In his first 17 years of pasturing John Piper never preached a sermon series on the

meaning of baptism.

He would come to call it a gaping hole that needed to be filled, and it was.

In 1997, during the month of May, he led his church in a four-part sermon series on

the Biblical importance and practice of water baptism.

Part three of the series is titled What Is Baptism and Does It Save?

It delves into baptism controversies.

And knowing that, he began the message with a helpful word about controversies in general.

And I want to share that word today on the podcast.

Last Wednesday, in episode 1658, we talked about controversy and how to argue like a Calvinist.

And there we looked at the gentleness of John Newton in the midst of dispute, a model

he took directly from the Apostle Paul's warning.

The pastor's quote must not be quarrelsome, but kind, able to teach, and know the art

of correcting opponents with gentleness.

Second Timothy 2 verses 24 and 25.

What is clear, clear in Paul's day, clear in Newton's era, and clear in our own day, is

that doctrinal controversies cannot be avoided.

They are essential to upholding the truth, but controversies can also become deadly.

Pastor John explains why today, and this sermon, he's going to read an excerpt from

Puritan John Owen, talking about the deadly dangers of theological debate.

And it's so good.

I want to begin by reading that John Owen quote what he wrote over 300 years ago.

...