Christ's Call to Reform the Church

This is great topic for a book and they're will no doubt be many different ideas and options of how and what this is and how it looks. I have given this book 5 starts not just for bravery but for the 7 chapters on the individual Churches in Asia Minor as addressed in Revelations 2&3. In these chapters the teaching is based very much from Scripture as to argue or state his points and often has just used scripture and no views just the Word. In my view these 7 chapters were informative and a great challenge to any view point and really made this book special.
I did find that there was a lot of criticism of other view points in other chapters which i do struggle to understand specially when aimed at other denominations or main stream Churches. I personally think (so my viewpoint) there is a difference between the Church the Bride of CHRIST and churches as in the early Church each Church was marked by where they were as opposed to their affiliation which is always the way today due to the breaking away of one church after another since its birth and the release of pride and doctrinal mis-understanding and all other reasons. This also lines up with Mark 9 vs 38-41
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism
38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 “For he who is not against us is on our* side. 41 “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Saying that which I'd my honest view i believe this is a fantastic book and has some great teaching about the Seven Churches and for those that long to see the Body of CHRIST fulfils its purpose and to serve GOD this will prove a worth sign post.
This is my honest view as promised to NetGalley in return for my free copy.

I am grateful to netgalley.com and Moody Publishers for a review copy of this book. This is a great little book short and concise and yet full of deep theology. One of the highlights was probably the introduction which spoke about the work of the church and who the church was to look too. MacArthur highlights that the church is not here for social reform but here to share the gospel.

Each of the seven letters in Revelation 2-3 gets a chapter and each chapter follows a fairly simple outline where there is some context given as to who and what the church was. Then the letter itself is exegetes and throughout there is some helpful application for the modern day church.

MacArthur does at times get himself tied in knots over the millennium and the suffering which some churches in Revelation face, however this is my own theological view coming across and I fully accept and realise that others may disagree with my interpretation of the millennium.

This minor critique should not stop people reading this book you will be richly blessed by doing so.

Good exposition of the text of the churches of Revelation. As usual, MacArthur is very good at getting deep into the text and explaining the background as well.

5 stars
Christ’s Call to Reform the Church is a plea to the modern church to heed these divine warnings, to reform before it succumbs to the kinds of compromise and error that invite God’s judgment. A look at Jesus’ call to the church through the book of Revelation. This is the first book I have read that explains Revelation so well.
John MacArthur has written yet another theologically correct and thought-provoking book that every Christian needs to read. I have been a Christian for almost 20 years, yet I learned so much from reading this book of John MacArthur. He is so refreshingly honest, to the point and remarkably different from so many of the other popular preachers. MacArthur shines a light on the failings of not calling a sin a sin and the utter tragedy happening in many modern churches.
This book is straight to the point, pull no punches look at what Jesus called believer’s and churches to do. I highly recommend this book. It will probably offend many, but so did Jesus.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

This book is actually a commentary on the first 7 chapters of Revelation, thinly veiled as just another book. But he already wrote that commentary, and of course it has a much smaller audience. This is a commentary modified to be sermonic, a public call to the church, not a mere exercise in academic theology. To be exhaustive, like a commentary, he even covers the church of Philadelphia, which has no real call for reformation, but a commentary can't cover just 6 out of 7 churches. However, there was too much "eis-egesis" and not enough exegesis when writing about the church
of Sardis. This criticism is only valid if the book was indeed meant only to be a theological commentary. Instead, this is more of a sermon.

It is not MacArthur's intention to "turn this country back to God." Rather, it's to turn the church back to God. He is definitely not a post-millennialist, although there used to be a strong tendency for such in his dispensational theology. In essence, he's saying, "Stop trying to change the world and make it a better place. Instead, be the church." He unpacks God's message to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation to show what it means to be the church.

I expected a moral tirade and a desperate call to repentance. Instead, he just presents the Word as it is, and let the message convict the reader, or not. He doesn't slap the reader to attention. Almost unemotionally, he explains, like a commentary, what Jesus demands from his church and the consequences of disobedience. The subtitle of the book is Christ's Call to Reform the Church, not "John MacArthur's Call." He doesn't go off on his own criticism of what the church is now and all the things that need to change. He rarely says, "The church has to..." Actually, he rarely addresses the Church at all. He lets Christ speak for Himself, as he soundly exposits the passages in Revelation like a commentator. I wished he would speak out more, because he has clout, and people would listen to him, and he does so behind the pulpit and other venues, but in this book MacArthur is just a messenger. It's not his personal call to the church based on his convictions and observations.

However, it is in the final chapter that we actually get what we were looking for when we picked up this book - John MacArthur's assessment, criticism, and call to reform the church. I wished that he started off with this chapter, because that's what we really want to read, not a commentary on Revelation. But then, it would be seen as a just a personal message, from a mere man, albeit a respected and proven pastor. By putting this chapter at the end, it serves as a culminating warning that summarizes and puts into today's context the rebukes of Jesus from Revelation. It's hard to disagree with the man, when he's simply mimicking the words of our Lord (although I do disagree with a few of his generalizations).

It's a must-read for anyone who even vaguely recognizes that there's something terribly wrong with the Church today. At least, read the last chapter.

I very much appreciate John MacArthur's call for the Church to Biblical purity. Especially I insightful was his call, not just to call I individuals to repent, but the call for whole churches to repent. How easy it is to forget that Paul called out the whole Corinthian church, not just the man caught in sin, or the seven churches in Revelation which as MacArthur points out Jesus was going to hold accountable for the sins of groups of members. How different the community guilt, and thus need for repentance, is than our I individualistic society's individualistic view of guilt.

John MacArthur holds nothing back in his latest book, Christ’s Call to Reform the Church. MacArthur takes Christ’s letters to the seven churches found at the beginning of Revelation and examines them one by one relating them to Christians and churches today. As the title states, MacArthur advocates for a modern day reformation and gives us the simple formula to make it happen.

MacArthur states, “The issues that corrupted church in the first century are the same threats facing the church today: idolatry, sexual immorality, compromise with the world and its pagan culture, spiritual deadness, and hypocrisy” (35). This is why he looks at Christ’s praise and condemnation of these seven churches. There is truly nothing new under the sun.

A couple of key features readers will find in this book is a helpful dose of history and a heavy emphasis on Scripture. These two things should be expected given MacArthur has written an entire New Testament commentary set. These are incredibly helpful features though. Readers gain a greater understanding of the churches being written to as MacArthur touches on their history and location. They also gain greater clarity as He connects Christ’s words to the churches to other portions of Scripture.

From this work, we receive a challenge to see how we relate to each one of these seven churches personally and to examine our corporate gatherings. It would be hard to walk away from reading this book without seeing yourself on some of these pages. My only critique of this book is that I would have enjoyed a bit more application from MacArthur and that is a minor gripe.

What’s the solution MacArthur offers as he advocates for a modern reformation? Churches need to return to the five solas of the reformation: faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. The sins of the people are not new and the solution is not new, but it is needed.

MacArthur gives great exposition on Christ’s letters to the seven church in Revelation and he doesn’t hold back in calling out the sins he sees. We all should seek to treasure Christ more and Christ’s Call to Reform the Church is a great resource to inspire us to do so.

Disclaimer: I received a free, digital copy in order to give and honest, unbiased review.

Love this short but deep book about the church! The church is not here to conform to the culture but should be based on the Word of God! Thank you for another great book MacArthur!

Christ's Call to Reform the Church by John MacArthur is a book written about the seven church in Revelation. MacArthur takes us through the letters to the seven churches written by John in the book of Revelation in the Bible. He takes each letter and explains them in great detail. He gives historical background on the churches, and also the biblical background of the churches. I really liked how he related the churches from biblical times, to the churches of today. He really made me think about my heart attitude, and my actions. I loved how much detail and information that he put into this book. This was a really good and informative read, and I would probably buy a few for friends to read also.

Sadly there is a lot of great content in this book, much of which the church would be greatly helped by really listening to but the author is guilty of most he condemns. He talks about Jesus most scathing accusations were against the religious right of His day, the most pious men in the nation, they fastidiously kept the law saying woe to you hypocrites. Jesus calls them blind guides they let Israel straight through their empty pious morality. This is what I experienced at John MacArthurs church and with His teaching. They consider themselves the most knowedagble, biblical and accurate of anyone and say in their own mission statement at GTY, that the world is dependant on John MacArthur to know and understand Gods word. Yet the thinks so highly of himself or His followers do, that He cannot be wrong and his opinion is law. The book eagerly points out flaws in other churches, many real, but sadly his church commits them too. I can't read what I know he is himself blind to. Read the book, a lot of it is biblical but don't follow his example and watch for what is purely opinion.

There is a cancer in the American church today. The spread of the prosperity gospel, and the word of faith movement has almost crippled the acceptance of true biblical doctrine in the United States. Jesus is now flaunted more as a magic genie than the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings. Preachers use His holy name as a sort of Mr. Fix it. Come to Jesus and all your troubles will be washed away. Christ’s call to reform the Church by John MacArthur tackles some of these issues as he takes the reader on a journey through the seven churches in Revelation. John gives a historic, and biblical breakdown of each letter. Providing the reader with detailed information about the rise and fall of the town and church; what culture was like, and the obstacles the church faced. The seven letters included, The Loveless Church, The Persecuted Church, The Compromising Church, The Corrupt Church, The Dead Church, the Faithful Church, and the Lukewarm Church. Six out of the seven churches carry a warning, Repent or face the consequences. As John works through each church, he makes it evident that many of the issues that plagued those churches are infesting ours. John’s warning is simple. Do not forget your first love, Christ, and to turn back to the five Solas, Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. If we put our focus back on Christ, we can with stand the storm of heresy. This book is a call for the church today to shine light on the issues they may never knew they had. The book is set for any Christian, to hopes it’ll drive them closer to Christ and help drive their church closer to Him.