The Gospel According to the Apostles: The Role of Works in the Life of Faith

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The Gospel According to the Apostles

Author: John MacArthur 

Ever since the days of the apostles Paul and James, Christians have struggled to define the proper tension between faith and works. Salvation, Paul stresses is "not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But James argues, "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (2:18).

In his characteristic compelling style Dr. MacArthur reconciles these two seemingly divergent threads of biblical truth, taking on the difficult questions head on:

• What is cheap grace?
• Have some Christians adopted a "no-lordship" theology?
• What must a person do to be considered righteous by God?
• Do our works have any affect on our salvation?

Jesus asked his followers, "Why do you call me Lord and not do the things that I tell you to?" When John MacArthur dared in his earlier book to ask us this question, critics accused him of shelving grace. Others read the same book and heard in it the identical message preached since the founding of the Church.

"The Gospel According to the Apostles is the same gospel Jesus preached," Dr. MacArthur says, "but it differs dramatically from the diluted message popular today. I pray you'll find this book an encouragement as you seek to put your own faith to work."

–––––––––– Table of Contents ––––––––––

1. Prologue
2. A Primer on the “Lordship Salvation” Controversy

• Is This Really a Crucial Issue? What Is “Lordship Salvation” All About? • Radical or Orthodox? • What Does the No-lordship Gospel Teach? • What Is Really at the Heart of the Lordship Debate?

3. Without Faith It Is Impossible to Please Him

• What Faith Is • What Faith Does

4. Cheap Grace?

• What Is Grace? • Two Kinds of Grace • Sovereign Grace • By Grace Are You Saved

5. The Necessity of Preaching Repentance

• Repentance in the Lordship Debate Repentance in the Bible • Repentance in the Gospels • Repentance in Apostolic Preaching

6. Just by Faith

• Declared Righteous: What Actually Changes? • How Justification and Sanctification Differ • Justification in Roman Catholic Doctrine • Justification in Reformation Teaching • Justification in the Lordship Debate • Justification in the New Testament

7. Free from Sin, Slaves of Righteousness

• Second-Blessing Spirituality? • What is Sanctification • To Work, Or Not to Work? • A Closer Look at Romans 6

8. The Death Struggle with Sin

• The Myth of the Carnal Christian • How Far Can Christians Go in Sinning? • Chief of Sinners • Wretched Man That I Am!

9. The Faith That Doesn’t Work

• Mere Hearing Empty Profession • Demonic Orthodoxy • Dead Faith

10. A Foretaste of Glory

• Assurance in the Reformation • Is Assurance Objective or Subjective? • What Are Biblical Grounds for Assurance? • In Order That You May Know • The Danger of False Assurance

11. Kept by the Power of God

• Saved to the Uttermost • Once Saved, Always Saved? • The Outcome of Your Faith • The Problem of Quantification

12. What Must I Do to Be Saved?

• Decisionism and Easy-Believism • How Should We Call People to Faith? • Where Do Good Works Fit? • How Shall We Witness to Children? • A Final Word

Appendix 1: A Comparison of Three Views

Appendix 2: What Is Dispensationalism and What Does It Have to Do with Lordship Salvation?

Appendix 3: Voices from the Past