Fool's Gold?: Discerning Truth in an Age of Error

225 Pages·2005·0.62 MB·English

by  Nathan Busenitz

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FO O L’S G O L D?

CROSSWAY B OOKS
A MINISTRY OF
GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS
WHEATON, ILLINOIS
Fool’s Gold?
Copyright © 2005 by The Shepherds’ Fellowship
Published by Crossway Books
A ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.
Cover design: Josh Dennis
First printing, 2005
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJVare taken from the King James Version.
Scripture quotations marked NASBare taken from the New American Standard
Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1973, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by
The Lockman Foundation and are used by permission.
Dedicated to the faithful pastors and church leaders
who have partnered with us through the
Shepherds’ Conference and Shepherds’ Fellowship.
May the Lord bless your ministry as you continue serving Him.

CONTENTS
About the Contributors 9
Editor’s Introduction John MacArthur 13
P A R T O N E
Promoting Discernment in an Age of Blind Acceptance
1 All That Glitters ...: A Call for Biblical
Discernment John MacArthur 19
2 Plexiglas Preaching: The Devastating Consequences of a
Watered-Down Message John MacArthur 35
P A R T T W O
Practicing Discernment in Your Local Bookstore
3 A Sense of Purpose: Evaluating the Claims of
The Purpose-Driven Life Nathan Busenitz 45
4 The Old Perspective on Paul: A Critical Introduction to
What Saint Paul Really Said Phil Johnson 61
5 Roaming Wild: Investigating the Message of
Wild at Heart Daniel Gillespie 79
6 When the Truth Becomes a Tabloid: A Closer Look at
The Revolve New Testament Rick Holland 97
P A R T T H R E E
Practicing Discernment in Your Local Church
7 Solid Rock? What the Bible Says about Contemporary
Worship Music John MacArthur 111
8 Just as I Am: A Closer Look at Invitations and
Altar Calls Carey Hardy 131
9 Let Your Light So Shine: Examining the American-Christian
Approach to Politics Phil Johnson 145
10 Choking on Choices: Combating Consumerism with
a Biblical Mind-set Kurt Gebhards 163
P A R T F O U R
Pursuing Discernment in Your Daily Life
11 Hills to Die on: A Doctrinal Framework for
Developing Discernment Dan Dumas 179
12 Keeping the Faith: A Practical Plan for
Personal Discernment John MacArthur 195
Notes 209
Scripture Index 215
Person Index 221
Subject Index 223
ABOUT THE
CONTRIBUTORS
Nathan Busenitzis the director of the Shepherds’ Fellowship (a non-
denominational association of churches spearheaded by Grace Community
Church) as well as an adjunct faculty member at The Master’s College &
Seminary. In addition, he is the managing editor of Pulpit, the online maga-
zine of the Shepherds’ Fellowship. Nathan graduated from The Master’s
Seminary in 2002. He and his wife, Bethany, have two children, Ashley and
Isaac. Nathan is also the author of Living a Life of Hope (Barbour Books,
2003).
Dan Dumas serves as executive pastor of Grace Community
Church as well as pastor of the Cornerstone fellowship group (a min-
istry to young marrieds and families). He also oversees conferences
and conference planning. Dan graduated from The Master’s
Seminary in 2001. Before coming to Grace Church, Dan served as
college and singles pastor at the Westside Baptist Church in
Jacksonville, Florida, and Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile,
Alabama. He and his wife, Jane, have one son, Aidan.
Kurt Gebhards shepherds The Foundry (Grace Church’s min-
istry to single adults in their twenties and thirties) as well as directing
Logos Equipping Ministries (Grace Church’s Bible institute for lay-
men). Kurt earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2001 and his
Master of Theology degree in 2004, both from The Master’s
Seminary. Kurt and his wife, Julie, have three children—Reilly, Shea,
and McKinley.