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| The Gospel According to the Apostles | 
 enlarge | Author: John Macarthur
Publisher: Nelson Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 1116131
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Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8
ASIN: B000F6Z8BU
Publication Date: March 8, 2005
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Product Description
Ever since the days of the apostles Paul and James, Christians have struggled to define the proper tension between faith and works. Salvation, Paul stresses is "not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But James argues, "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (2:18). In his characteristic compelling style Dr. MacArthur reconciles these two seemingly divergent threads of biblical truth, taking on the difficult questions head on: - What is cheap grace?
- Have some Christians adopted a "no-lordship" theology?
- What must a person do to be considered righteous by God?
- Do our works have any affect on our salvation?
Jesus asked his followers, "Why do you call me Lord and not do the things that I tell you to?" When John MacArthur dared in his earlier book to ask us this question, critics accused him of shelving grace. Others read the same book and heard in it the identical message preached since the founding of the Church. "The Gospel According to the Apostles is the same gospel Jesus preached," Dr. MacArthur says, "but it differs dramatically from the diluted message popular today. I pray you'll find this book an encouragement as you seek to put your own faith to work."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Giving Ryrie a fair read. November 21, 2008
MacArthur quotes Ryrie's So Great Salvation but after reading The Gospel According to the Apostles I am not so sure he did read it. Ryrie tackles some "straw man" issues in his book So Great Salvation which MacArthur seems to ignore that chapter. It seems MacArthur is so blinded by his own position he can't appreciate the position of Ryrie.
He quotes Ryrie's SGS but when he writes in chapters 2 and 3 of his TGATTA he didn't read the early chapters of SGS. Seems MacArthur only wants to quote Ryrie when it will give him a better presentation of his position. In short, I think it distorts Ryrie's point and creates a straw man.
 The gospel according to the Apostles October 24, 2008
Very well done. I believe the thought process is a little easier to follow than his previous work. The Gospel according to Jesus was well done also, but the battle lines are a little more clear this time. Labels are seondary (reformed versus dispensational ect.) the truth of the text seems to be the primary motivation for both books.
Thank you for a job well done
Cross-eyed The Right Way July 31, 2008
First, I would like to say that John MacArthur does not add legalism to grace as a requirement for salvation (as I have heard some accuse). He does, however, combat the popular notion that one simply has to say a "sinner's prayer" to be saved. If all you do is say a sinner's prayer and attend a church that has a "practical" message every week, you may well think that you are saved simply because one time you said, "Lord, Lord" but you can say "Lord, Lord" all the way to Hell and that IS in the Bible. (Read Matthew 7).
The sad and simple truth is that in our selfish society with our microwave mentality (I want it fresh, I want it hot, I want it now, and I don't want to wait or work for it), easy-believism is the great apostasy of the modern church. Oh, sure, there are plenty of other heresies and apostasies running rampant, but the wide gate that is ushering the most people into the pit in our day and age is the one whose sign reads "cheap grace". An unrepentant and unregenerate soul may "claim the Name", but the truth of the matter is that if the old man does not die, there is no "new creation". (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The Apostle Paul never said that mere obedience to the law could ever say anyone. He argued irrefutably that any who sought their salvation in the law were damned. (See Romans 1-16. And the rest of his epistles). However, I can not find in any epistle the Apostle Paul ever wrote that gives any indication that someone who continues in sin after being called by Christ is destined for salvation. Nor in Peter's, nor in John's or James', and certainly not in Jesus own words. And the evidence of grace in those great mens' lives were the works that were accomplished through "bondservice" to THE LORD.
If you really read the four gospels and compare what Jesus actually said and taught about Himself, you would see that John MacArthur does not twist or distort anything. In fact, I don't think that someone coming to the gospels for the first time and actually reading them for themselves--without any preconceptions or preconditioned ideas--would find anything there that seems to suggest that all one has to do is call on the Name of Jesus to be saved. True believers experience a changed life.
Jesus said that by their fruit you would know them, and that a bad tree does not produce good fruit; nor a good tree, bad fruit. James, the Lord's brother said that faith without works was dead, just the same as works without faith is dead. The problem is that some modern teachers want to separate works and faith (and grace) as if they could be approached independent of one another. However, I dare say that those three things are no more separable than the three persons of The Trinity! While it would seem absolutely ludicrous for most Christians to invalidate any one or combination of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, there are yet many who seem to think that faith, works, and grace can be separated and dealt with distinctly as concerns salvation. THIS IS ERROR. In the same way, trying to make two distinct offices out of our high priest (that is, that He can be your Savior without being Lord of your life) is just as preposterous. THAT is unbiblical, and it is good that there are expositors who love the Word of God enough to teach the truth. Though many of today's shepherds may blindly lead the blind down the wide road to destruction, John MacArthur is not one of them.
Think of the parable of the seed, and of the wheat and tares from Matthew 13. Or even the prodigal son. In that story, the son repents and turns away from the old self. Would the father in that story have held his prodigal son in such high regard had he only come back home for more money to carry on drinking, gambling, and pursuing a sinful, selfish life? Some will probably argue yes, but that is not the parable that Jesus told. The son in the story Jesus spoke of was truly repentant, and that was the key to the forgiveness of the father.
However, the best suggestion that I have is not to just read this book by John MacArthur to see whether or not you want to believe the things it says, but rather read THE BOOK, that is the Word of God. Read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and see what Jesus Himself says. Read the epistles to the early churches, and contemplate the exhortations therein. Was anyone told to stop doing good because it threatened their salvation? Ridiculous! But time and time again, we see the exhortation to stop doing evil, to put sin and the power of the devil behind, to worship God, and to die to oneself daily. And those who taught incorrect doctrine, or who lived sinful lives, they were PUT OUT of the church because they were harmful to her. Oh, that more congregations were willing to purge the cancerous members of the body in this day and age, but for far too many "shepherds" what matter is not the health of their stock, but the size of the flock.
In any event, if you care to truly follow Christ and you call Him Lord and desire Him to be the one in control of your sinful, meaningless life, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book as well as The Gospel According to Jesus (and anything by James Boice) to start building the walls of your faith on a solid foundation.
May the Lord bless you and keep you, lest you be thrown into the fire. Romans 10:16-17 says, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?' So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. "
Peace & Blessings
 Repent, Have Faith- New Creation November 19, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What does having Faith mean? What does it mean to say I have accepted Jesus as my personal savior? One is making a claim to an intellectual consent that Jesus existed and Jesus is God, but to believe in Jesus has to be so much more. To have, to believe in Jesus has to acknowledge, has to consent to the words taught, to the lessons given as recorded in the New Testament are true. If an individual does so, does that person have a saving faith in Jesus? To be saved does an individual need an emotional response to the message in the New Testament in addition to the intellectual one? The emotion need to come forth from the realization that one has rebelled against God's authority- that one is a sinner. In other words does someone have to recognize the Lordship of Jesus Christ to be saved? John MacArthur argues that no man can truly have Faith in Jesus Christ without repentance for ones sins. That such repentance does effect a persons Christian walk. That a true Christian will bare fruit. This fruit does bring salvation but comes forth from salvation because one has a honest Faith in Jesus Christ. John MacArthur goes into great detail about the theological details of recognizing Jesus as lord and Savior.
A True Defender of the Christian Faith October 29, 2006
Thank you Lord for blessing us with Dr.John MacArthur. I thoroughly enjoyed this volume. MacArthur's expository style is encouraging, for someone like me who values expository preaching.
I highly recommend this volume.
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