Book Review: Twelve Unlikely Heroes

Twelve Unlikely Heroes: How God Commissioned Unexpected People in the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You. By John MacArthur. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. pp. 240. 2012. ($22.99 Print | 22.99 Digital)

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Three Stars: A Solid "Like"

This is the third installment in John MacArthur’s biographical series, preceded by Twelve Ordinary Men and Twelve Extraordinary Women. This compilation examines some heroes that grace the stories of Sunday school curricula and others we don’t hear about too often.

Since each chapter covers one (or occasionally two) heroes, it functions somewhat like an anthology, except the author is always the same. Like most anthologies, some chapters are quite exceptional, whereas others leave something to be desired. Twelve Unlikely Heroes was largely an enjoyable read.

My favorite chapters were the ones dealing with Joseph and Onesimus. MacArthur really follows the storyline of the Bible well and produces a chapter that could serve as a fine example of what Bible storying really is. What I most appreciated about his retelling of Joseph’s story was how MacArthur focused on God’s sovereign working in the whole affair, something that many people seem to forget or miss entirely when discussing the story. His treatment of Onesimus was even more enjoyable since I hadn’t learned much about Onesimus beyond the fact that he was a companion of Paul and the former slave of Philemon. MacArthur pulled from the New Testament and early church history to paint a bigger portrait of the Onesimus than I had seen before.

My disappointments were minor. MacArthur came across as a little abrasive in his introduction where he should have been building rapport with his readers. He laments the lack of significance of the word hero when it is used to describe six-year-old soccer players, ten-year-old students of the week, celebrities, and superheroes. I would agree, but when your readership just might have a six-year-old soccer player or just might have enjoyed seeing The Avengers this summer, you risk alienating them and losing them before they have a chance to really engage your material. Regarding material, I was a little surprised to see a whole chapter on Enoch, since he only takes up a few verses of the Bible and relatively little is known about him. Even more shocking was the inclusion of Jonah and, to a lesser extent, Samson, who were more or less anti-heroes in the biblical narrative.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a little lighter reading than MacArthur’s Slave (review) and The Jesus You Can’t Ignore (review), but it helped me discover something new in the Bible, which is what any good Christian book should do.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.

Book Review: Worship: The Ultimate Priority (4 stars)

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Worship: The Ultimate Priority by John MacArthur has been in print the longest of any of his books. I’ve enjoyed his radio program, his Study Bible, and many of his books. Countless numbers of my generation have benefited from his ministry either directly or indirectly through other’s who’ve learned and passed on many of his insights. Since he’s from an older generation than I am, I find that I disagree with him on some matters of taste, but even where I disagree with him I find his opinion worth considering.

His book on worship is not about matters of traditionalism vs. contemporaneity. He does address that towards the end, but he focuses more on the object of our worship (God) and how we should approach Him. Most people equate music (or even a specific music style) with worship, but MacArthur aims for a biblical view. True worship is, as Jesus says in John 4, done “in spirit and in truth.” His emphasis is largely on the latter, which is a good antidote to the emotional emphasis we often get in more contemporary congregations. We can’t really worship what we don’t really know.

MacArthur sounds very traditional, but that is what I would expect of someone of his age and experience. But I need to hear what he has to say. When he finally does discuss hymns, praise choruses, and the like, he is fair and pleads his case not for traditional music, but for biblically-informed music. The appendix alone is something I’d like to share with everyone on our church’s music team.

The opinions expressed are my own. I received an audio book download of this work from christianaudio.

Red Letters

People like John MacArthur amaze me. This man has built much of his ministry preaching through the four Gospels. He writes books about Jesus, the parables, the hard sayings. This is a man who not only prefers the teachings of Jesus, but actively writes about them and lives by them.

I’m smaller than him. I look at passages like Ephesians 1 and Romans 9 and I can’t get enough of it. Open up Titus and I’m there. Whereas some people are afraid of Paul because he talks about election, predestination, and people who are destined to destruction, I’m afraid of the red letters, that is, the words of Jesus. Paul is great for the theologian in me. The red letters are scary for the “me” in me.

Sure, Paul talks about big sacrifices, giving until it hurts, and suffering for the gospel, but for some reason my mind can handle that. It’s when I come to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that I get really uncomfortable.

Do I seek to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven the way Jesus describes, by being servant to all? Do I forgive others or do I hold their sins over them like the wicked servant? Am I more like the self-righteous Pharisee or the wicked tax collector?

Jesus says some pretty tough stuff. He talks about becoming a eunuch for the Kingdom, selling all your possessions, or giving someone the clothes off your back. I struggle with this. I read the words and have to ask, “What is Jesus asking me to do here?” Do you think Jesus doesn’t call some of us to literally sell all? To give up everything? To total celibacy? Beyond this, is there something deeper to which He calls all of His followers?

I’m reading through the Gospels. I plan on spending more time in them than I have in the past. And instead of just reading through them, I’m trying to apply them to my life as well. This is tough. This is challenging. But this is what Jesus has called us to do.

Book Review: Slave by John MacArthur

Editor's Note: My wife, Hannah, previously reviewed the print version of this book. I recently received the audio book and my review pertains to that format.

I’ve read a book or two by John MacArthur and have enjoyed both his Study Bible and radio program for some time. My wife read and reviewed the print version of Slave, so when I had the opportunity to review the audio book, I figured it was time for me to try it as well.

The concept behind Slave is a good one. We need to be reminded just what it meant to be a slave of Christ, and since most translations prefer “servant,” MacArthur does well to remind us just what it meant to be a slave in the first century (with important comments on the slave trade in British and American history). My favorite chapter described the life of Jan (John) Huss was a fantastic overview of his life.

The book was a little disjointed and at times it seemed like MacArthur was forcing connections back to slavery where there were none. Early on he mentions that he was originally asked to write about the doctrines of grace, so he kind of blended the two themes together when they would have been better done separately.

Still, the recognizable voice of MacArthur makes a great reading companion and the gems in the book are worth looking at. I just wish they could have been a little more polished.

To buy this book, visit ChristianAudio (direct link).

To buy a hard copy, visit Amazon.com.

To look at a PDF excerpt, click here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ChristianAudio as part of their Blogger Review 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."

Book Review: Found: God's Will by John MacArthur

My wife and I have reviewed two of John MacArthur's books previously (here and here). This latest review is of the audiobook, Found: God's Will.

A friend of mine describes John MacArthur as to the point, no fluff. He could have been talking about his book, Found: God's Will. Compared with other books of his, this one is a bit on the short side—only 64 pages or 1.42 hours. That's not to say he doesn't cover the material well. In fact, the shortness of the book goes to strengthen his point: finding the will of God for your life is not that difficult.

MacArthur uses Scripture passages from the New Testament that specifically mention God's will and extrapolates from them what God would have you do. Specifically, he addresses God's will for you to be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, and suffering. The last chapter deals with God's specific will for your life in the day-to-day and even life-changing decisions you must make.

The narrator captures MacArthur's strong voice and even his sarcasm at times, which adds life to the book. Found: God's Will was a nice, short explanation of God's will that won't take long to read or listen to. If you want to know what the Bible says, this book will tell you. If you want a play-by-play explanation of what you need to do, you won't find it.

If you're looking for something a little longer on the subject, I strongly suggest you to check out Kevin DeYoung's Just Do Something. I reviewed it some months ago and liked it so much that I've purchased three print versions for gifting purposes. It was very good.

To order the audiobook, visit ChristianAudio (direct link).
To view more reviews, visit Amazon.com.
To view a preview of the book, visit GoogleBooks (direct link).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ChristianAudio as part of their Blogger Review 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."

Book Review: Slave by John MacArthur

Editor's Note: Hannah is my darling wife and once in a while she volunteers to do a book review for me. Here's her take on John MacArthur's Slave.


Slave by John MacArthur takes an in-depth journey through the New Testament metaphor and background of slavery. MacArthur gives the historical setting by explaining and providing examples of slavery in the Roman world. I never knew that slavery also had Old Testament roots until I read the book. It challenged me to place the New Testament verses about our slavery to Christ in the context of the first century world instead of through the filter of 19th century American slavery.

I appreciate how MacArthur shows the importance of understanding the slave-master metaphor. Since most modern Bibles translate ‘slave’ as ‘servant’, we often lose the power of this illustration. When we see God as our master and ourselves as slaves, it affects our beliefs about God’s character and changes the way we live.

As is always the case with MacArthur's writings, the book is well organized and easy to follow. His mini-biographies of famous Christians who saw themselves as slaves to Christ, such as John Newton, make the book even more personal. Slave sticks closely to the Scriptures and validates every premise using theBible. The book's only drawback may be that some may find this logical, frank, and well-researched approach too scholarly.

To buy the book, visit Amazon.com (direct link).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of their BookSneeze Blogger Review 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."