Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern

by John F. MacArthur Jr.

In a society that is hostile to anyone who declares absolutes, that tolerates faith in any form, that values emotion over reason and trendiness over conviction, it's no suprise that many American chuches have lost their ability to discern between biblical truth and doctrinal error. John MacArthur attempts to set them straight.

Genres: Christian Living, Church, Theology, Christian, Christianity, Ecclesiology

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

John F. MacArthur, Jr. was a United States Calvinistic evangelical writer and minister, noted for his radio program entitled Grace to You and as the editor of the Gold Medallion Book Award-winning MacArthur Study Bible. MacArthur was a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker, and served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California beginning in 1969, as well as President of The Master’s College (and the related Master’s Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California.

Reviews

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books where the passion is so intense it bleeds through the pages, Macarthur's is one of them. This is the first Mac book I read and also the best one. Charismatic and liberal infidelity had stormed the ranks of my campus; my back was to the wall and my sword broken, then God raised up from the ranks John Macarthur to combat higher criticism on one front and Charismatic chaos on the other. When I read this book, my blood boiled. For I could relate to the trampling of the Word of God that was mentioned in the book and that I had seen in my schools. But really...is it necessary to "shoot our own wounded" when the gospel needs to be preached? I think it is. Please hear me out. The Gospel must remain pure (read Galatians if you disagree) to be effective. First, a liberal would never preach Christ crucified, adn a Charismatic would preach anyting that sounded good, as long as it does not draw theological lines which would expose his error. THis book also sheds a good light on evangelicals and catholics together. Does Macarhtur try to get his message across? I think a quote from Richard Baxter would suffice : "I preached as to ne'er preach again, and as a dying man to dying men."

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book pointing out the problems in the church today showing a lack of Biblical discernment.
We need to use the Word of God in battling against false teaching which appears to be growing in all denominations, including even the fundamental, evangelical movements of today. This book was printed in 1994, and now 20 years later it appears that Christians know less of what is in the Bible today than in 1994. God uses the Word of God in the churches to battle against the enemy, but it appears that Christians know less today than ever before. We need a return to the Scriptures to examine all teaching that is taking place and discern what is being taught is truth or not. This book covers what is taking place in ecumenism and what has already been practiced by the Catholic church. Christians need to wake up to the problem.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book explained the importance of discerning in the church. What's it truly means, and it's connection with justification. Actually the explanation was rather circling and this is not a type of exposition.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

John MacArthur is a superb Bible teacher and theologian, but his other works on polemics and apologetics haven't appealed to me. This one is an exception. MacArthur does very well here in identifying the two greatest threats to the evangelical church -- experientialism and ecumenism. He goes into detail describing the origins of existential philosophy and how it crept into the church. He then shifts to ecumenism and explains how the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement, endorsed and embraced by many prominent evangelical leaders, is fatally flawed. In doing so, he provides an excellent summary of the difference between Protestants and Catholics, and why the Reformation occurred. This book really needs to be back in print -- it addresses well the underlying concerns that are missed in the other "Charismatic" and "Strange Fire" titles. I recommend this one highly.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent book about discernment, Sola Scriptura, objective truth, and the two related errors of Roman Catholicism and mysticism. Chapter 7 - "Looking for Truth in All the Wrong Places" - is an excellent resource on the sufficiency of Scripture. Quotes from Jonathan Edwards are scattered through the book along with a great essay written by Edwards in Appendix B. This book an excellent book to turn to when looking at the errors of Roman Catholicism and the Council of Trent. Highest recommendations. A must read.

[Alde16 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1994 and yet, for the most part, relevant to the church today. Recommended.

[Randy Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite MacArthur's sometimes "reckless" writing, this is another strong book by MacArthur that really is another attack on the same subject from different angle, in this case he lays out how the church is falling further from reason and the rise of reckless faith. At times MacArthur can strike out fairly recklessly (like his grouping of the aberrant Third Wave Movement and the orthodox Renovare, which he wrongly claims teaches Eastern Religion). But overall this is a strong work which works well, though this might be his most topical book ever, as he gets into the current (sure to be short lived) "Laughing" revival in the Vineyard Movement and even more strange his devoting the last chapter of the book to the fairly un-influential James Ryle's aberrant book on dreams and visions. Much of this book is put to good use on the current Catholic and Protestant attempted reconciliation (though I disagreed with his break with Colson over Colson's creedal beliefs and how they are not complete (he is right they are not, but he is wrong over the fact that they are not complete enough to keep out a JW or Mormon). So one must watch MacArthur close, for he is constantly battling and fighting (and this is good) but he can sometimes paint with a broad brush and then say, "who me?" But overall, I always learn from him and I particularly like his knowledge and understanding of church and Christian literature history.

[Rod Innis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book on an important topic

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could've been written today! Very relevant to the state of the church.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite this book's somewhat dated copyright, the fact remains, that with time our Christianity continues to become more reckless. Probably even more since this book was written. That being said this book with it's solid message withstands the test of time and may even be more prevalent than ever before.

[Keri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book.