the

things they say.

They say, Piper, you don't need to say that faith is a gift in order to eliminate boasting.

You don't need to say that God gives faith.

All you need to do is say that salvation is by faith, not by works because faith itself

rules out boasting and then the quote Romans 327 which says, boasting is excluded on what

principle?

On the principle of works?

...