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Weeding the Library
Charles Spurgeon once wrote:
Heresies in the Christian church come never from the city missionary, never from the faithful pastor, never from the intense evangelist; but always from gentlemen at ease, who take no actual part in our holy war.
He speaks of antinomian teaching among other heresies. Along with new Calvinist antinomianism, I would add to our current day heresies the teaching of premillennial dispensationalism.
We must weed our minds brethren, of such heresies.
One way to begin is to rid our libraries of such books of long-standing falsehood. Towards that purpose, I am removing all books of John MacArthur, John Piper and other ‘new Calvinists’ who themselves are no Calvinists at all from my library. I consider them all as extreme fanatics of our day. Away with your new calvinism, away with your fusion of justification and sanctification, away with your false promises of repentance and salvation after Christ comes again! Heresies and silliness. Stick to the Scriptures brethren, if they are learned and studied as your foundation, such teachings would be dismissed without a moments thought.
We as believers are urged in Scripture onward to perfection in Christ, to press on toward that goal, and we will only be hampered, to say the least, by retaining such false teachings in the household.
To the fire they go, including bibles with heretical footnotes. There are ample copies of holy Scripture available without the foul stench of heretical footnotes. I once cherished some bibles because I possessed them of my youth, but no more. Let them and my memories of compromise and naiveté be gone with them.
5 Pt. Salt 
Steve Lawson? He’s in MacArthur’s camp, isn’t he?
I don’t know that. Any evidence?
I got the idea that he was from reading Made in Our Image: The Fallacy of the User-Friendly God.
I’ve never liked the idea that we must learn heresies in order to fight against them. It is much more fruitful to learn the truth…and as we learn the truth we will be able to fight falsehood, no matter what guise it takes.
Once you’re done eliminating all of mans wisdom from your shelves, what will be left? The Bible and a journal with singed edges?
Is the Bible not enough young man?
Indeed, wholly sufficient, yet not open for individual interpretation. The challenge is where to stop. Should we burn the works of Calvin, because he was a paedobaptist? Or….perhaps we could test all things and hold fast to what is true.
I’m only cleaning out two authors. Let’s not go overboard.
Joel – I would say the Bible is enough, but man, being sinful, cannot trust himself to rightly comprehend it. Therefore, we need others who have different “blind spots” than we do to help us better see, understand, and obey the Word of God. I thank the Lord for faithful men, knowing He leads and equips His saints to walk in the light and exhort, reproof, instruct, and rebuke one another. A pox on those false teachers who lead people astray rather than to Christ.
Agreed.
I have a heresy shelf in a closet – a few books I’ve collected for one reason or another; currently includes Wild at Heart, Purpose Driven Life, Prayer of Jabez, and one by David Jeremiah. I keep them for evidence when someone asks for proof that such an author wrote such a thing.
No book written by man is perfect – but many are straight-on regarding the essentials and good instruction, etc.; worth keeping. MacArhur’s book, Slave, fits into that category as he doesn’t bring in his dispensatationist theology in that narrow scope.
I like to read old calvinist like Berkhof, Bavinck, Van Til and others. Authors suggested to me by my pastor. Only recently I came across the new Calvinist. Disappointing.
Joel, did you know that if a person wants a better understanding of the Gospel that Paul Washer recommends two of John Piper’s books? He also recommends a book written by RC Sproul, a Presbyterian and friend of Mark Driscoll.
Carter – just an observation: Assuming guilt by association is not an honorable thing to do. If Sproul propped up Driscoll as Piper has done Warren, then we would be on more solid ground.
I understand the issues of Wild at Heart, but I am surprised to see John MacArthur’s name on your weeding list. Do you have a good reference for me to find out why he is heretical? I have always viewed him as a sound teacher of scripture.
Dispensationalism.