(Editors’ note: With the passing of John MacArthur, for this month’s N&N Books I will recommend four of my favorite among his most important books. MacArthur wrote dozens of books on many biblical, theological, and ethical issues, a systematic theology, a full set of commentaries on the New Testament, which are pure gold, and published a highly acclaimed Study Bible.)
The Gospel According to Jesus: What Is Authentic Faith? (Zondervan, first edition 1988)
Published first in 1988 with two updated editions following, this work was Dr. MacArthur’s entre into the battle over Lordship salvation. The debated question went something like this: When a person is born again, do they receive Jesus as both Savior and Lord, or do they “make” Him Lord at some point following their conversion? Those — particularly in the Keswick Theology tradition, who saw a bifurcation between the two — were seen as having embraced a brand of easy believism.
MacArthur argued forcefully that to receive Jesus as Savior is also to embrace Him as Lord without any bifurcation and was among evangelical leaders who sought to correct this dangerous notion.
Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World (Crossway, first published 1993, third edition 2018)
I read the first edition of this book in the late 1990s, and it was in the pages of this work where I first encountered the Downgrade Controversy of the late 19th century in England that centered on Charles Spurgeon. MacArthur expertly weaves the narrative of Spurgeon’s opposition to the liberalizing tendencies within the British Baptist Union around his argument that when the church becomes like the world, it becomes impotent for the kingdom of Christ.
MacArthur particularly takes aim at the unprincipled pragmatism of the seeker-sensitive movement so prevalent within American evangelicalism of the 1980s and 1990s. This book taught me the importance of church leaders teaching sound doctrine within the body of Christ, a pursuit which has undergirded my own calling to ministry for the past 27 years. As a church historian, I think Dr. MacArthur has done an excellent job of using a famous moment in church history as a warning bell for what happens when history repeats itself in the form of the rise of pragmatism and man-centeredness in the church.
Found: God’s Will: Find the Direction and Purpose God Wants for Your Life (David C. Cook, first edition 1973, updated edition 2014)
Probably the single most popular question I was asked in nearly 15 years of pastoring was some form of: “How can a Christian know God’s will for his or her life?” This book has been incredibly helpful in answering that question through five “S’s,” which I will leave a mystery here so you will go find out in the book.
The MacArthur Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, various editions available in various translations, including NKJV, ESV, NASB, LSB)
One of the best gifts a brother in Christ ever gave me was my first study Bible, the MacArthur Study Bible, soon after I surrendered to ministry in 1998. There are many excellent study Bibles, but this one is one of the best, with thousands of study notes by Dr. MacArthur.
In addition to more than 25,000 notes, this study Bible includes numerous helpful Bible study aids, including an outline of Systematic Theology, various chronologies of Bible events, and detailed introductions to each Bible book and each major section of Scripture, among many other aids. One of the keys to robust Bible study is a good study Bible, and this is one of the best.
Other MacArthur titles I’ve found especially helpful include Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do to You (HarperCollins), The Gospel According to Paul: Embracing the Good News at the Heart of Paul’s Teachings (HarperCollins), One Faithful Life: A Harmony of the Life and Letters of Paul (HarperCollins), and One Perfect Life: The Complete Story of the Lord Jesus (HarperCollins).