For the past couple years, I’ve been reading books on theology & spirituality. Rather than posting a review when I finish a book, I’m going to start posting what the book is discussing. The books are very helpful, with good & applicable messages that need to be shared.
I am reading Hard to Believe by John McArthur.
It’s about how many churches & people preach a pop Gospel to be more appealing but you need to preach the hard message.
Chapter 1 discussed how Jesus preached a hard message. It’s not all comfort.
Chapter 2 discussed how we get ashamed preaching it. But not once did the NT writers cave to make it more appealing. A big roadblock at the time of the NT would’ve been a crucifixion victim. The shame of crucifixion victims is lost on us today. The Greeks thought it was ridiculous & the Jews saw it as a sign of oppression & thought it contradicted the OT. The chapter ended with a section saying how the kingdom of God advances even tho a hard message is preached because of his sovereignty.
Chapter 3 is so far about how God usually picks the weak / forgotten / bottom / insignificant
Before this I read The Love of God by John McArthur
It discussed how God can be both loving & wrathful. Also he loves both the righteous & the unrighteous. He’s good to the unrighteous (I forget why right now) but the goodness to those who reject him isn’t eternal. He has a saving love for those he’s picked.
I was reading Waiting on God by Charles Stanley but it got too hard.
Chapter 4 is about how the people rejected Jesus himself when he preached the message. He was the Messiah they had been waiting for for so long but they still rejected him.
Chapter 5 is about the wide & narrow gates. Many churches are too scared to hurt people by telling them Jesus is the only way. The wide gate that leads to hell is labeled heaven. Everyone has to pick one or the other
Chapter 6 is about how people think they are saved just b/c they think they say the right words.
Chapter 7 is on the wise man building his house on the rock, & the foolish building on sand. The foolish man’s house may look just like the wise builder’s, but under the surface, it’s not. It’s easy building the fool’s house
Chapter 8 is marks of a true disciple: manifests Christ’s character, willing to sacrifice, willing to be divided, willing to sacrifice your own life, no fear, & share your blessings w/ other Christians
Chapter 9 is about how many people thought John the Baptist was strange. But Jesus, who was more like them, they didn’t like his way of teaching either.
Chapter 10 is why people abandon the faith. They only want a miracle, they only like the show, they’re demanding God to do things for them, they don’t care for the eternal, they don’t care for worship, they mock it when away from the genuine by action or words, they don’t care about their sin
Chapters 11 & 12 are about how many churches don’t evangelize b/c they think man can be saved without knowing the Gospel, but you have to know the Gospel to be saved so we must evangelize. Man can reason a lot about God, but there's some things he still can't know all by himself
Book is all done.
Next I’m reading Making Choices for Godly Living. It is being shipped
