BLUE VIEWPOINT
The following statement introduces the book Truth War by John MacArthur:
"Who would have thought that people claiming to be Christians - even pastors - would attack the very notion of truth?
But they are."
-John MacArthur
And it goes on from there. Now, readers of this site will know that my comments always point to those statements by the "scholars" of the day that seem to contradict their own actions. Don't get me wrong. I find a vast majority of the statements made by John MacArthur to be right on target. In fact, there are very few statements he makes in this book with which I disagree. So what is my problem, you ask?
Saying something is one thing...
Let's say that I make a statement on my web site, "Stealing is wrong!" Everyone who reads the site will say, "Right on, bro!", or maybe something a little more current. However, let's say that I am a professional thief, and someone who reads my site knows that. Well, that fact would not change the statement about stealing and make it into a lie. The statement is still true, even if I didn't live my life in accordance with my statement. That's the point I am trying to make here.
MacArthur's book is bullseye on target. His explanations make perfect sense. The references he uses are accurate and the quotations from the Bible are accurate and well-used. There is just one problem. He does not live by many of his own statements. His church is run the same way as his life, he says one thing then lives another, so he teaches a lie making himself a combatant on the wrong side in the Truth War. Now that I am committed to a drastic comment, let's find out what we are talking about here.
What does "the truth" mean?
When you make a statement, as MacArthur often does in this book, that a Christian should be willing to give his life in standing up and fighting for the truth, that comes off as a bold statement. However, what does it mean? Nowhere in MacArthur's book does he define the specific basic truths that we are to defend. I guess we are just supposed to decide our own truth, then fight for it. But, first, you should make sure that the truth for which you fight is God's truth. If you are not clear on what truth you are willing to defend, you have not declared what side you have joined.
Decide on the specific truths by which you will live
In this discussion, we will stick to the Biblical Truths. I believe in these truths. Now, what is a Biblical Truth? I'm sure that you have at least a short list of those truths that guide the way you live. Not everyone does. For me, they are a list of commands given by God that He expects "His people" to follow. You must be able to identify the specifics. If not, how do you live any truths in which you "believe"?
Need an example of a short list? How about Exodus 20:1-17
1And God spoke all these words:
2"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3"You shall have no other gods before me.
4"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13"You shall not murder.
14"You shall not commit adultery.
15"You shall not steal.
16"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
, Deuteronomy 12
1These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess - as long as you live in the land. 2Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
4You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 5But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; 6there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, 9since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name - there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. 12And there rejoice before the Lord your God - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 13Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
15Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 16But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 17You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. 18Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns - and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. 19Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, "I would like some meat," then you may eat as much of it as you want. 21If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want. 22Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. 23But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. 24You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 25Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
26But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the Lord will choose. 27Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. 28Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
29The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, 30and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." 31You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
32See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
, Leviticus 11:1-25
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2"Say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
4" 'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
9" 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales - whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water - you are to regard as unclean. 11And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. 12Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.
13" 'These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15any kind of raven, 16the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
20" 'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. 21There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.
24" 'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
, Leviticus 11:26-47
26" 'Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 28Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. These animals are unclean for you.
29" 'Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. 31Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. 32When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. 33If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. 34Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. 35Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. 36A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 37If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. 38But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39" 'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean till evening. 40Anyone who eats some of its carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
41" 'Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. 42You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. 43Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. 44I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
46" 'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. 47You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.' "
, Leviticus 18:1-15
1The Lord said to Moses, 2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the Lord your God. 3You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. 5Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.
6" 'No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
7" 'Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8" 'Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.
9" 'Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
10" 'Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you.
11" 'Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12" 'Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.
13" 'Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.
14" 'Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
15" 'Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her.
, and Leviticus 18:16-30
16" 'Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother.
17" 'Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18" 'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19" 'Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20" 'Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.
21" 'Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
22" 'Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
23" 'Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
24" 'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 25Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
29" 'Everyone who does any of these detestable things - such persons must be cut off from their people. 30Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.' "
.
You say you keep God's commandments? What about Exodus 20:8-11? Leviticus 11? I'm pretty sure you keep Leviticus 18, but why not Leviticus 11? They are both in the same book of the Bible and both contain commands direct from God. Even the ten commandments were "only given to the Israelites", but you say you keep them...
Name some truths for which to fight
A Christian should be willing to fight for the truth. O.K. John MacArthur, though he never mentions it in this book, fights for his idea of ignoring the Sabbath as a discarded ceremony. I fight to keep the Sabbath day holy, as established by God and never changed, to the best of my ability. Which one is fighting for the truth? We are to defend the truth of the Bible, not of our pastor. You have to have something solid to defend, not mysterious statments about some undefined "truth". The words of MacArthur's book sound good, but they are not tied to anything concrete. You can't fight for an idea if the idea is so nebulous you can't identify a target.
What is the truth behind our "worship"?
God's word tells us not to worship Him in the way that the pagans worship their gods. So, realize that another truth is that Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays. Yet, MacArthur and his church celebrate Christmas and Easter on the pagan days, with the pagan symbols, and says that it is OK because they are worshiping God. Isn't that exactly what God said not to do in Deuterononmy 12?
Easter is disguised by Christians as a day of celebrating the resurrection of Christ. The truth is that the name "Easter" is the name of the pagan fertility goddess. They worship God with fettility symbols of eggs and bunnies, and baby chicks that have nothing to do with the resurrection. Cute, but definitely pagan.
So, when we fight for the truth, we should fight for following the word of God and do what He said to do.
Rather than just make blind statements and expect people to agree or even believe me, let's take a look at some of the things I noticed.
Some he gets right
Fortunately, MacArthur does not follow the crowd in the current "Emerging Church" (I'll call it EC from here on) fad. To be honest, I had to look it up, but after a few sites that danced around the definition of EC, I found this at What Christians Want to Know:
The emergent church is pro-active in its desire to change and influence society. This may include using political power to bring in the "Kingdom," create or work from a platform of social activism, and trying to overcome the public and private system that is presently held in society. The "world biblical view" in missions and presenting the gospel is to emphasize the love of God as one of the primary attributes of God. It is not quite the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, but it often is the gospel stripped of its need for the necessity of a Savior because they frequently fail to mention sin, repentance, confession, church discipline, and fruits showing regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
Emergent Church Theology
It is hard to define the emergent church's theology because it varies from church to church. What concerns me is the neglect or absence of the sacraments. That is, the Lord's Supper is often missing in these churches even though Jesus said in Luke 22:17-19, "Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Jesus is not hoping that the church will observe and partake of the Lord's Supper but this is an imperative command.
Paul likewise repeated the importance of the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." Paul made an important statement in the last verse saying that when we "eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." In other words, we are commanded to do this and that when we do, we are actually proclaiming His death up until the time that "He comes."
We'll do it our way
Once again, we see "Christians" who are out to change the world, but not in the way Christ said to do, so they make up their own ways. MacArthur criticizes this EC theme, and rightly so. He also criticizes some authors on their books that redefine the Christian faith - books like Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Ron Bell of the Mars Hill emerging church, and Adventures in Missing the Point by Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo. At Good Reads, one reviewer of the second book listed, "Adventures in Missing the Point", says this:
This book is biblically unsound in many different ways. The authors present a number of different subjects, and "rant" on their idea of how things ought to be. The book at first appears to be a great read as you begin the first few chapters, but it soon digresses into the ultra-liberal biblical doctrine which both authors seem to hold. It screams "Emergent-Church" movement as the authors attempt to persuade you to their point of view which is in most chapters to discard logical and biblical thinking and embrace post-modernism thought. They use very little scripture to back up their points in some cases.
Practicing what you preach is another...
Matthew 7:24-27
24Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
speaks about those who hear the word and how their lives are affected by whether they follow the word or not. Hearing and being able to explain scripture is one thing, but living exactly the opposite will cause a person to miss the goal of every Christian.
By his words, John MacArthur seems to have a good track on what is going on in the twisting of Christianity today. So, what is my issue? Well, in a book from 2018, Marxianity by Brannon M. Howse, the author presents some clear evidence that Mr. MacArthur is indeed supporting some very socialistic activists - even to the point of putting them up on his stage to address his congregation. While he does not appear to outright support their stated views, he does give them a pulpit form which to present them.
The entire theme of the Marxianity book is to present the concept that supporters of social activism are prompting the pastors of the churches to get involved in "bringing God's Kingdom to earth now" through things like resolving the world's poverty issue through socialism, including the actions of the churches. The whole point is to commandeer the financial resources of the rich in order to eradicate poverty. Try to find that concept in the Bible. If you are interested in some pretty shocking and revealing information, you might want to give Marxianity a look.
So, what's the problem?
Well, if you have read any of the other pages on this site, you'll have an idea of where I am going. Let's look at what MacArthur, along with the members of his congregation, practices.
Just staying with the major issues, Sabbath, Easter, and Christmas, MacArthur has the following stands:
Sabbath:
We believe the Old Testament regulations governing Sabbath observances are ceremonial, not moral, aspects of the law. As such, they are no longer in force, but have passed away along with the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, and all other aspects of Moses' law that prefigured Christ.
Easter:
Even the most glorious sunset, when gazed at long enough, will eventually lose its appeal. The scenery becomes so familiar that the senses grow dull to its vivid color and beauty. The scenery doesn't need changing--only your perspective.
Such is the case with Easter. Our modern eyes have gazed on the wonderful story for so long that we've lost our appreciation for its richness. What's worse, we've missed the real story--the forces at work behind the scenes that make the crucifixion and resurrection defining moments for all mankind.
Christmas:
Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. But it's not just a poignant story about a baby born in a stable because his family was turned away from the inn. According to the New Testament, that baby is God in human flesh, voluntarily stepping down to live among humanity, as a servant, in order to take the burden of others' guilt and pay the price for it by sacrificing his life for them:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14).
Now, many will look at the list above and wonder, "What is wrong with that stand?" Well, the whole book he wrote is about the Truth War that is going on as we sit here. His entire point is that, as modern Christians, we are getting away from the Truth as it was written in the Bible.
Sabbath
Truth? MacArthur says that the Sabbath is ceremonial, not Moral. Now, bear with me here, but aren't the Ten Commandments considered the Moral Law? (James 2:8-11
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
) They teach the way to live a good life and treat both God and your neighbor as you should. The ceremonial laws say cut this, kill that, sprinkle here, all the ways to practice ceremonies. The Moral Law says live like this, don't live like that, exactly how to live your life for God and your neighbor. The Sabbath is listed in them.
Just so you don't think I'm making this up, a Christian answer site at Got Questions? that often disagrees with me says this:
Moral Law
The moral laws, or mishpatim, relate to justice and judgment and are often translated as "ordinances." Mishpatim are said to be based on God's holy nature. As such, the ordinances are holy, just, and unchanging. Their purpose is to promote the welfare of those who obey. The value of the laws is considered obvious by reason and common sense. The moral law encompasses regulations on justice, respect, and sexual conduct, and includes the Ten Commandments. It also includes penalties for failure to obey the ordinances. Moral law does not point people to Christ; it merely illuminates the fallen state of all mankind.
Please notice the third sentence, "As such, the ordinances are holy, just, and unchanging." Does that sound like we can just get rid of one we don't like? Also note that they are not going to get us to Heaven, just keep us aware of our fallen state. By deciding that we are not going to keep the Sabbath tells God we think we can just ignore Him because we don't feel "fallen" any more.
Find somewhere in the Bible where God said to discard keeping His Holy Sabbath day. I don't mean where your pastor convinced you that Sunday is the new day because of the Resurrection. Jesus rising on another day is not a command to disobey God. Find somewhere where God said we don't have to keep His commandments.
Easter
Truth? Go to the Bible and find one mention of the word Easter in God's word. You will find the word in the King James version, usually a dependable translation, but the word translated "Easter" was "pascha" which is the Hebrew word used for "Passover". Keep looking and try to find the references to pagan fertility symbols Eggs and Bunnies for the worship of God or Christ.
As you will find on the Holidays page on this site, Easter and Passover Sunday do not always fall on the same Sunday, but Easter in this country is never celebrated on the first Sunday after Passover when they do not coincide with each other. What is the significance of that? According to Christians, "Easter" is supposed to be the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. That happened on the first Sunday after Passover, not on the Spring equinox. And, God never referred to that day as having the pagan name of a fertility goddess. Also, while we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, it was never declared to be a "holiday", as were the other feasts of God in Leviticus 23 that most Christians never keep.
Christmas
Truth? Now, go find the word Christmas in the Bible. Keep looking and find a reference to pagans and the use of trees decorated with gold and silver. The only reference to anything to be done with trees is to make idols out of them. I hear you, "We don't worship the trees!" OK, but the pagans did. And what did God say to do with all the artifacts of those pagan worshipers? Burn, smash, break...
3Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
4You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. (Deuteronomy 12:3-4)
According to his actions, does MacArthur do that?
Worse than that, Jesus was born earlier in the year (likely the month of Nisan (March/April) when the sacrificial lambs are born in Bethlehem), some even say in the fall, somewhere around September or October, coinciding with the Feast of Tabernacles. Never December. Are we even told to celebrate birthdays? Nope. The only people in the Bible that even celebrate birthdays are pagans. That is a pagan ritual in itself (see Birthdays on this site in the center Menu on the Holidays page).
What does God think about this?
Now, if John MacArthur continues to refuse to keep the correct day made Holy by God, celebrates fake holidays using pagan symbols, but uses them to worship God, how does that line up with his search for Truth and following it when he finds it? Ever read Deuteronomy 12:3-4
3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.
or Deuteronomy 12:31
31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
?
Of course, hopefully we don't sacrifice our children that way, but God didn't say we could worship Him their way "if we don't sacrifice our kids." He just said, "Don't do that!" Of course, that's Old Testament, so He probably didn't mean it, right?.
I guess what I am trying to say is that, while many people, including book authors, sound faithful to the word of God, often it is just lip service. This book Truth Wars says everything you would expect a man of God to say, without really saying anything specific. However, wouldn't you expect him to actually then follow his own advice, find the Truth, then follow it? When the word says do something, and then you don't, aren't you really hoping that God doesn't notice? Not to make Him a Monster in the sky, but when He gives us the rules, shouldn't we at least try to keep the big ones?
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