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Book Reviews
Topic Started: Apr 20 2008, 09:27 PM (116 Views)
lightninboy

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The Truth War by John MacArthur

“When one speaks of disinterest in theology and a casual approach to exegetical concerns, one must exempt John Mac Arthur. Quite frankly, I’m not aware of him ever being guilty of either. In fact, in my thinking John absolutely defines solid theology and polished exegetical skills. I do, however, have some reservations about MacArthur that transcend the “Lordship” salvation issue on which I differ with him. To me, John defines “black-and-white” thinking. Things are either right or they are wrong. There are no (or very few) gray areas with him, and he has a tendency to see two viewpoints quite clearly: his view and the wrong one.”

In my view there is another reason for the writing of this book. As the title implies, one of the battles today, as it has been for centuries, is for truth. While we some may find MacArthur’s positions to be a little too pat, his commitment to stand for what he believes is solid Biblical truth is to be commended. Using an exegetical approach to the study of Jude to point out errors (as he sees them) in what the Emergent Church currently believes is a discussion everyone in the church needs to have. It is not so much what we’ve been taught and by who as much as it is what the Scriptures say.

Along with this book, the MacArthur team also wrote a Study Guide. Before you jump on me for taking everything MacArthur writes as the Gospel what I like about the Study Guide is that it is at least something that a Bible study group can use to have a directed study on contending for the Truth.

In this busy day of ministry, sometimes taking what another solid Bible teacher has written and modifying it for your own use is a lot easier and quicker than starting from a blank slate.

Finally, I do wonder sometimes how we are doing and getting our people to be able to determine truth on their own rather than just depend upon the pastor and teacher to “teach” them. If a person is hungry and we give him a fish and don’t follow-up with training on how to fish, that person will have a hard time being self sufficient and may, someday, fall under the spell of a false teacher. This book and Study Guide appears to be a good tool to help people become a discerner of the truth so they can defend it.

QUOTE=lightninboy
Book Reviews is a great idea for a topic.

I do not agree with John MacArthur on everything, but I have found him to be a useful source on the Internet for defending Dispensationalism.
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lightninboy

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The Uniqueness of Jesus by Chris Wright - From the "Thinking Clearly Series"

Introduction : Welcome to the Supermarket
Chapter 1 - Surveying the Scene
Chapter 2 - Jesus Exclusively at the Center
Chapter 3 - Jesus Inclusively at the Center
Chapter 4 - Jesus in Orbit : Pluralism
Chapter 5 - Jesus and the Bible
Chapter 6 - The Bible and Human Religions
Conclusion : At the Checkout

Introduction : Welcome to the Supermarket

Chris Wright does an excellent job examining and comparing the exclusive claims of Jesus with the world's insistence that there are many paths to God. His introduction compares the abundance of human religious ideas with a vast supermarket where men's personal preferences and tradition rule. He clearly makes the point that increasingly Christians are called upon to abandon the unique and exclusive claims of Jesus Christ to accommodate a pluralistic world.

Chapter 1 - Surveying the Scene

In this chapter Mr Wright skillfully and scholarly examines pluralism, multi-faith worship, religion and education, the growth in knowledge of other religions, and attitudes to Christian missions. This quote summarized his introduction. "The supermarket mentality sees everything as a commodity, and everybody as a consumer. Religions are fitted into the same picture: they have their brand names, their grand claims, and their marketing strategies.... So how can we think clearly about the uniqueness of Jesus in the midst of the religious supermarket in which we live." Mr Wright's obvious challenge is to manifest the real differences between Jesus Christ and the claims of equality among all other religions. His objective is to declare those differences by examining the bold and unique claims of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2 - Jesus Exclusively at the Center

In "Chapter Two" Mr. Wright begins a survey of the three main positions Christians take as they approach other faiths; first he examines Exclusivism, then Inclusivism, and finally Pluralism. This chapter focuses primarily upon Exclusivism. The author carefully defines what is and isn't meant by the term. He then evaluates the logical conclusion of Exclusivism, that many sincerely, religious, and moral people will miss eternal life because they do not know Christ. Sadly (at least from my perspective) in evaluating Mr Wright's personal position on this issue I found reason for disagreement. He is almost an exclusivist but struggles (as we all should) with the proposition of holding the many who have not had the opportunity to hear the gospel accountable, and concludes that some by God's grace will be saved without having faith in Jesus Christ. He offers for consideration Enoch, Noah, the citizens of Nineveh, the widow of Zarephath, Naaman, and Job. Admittedly he takes this position graciously and with thoughtful reason but in my opinion not biblical reason.

Chapter 3 - Jesus Inclusively at the Center

Having explored the exclusivist position in Chapter 2 Mr. Wright now turns his attention to the Inclusive view of looking at world religions.If exclusivist believe that Jesus is alone the Truth and Saviour, then that excludes all other faiths as vehicles of truth and salvation, the inclusivist argues that all truth is God's Truth wherever it is found. So Christ who is the Truth must therefore include all that is true in other faiths. Inclusivist see sincere non-Christians as "anonymous Christians" in virtue of the grace of Christ which they have received and unwittingly responded to in their own faiths.

Chapter 4 - Jesus in Orbit : Pluralism

To the many who embrace pluralism Jesus is simply one among many ways of salvation. By necessity they must deny the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and offer a complete surrender of the Biblical doctrine of salvation. Another aspect of this position is the absolute denial of absolute truth. Relativism rules among pluralist. Pluralism is the one religious doctrine which the world is willing to embrace due to the fact that we are moving globally towards political correctness, multi-cultural-ism, and a one world religion. The author offers a heavy and healthy dose of biblical reality concerning this errant belief. He concludes his analysis of the pluralist position by asserting that pluralism makes Christ of no value except as a symbol, dispensable to those who won't worship Jesus and nothing more than a idol to those who do.

Chapter 5 - Jesus and the Bible

Thank God for this chapter. Who did Jesus think He was? and what did He think he came to do? Using the Old and New Testaments Mr Wright explains the very nature of salvation (resurrection)and how it differs from the concepts of salvation among the worlds religions. He looks at the salvation Jesus provided in light of these four questions.

1. Who are we? (what does it mean to be human beings?)
2. Where are we? (what is the universe and why does it exist?)
3. What has gone wrong? (what is the real reason for all the evil and suffering in the world?)
4. What is the solution? (how can things be put right again?)

Spending most of the chapter on question four Mr. Wright explains that Christian salvation is unique among the religions of the world since it provides in Christ victory over death. This victory over death makes Jesus Christ absolutely unique among the world's religions. Jesus is not just one among many He alone has conquered death, and that victory provides real and certain hope for a world enslaved to sin.

Chapter 6 - The Bible and Human Religions

This chapter focuses on the religions of this world in light of scripture. This comparison enables the reader to have a biblical mindset in understanding religions. Using the scriptures the author demonstrates how God urges men and nations to discern the truth and choose God over false religious systems.

Conclusion : At the Checkout

Here the author calls upon his readers to do three things.

1. Clarify our thinking about the truth.
2. Strengthen our contending for the truth.
3. Renew our living of the truth.

In his conclusion he expands on these three needs and offers very helpful steps to ensure we allow the uniqueness of Jesus to effect our attitudes and actions.

I recommend this book to any interested in understanding why our Lord is unique in this world.
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lightninboy

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Fool's Gold? by John MacArthur

MacArthur’s book The Truth War (2007) spoke about the need for the church to “fight for Certainty in an Age of Deception”. In that book, MacArthur writes a mini-commentary on Jude as a response to some of the heresies being proposed by the emergent “church” movement particularly with regards to the whole notion of whether there is such a thing as truth.

Closely aligned with the battle for truth is the need for the believer to have developed the skill of discernment. Fool’s Gold? Discerning Truth In An Age of Error (2005, Crossway Books) is a compendium of articles from Shepherd’s Fellowship about questionable trends in the church that some believe on the surface to be biblical.

There are twelve articles written by nine authors (including MacArthur) with the first article, “All that Glitters…” addressing the topic that just because something seems to work or on the surface looks biblical (like fool’s gold) doesn’t make it biblical. Without the skills of discernment, a believer can be fooled into thinking such trends are biblical (or at least not unbiblical). Each of the articles is written from the viewpoint on what it means to practice discernment in categories where a believer will come under someone’s teaching: the local bookstore and in the local church.

Topics cover a short list of contemporary topics such as

Purpose Driven Life,
New Perspective on Paul,
“Wild at Heart”,
American-Christian Approach to Politics

Each article is exegetical in its premise with the author’s view of the application. While you may not agree with the points made in every case, reading the articles will stimulate your thinking.

The last two articles are on pursuing discernment in daily life. After reviewing John Edwards’ example of standing for doctrinal purity in relation to the Lord’s Supper that led to his dismissal in the article “Hills To Die On”, the last article is about a strategy on how to develop a spirit of discernment.

While there is nothing new here (high view of Scripture, God, and the Gospel), it is a good reminder that we need to make sure those we teach don’t depend upon us as their teacher to be their only authority.

Every believer must be taught how to develop the skill of discernment so as to guard against false teaching themselves; it is a vital part of disciple making. In my view, this book is a good tool to raise awareness in a Bible study group of some of the false teaching that is out there that does not square with Scripture even though it might, on the surface, appear to do so. In some cases, such teaching may indeed be fool’s gold.
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