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Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern

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Well, this book really nails the underlying root cause of many of professing 'evangelical' church problems. Lack of discernment, which is directly related to biblical ignorance and/or disobedience, is identified in several of it's symptoms as evidenced by the modern church's quest for success. MacArthur exhorts us to return to the discipline of scriptural reason. Where pragmatism, emotion, and a fondness for the world's approval have taken over the thinking and methodology of many Christian ministries, the author seeks to give us a biblical and historical perspective to help us return to the chief concern of being found faithful to the Lord and His word, which often conflicts with the world's vision of success. I have given away ten copies of this volumn because it is an excellent treatment of an epidemic largely undiagnosed in today's professing church; this book belongs in all Pastor's and church's libraries.

A great treatise on the movement in the church today that is both reckless and dangerous. John MacArthur guides the reader through 7 chapters dealing with: 1) The war against reason, 2) The rise of reckless faith, 3) Biblical formula for discernment, 4) What are the fundamentals of christianity, 5) Evangelicals and Catholics together, 6) The "Holy laughter" movement, 7) Looking for truth in all the wrong places, and an appendix on Jonathan Edward's theology of discernment. It's time for the church to return to a spirit of discernment, and this book gives a layout of the steps needed to do just that.

Like the apostle Paul, John Macarthur conveys a tone of firm and no-nonsense adherence to God's word balanced with loving appeals and warnings to those who have strayed from the 'non-negotiable' truths of the Christian doctrine.

Clear and scripturally-supported ideas allow Christians to humbly but courageously defend themselves against the often intimidating arguments advanced by church proponents of political correctness, relativism and 'feel-good' mysticism.

Those who believe in the 'plain sense of scripture' as the guiding principle for understanding the Bible will probably find this book an easy and riveting read and its challenges against sophisticated-sounding and subtle false teachings well-grounded.

Being of fan of MacArthur's championing the Bible against the popular multitudes, even in the face of all the charges and hostility. Although not all of his theology is mine, I admire and concur with much of what he holds dear and fervently cries out for the church to seek discernment.

History continues to repeat itself; esp. in Satan's M.O. -- deceive them by challenging what God said. From the historical critics to the charismatics to the fundamentalists, it's the same problem: did God really say? do you really think God would say that?

Careful attention to the Bible, as MacArthur points out, will occupy itself around the central question: how can a person be saved? Then comes the center of all Scripture: Luke 24:24,26 --Christ and Him crucified! Believe this, and receive it in the means of grace--word and sacraments. (1 cor. 2:1-2).

Notice the prophecy of our day? 2 Tim. 4:3. Remedy for lay people to assure yourselves you've got a true servant of the Word= Heb. 5:9-14 and Acts 17:11.

Dr. John MacArthur is one of the best evangelical Bible teachers in America. His books, sermons, and leadership are full of God's Word. His call to the Church of Jesus Christ is simply to faithfully obey the inerrant Word of God.

In this work, Dr. MacArthur calls for the Church to learn to discern truth from error by the teachings of Scripture. He calls for Christians to base their doctrine and practices from the Bible and not from personal experience (1 Timothy 4:16; Titus 2:1). His fear is justified by numerous examples of cultic to simply strange teachings and subjective experiences from the Catholic Church to the charismatic movement. He in turn gives a biblical examination of these movements and leaves the reader with a deep hunger to remain committed to Scripture.

A great book with a powerful message for the modern evangelical church.

There are some books where the passion is so intense it bleeds through the pages, Macarthur's is one of them. This is the first Mac book I read and also the best one. Charismatic and liberal infidelity had stormed the ranks of my campus; my back was to the wall and my sword broken, then God raised up from the ranks John Macarthur to combat higher criticism on one front and Charismatic chaos on the other. When I read this book, my blood boiled. For I could relate to the trampling of the Word of God that was mentioned in the book and that I had seen in my schools. But really...is it necessary to "shoot our own wounded" when the gospel needs to be preached? I think it is. Please hear me out. The Gospel must remain pure (read Galatians if you disagree) to be effective. First, a liberal would never preach Christ crucified, adn a Charismatic would preach anyting that sounded good, as long as it does not draw theological lines which would expose his error. THis book also sheds a good light on evangelicals and catholics together. Does Macarhtur try to get his message across? I think a quote from Richard Baxter would suffice : "I preached as to ne'er preach again, and as a dying man to dying men."

This is a book that more than meets a critical need that is facing modern evangelicalism today. Timely written in an era where biblical Christianity is simply intolerant in an age of tolerance, it presents to the reader a biblical case for discernment based on the Word of God.

When most books choose to overlook and skimp over the vital importance of doctrinal accuracy and anitithetical thinking (with a tendency for unscriptural ecumenical unity), "Reckless Faith" choose to handle the issue head on, with the precision and passion of solid biblical teaching.

Pervasive in the Church today is the anti-intellectual spirit that has caused thousands to be deceived and manipulated by the numerous false doctrines, heresies and cults that stormed into the ranks of Evangelicalism.

Popular Bible expositor and teacher John MacArthur exhorts and encourages believers to rightly handle the Word of Truth, and to contend earnestly for the Faith. With passion and sharp wit, he sets forth for us timeless chapters that touch on the nature of Reckless Faith, the philosophies that lead to such a thinking and attitude, reasons that lead to the rise of Reckless faith, biblical teachings on sound discernment, and use those principles as he analysed modern controversies such as the Laughing movement, Prophecy movement, as well as the Roman Catholicism controversy.

This is a book with a purpose. It is a book with a message for the Church that needs to be heard and comprehended in these last days where false prophets abound and seducing spirits and doctrines of devils seek to deceive even the elect of God.

With its contagious and infectious spirit, any believer who opens and peruses its pages will be drawn into the passion and power of Biblical Christianity and the preaching of the pure and unadulterated Word of God!

It seems unusual, does it not, that at a time when the church is in such dire need of discernment, there are few books to be found that address this critical issue. Or perhaps it is this dearth of books dealing with discernment that have contributed to the problem. Regardless, at a time when the shelves at Christian bookstores are groaning under the weight of the tens of thousands of books published each year, it is exceedingly difficult to find one that deals with discernment. A survey of several of my friends, avid readers all, yielded a grand total of one suggestion: John MacArthur's Reckless Faith, which is out of print.

We are fortunate, I suppose, to live at a time when even books that are out of print are not terribly difficult to acquire. I was grateful to see that Amazon and other companies selling used books have many of this title available. I quickly purchased one and am glad that I did. Reckless Faith, in classic John MacArthur style, began as a series of sermons. MacArthur argues for the importance of reason in the Christian faith, proving first that a reason-based faith has largely been abandoned within the evangelical world. In its place has arisen a faith based on feelings and, humans being what they are, a faith that feels good. It is this faith, faith that bypasses and ignores the mind rather than being built upon it, that MacArthur terms restless. Opposed to reckless faith is true biblical ministry. "We must take an unmovable stance on all issues where the Bible speaks plainly. What if people don't like such dogmatism? It is necessary anyway. Sound doctrine divides, it confronts, it seperates, it judges, it convicts, it reproves, it rebukes, it exhorts, it refutes error. None of those things is very highly esteemed in modern thought. But the health of the church depends on our holding firmly to the truth, for where strong convictions are not tolerated, discernment cannot survive." Later MacArthur teaches that discernment cannot survive in an atmosphere of doctrinal confusion and will not survive where relativism is tolerated. "It cannot survive if we compromise with the world."

The heart of the book is "The Biblical Formula for Discernment." Expositing 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, MacArthur teaches the three requirements of a discerning mind. First, we must judge everything. Paul sets this exhortation in the context of some very basic commands for the Christian life, showing that it is not an extraordinary duty, but a part of what He expects of every Christian. Having judged all doctrine, we are to cling to what is good. We need to cultivate our love for truth and have a faithfulness to sound doctrine. And finally, we must shun all that is evil. We are not given permission in Scripture to expose ourselves to evil or to tamper with it. We are to flee evil doctrine as we flee sins such as sexual immorality.

The final chapters of the book deal with specific issues where the church has failed in its discernment. MacArthur first provides some teaching on the fundamental doctrines of Christianity and then points to the ecumenical movement and the Word Faith movement as examples of the church failing to judge doctrine and flee from what is unbiblical. The chapter dealing with Evangelicals and Catholics Together is particularly useful as a brief examination and refutation of that dangerous document.

When I began this book I thought it was the only book available dealing with spiritual discernment. I was glad to see that MacArthur often referenced a book written by Jay Adams also dealing with the topic. A quick Internet search shows that this book is also out of print, but like Reckless Faith is widely available from used bookstores. I ordered it immediately.

Reckless Faith is an excellent book and one that ought not to be out of print. I hope that, like other MacArthur titles, Crossway will see fit to publish it again. Rarely has the church needed this type of teaching more than it does today.

Absolutely excellent! A must read book. It's a straight forward approach no nonesense. He fully understands the goings on in many churches that you think your the only one that knows. I even suggested to a couple of church associate pasters that there entier administration system would do them good to read this book, of course I didn't even get a reply, I guess the name of the book in it's self must of convicted them enough to shut me out. You can relax somewhat in the sense after you read it (maybe not)in knowing were not the only ones that know. It's a book I find easy to pass on to those in era.

This is just another of MacArther's several attempts (perhaps unconsciously) to restrict what God can and should do in the name of "discernment". Take note that I am not defending the Charismatics that he is attacking. They have their shares of mistakes. But MacArther's heavily relience on reason and his so-called "Biblical Foundation" for discernment are nothing more than a subtle attempt at articulating a humanly acceptable "comfort zone", in which God "has to" operate. Anything, any phenomenon, that falls outside of this territory of human understanding are deemed "not of God". "God" in his world amounts to, if you will, a kind of complex but nevertheless abstract principle, according to which we apply our judegement on things that happen in our world, to see if they fall outside or within the boundry of the territory. This, in a nut shell, is what MacArther meant by discernment. There is no possible room for a personal God who might respond or react or interact with us. God hides behind a set of complicated algorithm that we must apply to figure out for ourselves what His wills are. Knowing God's will for MacArther means doing a meticlulous calculation on all related algorithmatical fomulas (all are of course clothed in rightous Biblical terminologies). MacArther, in all practical purposes, trusts the algorithm more than in God. One can't help but suspect that his God must contiunes to remain obscure, behind a cloud of complicated rules and formulas that are nicely termed "Biblical foundation", and that he must keep on promoting his "rules" for discernment. Becuase that is his unconscious way of proclaiming his faith in humnan reason, in his rational capability. MacArther of course cannot afford to say all this out loud. Perhaps he is not even aware of his own true motives. His own rightous words fools not only others, but also himself. This book, like many of MacArther's other books, rides on one foundamental spirit: that is, he wants to have the final say on what his world means, and through this, he controls his world.