Man worshippers..........

When I preach, if I can't show it in the Scriptures, I state clearly that it's my opinion. I don't care which man teaches something, I'm more concerned with what Scriptures say. This is one reason that I recommend ditching the study Bibles and getting a Bible, a Greek text, and the BDAG (or another lexicon).

 

Various denominations do this depending on who their founder or revered prophet is. It happened also in the NT, some would follow Paul, others claimed other Apostles as their leadership. Times have not changed!

 

You say, "Let the Holy Spirit be your guide," but the Holy Spirit already told us that when Christ ascended, he gave us gifts, one of which was teachers.

Some time-tested, tried and true teachers revered by the church I attend:
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• Martin Luther</font>
• John Calvin</font>
• John Gill</font>
• Charles H. Spurgeon</font>
• Matthew Henry</font>
• A. W. Pink</font>

If someone said, "Calvin wrote ... ," I listen more intently—not because I believe every thing ever written by the man, but because most of what he said is true, and he had a gift for putting spiritual things into terms easily understood, as did all in the above list. St. John said, "Beloved, believe not every spirit ... ," So the question, "Who is the author?" is a valid question.

I don't believe that the people you deprecated as "man-worshippers" are really worshipping men. I believe they've found a man who can be trusted, and are wary of others. This is not a bad thing, but a good thing according to St. John. God gave us teachers because we are weak, and we need help understanding His Word and applying it to our lives. Trying the spirits is hard work. Those of us who put in an honest week's labor want to rest at least one day out of the week, and aren't interested in doing that job every Sunday.

Isn't it nice to go to the grocery store with the assurance that most of the food offered there is unpolluted? How often would you go to a store in which you had no faith?

So be patient with them. You're heart is in the right place, because complacency is a real danger in this area, and one could easily fall into the trap of simply receiving wholesale every "breath" [spirit] out of one's mouth. If you love these people, don't immediately start shoving strong meat down their throats and then rail against them as immature or unspiritual because they choke. What would you think of the father who did that to his child? Nurture them. They trust MacArthur. If my goal were to build an individual's skill in discernment, I would find the authors and teachers recommended by MacArthur, gently introduce him to one that way, and little by little get him used to sampling the fruit of other teachers.

 

Sunnydays:

What is John Mc'Arthur based ? I think that is wrong.
Suppose John writes that he believes it is now Scriptural for a baptized believer to eat dung provided he does so with thanksgiving, will you all do it ?
I like listening to Family Radio because of the Scripture reading and the music, but when they start airing their interview with believers to show how the program had 'led' people to Christ, I turn off my radio or go listen to country music.
In the same way, I like listening to Family oriented programs, but when they start focusing on the 'greatness' of this or that personality, I go listen elsewhere.
Only Jesus Christ is great.
Nothing and no one must take precedence over the Lord and Savior in a believer's life.

 

I agree with what Aaron wrote too. She isn't necessarily worshipping John MacArthur.

Ive seen much the same thing happening within my circles, only not with John MacArthur, with another man. The people are not worshipping this man, but they tend to take his word as true just because he is who he is. I think much of it comes from these men having a very long ministry in basically the same church or circle of influence. The first generation of listeners diligently searches the Word to determine if what he says is correct. They find that he is right on, he strives to be Biblical, etc. So they teach their children to trust what this man says, but somehow the "search the Scriptures" part doesnt get into the kids. So the kids and grandkids of the first generation of listeners turn into what looks like blind followers who trust anything the great preacher says.

Teach this lady to search out the Scriptures first. But don't call her a man-worshipper, because to her that just translates into disloyalty towards a man she loves and trusts as leading her in a Godly manner.

 

Some have the gift of teaching, but what is your reference for the above statement?

 

Bro. Ian, I think Aaron is referring to Ephesians 4:8-12. Check it out and see.

Amen.
Sunnydays, I don't think your friend is worshipping a man. But she does need to learn more about discernment and making the Scriptures the final arbiter of the truth - not which person wrote something. So as Aaron said, be patient and bring her along bit by bit until she clearly understands that while some men may be more trustworthy than others, the sayings of all men must be held up to the light of God's Word.

 

I'm a huge fan of JM, I must have over a dozen of his books. That said, to limit yourself to one author or teacher is not very smart IMO. To me you're essentially saying God is only working through that person and no one else.