Slave, written by John MacArthur, is a book about our identity in Christ. The basic premise is that we have a choice to either be servants or slaves to Christ. The idea is that slavery, as talked about in reference to Jesus Christ, is not really a bad thing, but rather something to be sought. If I could summarize the message it would be that our Identity is found in slavery to the King of Kings. However, this slavery is one where we have a just and fair master who has adopted us as Sons and given us true freedom in Him.
I really wanted to like this book. I have never read anything by John MacArthur before. It was really well written and obviously well researched. There were some awesome Biblical truths found in this book. Despite all of that, I found I did not enjoy this book very much at all. Maybe it was because it started off with such promise but then got derailed by other theological issues.
There were areas of challenge. We go down trails such as eternal salvation (Once saved always saved), pre-destination, and the like but it really seems to detract from the area of slavery and identity in Christ.
A book with such promise, tackling an issue in and of itself very controversial, stopped being of interest half-way through and just didn't seem to finish well. Maybe because it did tackle other issues I was not looking for when I read the cover.
If you are a MacArthur fan you will probably really enjoy this book. If you want to have your faith challenged you might want to grab this book as well. I just couldn’t recommend it to those seeking clarification on their identity in Christ. It was the one promise I felt was not fulfilled.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
3 comments:
Good comment. I'm very familiar with MacArthur and his writings. The unseen trap is in the question "Where do you hear from God?", and this always winds up at "You listen to John MacArthur's version of what Scripture says". There's an agenda that is not of God behind all this stuff, and it winds up creating depression and misery for earnest people who really want to serve God.
Thanks. I have heard a few people say that MacArthur tends to do the once saved always saved, pre-destination thing quite often in his books.
I guess I understand where he gets the servants/slaves stuff, but we need to get past all that.
We are sons and daughters! Co-heirs with Christ! I prefer to view the relationship in these terms. Then it makes me want to serve Him all the more.
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