Hard To Believe

John MacArthur is known for his straight-forward approach to the Gospel. In Hard to Believe he is at his best in defending the hard truth of the Gospel. That hard truth is that Jesus "did not die on the cross for us to have a nice day."

Many evangelicals today are enamored with what MacArthur terms Christianity Lite. It's an approach that tends to put the focus on ourselves and to basically use a relationship with Jesus just to make our lives happy. But as MacArthur points out, Jesus died on the cross to save us from eternal Hell not just to allow us to live out our dreams of a happy life on earth.

Many Christians call Jesus their Savior but not many are as willing to call Him Lord. However, that is exactly what He is and therefore we must obey His commands. MacArthur points out that one of those commands is to die to self. And that if we put family or friends or even ourselves above God, then we will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Harsh words, but straight truth from the mouth of Jesus.

This book will cause you to examine your relationship with the Lord. There may be some things in it that will make you uncomfortable, however, in the end I think it will reveal the absolute necessity of living our lives in total obedience to God's Word.

No book has ever convicted me more, and then encouraged me more, to share the Gospel. I walked away from this book with a deep sense of urgency to share the Gospel, the true Gospel, the Hard to Believe Gospel. I feel empowered not to hide or be asamed of the Gospel. MacArthur, over and over again, reminds us that we are not responsible for people's response to the Gospel but that we are responsible to faithfully deliver the Gospel in its entirety. We are not allowed to pick and choose and make up our own "more sensitive" gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient for all and has the power to save all. Who are we to mess that up or "package" the Lord's saving message. Read it, it will change your witness, and minisrty.

To begin, I have enjoyed John MacArthur's preaching. I once used his Study Bible in the New King James Version as my "flagship" Bible. I have enjoyed nuggets from his teaching. And I also got a lot of good things out of this book. However, looking back, I do see a couple of things wrong.

First, the whole premise of this book is that the grace of God, provided on the cross, may have been free, but not cheap. He attacks so-called "prosperity preachers" and "seeker-sensitive" approaches like "The Purpose-Driven Life", equating them with those who lead people along the wide gate of destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). In fact, MacArthur's main argument is that only those who take up their crosses and follow Jesus are truly saved. This is called lordship salvation (in comparison with free grace, mocked as "easy-believeism", which teaches that the cost of our redemption from sin has been fully paid for on the cross).

While it is true that sinners should understand their need for the Savior--salvation from sins that lead them to hell--should we make the demand to "carry their cross" and follow Him? MacArthur says yes, but does salvation immediately result in discipleship? More likely than not, a few may understand. Remember, it is the "good" soil hearer who receives and understands the Word planted in his heart. Although the apostles followed Jesus for three years, they still did not understand the work of salvation until AFTER Jesus rose, ascended into heaven, and poured out the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Only then did they understand, as the subtitle of the book goes, "the high cost and infinite joy of following Jesus".

Another question I might make is the degree of surrender required to be "saved" according to the lordship gospel. We might know about those "external sins" (adultery, sexual immorality, any addictions, etc.) that we need to repent of, but what about those that lie within (like lust, hateful and murderous thoughts, misplaced affections, etc.)? David prayed constantly to God to keep him from presumptuous sins and to cleanse him from hidden faults, and continually asked God to search his own heart for anything that kept him from God.

Also, does salvation depend on how "pure" we may make ourselves in God's sight? Aren't our own attempts at righteousness like filthy rags before Him? Lordship salvation advocates seem to tiptoe around the issue by answering that it is not a commitment that saves, but that Jesus alone saves. But you can't have it both ways: either Jesus (plus commitment) saves, or Jesus (alone) saves! If Jesus (plus commitment) is the answer, as MacArthur argues, then how much commitment is needed? And how can genuine believers know if we will fall away, since our minds cannot fathom what even tomorrow brings!

The book may also make genuine believers doubt their own salvation. While believers should examine themselves, they should do so out of pleasing their Heavenly Father. That is what David prayed (see above paragraph) in Psalms 19 and 139. He pursued God with all his heart, knowing the price he would pay, even when he sinned against God. But did he rely on his commitment to God to forgive his wickedness? No, he relied on his God and relied totally on Him--not his own commitment to God--to have his sins cleansed (see Psalms 51).

The premise MacArthur makes also comes from his own Calvinist theology. Christians for centuries after the deaths of Calvin and Arminius have argued over the role of God's sovereign grace and man's free will in his obligation to repent and believe in the gospel. I won't go into detail over this point of contention, but it seems that most of the lordship advocates are of the Calvinist persuasion. However, one thing is true: it takes a lot of grace to redeem a person's heart, and that is truly a work of God. Yet it must be a willing heart who receives Him.

In closing, I would like to make the following point: salvation is free, totally free! But discipleship, seeking after Jesus and following Him, has a cost. MacArthur makes great points, but it is obfuscated in the details.

Hard To Believe was a tremendous confirmation for me and my understanding of the true church today. Too many people trying to get to heaven with "Easy-Believism" or a "Recliner" church mentality. The truth is that we cannot just "tip our hat toward God" and expect all to be well with our soul. God requires a different, more complete sacrifice of our lives than simply the "well beaten" confession. Surely, confession is God's remedy for the sin that plagues us, however, He demands nothing less than a life of committment. I fear that we have lost that concept in the 21st Century Church. God help us all if we stray from the plain truth as taught not only from Your Word but from the talent of people like Pastor John McArthur.

Wow, Zach. If you view the clear, biblical doctrine of Soveriegnity/Pre-destination as an arrogant "I'm in the club" doctrine, you are wholly wrong. Free Will obviously caters to human wants. It gives the human all the credit. Pre-destination is all about the Glory of God and Him being Glorified. The all knowing, all powerful God I know didn't make an earth and then go sit down and watch what happens, hoping people get saved. That is ridiculous. Pre-destination glorifies Himself, which is what God is about, and why we are here in the first place. Souls being elected to heaven glorifies God, showing His love and Grace just as much as souls elected to Hell glorifies Him by showing His Wrath. Don't believe me? It's in your Bible, read it. It's all about Grace. Why don't you look at how Paul opens almost all of his letters, especially Ephesians. Argue to me what he says.
Feel free to attempt to back up your Free Will stance biblically, without vauge, out of context verses alluding to other things.
I pray it's God's will that the Truth be made known to you. I honestly believe it is God's hand that saves people, and His will that gives us Grace. It's not up to us, it's up to Him. I believe that a person cannot fully know God's love and Grace without believeing they were soverignly elected as believers in Christ.
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The "High Cost" of these endless books by MacArthur bring him "infinite joy" as his lordship theology tickles the ears of the self righteous"defenders of the faith". I would suggest MacArthur sells all he had and gives to the poor and begins, this late in life, to know the high cost of following Christ. Making a million dollars a year seems like a pretty Mammon based lifestyle, though who in this conformist subculture is going to call him to task on this. I keep wondering if MacArthur sees the obvious similarity between himself and Joel Osteen.
Oh well. Instead of buying this book, go take a homeless person to lunch and befriend him.

The simple message of the Gospel has been simply mutilated. This book indicts the present-day "church" by plainly pointing out what it does- preferring to not offend attendees, it compromises the truth. So where does God condone such action? Not anywhere in the true church- the Bride of Christ.
Read this book, challenge it with scripture and do not be hesitant to compare your "church" to it.
Can you believe it?

If you suspect you may be a 'lukewarn' Christian, going through the motions, day to day, still of This World, this is the book for you. John MacArthur masterfully shares his tremendously insightful revelations and illuminates the reader to the incredible, inspired words of God found in the Holy Bible that we like to call the "Truth"! MacArthur explains the word of God thoroughly, in easy to understand, layman terms. I highly recommend it.

This book is outstanding!! MacArthur does a fantastic job of not only telling us why the seeker sensitive ecumenical movement is so dangerous, but he also defines a true believer as defined by the Bible. If you didn't believe in total depravity before, MacArthur will not only convince you of it, but also make you feel it. What a great work!!

I found this book to be wonderful. It contains the REAL Foundation of Following Jesus. You have to walk through the narrow gate alone. You can't take your family, friends or any other baggage,.. it's only room for your spirit.. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. It really makes you evaluate your relationship with GOD, constantly... This book really explains about what it is to be rooted in Christ. To FOLLOW HIM

Awesome book! Thanks to John for being willing to give a message thats HARD to hear! MANY are called, FEW are choosen. I don't know how much clearer it can be. If the church as a whole was willing to stand up in this way, particularly in America, our country would never be the same.

This is a magnificent book by the best preacher in the USA today. I cannot recommend it highly enough - it tells you Christianity as is really is, as opposed to all the many watered down versions that the Church is suffering from today. This is a life changing book - buy 10 copies and make sure that your pastor is one of them.

This book is an exceptional and unapologetic treatise calling for an end to the "seeker friendly" gospel and a return to the true gospel. He (John MacArthur) presents a clear and powerful case for why we can only accept the whole truth and no less from the pulpit. This book is great for those who think the "seeker friendly" movement has gone to far and for those who don't know what all the fuss is about. I recomend this book for those who have picked a side and for those who are still thinking about it

I find it absolutely amazing how compelled I was to this book. I couldn't stop reading it until it was finished. Being a new student of reformed theology, this book was one of MaCarthur's best yet. Praise be to God for boldness from men who aren't monetarily afraid to write more about the truth. A must have for anyone who is interested in the truth of the Bible. A perfect gift for a reformed students library or any serious student of the Word.

Christmas is coming folks! Buy this book for all your friends and make 101% sure that your pastor and everyone on the borad of elders or deacons has it. It is THAT good folks! Make sure you also buy plenty of his other books, the books by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and by Dr Lloyd-Jones's grandson Christopher Catherwood as well. John is simply the best preacher around in the USA today - even better than John Piper - and this book shows it again and again!

After reading the back cover and the introduction I had no choice but to buy this book. MacArthur challenges the reader to listen to Jesus and enter the narrow gate. Christ didn't just die for us to have a smile on our face. He died for our sins!

Just get this book.

This is, as usual from Dr. MacArthur, a fantastic book. What simplicity; what hard-hitting truths.

Books like this plow the soul; they move the heart to genuine joy.

Read this book slowly with an open Bible.

I truly enjoyed this book. John Macarthur brought to the light so many issues that the church as a whole faces today, issues that need to be addressed with the boldness and confidence that Macarthur approaches his writing of this text.

This is, as usual from Dr. MacArthur, a fantastic book. What simplicity; what hard-hitting truths.

Books like this plow the soul; they move the heart to genuine joy.

Read this book slowly with an open Bible.

I truly enjoyed this book. John Macarthur brought to the light so many issues that the church as a whole faces today, issues that need to be addressed with the boldness and confidence that Macarthur approaches his writing of this text.

We may not all agree with Dr. MacArthurs dogmatic presentation of the gospel. But we must all agree that he is a blessing to the body of Christ.

"Hard to Believe" is a great witness to the pure presentation of the gospel. MacArthur has done a fantastic job!

Having read The Gospel According to Jesus and The Gospel According to the Apostles (other books by John MacArthur), I have for a number of years defended MacArthur in the lordship controversy. I do not agree with his theology wholesale, but I have sought to keep those in the "free grace" movement from misunderstanding what he has said. Those from the "free grace" perspective have accused MacArthur for decades of saying that faith in Christ is not enough to save, but his point in those other books has never been to add to faith, but rather to redefine faith. In this book, however, the same cannot be said. In Hard to Believe, MacArthur blatantly states his position that good works are necessary for salvation, and if he means to distinguish between justification and sanctification (in that good works are necessary for sanctification, not justification) then he has done a very poor job of making that clear.
Having grown up in conservative and traditional churches and having recently become part of a seeker-sensitive church, I can understand some of MacArthur's arguments against that movement. It is certainly true that the seeker-sensitive movement has, in many cases, forsaken the biblical message in order to entertain and make people feel good. But he is wrong in saying that seeker-sensitive equals unbiblical. There is nothing in the Bible that says we must have absolutely nothing attractive about us other than the gospel (and his gospel is not attractive at all!) His attitude of "people come to our church and they either get saved or they don't come back" is abhorent. He has lost entirely the difference between a gospel that offends because it confronts our pride (and I agree with him that it does!) and a Christian or Christian church that offends because he/it has a superiority complex.
There will always be a difficult and necessary tension for the Christian church between love and truth; I am certainly not claiming to arrived at that tension perfectly! But as a Christian I am deeply offended by the arrogance of John MacArthur and if he spoke for God so perfectly as he claims to, I would be ashamed of my faith.
I recommend this book for Christians because it may serve as a warning not to you who see the exclusive claims of Christ, but to you Christians who would see their particular way of doing church as exclusive and superior to all others. Watch out for those who think they speak for God in a way unattainable to all others! If you are not a Christian but are interested in Christianity, I would not recommend this book at all because it is my desire that you find Jesus Christ, and you will not find Him here.

This book is all about works-based salvation, folks. It might as well have been written by the Pope or by some ayatollah. Truth is, it is very easy to be saved. Check out Romans 10:9 --"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved". This doctrine is confirmed by numerous similar verses in the epistles of the New Testament.

Yes, it is easy to be saved. But to follow Jesus and to be totally obedient is hard. That is where the doctrine of rewards comes in, a doctrine that is virtually ignored by MacArthur. This doctrine is made crystal clear in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, which deals with the Judgment Seat of Christ. Specifically, verse 15 states, "if any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Books like this do nothing but cause division and confusion. You cannot improve on the truth of the Scriptures, not even if you are John MacArthur.

Why would he rehash his material under different titles?

Of course, his understanding of responding to the gospel is unbiblical. If one needs to give up her sins to be saved, why does anyone need a Savior?!

Simply abysmal. More argument from MacArthur that God's free gift of eternal life is available to anyone who wants to pay a high price for it. This book will sound great to anyone whose theology tries to explain away God's invitation: "Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost" (Rev. 22:17). For those who seek eternal life from God, read the Gospel of John and drink freely of Christ's living water. For those who want to understand biblically how salvation is offered freely by grace through faith, but there is indeed a true cost to discipleship, read Bob Wilkin or Zane Hodges.

This book is a horrible treatment of matters of faith. MacArthur really turns the Gospel of faith in Jesus Christ to be something of the law, with much works and "MUSTS" and "SHOULDS". A Christian is so not because of his/her works, but because of the grace of God, who gives us the faith in Christ. This has nothing to do with our works. This type of book is really popular nowadays as it has become important to work for our salvation, and the view that morality, ethics, and works are the marks of a Christian. The mark of a Christian is trust in God for salvation, and from this faith flows forth good works. Making the Gospel into Law is one of the worst things an author can do, causing many to stumble in their God-given faith. I would not suggest this book to anyone. There are better books out there, I would suggest "Spirituality of the Cross" by Gene Edward Vieth, or perhaps "Handling the Word of Truth" by John Pless. These two books teach about following Jesus and yet properly speak of the Gospel without causing doubt in people's faith.

I cannot believe people are still buying this Lordship Salvation Garbage... Macarthur goes way to far here... for everyone who put 5 stars cannot understand total depravity and unconditional Grace of God.. The Gospel Message is Easy to Believe... It is the Good News... We cannot qualify one for salvation... Many tie Macarthur to Spurgeon... here is Spurgeon speaking on this same Lordship Salvation movement in his day... You will see that Spurgeon would list Macarthurs Belief's as Heresy...

Perhaps no one has better answered this debate by Macarthur other than Charles Spurgeon who himself was a fervent Calvinist. However Spurgeon recognized the danger of mixing law with grace and adding things to God's simple command to believe on God's Son. I'm going to quote at length from one of Spurgeon's sermons entitled, "The Warrant of Faith." This sermon is based on 1 John 3:23--"And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ." The following is a lengthy quote taken from this sermon by Spurgeon:

O, when will all professors, and especially all professed ministers of Christ, learn the difference between the law and the gospel? Most of them make a mingle-mangle, and serve out deadly potions to the people, often containing but one ounce of gospel to a pound of law, whereas, but even a grain of law is enough to spoil the whole thing. It must be gospel, and gospel only.

"Believing" is most clearly explained by that simple word "trust." Believing is partly the intellectual operation of receiving divine truths, but the essence of it lies in relying upon those truths. I believe that, although I cannot swim, yonder friendly plank will support me in the flood-I grasp it, and am saved: the grasp is faith. Thus faith is accepting God's great promises, contained in the Person of His Son. It is taking God at His Word, and trusting in Jesus Christ as being my salvation, although I am utterly unworthy of His regard. Sinner, if thou takest Christ to be thy Saviour this day, thou art justified; though thou be the biggest blasphemer and persecutor out of hell...if thou wilt honor God by believing Christ is able to forgive such a wretch as thou art, and wilt now trust in Jesus' precious blood, thou art saved from divine wrath.

The WARRANT OF BELIEVING is the commandment of God. This is the commandment, that ye "believe on His Son Jesus Christ."

They (certain Calvinists) preached repentance and hatred of sin as the warrant of a sinner's trusting to Christ. According to them, a sinner might reason thus-"I possess such-and-such a degree of sensibility on account of sin, therefore I have a right to trust in Christ." Now, such reasoning is seasoned with fatal error. Whoever preaches in this fashion may preach much of the gospel, but the whole gospel of the free grace of God in its fullness he has yet to learn. In our own day certain preachers assure us that a man must be regenerated before we may bid him believe in Jesus Christ; some degree of a work of grace in the heart being, in their judgment, the only warrant to believe. This also is false. It takes away a gospel for sinners and offers us a gospel for saints. It is anything but a ministry of free grace.

If I am to preach the faith in Christ to a man who is regenerated, then the man, being regenerated, is saved already, and it is an unnecessary and ridiculous thing for me to preach Christ to him, and bid him to believe in order to be saved when he is saved already, being regenerate. Am I only to preach faith to those who have it? Absurd, indeed! Is not this waiting till the man is cured and then bringing him the medicine? This is preaching Christ to the righteous and not to sinners. "Nay," saith one, "but we mean that a man must have some good desires towards Christ before he has any warrant to believe in Jesus." Friend, do you not know that all good desires have some degree of holiness in them? But if a sinner hath any degree of true holiness in him it must be the work of the Spirit, for true holiness never exists in the carnal mind, therefore, that man is already renewed, and therefore saved. Are we to go running up and down the world, proclaiming life to the living, casting bread to those who are fed already, and holding up Christ on the pole of the gospel to those who are already healed? My brethren, where is our inducement to labour where our efforts are so little needed? If I am to preach Christ to those who have no goodness, who have nothing in them that qualifies them for mercy, then I feel I have a gospel so divine that I would proclaim it with my last breath, crying aloud, that "Jesus came into the world to save SINNERS!"

Secondly, to tell the sinner that he is to believe on Christ because of some warrant in himself, is LEGAL, I dare to say it-legal. Though this method is generally adopted by the higher school of Calvinists, they are herein unsound, uncalvinistic, and legal.

If I believe in Jesus because I have convictions and a spirit of prayer, then evidently the first and the most important fact is not Christ, but my possession of repentance, conviction, and prayer, so that really my hope hinges upon my having repented; and if this be not legal I do not know what is...If I lean on Christ because I feel this and that, then I am leaning on my feelings and not on Christ alone, and this is legal indeed. Nay, even if desires after Christ are to be my warrant for believing, if I am to believe in Jesus not because he bids me, but because I feel some desires after him, you will again with half an eye perceive that the most important source of my comfort must be my own desires. So that we shall be always looking within. "Do I really desire? If I do, then Christ can save me; if I do not, then he cannot." And so my desire overrides Christ and his grace. AWAY WITH SUCH LEGALITY FROM THE EARTH!

If you tell a poor sinner that there is a certain amount of humblings, and tremblings, and convictions, and heart-searchings to be felt, in order that he may be warranted to come to Christ, I demand of all legal-gospellers distinct information as to the manner and exact degree of preparation required. Brethren, you will find when these gentlemen are pushed into a corner, they will not agree, but will every one give a different standard, according to his own judgment. One will way the sinner must have months of law work; another, that he only needs good desires; and some will demand that he possess the graces of the Spirit--such as humility, godly sorrow, and love to holiness. You will get no clear answer from them.

And let me ask you, my brethren, whether such an incomprehensible gospel would do for a dying man? There he lies in the agonies of death. He tells me that he has no good thought or feeling, and asks what he must do to be saved. There is but a step between him and death-another five minutes and that man's soul may be in hell. What am I to tell him? Am I to be an hour explaining to him the preparation required before he may come to Christ? Brethren, I dare not. But I tell him, "Believe, brother, even though it be the eleventh hour; trust thy soul with Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."

How DANGEROUS is the sentiment I am opposing. My hearers, it may be so mischievous as to have misled some of you. I solemnly warn you, though you have been professors of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for twenty years, if your reason for believing in Christ lies in this, that you have felt the terrors of the law; that you have been alarmed, and have been convicted; if your own experience be your warrant for believing in Christ, it is a false reason...

Sinners, let me address you with words of life: Jesus wants nothing of you, nothing whatsoever, nothing done, nothing felt; he gives both work and feeling. Ragged, penniless, just as ye are, lost, forsaken, desolate, with no good feelings, and no good hopes, still Jesus comes to you, and in these words of pity he addresses you, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

Our preaching, on the theory (erroneous theory) of qualifications, should not be, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" but "Qualify yourselves for faith, be sensible of your sin, be regenerated, get marks and evidences, and then believe."

They (the apostles) ought not to have commenced with preaching Christ; they should have preached up qualifications, emotions, and sensation, if these are the preparations for Jesus; but I find that Paul, whenever he stands up, has nothing to preach but "Christ, and him crucified."

Sinner, whoever thou mayest be, God now commands thee to believe in Jesus Christ. This is his commandment: he does not command thee to feel anything, or be anything, to prepare thyself for this. Now, art thou willing to incur the great guilt of making God a liar? Surely thou wilt shrink from that: then dare to believe. Thou canst not say, "I have no right:" you have a perfect right to do what God tells you to do. You cannot tell me you are not fit; there is no fitness wanted, the command is given and it is yours to obey, not to dispute. You cannot say it does not come to you-it is preached to every creature under heaven!

Remember all those afternoon TV game shows? Everybody striving to get chosen to go up on the stage so they can compete against the other "chosen ones" for the prizes? Fun, but so disappointing when we aren't chosen or we don't win the major prize.

It is a fact that millions of Pew-Sitters who would heartily agree that God is love, understand His love as simply human love taken to a higher degree - an ultimate eros love. They believe that God loves them as a human loves a human. This results in a relationship with God that is on very shaky ground. If God loves us to the degree that we please Him, then we are then we are forever in doubt concerning His love toward us. And the flip side is that if we believe that we have attracted His love by our behavior, we are filled with pride and congratulate ourselves that we (unlike others) have achieved the kind of life that makes us His beloved.

This is Lordship[ Salvation. Getting God's love and acceptance by our behavior. In an eros world, the Gospel of Grace is a scandal! Why? Because the true Gospel of Grace - the fact that God loves us unconditionally and that because of that love, He took away all of mankind's sin at the cross - it declares to all men and women that they are loved by God not because of who they are or what they have or have not done, but because of who He is!

John MacArthur has devised a "religion" that his detractors call "Lordship Salvation" that is so much like a game show that I would call "THE PHARISEE GAME." But this game isn't played on a stage with TV cameras strategically positioned and an audience that applauds upon command. John MacArthur's PHARISEE GAME is real life, and the grand prize is heaven or hell. To begin with, the hopeful audience doesn't begin on a level playing field, because MacArthur's Pharisee Game has this "behind-the-curtain" dirty secret called 5 Point Calvinism that teaches that long before the PHARISEE GAME begins, the winners and losers have already been chosen. He calls it "election." And those few that are elected then enter a gauntlet of such uncertainty called sin-management that they will never know if they won the PHARISEE GAME. Let me illustrate with a typical day in my life back when I was playing THE PHARISEE GAME.

I wake up at 6 AM and before I push away the blankets, I say, "Good morning Lord! Today, I will make you Lord of my life! I will carry my cross everywhere I go. I will live as Christ-like as I can. I will exhibit as many of the fruits of the Spirit as I can. I will treat everybody like I want to be treated. And when I fail, I will confess my sins so that you can forgive me and return my lost righteousness." I shave, shower, and dress. My wife has laid out my breakfast and set my attache with my newspaper. I read a short MacArthur devotional about bitterness and vow to not harbor any bitterness against anybody today, because such behavior would put my very salvation into doubt. After a kiss, I'm into my car and headed for the freeway. "Ha! So far, no sins!" I stop behind the line of single drivers to wait my turn being metered onto the freeway, and what is this? A single driver is coming up the carpool lane and passing all of us. "Damn him! How dare he do such a thing? Why is there never a cop there when you need one? Maybe God will get him a flat tire or run out of gas. Serve the cheater right!" (Opps! I just committed several sins. I'm going to have to exhibit extra spiritual fruit today to make up for all of that). I finally get to work and you guessed it. Casper - the guy who is trying to get promoted over me has parked so far into my spot that I can't get in. "Crap! Now I have to park out on the street!" (Oops! More sins). I walk through reception and Mindy holds up a yellow Post-It. "The boss wants you in his office the moment you arrive." I take the Post-It and give Mindy a questioning look. "He didn't say what it was about." I drop off my attache and lunch at my cubicle and notice the report Casper and I were supposed to write. "That's what this is about. Casper forced me to change those sales stats to make him look good and the boss wants to know why I did it." By the time I get to Mike's office, I'm really angry. I burst through the door with my fists tight and my blood pressure high. I throw the report on his desk. "Casper did it! I owed Casper a debt and he made me change the sales figures to pay him back!" Mike sits back, bewildered. "All I wanted to see you about was to invite you and your wife to my father's birthday party on Saturday. Uh...what's this about a falsified sales report?" (Wow! How many more sin have I committed - and after all those promises this morning to God that I would try harder today?) "Sure - we'd love to come to your father's birthday party." He picks up the report. "So...tell me about this." (Do I lie? Do I tell him the truth, that I added a couple of sales I didn't actually close during the reporting period? How many more sins is this?) "Here - I'll fix it and have it back in a few minutes." He laughs and excuses the whole thing as inter-office competition. On my way back to my cubicle, I notice Brenda in her seductive skirt and low blouse. Before I realize it, I have lusted after her body. (More sins.) Brenda has just opened a Tupperware of Danish cookies. Three neat rows of ten each row. Let's see. Ten employees and thirty cookies. I take my three, but they are so good that I return later when nobody is watching and take two more. As I brush the evidence from my lips, I realize that theft is a sin. The rest of the day goes pretty smooth - only two more minor sins that - like the two cookies I stole - nobody knows about. At the end of the day, I notice that there are three cookies left in the Tupperware, so somebody didn't want their cookies. That makes it so I really didn't steal them. That's one sin I won't have to confess tonight. To make a long PHARISEE GAME short, after dinner I find a quiet place and confess my way through all of the day's sins as best as I can remember them. I don't confess the cookies theft because as it turned out, those extra cookies were up for grabs. And I don't confess my bitterness about that driver who cheated to get on the freeway ahead of all of us other single drivers because that's his sin to confess. I figure that Jesus would have been angry too, so there was no sin.

Do you see it? This was my life under John MacArthur's PHARISEE GAME known as Lordship Salvation and 5 Point Calvinism. Nothing but making empty promises to reform myself, confessing my accumulated sins - the ones I couldn't rationalize away - and then managing my sin account. where was my Savior? What do I need Jesus for when confession gets my sins forgiven? Do you see it? John MacArthur heaps so many burdens upon you that you have no way of ever knowing when and how your sins are forgiven. John MacArthur has turned your soul into merchandise - and only by paying enough tithes and being involved in enough ministries, and by working for John MacArthur can you ever be told - by John MacArthur - whether you might be one of those elect that is chosen to play THE PHARISEE GAME.

By stark contrast is the Gospel of Grace as taught by the Scriptures. Romans 6:23 describes the before and after situations of the Old Covenant where you earn wages as you sin, and the New Covenant in which you receive the free gift of salvation without any works. I is your free choice to play John MacArthur's PHARISEE GAME or accept God's free invitation into eternal life by believing in Who Jesus is and what He did for you on the cross. In the PHARISEE GAME, Jesus only paid the sin debt, and it is up to you to somehow apply that to your sins as you commit them. And there is no way to know if it worked. What if your confession was just a little too flippant for God? What if you've committed that same sin hundreds of times and promise to never do it again, while you are planning the next time you'll commit it as you're confessing it? Is God that easily fooled? You've heard that cute saying: "I wanted something that I knew God would never give me. So I stole one and confessed it so God would have to forgive me." That's THE PHARISEE GAME.

As you can see, the Lordship Salvation and 5 Point Calvinism that John MacArthur teaches placed a terrible burden of guilt on me, and it took a lot of Biblical study to finally realize that God's purpose in going to the cross - as Jesus Christ - was to reconcile mankind to Himself, NOT to play the bondage game of the Pharisees. Until I finally realized the truth that all of my sins were forgiven 2,000 years ago at the cross, I was never sure of my salvation. Because MacArthur teaches that we must look at our own "fruits" instead of Christ's finished cross-work, I was placing my faith in faith rather than the Object of faith, Jesus Christ.

I stopped following John MacArthur when I was cleaning our the notes from my Bible. I noticed a recurring theme in my notes. "When and how are my sins forgiven?" The message I was getting from MacArthur's pulpit and other preachers was that there are two kinds of sin; pre-salvation sins and post-salvation sins. The pre-salvation sins have the power to send me to hell. They are forgiven judicially, and I am told that if my salvation prayer was sincere enough to get saved, all of my pre-salvation sins are forgiven. The post-salvation sins are forgiven progressively and no longer have the power to send me to hell, even if I commit exactly the same sin that I committed before I was saved. These post-salvation sins accumulate on my sin account, and even though God promised that He can't see them, He does see them and breaks His fellowship with me when an undetermined number accumulate. Pastors have told me that my confession must not be flippant - that I must be 100% sorry and promise 100% to never sin again - or at least promise to try harder next time. My pastors have taught me that the most important time to purge my sin account by confession is right before partaking of communion so that I don't suffer the communion curse of partaking unworthily - thereby drinking to my own damnation. And then there's the requirement to forgive others in order to get God to forgive my post-salvation sins.

Do you see it? All I've been doing is managing my sin. That's not good news. How could I ever encourage some lost person to join me in this endless struggle with sin?

My wife and I decided that we needed to stop listening to John MacArthur and begin reading the Bible. What we discovered was that Jesus - The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world - actually did what He came to do. Not only did Jesus pay the sin debt, but because of His sacrifice, God forgave all sin at that moment. The sin I commit today was already forgiven 2,000 years ago. That means God is no longer in the business of forgiving sin. That also means that everybody in heaven and hell is already forgiven. The only reason anybody is in hell is because they rejected the Gospel of Grace.

God forgave all sin at the cross, but it will not do you any good - you'll go to hell - unless yu believe it. hiouchi at centurytel dot net

Anyone who's ever taken a programming course knows the meaning of that acronym - "garbage in, garbage out". And GIGO fits this book perfectly! The entire book is garbage, because the premise (Calvinism) is garbage. MacArthur's book is full of paradoxes --perhaps the most egregious one is his scathing criticism of any brand of Christianity other than his own; why, Mr. MacArthur, does it matter what "seeker" churches teach or stand for if your belief in "the elect" is true?? If election is correct, isn't it true that God will save his "elect" regardless of what church they are in, or if they even attend church at all?? That is a question that no Calvinist can truthfully answer. In fact, you Calvinists, if "election" is truth, why did God the Son even have to suffer and die for our sins? Why is there a Bible?? Why does it matter HOW we live if we are among "the elect"?? Calvinists are in grave error in believing what one man (John Calvin) taught, to the exclusion of what is actually in the Scripture. For an antidote to this false teaching, I highly recommend Dave Hunt's book "What Love Is This" -- good luck in finding it, because it has been suppressed by the Calvinists-- they don't want the error of their beliefs to see the light of day!