Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ

167 Pages·2010·0.92 MB·English

PRAISE FOR SLAVE
“John MacArthur expertly and lucidly explains that Jesus frees us from bondage
into a royal slavery that we might be His possession. Those who would be His
children must, paradoxically, be willing to be His slaves.”
—DR. R. C. SPROUL
“So much of our Christian walk is focused on ‘self ’—how will this trial refine
my faith, improve my character, or fit into a pattern for my good? Often when
believers speak of a personal Savior, they mean a Savior who is personally
committed to their health, success, and life fulfillment. But such a view couldn’t
be farther from the truth. In his new book, John MacArthur presents a
powerfully riveting and truly eye-opening look at our relationship to the Lord
Jesus. Want to rise to a new level of trust and confidence in your Master? Then
this is the book for you!”
—JONI EARECKSON TADA, JONI AND FRIENDS
INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY CENTER
“Dr. John MacArthur is never afraid to tell the truth and in this book he does just
that. The Christian’s great privilege is to be the slave of Christ. Dr. MacArthur
makes it clear that this is one of the Bible’s most succinct ways of describing our
discipleship. This is a powerful exposition of Scripture, a convincing, corrective
to shallow Christianity, a masterful work of pastoral encouragement . . . a
devotional classic.”
—DR. R. ALBERT MOHLER
PRESIDENT, THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
“Dr. John MacArthur’s teaching on ‘slavery’ resonates in the deepest recesses of
my ‘inner-man.’ As an African-American pastor, I have been there. That is why
the thought of someone writing about slavery as being a ‘God-send’ was the
most ludicrous, unconscionable thing that I could have ever imagined . . . until I
read this book. Now I see that becoming a slave is a biblical command,
completely redefining the idea of freedom in Christ. I don’t want to simply be a
‘follower’ or even just a ‘servant’ . . . but a ‘slave.’”
—THE REV. DR. DALLAS H. WILSON JR.
VICAR, ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHAPEL
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
slave
slave
The Hidden Truth about Your Identity in Christ
JOHN MACARTHUR
Slave
© 2010 by John MacArthur
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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson,
Inc.
Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.
®
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible. © The
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Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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ISBN: 978-1-4002-8111-4 (IE)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacArthur, John, 1939–
Slave : the hidden truth about your identity in Christ / John
MacArthur.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4002-0207-2
1. Identification (Religion) 2. Christian life. I. Title. II. Title: Hidden truth about your identity in Christ.
BV4509.5.M2525 2011
248.4—dc22
2010032926
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 15 QG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Nathan Busenitz
Wise and accomplished beyond his years, he has proven to be a treasure to me in
multiple ways. He has served me as a personal assistant in pastoral ministry, as a
writer of many articles on the Pulpit blog, as a fellow elder teaching and
preaching at Grace Community Church, and as a professor at The Master’s
Seminary. He has applied both his mind and heart to the research and writing of
this book. He is as committed to its truth and urgency as I am. The dedication
can only be to him so that all who read it in the years to come will know of my
gratitude for his efforts.
Contents
Preface
1. One Hidden Word
2. Ancient History, Timeless Truth
3. The Good and Faithful Slave
4. The Lord and Master (Part 1)
5. The Lord and Master (Part 2)
6. Our Lord and Our God
7. The Slave Market of Sin
8. Bound, Blind, and Dead
9. Saved from Sin, Slaved by Grace
10. From Slaves to Sons (Part 1)
11. From Slaves to Sons (Part 2)
12. Ready to Meet the Master
13. The Riches of the Paradox
APPENDIX: Voices from Church History
About the Author
Preface
A
fter more than fifty years of translating, studying, teaching,
preaching, and writing through the New Testament, I thought I had
its truths pretty well identified and understood— especially in the
realm of the New Testament theology of the gospel. In fact, clarifying the gospel
was the most important and constant emphasis of my writing—from The Gospel
According to Jesus, Ashamed of the Gospel, Hard to Believe, and The Truth War
to countless sermons and articles through the years. But through all those efforts,
a profound and comprehensive perspective, one that dominates the New
Testament and is crucial to the gospel, escaped me and almost everyone else.
It wasn’t until the spring of 2007, on an all-night flight to London while
reading Slave of Christ by Murray J. Harris, that I realized there had been a
centuries-long cover-up by English New Testament translators that had obscured
a precious, powerful, and clarifying revelation by the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly,
the cover-up was not intentional—at least not initially. Yet its results have been
dramatically serious.
A cover-up in the English New Testament translations? Was that true? Why?
And with what consequences? Had no one uncovered this before Harris in 1999?
It didn’t take long to find one who had—Edwin Yamauchi in his 1966 Bulletin
of the Evangelical Theological Society article entitled “Slaves of God.” Why had
there been no response to his work? And how could a truth related so essentially
not only to translation integrity but also to New Testament teaching about our
relation to Christ be purposely hidden and the cover-up ignored?
I also discovered in my trips around the world that there are many other major
language translators who have followed the lead of the English versions and
maintained the cover-up. Yet there are some who do translate the word correctly.
Thus this revelation is not hidden to my fellow believers in places like Russia,
Romania, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Why in English?
I have no doubt that this perpetual hiding of an essential element of New
Testament revelation has contributed to much of the confusion in evangelical
teaching and practice. In fact, I wonder if it wasn’t the reason I felt the need to
write so many books to clarify the gospel. If this one reality had been known,
would any of those books have been necessary?