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The Vanishing Conscience: Drawing the Line in a No-Fault, Guilt-Free World
Are you losing your ability to recognize sin? Are you becoming a person who finds it easy to shift blame, deny guilt, or excuse moral failure in yourself or others?
In this challenging yet compelling book, John MacArthur encourages you to confront the culture's flight from moral responsibility. With sound biblical truth, this book shows how and why sin must be dealt with if you are to live in a way that pleases God. With clairty and insight, John MacArthur provides you with solutions for attaining a personal holiness that can take you from living a life of blame and denial to one of peace and freedom.
Praise for The Vanishing Conscience:
". . . a wake-up call and an alarm to jolt the sleeping church. Not all will like it, but all should read it. In this day of morality by majority, self-centered ministry, and twilight-zone theology, a clear word like this is long overdue." --Dr. Adrian Rogers, Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church
". . . a clear and prophetic word that we must hear and heed." --Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, President, Moody Bible Institute
"With the clarion call of a prophet, MacArthur points us back to something we have forgotten: the value and importance of a clean conscience." --Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor, Harvest Christian Fellowship
In this challenging yet compelling book, John MacArthur encourages you to confront the culture's flight from moral responsibility. With sound biblical truth, this book shows how and why sin must be dealt with if you are to live in a way that pleases God. With clairty and insight, John MacArthur provides you with solutions for attaining a personal holiness that can take you from living a life of blame and denial to one of peace and freedom.
Praise for The Vanishing Conscience:
". . . a wake-up call and an alarm to jolt the sleeping church. Not all will like it, but all should read it. In this day of morality by majority, self-centered ministry, and twilight-zone theology, a clear word like this is long overdue." --Dr. Adrian Rogers, Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church
". . . a clear and prophetic word that we must hear and heed." --Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, President, Moody Bible Institute
"With the clarion call of a prophet, MacArthur points us back to something we have forgotten: the value and importance of a clean conscience." --Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor, Harvest Christian Fellowship
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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687 people want to read
About the author
John F. MacArthur Jr.
1,344 books1,915 followersJohn 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 5, 2013
At a recent social gathering, one of the other guests (an acquaintance of mine) described some rude and offensive comments he had unapologetically made to coworkers earlier that day. Then, obviously looking for commiseration and comforting, he sighed and said he felt bad about it. I immediately and bluntly told him, "Well, you should."
I mention this because John MacArthur argues that contemporary culture is all about making wrong-doers feel good about themselves, even when they do bad things, instead of convicting them and getting them to reform. This isn't an argument that I'm naturally opposed to. But this book has a lot of issues.
To start with, a lot of the facts he uses as examples to build his case aren't facts at all. For instance this passage about a 1984 crime:
MacArthur cites a New York Times article in support of that passage. I checked the article out. Confusingly, the quotes he gives are not from the jurors as he implies; they're the newspaper reporter's comments. More importantly, the murderer in question, Christopher Thomas, was not given "only a light sentence." He was sentenced to 83 to 250 years in jail and will serve between 25 and 50 years. He is still in jail as of the date of this review and his prospects for parole are dim. In describing another criminal case (which I also looked up), MacArthur again elides certain facts to make it better fit his argument. His research throughout is sloppy and, as they say, "garbage in, garbage out." His conclusions are based on a reality that doesn't exist; why should we accept them?
More importantly, MacArthur ignores the counterargument, accepted by the legal establishment, psychologists, most ethicists, and most of the public, that one's mental state and intent are important factors in determining the level of one's guilt. He also ignores evidence that there are genetic and environmental factors that do indeed heavily influence how we act. His response is that looking at actions in context and understanding what influences them "excuses us from original sin itself! The only things deemed sin are 'conscious and deliberate acts of a person against accepted norms or mores of his society and the ideals associated with a moral God.' How far that is from the biblical definition [of sin]!" (p 203)
Then there are passages that contradict each other, make no sense, exhibit inexcusable sloppiness, or are ridiculous overstatements. I offer these examples:
On page 109 he says we shouldn't "reason that if our ultimate motives are good, evil can be justified--the perversion of thinking the end justifies any means." But just five pages later, "God's purposes in permitting evil are always good. ... He allowed sin to enter His perfect creation so that He could display His hatred of evil and destroy it forever." It certainly sounds like he thinks God is justifying evil by claiming good motives--the perversion of thinking the end justifies any means!
"Tests and temptations are two sides of the same thing" (p 172) and then a mere two pages later, "God sends us tests but not temptations." (p 174) God tests us, and tests are the same as temptations, but he doesn't tempt us? If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
On page 187 he says having thoughts about sinning is bad but when he explains why he switches his argument: "to treasure such thoughts in the heart and relish the thought of them..." (emphasis added).
On page 127 he says that "sexual desire outside of marriage is sin," even if no action or dwelling thoughts result. He offers no justification for this ridiculous claim, which is out of step now with even evangelical and fundamentalist theology.
On page 29 MacArthur writes, "if nobody shoulders any blame for society's ills [note: a straw man argument: no one is claiming that], where does the guilt lie? With God? That would be the implication..." (emphasis original) But on pp. 112-113 MacArthur says that's precisely where the guilt is: "[God] controls so-called random happenings. ... He is sovereign over the free actions of all moral agents. ... He determines even the most evil acts of sinners. ... [and] He appoints the powers that oversee the evil world system. ... Ultimately, we must concede that sin is something God meant to happen. He planned for it, ordained it--or, in the words of the Westminster Confession, He decreed it." (emphasis original)
"Clearly, God does not see us as a race of victims! If He saw us as victims, He would punish someone else!" (p 205)--but MacArthur believes in substitutionary penal atonement, so he does believe God punished someone else: Jesus.
"Empirical evidence strongly suggests, as we have seen, that society is at all all-time moral low." (p 80) He offers no evidence and one wonders how we could be more immoral than when we were subjugating women, enslaving millions of Africans, and committing genocide against Native Americans.
"Sex scenes are routinely included even in films promoted as children's fare." (p 66) No examples given.
This book has so many contradictions and issues that they literally begin before the first page. The copyright page states "All Scripture quotations in this book, except those noted otherwise, are from the New American Standard Bible." But on at least two pages (185 & 201) there are scripture quotations given in another translation (that I can't identify) that are not noted. I'm being pedantic with this one, but it shows how shoddily this book was edited and put together.
This brings us to the passages that use so much vague jargon that they become meaningless while sounding pious and profound. Here's the worst example: "We can experience that liberation [from sin's absolute dominion] practically. We can live lives that reflect our new natures. We can shed ourselves of fleshly tendencies by mortifying the deeds of the flesh." (p 214) Not a single concrete term in there. Someone should give MacArthur a copy of George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language."
When MacArthur does define terms other issues abound. For instance, he writes "perhaps the most straightforward, obvious meaning of mortifying our sin [is] stop doing it." (p 158, emphasis original) Now "mortifying sin" is a common theme in the book; the index lists 28 pages with the concept. But plug in MacArthur's definition and those passages, lacking the theological sounding term, seem downright banal: "dealing with [sins of our thought life] honestly and thoroughly is one of the most difficult aspects of stopping our sins." Elsewhere replacing the fancy verbiage with MacArthur's simple definition leads to yet more contradictions and problems. For instance: "Nothing is more natural than for people 'led by the Spirit of God' to stop committing sin[s]. One of the proofs of our salvation is that we do this. It is expected of believers. It is the expression of the new nature." (p 154-155) Elsewhere he says that even believers in good standing will still sin but here he's saying "nothing is more natural" than for them to not sin!
This book does have a few good passages, most notably the third appendix (listed as a second "Appendix 2" in the table of contents--more sloppy editing) containing a thought-provoking sermon by the 18th century American theologian Jonathan Edwards and MacArthur's own commentary on Romans 14 (pp. 44-47).
But the good is vastly outweighed by the bad and the ugly. The arguments are supported with untrue premises, sloppy argument, and outright contradiction. The nicest thing I can say about this book is that it was a product of its own time. In the early 90s the whole "self esteem" thing was a big fad (I remember it in my elementary school at the time) and crime, which MacArthur uses to bolster his argument, was temporarily high. His reasoning implies that crime should stay high so long as society, among other things, supports equal rights for sexual minorities and adopts a more nuanced view of mens rea than he does. Well, those trends have continued but between 1994, when the book was published, and 2011 the U.S. burglary rate fell 32.4%, rape rate fell 31.8%, and murder rate fell 47.7%. I think that guts whatever force is left to his moral argument.
I give this book 1/5 stars. I do not recommend it.
I mention this because John MacArthur argues that contemporary culture is all about making wrong-doers feel good about themselves, even when they do bad things, instead of convicting them and getting them to reform. This isn't an argument that I'm naturally opposed to. But this book has a lot of issues.
To start with, a lot of the facts he uses as examples to build his case aren't facts at all. For instance this passage about a 1984 crime:
A drug dealer and cocaine addict from the Bronx was acquitted of murder after killing eight children and two women whom he shot in the head at point-blank range. His crime was the largest mass killing in the New York area since 1949. But jurors decided that drugs and stress "were a reasonable explanation for his actions." They said the man "had acted under extreme emotional distress and the influence of the drugs"--so they found him guilty on a lesser charge that brought only a light sentence. (p 23)
MacArthur cites a New York Times article in support of that passage. I checked the article out. Confusingly, the quotes he gives are not from the jurors as he implies; they're the newspaper reporter's comments. More importantly, the murderer in question, Christopher Thomas, was not given "only a light sentence." He was sentenced to 83 to 250 years in jail and will serve between 25 and 50 years. He is still in jail as of the date of this review and his prospects for parole are dim. In describing another criminal case (which I also looked up), MacArthur again elides certain facts to make it better fit his argument. His research throughout is sloppy and, as they say, "garbage in, garbage out." His conclusions are based on a reality that doesn't exist; why should we accept them?
More importantly, MacArthur ignores the counterargument, accepted by the legal establishment, psychologists, most ethicists, and most of the public, that one's mental state and intent are important factors in determining the level of one's guilt. He also ignores evidence that there are genetic and environmental factors that do indeed heavily influence how we act. His response is that looking at actions in context and understanding what influences them "excuses us from original sin itself! The only things deemed sin are 'conscious and deliberate acts of a person against accepted norms or mores of his society and the ideals associated with a moral God.' How far that is from the biblical definition [of sin]!" (p 203)
Then there are passages that contradict each other, make no sense, exhibit inexcusable sloppiness, or are ridiculous overstatements. I offer these examples:
On page 109 he says we shouldn't "reason that if our ultimate motives are good, evil can be justified--the perversion of thinking the end justifies any means." But just five pages later, "God's purposes in permitting evil are always good. ... He allowed sin to enter His perfect creation so that He could display His hatred of evil and destroy it forever." It certainly sounds like he thinks God is justifying evil by claiming good motives--the perversion of thinking the end justifies any means!
"Tests and temptations are two sides of the same thing" (p 172) and then a mere two pages later, "God sends us tests but not temptations." (p 174) God tests us, and tests are the same as temptations, but he doesn't tempt us? If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
On page 187 he says having thoughts about sinning is bad but when he explains why he switches his argument: "to treasure such thoughts in the heart and relish the thought of them..." (emphasis added).
On page 127 he says that "sexual desire outside of marriage is sin," even if no action or dwelling thoughts result. He offers no justification for this ridiculous claim, which is out of step now with even evangelical and fundamentalist theology.
On page 29 MacArthur writes, "if nobody shoulders any blame for society's ills [note: a straw man argument: no one is claiming that], where does the guilt lie? With God? That would be the implication..." (emphasis original) But on pp. 112-113 MacArthur says that's precisely where the guilt is: "[God] controls so-called random happenings. ... He is sovereign over the free actions of all moral agents. ... He determines even the most evil acts of sinners. ... [and] He appoints the powers that oversee the evil world system. ... Ultimately, we must concede that sin is something God meant to happen. He planned for it, ordained it--or, in the words of the Westminster Confession, He decreed it." (emphasis original)
"Clearly, God does not see us as a race of victims! If He saw us as victims, He would punish someone else!" (p 205)--but MacArthur believes in substitutionary penal atonement, so he does believe God punished someone else: Jesus.
"Empirical evidence strongly suggests, as we have seen, that society is at all all-time moral low." (p 80) He offers no evidence and one wonders how we could be more immoral than when we were subjugating women, enslaving millions of Africans, and committing genocide against Native Americans.
"Sex scenes are routinely included even in films promoted as children's fare." (p 66) No examples given.
This book has so many contradictions and issues that they literally begin before the first page. The copyright page states "All Scripture quotations in this book, except those noted otherwise, are from the New American Standard Bible." But on at least two pages (185 & 201) there are scripture quotations given in another translation (that I can't identify) that are not noted. I'm being pedantic with this one, but it shows how shoddily this book was edited and put together.
This brings us to the passages that use so much vague jargon that they become meaningless while sounding pious and profound. Here's the worst example: "We can experience that liberation [from sin's absolute dominion] practically. We can live lives that reflect our new natures. We can shed ourselves of fleshly tendencies by mortifying the deeds of the flesh." (p 214) Not a single concrete term in there. Someone should give MacArthur a copy of George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language."
When MacArthur does define terms other issues abound. For instance, he writes "perhaps the most straightforward, obvious meaning of mortifying our sin [is] stop doing it." (p 158, emphasis original) Now "mortifying sin" is a common theme in the book; the index lists 28 pages with the concept. But plug in MacArthur's definition and those passages, lacking the theological sounding term, seem downright banal: "dealing with [sins of our thought life] honestly and thoroughly is one of the most difficult aspects of stopping our sins." Elsewhere replacing the fancy verbiage with MacArthur's simple definition leads to yet more contradictions and problems. For instance: "Nothing is more natural than for people 'led by the Spirit of God' to stop committing sin[s]. One of the proofs of our salvation is that we do this. It is expected of believers. It is the expression of the new nature." (p 154-155) Elsewhere he says that even believers in good standing will still sin but here he's saying "nothing is more natural" than for them to not sin!
This book does have a few good passages, most notably the third appendix (listed as a second "Appendix 2" in the table of contents--more sloppy editing) containing a thought-provoking sermon by the 18th century American theologian Jonathan Edwards and MacArthur's own commentary on Romans 14 (pp. 44-47).
But the good is vastly outweighed by the bad and the ugly. The arguments are supported with untrue premises, sloppy argument, and outright contradiction. The nicest thing I can say about this book is that it was a product of its own time. In the early 90s the whole "self esteem" thing was a big fad (I remember it in my elementary school at the time) and crime, which MacArthur uses to bolster his argument, was temporarily high. His reasoning implies that crime should stay high so long as society, among other things, supports equal rights for sexual minorities and adopts a more nuanced view of mens rea than he does. Well, those trends have continued but between 1994, when the book was published, and 2011 the U.S. burglary rate fell 32.4%, rape rate fell 31.8%, and murder rate fell 47.7%. I think that guts whatever force is left to his moral argument.
I give this book 1/5 stars. I do not recommend it.
December 21, 2020
Excellent. Of course I stand on different ground on some theological issues with Pr. MacArthur, but I learned some important things in this book.
I appreciated that he included two fantastic Puritan sermons as Appendixes, one by Sibbes and another by Jonathan Edwards.
I appreciated that he included two fantastic Puritan sermons as Appendixes, one by Sibbes and another by Jonathan Edwards.
April 13, 2022
Our conscience must be informed by scripture! And it's also necessary to be "killing our sin within". Definitions are switched in modern days and sin is treated lightly, but this is not the way of sanctification. A robust theology of sin and man is vital.
January 22, 2014
Excellent work concerning the current state of society (even though printed in 1994). It shows why the world is rapidly declining spiritually and morally. It also examines the current state of Christians and their spiritual decline. Should be considered as a must read book.
October 25, 2023
A great exposition on the importance of mortifying sin. Exposes what sin is and how to put it to death in our lives. Both informative and pratical.
Listened on audio, but would have highlighted so many sections.
Listened on audio, but would have highlighted so many sections.
January 15, 2008
An honest look at how our culture has watered down what really matters and has given us permission to pass blame and not take responsibility for our lives and condition.
May 27, 2009
I liked it.
September 2, 2012
I read this book a few years ago, its worth reading again.
September 19, 2021
Well written and thought provoking.
October 15, 2018
Excellent, must-read, especially the appendices. This was written in the mid-90's and yet is still just as relevant today.
March 26, 2025
An important book for me to read. Many convictions along the way that have brought me closer to YHWH.
Currently reading
March 11, 2009This is an awesome book. I think everyone should read it!
November 27, 2024
John MacArthur books are hit or miss with me, and this one is mostly a hit. Though the book is now 30 years old, and this updated version is nearly 20 years old, it is as relevant today as when it was first written. In a nutshell, the book confronts the methods being used today to erase the WORD sin from our vocabulary, both in the culture and in the church, as well as the GUILT of sin from the human conscience. Many sins are commonly viewed today as disorders or diseases, and are thus treated by therapy or medication. Now thirty years after its publication, this information is not news. However, what is different today is that these views have found acceptance among many Christians, and in many pulpits. As a consequence, more believers than ever accept sinful habits as addictions that they must learn to cope with (if they view them as sins at all), rather than as an enemy that has been dealt a death blow through the Cross and the empty tomb. The call to holiness is all but ignored, and believers live without a real experience of freedom from sin.
I found Part One of the book a little laborious, at times bordering on overkill, as MacArthur laid a foundation of evidence supporting the cultural efforts to erase sin and guilt. That is probably due to the fact that the problem is more widely recognized today among Christians who uphold the Bible as a revelation of timeless truth, and the final authority on all matters of faith and life. I alternated between reading and skimming through this portion of the book. Part Two takes the same laborious approach to unpacking the doctrine of sin within the scriptures. I confess, I needed it. Many of the chapters quoted heavily from puritan writers. This is one of the strengths of this portion of the book, because sin is described in its true ugliness. These long-dead writers do not attempt to spare our feelings or preserve our self-esteem. They don't paint us as broken people who need to be fixed, but sinners who need to be saved and made free. They don't try to avoid conviction, they aim for it, and as I read their words, they hit their mark.
The final part of the book lays out God's provision for conquering death in the life of a Christian. MacArthur does so well. The author I disagree somewhat on the handling of Romans 7, but the differences are relatively minor, and the core biblical truths for victorious Christian living are laid out well. Overall, I believe MacArthur achieves a balance that many other writers on this subject miss. I believe that more Christians than not would be helped by reading this volume.
I found Part One of the book a little laborious, at times bordering on overkill, as MacArthur laid a foundation of evidence supporting the cultural efforts to erase sin and guilt. That is probably due to the fact that the problem is more widely recognized today among Christians who uphold the Bible as a revelation of timeless truth, and the final authority on all matters of faith and life. I alternated between reading and skimming through this portion of the book. Part Two takes the same laborious approach to unpacking the doctrine of sin within the scriptures. I confess, I needed it. Many of the chapters quoted heavily from puritan writers. This is one of the strengths of this portion of the book, because sin is described in its true ugliness. These long-dead writers do not attempt to spare our feelings or preserve our self-esteem. They don't paint us as broken people who need to be fixed, but sinners who need to be saved and made free. They don't try to avoid conviction, they aim for it, and as I read their words, they hit their mark.
The final part of the book lays out God's provision for conquering death in the life of a Christian. MacArthur does so well. The author I disagree somewhat on the handling of Romans 7, but the differences are relatively minor, and the core biblical truths for victorious Christian living are laid out well. Overall, I believe MacArthur achieves a balance that many other writers on this subject miss. I believe that more Christians than not would be helped by reading this volume.
October 2, 2024
Many moons ago, my then-pastor warned me against John MacArthur's works, saying MacArthur is a legalist. Subsequent events support my pastor's opinion; for all his hatred and condemnation of sin in general, MacArthur can be oddly wishy-washy when it comes to authorities abusing their power. He is overly skeptical of accusations from those in subordinate positions and not very gracious or supportive of them once he recognizes their claims are true.
In this book, MacArthur does not stress as he should the principle of worrying about your own heart first and foremost, while showing grace to others by "thinking no evil" of them. Which is probably the sort of thing that allowed my pastor to peg him as a legalist long before the hard evidence came out. MacArthur is a pretty judgmental guy, and, rather ironically in light of some of the Bible verses he quotes here, overly confident that he can judge righteously.
But, while I would not want MacArthur as my pastor, he does make some legitimate observations. American Christians live in a world where sin is minimized or outright denied, and MacArthur offers here an excellent antidote for those who've gotten a bit too casual about sin. OTOH, this book would not be a good choice for someone whose conscience is over-sensitized. Legalists tend to empower "the weaker brother" of 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 to the point where they feel justified in demanding unreasonable conformity from other Christians, and I can see where this book might do that.
So, recommended with some serious caveats.
In this book, MacArthur does not stress as he should the principle of worrying about your own heart first and foremost, while showing grace to others by "thinking no evil" of them. Which is probably the sort of thing that allowed my pastor to peg him as a legalist long before the hard evidence came out. MacArthur is a pretty judgmental guy, and, rather ironically in light of some of the Bible verses he quotes here, overly confident that he can judge righteously.
But, while I would not want MacArthur as my pastor, he does make some legitimate observations. American Christians live in a world where sin is minimized or outright denied, and MacArthur offers here an excellent antidote for those who've gotten a bit too casual about sin. OTOH, this book would not be a good choice for someone whose conscience is over-sensitized. Legalists tend to empower "the weaker brother" of 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 to the point where they feel justified in demanding unreasonable conformity from other Christians, and I can see where this book might do that.
So, recommended with some serious caveats.
November 15, 2022
Not everyone is a fan of John MacArthur. While he may be polarizing, the polarization is the result of MacArthur's fervent desire to live pleasing to God. To that end, he has produced a volume which is aimed at helping fellow Christians live a pleasing life to God by mortifying sin and purifying the conscience.
First, the instruction concerning how to get, keep, and maintain a pure or clear conscience is repeated often and is intensely practical. MacArthur provides several steps more than once throughout the book for forsaking sin, putting sin to death, etc. (pgs. 45-47; 154-60; 192-93; 204-06). There are a few that are repeated and one in particular is repeated on each list: meditate on God's word. Indeed, this is a strength of this book, its emphasis on Scripture. It is saturated with Bible.
"Hacking Agag to Pieces" was the chapter which stood out. The title of the chapter refers to Samuel hacking king Agag to pieces in the book of 1 Samuel, thereby doing what king Saul refused to do because of his partial obedience. Leaning into this account, MacArthur uses it as an object for purging sin from the believer. He connects it to the mortification of sin. Sin is to be killed!
Appendices 2 & 3, which are updates of sermons or tracts from Richard Sibbes and Jonathan Edwards respectively, are alone worth the price of admission. Hard to beat old school Puritans from back in the day.
First, the instruction concerning how to get, keep, and maintain a pure or clear conscience is repeated often and is intensely practical. MacArthur provides several steps more than once throughout the book for forsaking sin, putting sin to death, etc. (pgs. 45-47; 154-60; 192-93; 204-06). There are a few that are repeated and one in particular is repeated on each list: meditate on God's word. Indeed, this is a strength of this book, its emphasis on Scripture. It is saturated with Bible.
"Hacking Agag to Pieces" was the chapter which stood out. The title of the chapter refers to Samuel hacking king Agag to pieces in the book of 1 Samuel, thereby doing what king Saul refused to do because of his partial obedience. Leaning into this account, MacArthur uses it as an object for purging sin from the believer. He connects it to the mortification of sin. Sin is to be killed!
Appendices 2 & 3, which are updates of sermons or tracts from Richard Sibbes and Jonathan Edwards respectively, are alone worth the price of admission. Hard to beat old school Puritans from back in the day.
August 12, 2020
MacArthur gives a warning to churches about the dangers of ignoring, redefining or minimizing sin. Not only does this do serious harm to the gospel (how do we know what we are being saved from if we don't talk about sin), but it also short-circuits the process of sanctification in the lives of individual Christians.
Psychology is called out for seeking to suppress our consciences and lull us into believing that guilt doesn't exist, that we are victims rather than sinners and that we should actually feel good about ourselves. After addressing those lies, MacArthur gives some essential advice to reclaiming the conscience, confessing our sin, facing it, and even having victory over it.
He also includes some appendices at the end that I found very useful.
Psychology is called out for seeking to suppress our consciences and lull us into believing that guilt doesn't exist, that we are victims rather than sinners and that we should actually feel good about ourselves. After addressing those lies, MacArthur gives some essential advice to reclaiming the conscience, confessing our sin, facing it, and even having victory over it.
He also includes some appendices at the end that I found very useful.
October 27, 2018
a very challenging book that highlights the way we see ourselves and deliberately delude ourselves into thinking we're better than we are.
My only query is whether the conscience as MacArthur understands it does indeed challenge all of us to take stock of our lives & practices and reform where necessary, or whether to some degree we actually manufacture ( modify) our own consciences and therefore live by that (manufactured/modified) standard. Thus we only consult and take direction from our modified conscience, rather than the conscience as God intended it to function.
Otherwise well worth reading and going back to again.
My only query is whether the conscience as MacArthur understands it does indeed challenge all of us to take stock of our lives & practices and reform where necessary, or whether to some degree we actually manufacture ( modify) our own consciences and therefore live by that (manufactured/modified) standard. Thus we only consult and take direction from our modified conscience, rather than the conscience as God intended it to function.
Otherwise well worth reading and going back to again.
November 25, 2018
"The weakness of the church... is too much assimilation." "God's purpose in this world...is the proclamation of sin and salvation to individuals..." "The sin we most need to be concerned about is the sin in our own lives." "Society encourages sin but it will not tolerate the guilt sin produces." People are treated as victims and not as responsible for what they do.
January 19, 2025
McArthur’s fatherly and pastoral care shines through the pages; his holy intolerance is precisely what is needed on an individual and corporate level today. His solution to killing sin (just knock it off) was refreshing in an environment that psychologizes, excuses, and abdicates personal responsibility.
Next book on my list is the OG—Mortification of Sin by Owen.
Next book on my list is the OG—Mortification of Sin by Owen.
May 13, 2025
One of Dr MacArthur’s best books. A very sobering and practical look at the deceptiveness and destructiveness of sin. He provides imperative and practical tools for resisting sin and for repenting from sin when failure occurs.
A great reminder and admonishment for both believer and unbeliever.
A great reminder and admonishment for both believer and unbeliever.
May 22, 2018
A great book showing how the Bible is being ignored in our day
June 24, 2019
This is a great book! A candid, “stark”, assessment of how we suppress the truth.
February 6, 2022
Excellent read!!!
February 27, 2024
Outstanding!
Read
October 9, 2024Must read
December 1, 2025
mostly excellent, must define grace correctly.
February 22, 2016
Provides a clear picture of the lack of moral responsibility that is growing in our culture and challenges we face due to the anthem of psychological excuses, the labeling of diseases over sin, eradication of personal responsibility and the resulting suppressed conscience toward the things of God and the allowance of sin. This book highlights great real-life examples of this moral decay we face in our culture, what the Bible clearly states and provides the solution which God has made for all of humanity, through Christ and His atonement.
October 4, 2024
This book covers the church trend during the 1990s and early 2000s that says man needs psychology and reformation to have a better life. This is in contrast to the primary need in man's life: regeneration and a new life dedicated and submitted to Christ. The books also discusses the need for believers to maintain a conscience that is sensitive to sin, not dull, nor overly sensitive to things that are not Biblically sinful.
May 1, 2016
Been way too long to give a full review. Remember it grabbing my attention in my early years. Was also my introduction to the false gospel of self-esteem peddled by Robert Schuller. Probably not a book that will command a lot of attention these days, but was worth my time when I read it.
August 15, 2008
sigh... what can I say... we are truly in the end days...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews