Strange Fire - By John Macarthur

In this book, MacArthur attacks the 'Strange fire'/worship practice of  pneumacentrism/Holy Spirit centrism(Major focus upon the Holy Spirit)particularly in the Charismatic movement, and does a good job too.  He starts by reminding us to 'test the spirits' and then moves on to how the modern charismatic movement got started and how they misinterpret Scripture.  We look at the Scriptures to see what the work of the Holy Spirit actually looks like and what 'Spirit-filled' really means. 

Speaking in tongues is addressed, of course, and we are given the history of how and why the Charismatics switched from viewing the word 'tongue' as being a human language to its being an unintelligible spirit babble.  They apparently tried out their 'tongues' on people in other countries, and it proved that their supposed 'languages' were not languages at all but merely gibberish.  They wanted to keep this babble and so reinterpreted the Scriptures to make it mean, essentially, 'holy babble'.   

Some Charismatics believe that there can be modern Apostles other than the twelve in the early church.  This is addressed by the author as well.  He makes the point that the Apostle's did not tell the Churches that new Apostles should(or would) be appointed, but rather pastors, elders and deacons were to be appointed.  Also addressed is the so-called 'prophecy' that is happening today.  While Charismatics believe that the early church(and OT) had prophets of God who always prophesied correctly, for some reason, today they believe that one can be a prophet and be wrong in your prophecy many times.  While giving Scriptural proofs against this view, this statement is made, "…the Bible only and always condemns erroneous prophets as dangerous and deceptive.  Fallible prophets are false prophets."   The Holy spirit does not give us new revelation but rather gives us illumination/understanding of the Scriptures. "After all, a foundation is not something that can be rebuilt during every phase of  construction.  The foundation is unique, and it is always laid first with the rest of the structure resting firmly above it. "

I found the look at 1 Corinthians 12:31 very interesting. The statement, "But earnestly desire the best gifts."..  rather than being imperative, the statement is probably indicative,  "The New International Version rightly captures the apostle's point in its alternate reading of this verse:  "But you are eagerly desiring the greater gifts."  The Syriac New Testament similarly states, "Because you are zealous of the best gifts, I will show to you a more excellent way."

It’s a good critique of the Charismatic movement along with excellent warnings about the dangers of this misfocus upon the Holy Spirit and His gifts. The ending of the book has a plea to pastors who are concerned with rightly interpreting God's Word, and yet are more accepting of the Charismatic doctrines, to seriously rethink this issue.

 

I'll end with one more quote, "By elevating the authority of experience over the authority of Scripture, the Charismatic Movement has destroyed the church's immune system - uncritically granting free access to every imaginable form of heretical teaching and practice."

 

Thanks to BookSneeze®/Thomas Nelson publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book!(My Review did not have to be favorable)

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Worship

This book is a good critique  of our modern ideas of worship by setting forth the truth in Scriptures about the right way to serve God.  Many people are idolaters, or at least worshipping in an idolatrous way, perhaps more so than we would have thought.  "Fundamentally, idolatry is thinking thoughts about God that are untrue of Him, or entertaining thoughts about Him that are unworthy of Him."  Macarthur spends some chapters going through the Trinity, and showing from the Scriptures that correct worship involves  a correct knowledge of God.  Muslims, Buddhists and other faiths not solely focused upon the Bible as God's Word(the Old and New Testaments) are not worshipping the true God, as they have an incorrect knowledge of who He is.  People who do not acknowledge Jesus as one with the Father are rejecting who God is and His salvation.  "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me."(John 14:6 ASV)  "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.."(Joh 14:9 ASV)  Peter speaking of Christ said:  "And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved. (Act 4:12 ASV)  Salvation is not found by worshipping any other god other than the God of the Bible. 

 

"It is significant that Jesus spoke of truth, not music, as the distinctive mark of true worship.(John 4:23-24)" And yet nowadays, music and ecstatic feelings are regarded as the height of worship, if not the only true worship.  And then there are others who equate Christianized Old Testament practices as worship(sacrifices = sacraments, alters, priests, atmosphere, Church building = the temple).  MacArthur takes these ideas to task with the Scripture's definition of worship stating that, "Some would insist that any kind of sincere worship is acceptable to God, but that is simply not true.  The Bible clearly teaches that those who offer self-styled worship are unacceptable to God, regardless of their good intentions." He shows that the Israelites, in making their golden calf, seemed quite sincere in their actions, and even equated the calf with God not with false gods,"And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow shall be a feast to Jehovah. (Exo 32:4-5 ASV Emphasis Added)  God threatened to completely annihilate them for it(Ex 32:9-10) but had ordained that Moses would plead for Israel.  Many of them  were still killed.  Sincerity is not worship in and of itself.  God defines what worship is, not us.   

"Music and liturgy…cannot make a non-worshipping heart into a worshipping one.  The danger is that they can give a non-worshipping heart the sense of having worshipped."  "Worship is a response to truth." States MacArthur.  As Christians, we worship God by believing what He says, in His Word, and by obeying what He says.  We can, and ought, to worship Him everywhere and all the time.  And we ought to worship Him as He says we are to worship, not what seems more worshipful to us. We do not need to add liturgical aspects to our service, or define practices by the Old Testament.  Macarthur uses the example of the Hebrew Christians written to in the book of Hebrews: "To worship God the Hebrews had to say no to the old covenant and its ceremonies, sacrifices, symbols, pictures and types.  The old was gone - it was set aside.  A new and better covenant had come, and they had to be willing to come to God in full confidence of the revealed faith of the New Testament.  The New Covenant, in contrast to the Old, is not a system based on ceremonies, sacrifices, and external obedience to the law.  Its truth is not veiled in types and figures."

As with any book, there are things that I do not agree with that are stated, but I do not see the need to address them here, as they do not affect my recommendation of this book. 

Thanks to MoodyPublishers for sending me a free review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)

Twelve Unlikely Heroes

This book was much better than the only other book in the series I have read, Twelve Extraordinary Women, which did not capture my attention very well.  I'm not sure that I can pinpoint why, but this 3rd book in the 'Twelve' series really started my thought processes more in regards to the characters dealt with, and God's usage of them. 

I'll say at the start that I appreciate that MacArthur doesn't try to make you see types in the people and events discussed, but takes the people and events as literal. And so takes the inspired apostle Paul literally when he said that " Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work. (2Ti 3:16-17 ASV) Which I would assume to mean that every inspired scripture is profitable as it is, without having to change it into allegory for it to be profitable.  As an example of this, in dealing with Sampson,  the author uses Sampson as an example for teaching and instruction in righteousness, stating that "His[Sampson's] fatal attraction to pagan women was not only the pattern of his life, but proved to be the path to his death.  If Sampson were Superman, his own sinful desires were his kryptonite.  He could kill a lion, but not his lust.  He could break new ropes, but not old habits. He could defeat armies of Philistine soldiers, but not his own  flesh.  He could carry away the gates of a city but allowed himself to be carried away when lost in passion."  MacArthur draws insights from literal Scripture, in his chapter on Jonah he notes that "The pagan sailors recognize the Lord's power over creation and worship Him as a result.  The pagan King of Nineveh likewise recognizes God's sovereign hand.  Surprisingly, the only person who resists God is Jonah - the prophet of Israel who acknowledged the Lord's sovereignty with his lips (Jonah1:9)yet rebelled against it with his life."  And all this without any of the characters or objects in the historical accounts having to symbolize Christ. 

For the most part, Macarthur keeps the focus on what the Scriptures actually say.  When dealing with James the brother of Christ, and how many people wonder about Jesus' childhood and that there are myths about miracles He performed as a youth, It is pointed out that "The normalcy of Jesus' childhood and early adulthood is confirmed by the fact that when He began His public ministry, His former neighbors in Nazareth did not believe Him to be the Messiah."  

Now for the negative.  "From the beginning, the Lord elected Israel to be a nation of Missionaries.  As His chosen people, they were to be a light to the Gentiles - a people so passionate in their devotion to the Lord and zealous for other nations to love and worship the true God that their corporate testimony would reverberate throughout the world….the people of Israel as whole failed in their missionary task……When Jonah rebelled against the Lord's command and ran in the opposite direction, he epitomized the collective failure of the nation of Israel." Where is Israel ever told that they were to be Missionaries to the Gentiles?  I know that they will be Missionaries of a sort in the Millennial Kingdom, but where are they ever commanded to attempt to 'convert' people on this side of things?  God Himself commanded them to wipe out the other nations as they were moving into the promised land, not to evangelize them.  From the Scriptures,  I understand that they were to be sanctified from the nations around them, and to welcome strangers/aliens, not to actively pursue them as possible converts.  Besides this, MacArthur sometimes delves into the realm of speculation when he states the possible feelings and thoughts of various characters.  There are some other things, but I’m sure they'll be noticed by the studied reader.

That stated, it was an interesting look at the lives of these 'twelve unlikely heroes'(though I have some trouble with the word 'hero' but I can overlook it).   MacArthur states "Some heroes are made in a moment.  Others are  defined by a lifetime." And most importantly, as he points out, "Noah did not preserve the ark in the midst of the flood; Abraham did not make himself the father of a great nation; Joshua did not cause the walls of Jericho to fall down; and David did not defeat Goliath on his own.  In each of these well-known examples, and in every other case, the Hero behind the heroes is always the Lord.  In literature, the hero is the main protagonist, the principle character, and the central figure of the narrative.  That is certainly true of God throughout the pages of Scripture.  He is the One who always provides the victory.  It is His power, His wisdom, ,and His goodness that are continually put on display - even when He utilizes human instruments to accomplish His purposes.  Consequently, all the glory belongs to Him. "   I'll let the back cover of the book provide the ending statements as it well sums it up: Speaking of these 'heroes',  "Scripture does not hide their weaknesses, caricature their strengths, or spin their stories as a display of human nobility.  Instead it describes these heroes of the faith with unflinching honesty and delivers an unexpected ending:  'God is not ashamed to be called their God' (Hebrews 11:16)"

 I received this book as a complimentary copy from BookSneeze® in exchange for my review(which does not have to be favorable).

 

Slave

As the book's title suggests, it is a book about the Christian's relationship to God as His slave.  Macarthur explains that the Greek word 'doulos' has not been accurately translated in many(or rather,most) Bible versions.  'Doulos' is usually translated as 'servant'.  But Macarthur points out that 'doulos' actually means 'slave'.  Passages like "well done, good and faithful servant"(Mat 25:23)and, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ..."(Tit 1:1)should actually translated, "well done thou good and faithful slave."  and "Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ..."

Macarthur shows that the difference between a slave and a servant is significant.  A servant does a job, has a choice as for whom he works for, what work he will do and ultimately works to support himself.  A slave is owned by someone else, does not have a choice for whom he works, but is chosen/bought by someone else.  A slave does not have a choice as to his occupation, does not ultimately provide for himself, the master gives him what he needs. A slave's focus is on pleasing his master. 

This applies to the Christian as well.  A Christian does not have a choice as to whom he serves, he started out as a slave to sin.  But he was was chosen and 'bought' out of the slave market of sin by Christ's blood.  He is now owned by God, and lives to please Him, following Christ's example, Who, "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross."(Php 2:7-8)  And, quoting from the book, "Unlike free persons, slaves did not have to worry about finding something to eat or somewhere to sleep.  Because their needs were met, they could focus entirely on serving the master...As believers, we can focus on the things God has called us to do, trusting Him to meet our needs.  "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink'?  or 'What will we wear for clothing?'  Jesus told His followers, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you"(Matt. 6:31-33).  Those who make pleasing God their highest priority can be confident that He will take care of them."

And, amazingly, God also adopts His slaves, making them His sons, His 'heirs'.  "To think that we, who were once the slaves of sin, the subjects of Satan, and the sons of disobedience, are now and forever the slaves of Christ, the citizens of heaven and the children of God...As His enemies, we did not even deserve to be His slaves.  Yet, He has made us both His slaves and His children.  The incomparable reality of adoption is this: If God is our Master, then He is also our Father.  As Alexander Maclaren, the great Scottish preacher explained, 'If we are slaves, then we are sons and heirs of God through Jesus Christ.'" And here's a quote that Macarthur put in his book by Charles Spurgeon that I really like:"Where our Authorized [King James] Version softly puts it 'servant' it really is 'bond-slave.'  The early saints delighted to count themselves Christ's absolute property, bought by him, owned by him and wholly at his disposal.  Paul even went so far as to rejoice that he had the marks of his Master's brand on him, and he cries, 'Let no man trouble me for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.' There was the end of all debate:  he was the Lord's, and the marks of the scourges, the rods, and the stones were the broad-arrow of the King which marked Paul's body as the property of Jesus the Lord.  Now if the saints of old time gloried in obeying Christ, I pray that you and I...may feel that our first object in life is to obey our Lord." 

This is a very good book, and very interesting in discovering more about the Christians true relationship to Christ. This is in my list of favorites.  


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