The Gospel According to Jesus

a review by Adam Pohlman

In The Gospel According to Jesus, John MacArthur dives into scripture and thoroughly explains the gospel based on Jesus' presentations to those he spoke with. The book was written in the late 1980's amidst a controversy over a topic dubbed "Lordship Salvation." Many teachers were claiming that a person could be saved by simply acknowledging the Savior without submitting his life to Him. MacArthur, being extremely concerned about the preaching of "another gospel," researched extensively these claims and called preachers back to a biblical message.

Most Christians know the Great Commission, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel." Many books are written today describing the perfect method of bringing sinners into the church or how we are to be relevant to the culture, but they completely ignore what the gospel means and how it is defined.

The book is written in expositional style, typical of John MacArthur. Each chapter is based on a specific miracle, parable, or conversation of Christ's. The author systematically reveals the gospel one verse at a time. The writing style is so simple, straightforward, and full of scripture that one cannot come away from this book without a better knowledge of the Bible. Much of the church is littered with a "Christianese" that we have become accustomed to, but has no place in the gospel. "Listen to today's typical gospel presentation. You will hear sinners entreated with such phrases as 'accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior'; 'ask Jesus into your heart'; 'invite Christ into your life'; or 'make a decision for Christ.' You may be so accustomed to hearing those phrases that it will surprise you to learn that none of them is based on biblical terminology. They are the products of a diluted gospel. It is not the gospel according to Jesus" (pg. 27).

The emphasis of the entire book is to avoid the modern trend of "easy-believism" and examine the hard truths that Jesus commanded of His followers. "Our Lord's strategy in witnessing was always frank, direct, and to the point" (pg. 45). "We tell people that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives, but that is only half the truth. God also hates sin and will punish unrepentant sinners with eternal torment. No gospel presentation is complete if it avoids or conceals those facts" (pg. 67). "Much of contemporary evangelism is woefully deficient when it comes to confronting people with the reality of their sin. Preachers offer people happiness, joy, fulfillment, and everything positive... if that is all we do, it is not legitimate evangelism" (pg. 90). "Though the gospel according to Jesus may offend, its message must not be made more palatable by watering down the content or softening the hard demands" (pg. 115).

God's Word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11), and the way that John MacArthur teaches with verse upon verse coming off the page, you are bound to be changed. The Gospel According to Jesus proposes a challenge in how we present the gospel, but it also challenges a person to examine himself (2 Corinthians 13:5) to see whether he has died to self and taken up his cross daily. "Multitudes declare that they trust Christ as Savior while indulging in lifestyles that are plainly inconsistent with God's Word -- yet no one dares to challenge their testimony" (pg. 66). This book will challenge the reader to get a good grasp on what the true gospel is, that is, the gospel according to Jesus.