Book Review - "John MacArthur; Servant of the Word and Flock"

I was fortunate enough to receive a free copy of Iain Murray's biography of John MacArthur recently from Grace to You, and after what seemed like years of reading for my Systematic Theology course I picked it up last week read and through it. It was devastatingly convicting to say the least. John MacArthur is without a doubt a gift to the church whose monumental impact for the cause of Christ will only be revealed in eternity. I'd like to briefly note a few of characteristics of his life that became evident in these few pages.

First, John MacArthur is a man of the Word. Murray's book basically begins and ends with this truth. His life and his ministry are wrapped up in a cloak of passion for correctly interpreting the Words of God. As a young pastor entering the pulpit of Grace Community Church, his request to the elders was that they allow him 30 hours a week in his study in preparation for his weekly preaching ministry. They complied, and MacArthur continues that practice to this day. The results are apparent in every aspect of his ministry.

Second, John MacArthur is a man of principle. Book titles such as "The Gospel According to Jesus", "The Gospel According to the Apostles", and "Charasmatic Chaos" and articles such as this readily demonstrate this point. When his conclusions are drawn from what he believes to be a correct interpretation of Scripture, John MacArthur will not be moved. Even in the face of opposition, MacArthur is a gracious, yet ardent defender of the gospel of Christ.

Third, John MacArthur is a man of humility. His regular practice is to deflect praise and honor that is offered in his direction, and instead point well-meaning admirers to his Master. Murray writes that MacArthur refuses monetary advantages that could be his as a result of his works, and consistently denies raises in salary that are offered to him by his congregation.

Fourth, John MacArthur is a man of grace. Murray recounts that as he interviewed members of Grace, their consistent testimony was that in the midst of monumental trials and opposition, MacArthur's life is a stunning portrait of grace. He never lashed out against attackers, or questioned the ways of God. He chose rather to show the love of Christ in all that he did.

Fifth, John MacArthur is a man of impact. At the end of his book, Murray draws comparisons to his ministry and that of C.H. Spurgeon. Although I'm sure that MacArthur would disapprove of such comparisons, his life, works, and ministry are all testimonies to the undeniable impact that he has had on global Christianity.

Weaknesses in this book are few and far between, but one can be noted. Murray took the opportunity at a couple of points to offer his own critique of MacArthur on a few issues. His critiques felt out of place and inappropriate for the setting in which they were offered.

I would definitely recommend this book to you. It's short, engaging, educational, and convicting. You'll come away realizing that John MacArthur is an incredible friend to grace.

What am I living for?

So I got a Kindle. Actually, I've had it for about a month and a half now, and I'm praying that it will be a tool that God uses in my life to further shape me for His service. I have to say that after using this thing for about six weeks now, I can't believe that I went so long without it. There's something about buying a volume of Spurgeon's sermons that take up basically no space for 99 cents that will put a spring in just about anybody's step. But that's just one of the many advantages along with having multiple English Bible Versions, my Greek text, a couple of lexicons (kind of weak lexicons, but better than nothing --if you know of any good Kindle lexicons, let me know), a few of my Seminary textbooks, multiple sermon volumes, and a library of books that is growing faster than it should be ($$) in one incredibly small, easily accessible place. I take my Kindle everywhere except to church. My wife won't let me. One of the first books that I read on Kindle was David Platt's Radical: Taking back your faith from the American Dream. I've been meaning to put some thoughts about this book into writing, so here is my feeble attempt to highlight five items that particularly impacted me. Please don't consider this list exhaustive. I'm almost certain that there's a life-altering quote on every page (at least every-other).

1. My name is Chad Phelps, I am 22 years old, and I am captivated by the American Dream. I am. I don't want to be, I don't want to admit it, I hate the way that it looks when I write it, but I am. I have succeeded in molding Jesus into who I want Him to be, and in this way I have redefined a gospel that is less about radical self-abandonment to Christ, and more about what I can get out of this Christian experience. But that's not the gospel; at least not the gospel that Christ preached. As Platt put it, I need to believe that "Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have and all we own and all we are in order to find our fullness in Him." Let that sink in.

2. Social action is not the gospel, but it is ridiculously naive and calloused for Christians to believe that Christ doesn't care about how we treat the poor. The gospels pay particular attention to the poor. Christ healed them, He gave to them, and He confronted them with the gospel. Am I turning a blind eye to my responsibility to them?

3. Without Christ, I am inept. Platt points out that "In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability." The American dream emphasizes our culture, our abilities, our mental faculties, our sparkling buildings, our programs, and our monetary assets. Point after point drives home this fact in convicting fashion. A Facebook friend of mine referred to this book as "devastating." He was right. The gospel of Christ emphasizes His lordship and my inability apart from His grace.

4. A large portion of the church today ignores Christ's commands. Why is it so easy to hear Him say, "Take my yoke upon you," and yet so hard to hear Him say, "Go, sell all that you have?" How come we cling to the "Ask anything in my name" promise, and ignore the "Go ye into all the world" command? The answer is simple; because we have not become radically surrendered to Christ. We trust Him, but only so far. We love Him, but only so much. We would never admit it, it stinks to hear it, but it's true. Most of the church today has never even considered sharing the gospel abroad. It's not even that we're not open to God's commands. We just blatantly ignore them. When God says "Go into all the world," why does that not apply to you? You don't have an answer? That's because it does.

5. I have never been so open to missions in my life.

Book Review: "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" by Tripp

Paul David Tripp’s book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands is written in a simple, but understandable matter in which every Christian who desires to help people change can find some source of encouragement. Tripp opens up the book by introducing one of the main premises in the book as a whole. The stirring thought that the gospel is, as Tripp states, “The best news a human being could ever receive… something so significant that it makes everything we do worthwhile, even though we are just flawed people in a broken world (p. 1).” Many well-meaning counseling books that I have read have opened by spending much time focusing on tactics that will effect change in individuals (necessary though they may be), or ways in which biblical nouthetic counseling differs from integrationalism, secular humanism, modern psychology, and any number of secular counseling methods. Tripp, however, offers a refreshing perspective right from the start. He doesn’t make any pretense about having a magic wand to wave, or sure-fire words to say that will cut right to the heart of the counselee. He instead offers the simple proposition that the gospel, as revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the words of Scripture, is enough to cause totally depraved sinners to change through the work of the Holy Spirit.

The first six chapters of the book take on the task of breaking down the process of helping people change biblically. An accurate summary of chapters one through six would look something like this; Biblical change happens when the unbelievably sinful heart of an individual who recognizes the depth of his failure is targeted by the hope revealed when the gospel is portrayed through a Spirit-led Christ-follower

The remainder of the book is organized under four main headings; love, know, speak, and do. First, Tripp emphasizes the importance of loving the counselee. Tripp does an excellent job stressing the importance of building a strong relationship with the counselee. This happens when we focus not just on the problem, but on the person involved in the problem. We must understand them, enter into their world, and show them the love and empathy of Christ. Second, we must know the people. Here the importance of collecting data, asking poignant questions, and pinpointing where specifically change is needed is highlighted. Third, people must be confronted in love, and shown their biblical responsibility for change. In this section of the book, Tripp makes the strong point that the gospel is essential for biblical confrontation leading to repentance. On page 213, Tripp points out that “The grace of the gospel is what turns our hearts, because the gospel is God’s magnificent promise of forgiveness in Christ.” Finally, in the “do” section of the book, the key process of establishing an agenda for change, giving assignments, and holding the counselee accountable is covered.

When considering the strengths of this book, a few key thoughts immediately come to mind. First, a major strength of this book is the unveiling of the idea that all human beings are worshippers. We were created to worship something, and at the root of our heart problem fact that we really have a worship problem. Tripp allows that paradigm to shape the way that he addresses the issues that counselees face. Another obvious strength of the book is the integration of so many practical illustrations. The truths of this book are not just presented on a dry, surface level, but illustrations regarding the truths presented are portrayed. Mr. Tripp draws on a wealth of personal experience that I found to be incredibly valuable as I read his book. As I mentioned at the beginning, perhaps the biggest strength for me in the whole book was the idea of the gospel being the answer to every problem. Tripp used Scriptural principles to support the concept that in the gospel we have everything that we need to live a successful Christian life. This book is quite literally “soaked” in Scripture. A final strength that I will highlight here is the idea behind the book itself. This is the idea that believers don’t have to be super-humans in order to help people change. We simply must understand how to get to know and understand people, and then to compassionately confront them with the truth of the gospel that will surely help them to change.

Weaknesses in this book were few and far between. However, there were at least two that could be mentioned here. First, Tripp approaches the book with an obvious bent toward Covenant Theology. Tripp dogmatically states the idea that the kingdom is now in the hearts, and that believers are “covenant individuals.” While I understand that Tripp certainly has a right to those beliefs, and I don’t see the covenant/dispensational issue as an issue of separation, I do view that as a weakness of this book. Another weakness that I saw was the length of the book. At times it felt like he presented some of the main ideas repeatedly, merely stating them in differing ways. I realize that this is purely subjective, but I did feel as though the book could have been condensed a bit more efficiently.

There are a few aspects that immediately come to mind when I think of how this book will potentially shape my future pastoral ministry. Many of those ways are mirrored in what I saw to be strengths in this book. I believe that I came away from this book with a better understanding of those in my future congregation as worshipers. Every sin that needs to be dealt with is a sin that arises out of a worship problem. I also came away with an even better understanding of something that God has been teaching me for some time now. This is the idea that the gospel is the answer to every issue that I face, and to every issue that anyone that I work with will face. The good news of Jesus Christ is all that I need in order to effectively minister to those whom God has called me to work with. Tripp’s portrayal of Christ as an empathetic high priest who knows our feelings was very useful in the development of this thought. I’m sure that I will also frequently reference the practical suggestions made my Tripp. The ideas for data collection, questions that aid in getting to know individuals on a more personal level, practical suggestions for accountability, and many others cause this book to be a valuable reference material as much as anything else. I could also see myself using this book in pastoral ministry as a tool that I would give to a member of my congregation who was seeking to learn more concerning how he could help others to change. Overall, I would recommend Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands as a valuable resource to those with a heart towards helping others to be more like Christ.