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A Gospel of Doubt: The Legacy of John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus
This is a chapter by chapter, section by section, Free Grace response to John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus. Wilkin shows that MacArthur takes verses out of context in order to argue that works are necessary for salvation. Instead of providing assurance, MacArthur's gospel leads to doubt and despair.
- GenresTheology
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 14, 2016
An excellent, biblically sound, and well-written critique of the gospel according to MacArthur. If you like John MacArthur, or think that "easy-believism" is a good term for those who disagree with him, I dare you to read this book. While Robert Wilkin does not lay out the full case for his view, he certainly makes the case that MacArthur's gospel is not Jesus's, nor the Bible's.
November 5, 2022
misrepresentation of MacArthur's teaching.
John MacArthur has certainly never taught works-based salvation. He teaches, as does scripture, that we are saved by the finished work of Christ alone, period. Read MacArthur's book for yourself. He is clearly teaching, as do Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, that we should test ourselves for fruit, to ensure our faith is genuine:
Apostle Paul: "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" 2 Cor 13:5 NASB
Apostle Peter: "Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you.." 2 Peter 1:10 NASB
Jesus: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Matt 7:21-23 NASB
Lastly, the genuine Christian, in understanding the reformers' doctrine of the five solas and the Calvinists' doctrine of TULIP, will actually have excellent assurance of salvation. Through grasping the truths of total depravity (absolute inability), justification by faith, sanctification and perseverance of the saints, we see that we are clothed in Christ's righteousness (Christ's righteousness alone and none of ourselves) and we know that Christ's righteousness cannot fail.
Furthermore, following the objective tests of 1 John gives the genuine Christian absolute assurance that he is truly in Christ:
Apostle John: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13 NASB
John MacArthur lays out these tests directly from 1 John, such as: love for the Father and the Son Jesus (1 John 5:1), love for fellow Christians (1 John 2:9-11), fruit of the Spirit (1 John 4:13, Gal 5:22-23), spiritual discernment (1 John 4:1-3), godly sorrow over sin leading to repentance (1 John 1:8-10, 2 Cor 7:10), sanctification (1 John 2:3, 1 John 3:8-9), rejection of worldliness (1 John 2:15), and rejection by the world (1 John 3:13).
I praise God that He has included these objective tests in the Bible so that our faith is not one of mysticism or drummed-up emotion; rather, we can rest in knowing with absolute assurance that we are saved (1 John 5:13).
John MacArthur has certainly never taught works-based salvation. He teaches, as does scripture, that we are saved by the finished work of Christ alone, period. Read MacArthur's book for yourself. He is clearly teaching, as do Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, that we should test ourselves for fruit, to ensure our faith is genuine:
Apostle Paul: "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" 2 Cor 13:5 NASB
Apostle Peter: "Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you.." 2 Peter 1:10 NASB
Jesus: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Matt 7:21-23 NASB
Lastly, the genuine Christian, in understanding the reformers' doctrine of the five solas and the Calvinists' doctrine of TULIP, will actually have excellent assurance of salvation. Through grasping the truths of total depravity (absolute inability), justification by faith, sanctification and perseverance of the saints, we see that we are clothed in Christ's righteousness (Christ's righteousness alone and none of ourselves) and we know that Christ's righteousness cannot fail.
Furthermore, following the objective tests of 1 John gives the genuine Christian absolute assurance that he is truly in Christ:
Apostle John: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13 NASB
John MacArthur lays out these tests directly from 1 John, such as: love for the Father and the Son Jesus (1 John 5:1), love for fellow Christians (1 John 2:9-11), fruit of the Spirit (1 John 4:13, Gal 5:22-23), spiritual discernment (1 John 4:1-3), godly sorrow over sin leading to repentance (1 John 1:8-10, 2 Cor 7:10), sanctification (1 John 2:3, 1 John 3:8-9), rejection of worldliness (1 John 2:15), and rejection by the world (1 John 3:13).
I praise God that He has included these objective tests in the Bible so that our faith is not one of mysticism or drummed-up emotion; rather, we can rest in knowing with absolute assurance that we are saved (1 John 5:13).
October 26, 2019
This is an informative book regarding the perpetual dialogue between those who believe that a Christian's behavior/good works/growth/obedience, etc. are indicators of his/her salvation, and those who believe that those things are fluid indicators of the quality of his/her relationships with God. The former would argue that a chronically disobedient, indifferent "Christian" is not a Christian at all, but is simply a false believer who does not possess, and never possessed, eternal life. The latter would argue that such a person is an unfaithful, disobedient, even ship-wrecked Christian, but that he/she is indeed a Christian, simply because he/she believes in Jesus for life.
(I fall on the latter side of things, and do not find any assurance of my salvation either in my obedience or growth, but simple that I believe in Jesus' death as full, eternal payment for my sins.)
However, neither side of the debate demonstrates a lot of kindness or openness to listen to the other. Both sides suggest (sometimes forcefully) that the other side does not possess the "true" gospel, and therefore is leading people into eternal suffering. Both sides create caricatures and demeaning titles to their opponents, perhaps to prevent the very discussion between adherents of the two that would bring about healing, understanding, and genuine Christian fellowship.
So, yes, this is a book for Team Free Grace, just as "The Gospel According to Jesus" is a book for Team Lordship Gospel. It clearly identifies the chasm between the two views, but does little to build a bridge between them. On an exegetical level, this (to me) would be a five-star book, but it seems to go over a lot of ground already covered by the author in past books, biblically and ideologically.
(I fall on the latter side of things, and do not find any assurance of my salvation either in my obedience or growth, but simple that I believe in Jesus' death as full, eternal payment for my sins.)
However, neither side of the debate demonstrates a lot of kindness or openness to listen to the other. Both sides suggest (sometimes forcefully) that the other side does not possess the "true" gospel, and therefore is leading people into eternal suffering. Both sides create caricatures and demeaning titles to their opponents, perhaps to prevent the very discussion between adherents of the two that would bring about healing, understanding, and genuine Christian fellowship.
So, yes, this is a book for Team Free Grace, just as "The Gospel According to Jesus" is a book for Team Lordship Gospel. It clearly identifies the chasm between the two views, but does little to build a bridge between them. On an exegetical level, this (to me) would be a five-star book, but it seems to go over a lot of ground already covered by the author in past books, biblically and ideologically.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews