Book Review: Final Word by John MacArthur

The Bible is God's Word. The Bible is the final authority for the believer in faith and practice. The Bible is the standard for which Christians ought to live in this world. Yet the Bible is not embraced by every Christian. We expect this from those who are perishing but from those who are saved. The sufficiency of scripture is under attack in the 21st century and most of the fights are coming from within the church.

John MacArthur's latest book, Final Word, takes his readers on a journey to see, as the subtitle of the book says, why we need the Bible. He begins by stating the Bible is under attack which is nothing new in our day. The first time the Word of the Lord was attacked was in the Garden as the Serpent questioned what God said to Adam and Eve about eating the forbidden fruit. MacArthur even addresses modern day attacks from various people and organizations set to undermine the authority of the Bible.

MacArthur then looks at the truth of the Bible and states that when the church has a full grip on the Word of God can it make an impact on the world they live in. Christians must know the Bible is trustworthy and its truth is infallible. As I mentioned earlier, the Bible is the final authority for the believer. Though it may not be the only authority for the believer, it has the final say for each follower of Christ.

The Bible is also the means for spiritual growth. Theological books are a good thing as well as other books from sound writers, but nothing should replace the Bible as the catalyst, using MacArthur's word, for growing in our walk with Christ. The Bible is also the means for faithful ministry. Many preachers want to preach very little Bible or none at all, so they can reach the culture that wants nothing to do with God. I am sure the people in the New Testament dealt with people who wanted nothing to with God, but they faithfully preached the Word to those around them. We see in church history men who have made the Bible the very center of their ministry and were successful. A shepherd of God's flock must be a student of the Word and desire to study it as best he can.

Finally, the Bible is food for our soul. We need to Bible for continual growth as mentioned earlier. We need to the Bible to help us deal with sin. We also need the Bible as we go through this life as we journey to be more like Jesus.

In this day and age, where the Bible is constantly under attack, we need to be reminded why the Bible is important for the Christian faith. I am delighted to remind MacArthur's latest book as we seek to grow to the love the Bible more and more everyday.

Thanks Reformation Trust for letting me review this book.