John MacArthur (1) (1939–2025)

John MacArthur's Can God Bless America? is a short book you can breeze through in about an hour, but it asks an incredibly important question: is God able to bless America — and should He? In a time when the phrase "God bless America" has become a clichéd slogan, lip-service to a generic and rather selfish patriotism, we need to use this phrase advisedly (if at all). MacArthur takes a look at the underlying assumptions we have about this phrase and — more importantly — what the Bible show more has to say about national blessing and the conditions attached to it.

Basically, we want God's blessing without God in the bargain. God, give us safety and wealth and good feelings about ourselves as Americans, please. But don't demand anything of us. Obedience and then blessing — are You kidding? MacArthur writes, "While people reject the God of Scripture as their sovereign, they still claim Him as their servant" (vi).

I appreciated MacArthur's discussion of the dangers of moralism and how attempts to use politics as the church's main strategy for influencing our nation are doomed to failure. Jesus didn't try to overthrow or control government. We don't need more laws to make us moral; we need regeneration. MacArthur lists sixteen reasons that moralism doesn't work, and his arguments are compelling (to list just a few, 1.) it isn't our commission, 2.) it wastes immense amounts of precious resources, 4.) moralism misconstrues the nature of God's kingdom, 6.) moralism is a religion devoid of theology, 8.) moralism has no New Testament model except the Pharisees, 13.) the politics of moralism makes those we are supposed to reach with the gospel into enemies, etc.).

America is not God's chosen nation, entitled to special privileges and first in line by right for when He hands out blessings. That would be Israel, and even their national blessings are and have always been dependent upon their obedience. The fact is, we're fast becoming a post-Christian nation and we have no right to expect special treatment from God simply because we are Americans. Our sense of entitlement must be so disgusting to Him.

Unpatriotic? Maybe. But my citizenship is in Heaven, and God forbid even a good thing like honest earthly patriotism to become more important to me than my real country. show less

I was skeptical that there could be much new material for such a well known, perhaps one of the best known passages of scripture. I was wrong. This book is both insightful and interesting. MacArthur shows his heart as a preacher in telling the story of a man, his two sons, and the events that transpire as they live out this parable. MacArthur also uses his skill in language and culture to help the reader grasp some of the details of this story that he might otherwise miss. This is a great show more reminder that we are powerfully loved by God and greatly responsible for how we respond to His love. This is one of those books that I just did not want to end. show less

Decidedly mixed bag. Many great principles and helpful lessons, many dispensational sillinesses and unhelpful instructions like "don't be pedantic". No one tries to preach poorly; when giving such instructions, examples are critical. (Cf. Carson's Exegetical Fallacies) The tone of many chapters comes across as desperate, as if preaching is failing all over the world, and this book represents the final bulwark against bad preaching. Also, the citations are less than professional - one author show more quoted Luther at the Diet of Worms, and footnoted RC Sproul's Holiness of God. Great book, but hardly an authoritative source on what Luther said. Secondary sources abound, to the detriment of the book's overall ethos.
REP is probably best used as a diagnostic for individual elements - if your intros are lame, check out the appropriate chapter. But if you are just starting out, and weak in every area, the tone of these articles will leave you with the impression that with only 80 hours of sermon prep per week, you too could preach like John MacArthur. show less

In John MacArthur's most recent book, he examines what he calls one of the biggest cover-ups in Bible translation: the use of the word "bond-servant" instead of the more faithful translation of the Greek doulos: slave. Yes, the Bible teaches slavery! But not as we might think.

MacArthur starts with an exploration of historical Jewish and Greco-Roman slavery, noting how such institutions varied from our Western experience of slavery in Britain and the American South. He claims that the cruelty show more of Western slavery is most likely what caused the translators over the years—from the Geneva Bible to the King James Version and on into almost all of our modern translations—to soften the word to "servant." (In addition, they were probably influenced by the Latin translation of the word, servus, and the fact that in sixteenth-century England, a "slave" usually meant a prisoner or person in chains.) But even though these translators had good intentions and some understandable reasons, their choice has robbed us of the true impact of this powerful biblical metaphor.

The truth is that the Bible presents all people as slaves of something. As unbelievers, we are slaves of sin and of Satan; as Christians, we are bought from the slavery of sin so that we may be slaves of righteousness. Most unbelievers believe that they are free and don't serve anything but themselves, but consider: we cannot reform ourselves, and our selfishness rules our actions and choices. We are slaves to sin. But upon salvation, God transfers us from one state of slavery to another. This sounds a bit shocking, but as MacArthur argues, the experience of a slave depends entirely on the character of his master. Slavery for created beings is not the evil; cruel masters are. And in God we have the kindest and best Master possible. Paradoxically, slavery to Him is the real freedom.

And He doesn't even stop there. In addition to the slave metaphor, Christ calls us His friends, and God calls us His children. These metaphors do not contradict one another, but highlight and enrich the truths of our identity in Christ. We are His slaves, His children, even Christ's brothers and sisters. We are His possession forever.

I found this book to be both scholarly and accessible. MacArthur uses footnotes to cite his many sources and at the end includes a brief survey of Christian writings, from the first century to the twentieth, on the concept of slavery to Christ. His style is imminently readable. He repeats himself frequently, but I'm learning this is a necessary and oft-used technique of the best Bible teachers. They never know when someone will catch on to some basic and vital truth, and so they weave those truths into everything they say.

So now we come to personal application. Do I consider myself a mere servant of God, putting in my time and earning my rightful wages, giving Him the benefit of my contribution to His cause? Or am I His slave, totally dependent on Him for everything, even the grace to obey? Do I belong, really belong, to myself or to Him? Something to think about the next time I am confronted with the choice to sin or submit. I am not my own. show less