1. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship
    John MacArthur
    Thomas Nelson / 2013 / Hardcover
    Our Price$19.99 Retail Price$26.99 Save 26% ($7.00)
    3.9 out of 5 stars for Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. View reviews of this product. 31 Reviews
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Displaying items 21-25 of 31
  1. Jon Kenney
    Warner Robins, GA
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Book Review: Strange Fire
    November 14, 2013
    Jon Kenney
    Warner Robins, GA
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    About the Book

    To say that controversy surrounds the charismatic movement and moreover their theology would be a massive understatement. If you listen to leaders and pastors in the evangelical world, one of the most asked questions is to define a stance that stems from the validation or condemnation of the more popular spiritual gifts of healing and speaking in tongues. In his book Strange Fire, author and Pastor John MacArthur makes his stance clear on this debate through a methodical grasp on the modern charismatic movement.

    As the book unfolds MacArthur chooses the story of Nadab and Abihu out of Leviticus 10 to introduce his case for a call of accountability in the church today. Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire because they lit the altar of the Lord with fire that was not from God, hence the idea of strange fire. In mishandling God's direct command to them by using means other than what God had provided to them, their careless and reckless manner of approaching God in worship was dangerous. He then explains how the abuse and mishandle of the church today when it comes to the Holy Spirit is not that far removed from this Old Testament story. He insists that it has, "obvious implications for the church in our time."

    The book is broken down into three major sections. In the first section he deconstructs the false doctrines and practices of the charismatic movement when it comes to the Holy Spirit insisting they mock the Holy Spirit and claim the power of the Holy Spirit within unbiblical contexts. MacArthur builds his case from scripture and provides examples of what he calls fraudulent acts and likes some of the leaders inside of the charismatic movement to con men. MacArthur also walks through Jonathan Edwards approach to handling of the works of the Holy Spirit which I found fascinating.

    "More moderate charismatics like to portray the prosperity preachers, faith healers, and televangelists as safely isolated on the extreme edge of the charismatic camp. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Thanks to the global reach and incessant proselytizing of religious television and charismatic mass media, the extreme has now become mainstream." Chapter 1 - Mocking the Spirit (p. 13)

    In the second section of this book MacArthur a cessationist, extends his belief that the Holy Spirit works differently now than it did in the New Testament. He talks about how apostleship and specific gifts of the Holy Spirit ended with the canonization of scripture. Again, MacArthur speaks to those who twist scripture and perform fake healing as needing to be held accountable.

    "If someone declaring himself a prophet proclaims any supposed "revelation from God" that turns out to be inaccurate or untrue, he must be summarily rejected as a spokesman for God." Chapter 6 - The Folly and Fallible Prophets (p. 108)

    In the third and last section MacArthur walks through the ways the Holy Spirit does work in the christian life. He state the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation, sanctification, and in the scriptures. He ends the books with an open letter to his "continuationist friends" pleading with them to take a fresh look at the Word of God and rethink their stance.

    My Thoughts

    All in all, I found this book encouraging although I think it deals a little too much with broad strokes against the charismatic movement. I would tend to agree with much of what MacArthur says, which ends up being quite a compelling case. My true concern is that his stance doesn't allow much room for the move of the Holy Spirit in some contexts in the world today. For instance, I think God is powerful enough that He could and does use at times extraordinary means to carry out the message of the gospel on the front lines in remote areas where missionaries are preaching the gospel. I think there has to be a balance within that contexts that MacArthur doesn't seem willing to concede.
  2. janieber
    Kelowna, BC, Canada
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Strong arguments
    December 1, 2014
    janieber
    Kelowna, BC, Canada
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    This was a good read. It basically says that the charismatic movement with the focus on speaking in toques is subject to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. It is a very through presentation and deals with all the objections. Puts the scripture above experience. The Bible is not interpreted by experience but experience by the Bible. Good emphasis on the miracles that Jesus and the apostles practised and how they are not and are relevant to today. It is a little legalistic in places as is characteristic of MacArthur.
  3. britluver20021
    Arnold, CA
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Review of the book Strange Fire by John Macarthur
    November 19, 2013
    britluver20021
    Arnold, CA
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    I enjoyed most of the book. The point of the book is what is the correct way to worship and praise GOD and the wrong way! The book talks about counterfeit worship and how it can offend GOD and Jesus. Yet the book talks about how real the trinity is and that is totally false. GOD is the father, Jesus is the son and the holy spirit is what they give us to help us worship him. They are not 3 in one like many people believe so the author is totally incorrect on this. Also the author got one thing wrong about Jehovah's witnesses, we do not believe the world will end in 2033, where did he get that? We do believe the world will end one day but we do not know when.

    I enjoyed the quote on in the opening pages, the page xiii which says " it is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be the most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench and dishonor him...." The next quote I like on the next page is " They have become like the Israelites of Exodus, who compelled Aaron to fashion a golden calf while Moses was away." Another quote I like on page xvi that says " People proclaim a gospel of health and wealth, a message completely incompatible with the good news of scripture...The incredible irony is that those who talk the most about the Holy Spirit generally deny his true work."

    On page 11 I like this quote " Some backing up their false teachings by twisting the scriptures or claiming new revelation from GOD". I also like the quote on page 12 " Many have over to ideas and practices which come straight from pagan religions, and large numbers of young and impressionable believers have been spiritually corrupted in the process." "Let each remind himself of the prohibition of taking anything away from scriptures or adding anything to it. "

    One way to test who is the real religion ask yourself these 5 questions, Does the work exalt the true Christ, does it oppose worldliness, does it point people to the scriptures, does it elevate the truth, does it produce love for GOD and others? Another good reason to know if you have the true religion is to find Joy in it. "Their joy is found serving the Lord Jesus,and their love for GOD is seen in their obedience in him." (Pg 57)I like the quote on page 78 " It chooses bible verses selectively to fit a name-it-and-claim-it theory but it does not love Jesus." I like the quote on page 191 which reads " The spirit bestows his people with teaching and serving gifts for the building up of the church. "

    All in all I enjoyed this book because the author really brings out the errors of those claiming to be people of GOD and how they trick you and how they really not of GOD at all.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
  4. bookwomanjoan
    Oak Harbor, WA
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: Female
    3 Stars Out Of 5
    cessationist critiques charismatic leaders
    November 12, 2013
    bookwomanjoan
    Oak Harbor, WA
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: Female
    Quality: 3
    Value: 3
    Meets Expectations: 3
    MacArthur begins his book with the story of Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10). They were consumed by God because "they used something other than the fire God Himself had ignited." (xii) That may not seem like such a big deal in our era of casual worship, MacArthur notes, but God's response to their careless, self-willed manner of approaching Him was deadly.

    This should be a wake up call to the church, MacArthur says. Unbiblical worship or turning the Holy Spirit into a spectacle is a serious affront to God. It is time for the evangelical church to take a stand and recover a proper focus on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, MacArthur urges.

    MacArthur comes down hard on current Charismatic leaders, calling them "spiritual swindlers, con men, crooks, and charlatans." (xv) He says they are claiming that the works of the devil are those of the Holy Spirit. He follows the example of Jonathan Edwards in framing questions to ask about spiritual experience. He concludes that many in the Charismatic Movement are promoting a false gospel.

    MacArthur is a cessationist and he argues that apostles, prophecy, etc., were all unique to the early church. God does still speak today, MacArthur says, and the Holy Spirit still moves our hearts, but only through the Word of God.

    MacArthur also explores the Holy Spirit's true work. Knowing the authentic is how we know to identify the counterfeit. He covers the Spirit's work in salvation, sanctification, and Scripture. His final chapter is a letter to his reformed charismatic and conservative evangelical friends who are continuationists on what he believes are the dangers of that view.

    MacArthur certainly has given the Christian community a wake up call. He gives lots of evidence of the craziness in the Charismatic Movement. His section on the true work of the Holy Spirit includes an excellent section on sanctification.

    I have two reservations about the book. This first is MacArthur's "in your face" style of writing. He pulls no punches by calling charismatics horrible names. The Bible says it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4), not name calling.

    Also, I wonder how necessary MacArthur's book is. Hanegraaff's book on the subject was updated in 2009. Looking at MacArthur's footnotes, much of the charismatic craziness he points out is from a decade ago or even longer.

    I requested and received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
  5. vanessa walters
    Red Cloud, Neb.
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: Female
    2 Stars Out Of 5
    read with caution
    May 6, 2014
    vanessa walters
    Red Cloud, Neb.
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: Female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 3
    I have read many of Pastor MacArthur's books, have done many of his bible study guides on my own, at home...he IS biblically based..as I have found reading his books before, you read with 1 finger where you are, in the book, and 1 finger on the extensive notes for that book chapter in the back of the book. You'll miss a lot, if you dont read his books this way. But, he always comes across, sounding almost angry and scolding in the language he uses, to get his points across to the reader. He presents God as a holy, just, righteous God, but to me, it sounds like God is just waiting for a weak, fallable human like me, to make a mistake and be judged for it! I dont feel the Father's love and mercy, when I have read Pastor MacArthur's books...I ask myself, 'why did I buy this book'? I did (and do) want to learn about the charismatic movement; but this comes across as harsh, angry and 'in your face'....
Displaying items 21-25 of 31