The Gospel According to Jesus - What Is Authentic Faith?

A really great book that helps you think more deeply about God, Jesus, and the Purpose and Hope of Life. I do not agree with everything, but I do test scripture "to see if those things are so." I do not doubt John MacArthur's sincerity and find much enlightenment and depth of understanding in his writings. However, I disagree with him on Trinitarianism. I believe in One God, One Son of God, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. That is a major disagreement, I know, but I believe in the infallible Word of God, and the Bible does not contradict itself. So it is One for me. I sort through the writings that do not align with the Bible. All in all, I like his book. It is easy to read and explains much and I would recommend it, but with caveats.

Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Lord. Too many folks want to have His Love and Blessings without owning up to the fact our lives should change and we should serve Him. We owe The Lord and should revere Him and show our gratitude by being obedient to His commands. His commands are not suggestions.

If unsaved (knowingly or not), you'll hear the gospel. Repent & believe.
If a church goer, you'll hear the gospel. Repent and believe.
If a growing believer, you'll be encouraged and educated.
If a pastor (saved or unsaved), you'll be challenged to faithfulness.

As with all of his books, teaching or writing, Dr. Mac writes and speaks in a straightforward and helpful style. The issue of Lordship salvation has been a brewing topic for a long time. Dr. MacArthur once again clearly states what the scripture teaches concerning this issue. He writes from a clear concern for the souls and lives of those for whom Christ died and with warning for those who would teach or embrace a false assurance or hope that does not produce the evident fruit of a changed life. He presses the Gospel and its call to a surrendered life to Christ as Lord. This is what Scripture clearly teaches throughout its pages and that is the truth we must desperately grasp and hold to for true assurance of salvation in these perilous times. We are "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible; by the word of God." And His Word demands our full surrender and continued surrender to the resurrected Lord Jesus.

MacArthur methodically examines Jesus' teaching on the most significant question in the bible: "What must I do to be saved?" A must-read book for Christians considering their standing before God and the role of faith and works.

Awesome book. Life changing. One of my favorite Christian books. An antidote to the superficial easy believism gospel that has permeated society. If Jesus is not Savior and Lord of your life you have the wrong Jesus.

The Gospel According to Jesus is the most challenging and rewarding books I have ever read. I am on my third time through it and still learning. it is exceptionally well documented from the scriptures and while you may not like some of the conclusions, it is impossible to argue with the principles. Don't read it if you are not ready to change your life ...

John MacArthur hit the truth of the Gospel accurately with the truth of God's Word. I too don't believe in easy Believism and have seen the harm and false assurance that often comes with those who espouse and practice it.

I absolutely love this book. It explains what following Christ really is. In the book Macarthur explains that Christ commands that we become Doulos, which is greek for slave. This would probably insult most people who claim to be followers of Christ.
Christians shouldn't aim to insult anyone, but we should aim to wake up those who think they are christians but have never truly counted the cost of being His disciple.

I Highly recommend this book for those not sure if they are saved, for someone who wants to give it as a gift to a false convert or to a believer who just loves sound doctrine. This book is rich with good theology and it's truly a joy to read.

Once again John MacArthur clearly and completely explains the Gospel in a way that anyone can understand. My walk with The LORD HAS been deeply affected by understanding exactly what Scripture means when it says Christ is LORD.

A excellent clarifying of His message of the cross. John has been a leader in the Lordship salvation arena from day one. I think we would have less cardinality in the church and more glorifying of Jesus, if the correct gospel presentation was given by the saint.

I love Johns writings, but i find his theology to be off. I believe Christ died for the world, John does not. He is a hyper-calvinist. Also, I do not believe in Lordship salvation. I believe Lordship is works theology. They will not admit to this, but I think it is. He has some weird teaching with respect to Holy Spirit as well.

I still listen to him, but filter out the calvinist stuff.

I am learning much about salvation that I either didn't know or just didn't let sink in. My focus has changed and I am working on becoming a slave who belongs to God instead of an occasional servant. This book will alter the way I witness to others, also.

There seems to be a great rift in modern evangelicalism regarding, "What is the true gospel?" The Gospel According to Jesus answers this question biblically and thoroughly.

Debating "What is the true Gospel," can prove to be quite a chore. The issue of "Lordship Salvation" is brought up and people seems to widely misunderstand it's biblical base. The confusion is not easy to sift through. Personally I spent over a year wrestling with the answer. It took time studying the bible and praying. Supplementing these, I used, and would highly recommend, reading "The Gospel According to Jesus" and classical works by Strong, Ironside, Bunyan, and Edwards.

In reading, common sense should be enough to inform someone context is critical. Reviewers of this book, however, misquote it untiringly. Ryrie wrote a book to answer MacArthur's "The Gospel According to Jesus" Ryrie, though a scholar and great theologian from which great things can be learned, seems to have abandoned basic scholarship in evaluating this book. "The Gospel According to Jesus" is very well written and easy to understand. MacArthur works tirelessly from scripture applying hermeneutics Ryrie seems to have forgotten in his book.

"The Gospel According to Jesus" will be a very convicting read if you approach it with an attitude to learn and be challenged biblically. Take time reading it and wrestle with the texts. You will find it a great benefit to your faith.

Blessings...

Any expositor "worth his salt" faces doctrinal issues from the perspective and the reality of the existence of paradoxes in Scripture. The author touches on this in p. 47 - " They stumble over the twin truths that salvation is a gift, yet it costs everything." (see first and second paragraphs).

Further exploration of this issue from the perspective of Scriptural paradox could be a worthwhile follow-up on the discussions in this book. It is about time as well that more scholars write with the reality of the multi-dimensionality of God and His truth in mind.

I read the 1994 version, which hopefully is the same as this one.

It's about time someone cleared the air on the no-lordship heresy. The prequel to The Gospel According to the Apostles, this book quotes plenty througout church history in Appendix 2. I won't go into the details--read both books for yourself.

I've read hundreds of books in my life, and these two are probably the two most important besides the Bible.