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You are here: Home / John MacArthur / John MacArthur on “Little Bo Peep Preaching”

John MacArthur on “Little Bo Peep Preaching”

February 24, 2010 by Christina

John MacArthur has a very helpful article  on “How to Study The Bible.”  One of the dangers he cautions students of the Bible against is spiritualizing the text.  Here is what he has to say:

“Don’t spiritualize the text. The first sermon I ever preached was really bad. My text was, “The angel rolled the stone away” from Matthew 28. I entitled my sermon, “Rolling Away the Stones in Your Life.” I talked about the stone of doubt, the stone of fear, and the stone of anger. Doubt, fear, and anger are all legitimate topics, but they have nothing to do with that verse! I call that “Little Bo Peep Preaching” because you don’t need the Bible; you can use anything–even “Little Bo Peep.”

Picture a preacher saying this: “Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep. All over the world people are lost. And can’t tell where to find them. But they’ll come home–ah, they’ll come.” Then you hear a tear-jerking story about sinners who came home “wagging their tails behind them!” Ridiculous? Yes, but unfortunately not too hard to imagine.

Many people tend to do that with the Old Testament. They turn it into a fairy tale with all kinds of hidden meanings–anything but what the text plainly states. Don’t spiritualize the Bible. It deserves more respect.”

You can read the whole thing here.

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Filed Under: John MacArthur, Preaching

Comments

  1. jaelstent says

    February 25, 2010 at 3:57 pm

    Oh this is great! Thanks for a good belly laugh.
    Ya gotta love Johnny Mac!

  2. Christina says

    February 26, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Diane,

    You DO have to appreciate John MacArthur!

    When I finally figure out how to make a comment on your wonderful blog, I will tell you how much I have learned from MacArthur since coming to embrace Reformed Theology. And, I am looking forward to the material forthcoming from him on “Limited Atonement.” Thank you for the heads up!

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