The beginning of wisdom, a Chinese proverb states, is to begin calling things by their correct name.

In Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ , John MacArthur explores the Greek term “doulos” and its mistranslation in many contemporary bible translations which has led to a skewed perspective of the Christians relationship to God.

To say that John MacArthur is a powerhouse of a scholar would be an understatement. His ministry is founded on the study and teaching of the bible as the inerrant word of God. MacArthur’s’ thorough examination of the terms ‘slave‘ and ‘master‘ provided a clear history of each of these words revealing the vast difference in definitions from the early Church time frame until now.

Not being a bible scholar, just your average Christian, I learned much reading this book. The part that had me in total agreement was the discussion of the growing number of ‘easy grace’ teachings and other seeker friendly approaches proving that the enemy need only skew the meaning of a word to redirect the message.

To consider oneself a slave, owned by another and without authority over oneself, is the correct view of a Christian. Prosperity teaching does not promote a slave mentality. How can a slave be interested in their own prosperity when they have no authority?

Overall my take on this book is that it speaks squarely to who do not consider holiness as the Christian standard. The mistranslation of the word ‘doulos‘ is but a small change that has had a very significant impact. Each of the points are well referenced and footnoted throughout the book. It is a short book (only 240 pages) and the focus is s heralding the correct view of a Christians relationship with Christ.

Some books encourage and strengthen my faith. This one did just that. With the wave of shifting morals and seeker sensitive marketing of the Church, it was good to read words of truth.

The truth is that we are all slaves whether it be to God or to sin. We will either recognize our condition and turn to a loving God or we will exalt our importance and continue our lives in deception.

Recommended highly to the new Christian who may be confused about doctrine or the seasoned saint who needs to gain new perspective on his/her relationship to Jesus.

Disclaimer:
The review copy of this book was provided by Thomas Nelson and donated to the library of Westwood Baptist Church.