Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure

When Faith Flickers, Stoke the Fire

No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us–until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin.

In this twelve-chapter study guide developed by Desiring God, you will find practical ways to sever the clinging roots of sin that ensnare us, including anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust.

Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.

There is godly pleasure in applying the faith that first saved us in everyday circumstances, defeating the unbelief and lies that Satan throws at us.

John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1980, is a respected theologian and author. More than two million copies of his works have sold, including The Passion of Jesus Christ, Desiring God, Pierced by the Word, The Pleasures of God, and Life as a Vapor. He received his doctorate in theology from the University of Munich and taught biblical studies for six years at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, before becoming a pastor. He and his wife, Noël, have four sons and one daughter.