Book Review: Strange Fire by John MacArthur

One of the reason I have great respect for John MacArthur is his commitment to the truth of the Bible. In today's culture, some pastors have watered down the word of God where it becomes more of a moralistic book of right & wrong versus how God came to redeem us from our sins. MacArthur is also one never to back away from calling out false teachers and their teachings that deceived many people. Who can forget his strong rebuke of Joel Osteen which I still find hilarious to this day.

Many evangelicals respect MacArthur while not agreeing with everything he preaches, however, MacArthur has not been one who normally cause disunity among the body of Christ. That is until his most recent book, Strange Fire, was released. While many have praise this book and other have not, I am going to do my best to make this review fair without many John MacArthur sound like a grumpy man who is attacking Christians who believe differently than he does. As Christians, we are called to alert one another of false teachings and pastors are called to make the church aware of them as well.

The subtitle of the book says, The Dangers of Offending The Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship which caught my eye on why MacArthur wrote this book because there are many worship practices that are not honoring God. Also, there are many Christians who says the Holy Spirit is speaking through them which is nothing but a mockery of the Holy Spirit, which MacArthur writes about.

MacArthur takes a theological approach to who the Holy Spirit is which is important for every Christian to understand who He and why He is an important member of the Godhead. MacArthur also writes the importance of testing the spirits as 1 John 4:1 directs us while telling us what it truly means to be Christ-centered. He even calls us preachers who preach the prosperity gospel, which is the belief that God will make you healthy and wealthy if you have faith, which is also part of the charismatic movement. Such ministers MacArthur deals with are Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and Joel Osteen. He even talks about Hinn's wife who made a mockery of the Holy Spirit that many found more funny that a movement of the Spirit.

MacArthur talks about the gifts of the Spirit including the gift of tongues which is still controversial long before any pastor preached or wrote about. Here is where the controversy takes place. MacArthur believes that the gifts of the Spirit has ceased since the beginning of the New Testament church. These gifts were only used to verify that the ministry of Jesus was authentic and not just one time deal that happened while he was on earth. MacArthur believes there is no need for the gifts of the Spirit because the church is built on the foundation of the Apostles. He even addresses the gift of being an Apostle as mentioned in Ephesians 4:11, which the criteria of being an Apostle was to physically see the resurrected Lord Jesus which is why Paul was an Apostle. MacArthur talks about the healing ministries such as Benny Hinn's who have clearly stated that one's healing is depended on one's faith. No where in the Bible is that teaching supported which is another sign of the prosperity gospel.

The final chapters of the book deal with the true ministry of the Holy Spirit. How He is is at work in our salvation and sanctification. Also how the Spirit works in how Scripture was inspired and how He works to speak to us through the word of God. The last chapter of the book is an open letter to his friends who are continualists, which are faithful preachers of the word of God who believe that the gifts of Spirit still apply to the Christian life today perhaps with the exception of the gift of Apostleship which no one, at least I am aware of, has seen the resurrected Jesus as Paul did.

Now a few thoughts regarding Strange Fire: Do I believe Christians make a mockery of the Holy Spirit? Yes. Do I believe the prosperity gospel is a false gospel? Yes. Do I believe the gifts of the Spirit has ceased? No. I truly believe as the Bible has stated, "There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). Do I believe John MacArthur is causing disunity in the body of Christ? No. I think MacArthur is warning us about the false teachings regarding the Holy Spirit is among many in the church. Did I agree with everything MacArthur said? No. I think the gifts of the Spirit will be a continued controversy in the body of Christ until Jesus returns. Many will believe they have ceased and other will believe they have are still continuing.

Thanks Booksneeze for letting me review this book.