Rating: 
Summary: Wrong Purpose Driving the Church
Review:
Spurgeon admonished his flock about the dangers of moving away from historic positions of biblical Christianity. John MacArthur is disturbed that many local bodies of God's church have moved and continue to move away from historic positions in the faith. Not out of conviction that the historic positions are false or inconsistent with the bible, but out of fear such teaching will keep people away from the church building. Doctrines are avoided so people will not be offended or bored. John MacArthur thinks many a member of a mega-church is ignorant of scriptural truth. These individuals do not know what was taught by Jesus or Paul. They do not know what the bible contains.
Pragmatism rules the church today. What is preached, what is song, and whatever else the local church does is determined by the effect it has in attracting and retaining people in the church building. Utilitarianism, whatever is useful in bringing higher numbers of people into the building and having them come back is the ideal. John MacArthur argues many a church lack critical analysis in what their members believe. Do those who attend their services grow in the knowledge of God? The church's only legitament goal is to equip the saints for service in the building up of the body of Christ.
And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and for and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16
Keeping it real is never a problem when a preacher keeps to preaching God's word. John MacArthur argues the word of God is more relevant than anything that can come out of the wisdom of man. Scripture reproofs you by showing your sinfulness,instructs one to repent, teaches the believer how to follow Christ, and builds the individual up in God's way.John MacArthur also details Paul's instruction to Timothy. He presents this as instruction to how a pastor should lead the local congregation.
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:15-17)
No need for a message not based on solid doctrine, because it is a felt need. John MacArthur argues this in the end it diminishes the doctrinal training of those inside the church. Contextualism is the altering the message to the audience. Often this means not talking about the wrath of God and Hell. God's message should convict men of their sins and call them to repentance. John MacArthur argues first Corinthians chapter nine is about how Paul deprived himself so he could be used by God to bring men to Christ.
John MacArthur quotes often from Charles Spurgeon and at length tells how Charles Spurgeon struggled against the Down Grade of Theology. The movement away from the
clear meaning of scripture. Also included in the book is an explanation how modernism and higher critical thought have ruined the training of ministers in the Universities.
Have You always had a goal to build a large church? Should a pastor have a goal of leading a large congregation? John MacArthur argues no; it is Jesus job to build His church.
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
(Psalms 127:1 RSV)
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15 RSV)
Rating: 
Summary: Preach the Whole Gospel and Nothing But the Gospel
Review: At last, a really hard-hitting book that confronts the apostasy of the so-called community church movement, AKA the user-friendly church movement, the market-driven church movement, and the church growth movement! In the spirit of John the Baptist, John MacArthur, Jr., has become the voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Like the modernists a century ago, churches in the user-friendly movement have decided that doctrine is divisive and that peace is more important than sound teaching." "We evangelicals desperately need to recover our determination to be biblical, our refusal to comply with the world, our willingness to defend what we believe, and our courage to defy false teaching." MacArthur quotes frequently from the fervent writings of Charles H. Spurgeon, a renowned Baptist preacher, whose controversial "Down-Grade" articles mortified the liberal, evangelical leaders of 19th-century England. Like Spurgeon, who warned that the Church had drifted away from the purity of the Gospel in his day, MacArthur now sounds the same alarm for the 21st century. Today too many churches have become market-conscious, pragmatic, entertainment-oriented, and worldly through shallow preaching and contemporary methodology that are designed to boost church attendance. Their sideshow gimmicks include upbeat music, plays and skits, clowns and puppets, food courts, theatre-like "worship centers," and psychological self-help programs. "Sermons" -- pleasing, attractive messages peppered with amusing anecdotes that address people's "felt needs" -- specifically avoid such "offensive" Gospel topics as sin, hell, the wrath of God, and divorce. Instead, modern evangelicals proclaim, "God loves you and wants to make you happy." But MacArthur charges that their undefined theology and seeker-sensitive philosophy also do not permit them to take a firm biblical stance on such politically charged, moral issues as abortion, feminism, and homosexuality, because if they defy the spirit of the age, they forfeit their marketing appeal. "Perhaps the most serious indictment of contemporary market-conscious preaching is the absence of Christ. His name or some fact about Him may be thrown in at the end, but our Lord is rarely central in the trendy preaching of today," because "the gospel itself is disagreeable, unattractive, repulsive, and alarming to the world." The chapter "The Sovereignty of God in Salvation" is especially significant. According to Scripture, God, as the Absolute Sovereign, orders, controls, and rules over everything. This includes the biblical doctrine of "divine election," which applies to those whom God has already called to be saved before the foundation of the world. That is, salvation is entirely God's work, not man's. It is God Who makes the selection, God Who calls people to repentance, and God Who gives them the faith necessary to live the Christian life. Thus, believers deserve no credit for any aspect of their salvation, for it is the gift of God. Pragmatists find it difficult to accept the fact that popular church trends and fads are superfluous, for they alone cannot ever induce anyone to be saved. MacArthur makes the point that, "Faith in God's absolute sovereignty would deliver the church from the down-grade of pragmatism and worldliness. It would drive us back to biblical preaching. If preachers only had confidence in God's power and God's Word, they would not feel it necessary to trim and adjust and tone down the message...They would not view evangelism as a marketing problem, but they would see it for what it is -- the proclamation of divine revelation as the only means by which God calls the elect to Himself." I greatly appreciate the book's frank, no-nonsense approach backed with copious Scripture references. As the title asserts, churches whose philosophy and policies serve to please men instead of God truly are "Ashamed of the Gospel."
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: At the end of his long and distinguished career, the famous British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) found himself locked in a battle with the Baptist Union over its decreasing attachment to scripture, and increasing acceptance of error and sin. And now, more than one hundred years later, Dr. John MacArthur, of Grace Community Church and the Grace to You radio ministry, finds himself being forced into the same battle against scriptural infidelity and pragmatism in the American Evangelical church. With piercing analysis and voluminous use of scripture, he attacks this not-altogether new trend in the Evangelical church. Dr. MacArthur is a wonderful preacher and teacher, who is an expert at handling the Word. In this book, he examines the trends in the Evangelical church towards "Seeker-Friendly" services and ecumenicalism, and shows how they are incompatible with the Bible. I found his arguments to be cogent and highly convincing, and I must say that I really enjoyed his examination of the Pauline letters to Timothy. If you are interested in the course that the modern Evangelical churches are going, then you would do well to read this thought-provoking book.
Rating:
Summary: Ashamed of the Gospel
Review: Dr. John MacArthur has produced a book which gives a good view of the modern evangelical church in view of the "Down-Grade" controversy of Charles Spurgeon's days. The "Down-Grade" controversy, which erupted when Spurgeon noted the decline of doctrine in the Baptist Union and began exposing it in his "Sword and the Trowel". Spurgeon requested that the Union adopt a doctrinal statement, whereas the only requirement for membership was to agree on the issue of Baptism. He noted that once an organization gets on the "down-grade", the slide to the bottom gradually picks up speed until it cannot be stopped. That was where he found the Baptist Union towards the end of his ministry. This is a good book for those who are interested in the history and legacy of Spurgeon's ministry, for Dr. MacArthur brings out many little-known facts about the controversy. The main theme of the book, however, is not the bare historical facts, but how the principles of Spurgeon's stand are to be applied to the down-grade of today's Evangelical churches. MacArthur shows that while theological liberalism was the issue of Spurgeon's day, PRAGMATISM is the issue of our day. Whatever works in building a church must be all right. He uses several examples of theatrics, marketing tactics, and acceptance of worldliness all play a factor in the loss of biblical Christianity in the modern day. Preaching is no longer looked at as the central mission of the church, but consumerism, pleasing the customer. "Worldliness is rarely mentioned today, much less indentified for what it is. The word itself is beginning to sound quaint. Worldliness is the sin of allowing one's appetites, ambitions, or conduct to be fashioned according to earthly values. (I John 2:16, 17). Yet todaywe have the extraordinary spectacle of church programs designed explicitly to cater to fleshly desire, sensual appetites, and human pride - 'the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.' To achieve this worldly appeal, church activities often go beyond the merely frivolous." (preface, xvii) There are many quotes in this volume of Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, Tozer, and others. MacArthur goes on to show the problem behind the pragatism goes deeper than simply falling into marketing tactics, but the roots are in doctrinal declesion. The doctrine of salvation, sanctification, predestination and election, and others are clearly defined and the decline and misrepresentation of these doctrines are traced to the modern problems in the church. The book closes with 3 appendixes, the first on Spurgeon and the Down-Grade Controversy, the second tracing modern pragmatism to Charles Finney, and the last is an excerpt from the Puritan writer and preacher Thomas Boston, "Carnal vs. Spiritual Wisdom", note the excerpt below: "Carnal Wisdom: Work diligently for fluent and eloquent speech; fine style very much appeals to the learned. Without it, they will think nothing of your preaching. Spiritual Wisdom: Christ sent you 'to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech ' (I Cor. 1:17). Do not preach 'with superiority of speech or of wisdom' (I Cor. 2:1). Your message and preaching should not be "in persuasive words of wisdom'." Overall an excellent book for the minister and laymen for evaluting the methods and doctrine of their churches. One unfortunate quality of the book is the fact that it uses a plethora of Bible versions, typical of most modern books. It is my personal opinion that the points could have been made without a subtle endorsing of versions produced and promoted by the folks Dr. MacArthur exposes in his book.
Rating:
Summary: Biblical Views Of The Seeker Sensitive Movement
Review: Dr. John MacArthur is a pastor-teacher who is not ashamed to biblically address issues that may even make someone mad. He has done this with his books THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS, FAITH WORKS, RECKLESS FAITH, CHARISMATIC CHAOS, and this work as well. In each of his books Dr. MacArthur provides his reader not only a fair survey of the topic/movements but also gives his readers biblical exposition on the subject. In this work, Dr. MacArthur reviews the seeker sensitive movement (he has done this again in his book HARD TO BELIEVE). He uses the infamous Down-Grace controversey during the late 1800's in England and the stand taken by Charles Spurgeon against the down-graders. Just as Spurgeon saw the down-grade as moving away from the true gospel of grace, MacArthur see's the modern seeker sensitive churches moving away from a true biblical gospel toward a user-friendly, worldly, flesh based gospel that is pragmatic at best. If you are a person who struggles with church growth or possibly a pastor who wants to see their church grow but you frown on much of the church growth movement then I would encourage you to read this book. Allow God to show you His sovereignty in building His Church through His servant Dr. John MacArthur.
Rating:
Summary: Biblical Views Of The Seeker Sensitive Movement
Review: Dr. John MacArthur is a pastor-teacher who is not ashamed to biblically address issues that may even make someone mad. He has done this with his books THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS, FAITH WORKS, RECKLESS FAITH, CHARISMATIC CHAOS, and this work as well. In each of his books Dr. MacArthur provides his reader not only a fair survey of the topic/movements but also gives his readers biblical exposition on the subject. In this work, Dr. MacArthur reviews the seeker sensitive movement (he has done this again in his book HARD TO BELIEVE). He uses the infamous Down-Grace controversey during the late 1800's in England and the stand taken by Charles Spurgeon against the down-graders. Just as Spurgeon saw the down-grade as moving away from the true gospel of grace, MacArthur see's the modern seeker sensitive churches moving away from a true biblical gospel toward a user-friendly, worldly, flesh based gospel that is pragmatic at best. If you are a person who struggles with church growth or possibly a pastor who wants to see their church grow but you frown on much of the church growth movement then I would encourage you to read this book. Allow God to show you His sovereignty in building His Church through His servant Dr. John MacArthur.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly needed
Review: I can't add much more to the previous positive reviews. This book should not be needed, but Christians refuse to read Church history, so evidently we will be repeating it. MacArthur sounds an unmistakeable warning - we should be willing to teach the entire gospel message, regardless of its popularity.
Rating:
Summary: Spurgeon & MacArthur Hold True
Review: In this excellent evaluation of the current trend of "evangelicals," MacArthur echos the cry of the great Charles Spurgeon who once proclaimed the danger of drifting away from the purity and simplicity of the gospel. Through critical evaluation of the "seeker-sensitive" and "ecumenical" movements in America, John MacArthur pleads with the Christian to return to the love of the Word through to bold proclamation of the Gospel according to Jesus. A urgent plea to preach repentance is the common thread throughout the book to not be like the world in the church, as so many so-called christians have already been doing. He very creatively calls the "ear tickling" churches to urgent repentance and pleads with all Christians to beware and be warned that these actions are occuring, and be prepared to stand firm against opposition to preaching the True Word. It is a great book and a "must read" for all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, because as the promise in 2 Timothy 3:12 holds true to the one who stands up for the truth, "they will be persecuted."
Rating:
Summary: A Very Important Book
Review: It was just over one hundred years ago that the great preacher Charles Spurgeon began the long battle that would ultimately cost him his life. He saw in the church of that era a trend away from the preaching of the gospel and towards entertainment. The church began to focus on pleasing people rather than preaching the gospel in all its offense and power. The battle Spurgeon waged became known as The Downgrade Controversy. Now, a full century later, John MacArthur is sounding the alarm to warn discerning believers that the crisis the church faced in the late 19th century has come to the modern-day church. The church is, once again, on the downgrade. While Spurgeon fought against the influence of liberalism in the church, today we need to fight against the influx of pragmatism. Believing that those who ignore history are dooming themselves to repeat it, he has written Ashamed of the Gospel to show that the alarms Spurgeon sounded are equally relevant in the 21st century church. To prove this point he precedes each chapter with a relevant quote from Spurgeon. MacArthur believes that the root cause of the downgrade of our day is a deep-rooted shame for the gospel. The church has grown ashamed of the purity and simplicity of the gospel. In place of traditional "old-time religion" the church has begun to substitute a "show-time religion" that focuses on entertainment more than the preaching of the Word. Pleasing the goats has taken precedent over feeding the sheep - glitter over the gospel. Doctrinal purity has been replaced by pragmatism, what God commands by what works. The themes of the book are easy to discern from an overview of the chapter titles. Some of the chapter titles are: Christianity on the Down-Grade, The User-Friendly Church, Gimme That Showtime Religion, All Things To All Men, The Foolishness of God, and I Will Build My Church. Equally fascinating as the book are the appendices. The first is a history of the Downgrade Controversy, the second an examination of Charles Finney's contribution to pragmatism in the church, the third an essay by the puritan preacher Thomas Boston entitled Carnal vs Spiritual wisdom and the fourth an update on Evangelicals and Catholics Together. The final appendix is especially interesting as it allows MacArthur a forum to explain how ECT came together and why he stood strong against it. A courageous book that has likely earned MacArthur far more enemies than friends, I highly recommend this book to all believers, both clergy and laity, but especially those who are discontent with much of the modern church-growth movement. If you have read books like The Purpose Driven Church you owe it to yourself to balance that book with this one. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: MacArthur's Most Important Book
Review: John MacArthur is one of today's most influencial pastor-teachers. In today's church where political correctness reigns supreme Dr. MacArthur is willing to say things that challenge the status quo. He has written many books but this may be his most important. Using Spurgeon and the Down Grade controversy of the late 1800 as a background, MacArthur shows how much of today's evangelical church functions as if it is ashamed of the gospel. It raises questions about the church growth movement and modern evangelistic practices. MacArthur is not against large churches, being a pastor of a very large ministry in Southern California. But, MacArthur makes it clear that large churches is not defacto good if truth has been compromised. This is a book that all pastors, lay leaders and the church in general.
| 
