Book Review : The Gospel According to Jesus

I decided to take a break from movie reviews to review this classic book by John MacArthur : The Gospel According to Jesus. This book by the host of the "Grace To You" radio broadcast takes a hard look at the claims of Jesus to see if the modern Gospel message of today measures up to what Jesus really says about becoming a Christian.   Dr. MacArthur concludes that much of the gospel preached today doesn't give the full picture of what it means to follow Christ.   He believes that because the gospel is getting watered down today, many professing Christians fail to demonstrate any difference in their life after making a decision for Christ.  I believe he would then conclude that many professing Christians who fail to grow are really not Christians at all but are what I would term a "false convert" which is someone who just "talks the talk" but fails to truly follow the Word of God and "walk the walk".

The Controversy 

This book seems to have a lot of controversy surrounding it because some people believe that John MacArthur is adding pre-conditions and works to the salvation message and making the gospel be about more than all grace from God.  MacArthur believes that either "Jesus is Lord of all your life, or he is not Lord at all" (not sure if that is the exact quote).  He believes that you can't separate the role of Savior that Jesus is from His role as Lord of your life.  In other words: you can't have Jesus as your Savior if He is not also the Lord of your life.  Others disagree with this position,  believing that Jesus can become your Savior, but may not be Lord of your life until a later point in time.  MacArthur's opponents also would believe that accepting salvation is one distinct act in a believer's life,  but growing in surrendering all of their life to Christ is a continual process that may not happen at the same time as salvation.

Where do I fall?

To be honest, I'm still reading the alternate view to this book found in Charles Ryrie's book So Great Salvation : What it means to believe in Jesus Christ.  After I finish that book I will make a conclusion but I will state what I agree with John MacArthur on:

1. In a day and age when many profess to be Christians, there are going to be people who think they are Christians but really aren't.  Many people want the benefits of being a Christian,  but don't want to repent and turn to God.  I agree in these cases, that people should really question whether they are born-again and a true follower of Christ.

2. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus didn't always make it easy to follow Him.  The rich young ruler is a classic example of a guy who wanted to follow Jesus, but didn't want to follow Him in the area of finances.  Jesus didn't run after him - He told him what he needed to do, and then shared with His disciples how hard it was for rich men to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  

3. As the book of James says : "Faith without works is dead".   It is very easy to claim to believe but a true faith and conversion will evidence in someone's life by truly working out in Christian fruit and good works. No one is saved by works,  but a true faith in Christ will have works that follow because of their faith not in place of their faith.  John MacArthur really makes the point that no one should expect to be saved if there is no evidence that would show they truly love God and have placed their faith in Him alone for salvation.  

What am I not positive on?  

Is Christian discipleship always part of conversion?   Discipleship usually accompanies salvation, but does it have to?  I'm still investigating this question,  but I agree with John MacArthur that salvation is by grace alone and obedience to Christ has to be present in a person's life.   Overall I think this was an excellent book about the dangers of easy-believism in today's modern world.  Watering down the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a dangerous error (potentially the most dangerous) and I believe Dr. MacArthur effectively shows the need to stay true to the Gospel according to Jesus Christ Himself.  I recommend this book as it deals with one of the most important topics for any person Christian or non-Christian.