“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7, Legacy Standard Version)
Many of you have already heard of the passing of Dr. John MacArthur at the age of 86 on July 14. It is reported that he had some heart difficulties over the last two years, and he apparently passed soon after contracting pheumonia. Tributes to MacArthur and summaries of what God did through him are everywhere online. Sadly, some take his death as an opportunity to generate clicks by picking the scab of past controversies in which he was embroiled. I won’t engage either of those approaches.
Through the years, I’ve had many friends and colleagues who were connected with Dr. MacArthur in various ways, mostly through the Master’s College and Seminary. I didn’t know him personally, but for reasons that will become apparent, I’ve felt a sort of kinship with him. So, I’d like to share a few things about him that need to be remembered and, yes—imitated.
•••••••
Representative Reflections on Dr. MacArthur’s Passing
- Grace To You remembered him here.
- Grace Community Church announced his death here.
- Ruth Graham’s NY Times portrayal of MacArthur as a fiery preacher and culture warrior is here.
- Dakota Smith’s LA Times portrayal of MacArthur as a fundamentalist who appealed to ultra-conservatives is here.
- Al Mohler reflected on him as a lion of the pulpit here.
- Maroosha Muzaffar in the UK’s Independent views MacArthur as leaving a divisive legacy here.
- Daniel Silliman’s CTOnline memorial [“He explained the Bible to millions”] summarizes his ministry and controversies here.
•••••••
Just Preach the Word and Pray
My first memory of MacArthur is from the early 1980’s, when I was teaching New Testament at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake Indiana. MacArthur came to speak at the annual Bible Conference. I can’t tell you what he preached about, but I’ll never forget his answer to a question he was asked at a prayer breakfast—”What is the secret of your success?” It seemed to me that he was barely able to conceal his irritation at being asked the question. He simply replied, “There is no secret. Be faithful in preaching the word of God, and pray for God’s blessing.”
Controversy over the origin of religious revivals goes back at least to the days of Charles G. Finney’s “new measures.” The question came to be put in this way: are revivals worked up or prayed down? There are those who think that church growth is to a great extent a matter of finding the right technique for the situation, sort of like having the right know-how and tools to do a brake job on your car. MacArthur didn’t believe that. I’m sure he had thought deeply on Paul’s words in 1 Cor 3:5-9:
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9, Legacy Standard Version)
We do need to seek culturally appropriate methods of preaching the gospel, but we must never forget that the power is in the gospel message itself, not in our methods.
He took our school!
Another memory of MacArthur goes back to 1985, when Los Angeles Baptist College became The Master’s College, with MacArthur as president. LABC began in 1927 and came to be an approved school of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC). LABC had struggled through the years with dwindling enrollment and finances. By the mid-1980’s the student body numbered only around 300, of whom only about 30% were baptist. The board of trustees concluded that LABC’s future should be in the hands of MacArthur and the wider movement of God centered in the churches and individuals associated with Grace Community Church, Santa Clarita, and MacArthur’s Grace to You Radio Ministry. At that point the school began a stunning renaissance that has led to its identity today as The Master’s University and The Master’s Seminary, with over 2500 students.
Despite LABC’s dismal situation, and the growth that came with MacArthur’s presidency, some in the GARBC resented the transition to the Master’s College. One highly placed GARBC executive was quoted at the time as saying the school was certainly no longer a college for baptist churches. Wow.
In recent years many Christian colleges and seminaries have struggled with the same sort of problems LABC experienced way back in the 1980’s. We’ve written a whole series of posts on this sad trend. As we look back now, we realize that LABC becoming The Master’s College in 1985 anticipated a coming trend in higher education. Actually, we ought to celebrate such transitions, not lament them.
The Gospel According to Jesus
In 1988 MacArthur’s pastoral and theological reflection on the problem of faith and perseverance—”carnal Christians”— resulted in the publication of his controversial book The Gospel According to Jesus. He says seven years of study and preaching the Four Gospels led to the book. It was issued in a revised and expanded edition in 1993, and in 2008 a 20th anniversary edition came out. Some view GAJ as MacArthur’s most influential book. As the saying goes, it kicks butt and takes names. You may not agree with all of MacArthur’s conclusions, but you need to hear him out in this book.
This isn’t the place to engage the ongoing “Lordship Salvation” polemics in depth. I’ll simply say I was taught the “free grace” position [Bonhoeffer called it “cheap grace.”] as a young believer. Ongoing study and pastoral ministry led me to a mainstream reformed position. That’s pretty much what happened to MacArthur. When it was first published, I was happy to use The Gospel According to Jesus book as a required text at Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary, and I’m glad it’s still influential over 35 years later.
Whatever view you take on this controversy, I hope you don’t engage it as an abstract intellectual battle. I’ve written about this issue as a gut-wrenching pastoral problem on this site.
A “Leaky Dispensationalist”
Additional theological refinements accompanied MacArthur’s advocacy of the doctrine of the saints’ perseverance. Many of the proponents of the forgiveness-without-repentance Lordless salvation that MacArthur opposed in GAJ were classic dispensationalists, who held to major distinctions between the Old and New Testaments. In their view the OT was Israel/law/earth-focused, while the NT was church/grace/heaven-focused. It’s easy to slide from this viewpoint into a position that separates OT Israel from the NT church, leaving the church without a foundational organic link to Israel as the people of God, resulting in two peoples of God, in some cases two new covenants, even leading to two ways of salvation in rare cases.
In a conversation with John Piper in 2007, MacArthur described himself as a “leaky dispensationalist.” I wonder whether this was a subtle, humorous reference to Jeremiah 2:13 (compare M. Avot 2.9). MacArthur had used the same expression in a Question and Answer session at Grace Community Church on December 31, 1995. You can read it or listen to him here. He acknowledged that he no longer held to all the classic dispensational views he had been taught, but insisted on a real future for national Israel as the bedrock teaching of dispensationalism. He also took pains to deny replacement theology—that the church receives all of Israel’s prophetic blessings, leaving the Jewish people only with judgment.
My own views in this area are similar to MacArthur’s. Since the early 1990’s academics have been calling this approach “progressive dispensationalism“. I wrote about Matthew as a test-case for dispensationalism here, and I defended dispensationalism from John Gerstner’s heavy-handed overkill here. I take it that the church does not replace Israel (covenant theology) or interrupt Israel (classic dispensational theology). Rather, in light of Romans 11 and Ephesians 2, the church renews and extends Israel.
It is noteworthy that recognizing the unity of biblical history and the biblical canon which chronicles and explains that history leads to greater evangelical unity. If MacArthur had continued to hold and teach classical dispensationalism’s two peoples of God, he would likely never have shared platforms with men like Albert Mohler, John Piper, and Joel Beeke.
Imitate Their Faith
Many times God provided mentors to budding leaders in the Bible. Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and the Twelve, and Paul and Timothy immediately come to mind. Paul clearly thought of himself as a mentor and taught about it frequently.* The book of Hebrews provides us with an honor roll of faithfulness in chapter 11, culminating in the exhortation to look to the example of our Lord Jesus Christ in 12:1-2.
You may not agree with some of MacArthur’s staunch positions, like his opposition to the charismatic movement and his strict complementarian stance on the roles of men and women in the church. That’s fine—you needn’t worry about mimicking his every exegetical conclusion and theological position. Look instead at his heart for the church, his faith in the sufficiency of Holy Scripture, and above all, his lifelong faithfulness in preaching the word of God and writing books that expound the word of God.
He has run his race. How does his race instruct and inspire yours?
Feel free to share your thoughts on MacArthur below. Keep it classy, friends!
• • • • • • •
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7)
* Acts 20:18, 33-35; 1 Cor 4:14-16; 11:1; Phil 3:17; 4:9; 2 Th 3:7-9; 1 Tim 1:16; 4:12; 2 Tim 3:10-12; Tit 2:7
John MacArthur preached the word of God. Charles Stanley, who passed recently, preached the word of God, and Dr. David Jeremiah preaches the word of God. It seems to me that many of those who have strictly preached the word of God have passed or are elderly. It is sad that those who are younger do not.
I am afraid we will not see preachers like this again
MacArthur didn’t mess around, did he? No one ever had to say to him, “Please tell us what you really think.”
I’m not as pessimistic about younger preachers as you are though. They’re out there, maybe just not prominent yet.
And then there’s that verse in Matthew 9 where Jesus tells us to pray for laborers to go into the harvest field.
You are referring to Matthew 9:38. But from where I stand, modern day “Christianity” seems in large part to ignore the words of Christ. And if the teachers like Stanley, McGee, and MacArthur are not there to be role models for those coming up there will be fewer. There are just those prosperity gospel people.
Some are saying I am of McGee…. Others say I am of Stanley…. Others say I am of MacArthur. For me, I am of Christ.
It’s interesting to think of MacArthur’s death in terms of 1 Cor 3:4. I think the commenter above was just comparing past stalwarts of the faith to contemporary preachers and asking, “who will fill their shoes?”
To say “I am of Christ” could simply be an acknowledgment that every human preacher is simply a messenger of the church’s Senior Pastor (1 Pet 5:4). Or it could just be carnal one-upmanship.
I snagged a copy of GAJ off a free shelf about 15 years ago. I’ve been meaning to read it. Now would be a great time.
Well, yeah!
David,
A colleague in ministry and I attended a Shepherd’s Conference around 1984. We were in our mid-twenties – young and a bit naive. We happened to pass “Dr. MacArthur” in the hallway outside Grace’s sanctuary. He was being followed by an older lady carrying a notepad. We stopped him and asked if we could meet with him (after all, what else did he have to do?!). The lady – his assistant – quickly chimed in “Pastor, you just don’t have the time during the conference to meet with these men.” John kindly looked at her and said, “We’ll make the time.” She showed him his schedule and he instructed her to rearrange some things. A day or two later he gave us (along with 5 or 6 others we invited in the meantime) an hour in his office to pick his brain.
While I clearly remember some of the things he said to us during that hour, what has impressed me most was his willingness to spend time with a couple of “nobodies”. Having had a few interactions with him since those early days I never sensed he thought of himself as a big shot. In an age in which some in the Reformed circles have become “celebrities”, traveling the conference circuits, being coddled, persistently told how wonderful was their sermon, or being asked to take a selfie, John remained anchored to his pastoral duties and, by God’s grace, sought to see Christ alone celebrated by others.
I immediately had a similar praise and lament to Leslie. Alastair Begg is retiring as senior pastor. Charles Stanley and John now in heaven. I dread the Andy Stanley-types replacing giants like these. We must each take up the mantle and accept the challenge to “preach God’s word and ask for his blessing” each and every day of our lives in and out of the pulpit.
I do believe one of God‘s biggest judgments is when he pulls away godly leadership from a nation and from the Church. I pray this will be a time of renewal and not that sort of discipline.
I’m humbled and grateful for the man and I’ve never even met him. What a legacy. And yes the LSV is now in my stable. Dude was a workhorse.
Thanks for your contribution to Dr. MacArthur tributes. My own is found on our Facebook page (along with some pictures).
Reading down through your list of notable points in MacArthur’s ministry was a walk down memory lane for this pastor who learned from them as a much younger pastor. All these solidified my sufficiency of Scripture stance throughout my whole ministry, even today.
Thank You for your continued fidelity to God’s Word and using your gifts for His glory!
Thanks for the link to the pictures Don. It was fun to see the younger Dr. MacArthur in denim pants and plaid shirt!
Well said.
Ben Shapiro gave a tribute to JMac. Said the first time they met he spent the first hour trying to get Ben to see Jesus as the Messiah and turn to him. Ben said it was not offensive to him and also a remarkable description of JMac’s sincere commitment to the Bible.
Thanks Doug.
Here’s the Shapiro/MacArthur conversation from six years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-ofKxfYqGw
Here’s another Shapiro/MacArthur conversation on the religious decline of the west from a year ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr95oTGqnVQ
Here’s Shapiro’s recent tribute just after MacArthur’s death (starting at 52 seconds in)
Dr. David Nicholas is president of Shasta Bible College & Graduate School in Redding, CA. He and I passed through the doctoral program at Grace Seminary (Winona Lake IN) at about the same time.
I didn’t realize Dr. Nicholas was a longtime friend of Pastor MacArthur. He asked me to post this tribute here.
“Honoring John MacArthur’s Years of Ministry at Grace Community Church and Grace to You”
I met John MacArthur 65 years ago when we both arrived on the campus of Los Angeles Pacific College, he from BJU and me from Westmont. Our theological compatibility, along with our love for athletics and ministry, created a bond of friendship that has lasted until this day. We played football together (I can testify to his incredible ability as a flankerback under Coach Brownfield, whom many years later he led to faith in Jesus Christ). His indefatigable determination to be the best led him to be selected as a small college Little All American for his amazing number of pass receptions. Later we became LAPC’s two man track team. He ran the Sprints and I threw the Javelin. Together we would travel in his red VW to all the Christian College track meets in Southern California. John was an outstanding athlete and a fierce competitor in football, basketball and track. He had a passion to be the best at whatever he did, and that same passion carried over into his ministry at Grace Community Church.
I recall a message he preached and discussed with me back when we were in College. It was titled, “God’s Great Man,” It was about John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. In Matt. 11:11, it was none other than Jesus Christ who said that “among those born of women, there was none greater than John the Baptist.” I felt, even back then, that my friend, Johnny MacArthur, wanted to be one of God’s great men. I believe John has accomplished that desire, both through his expositional ministry in the pulpit and his prolific publishing ministry, which includes commentaries on both the New and Old Testaments, in addition to terrific books on Biblical precepts for Christian living, apologetics, culture, and church ministry.
His courageous defense of God’s inerrant Word is still influencing Christian thought and culture around the world, through his publications and media outreach through Grace to You, heard daily on radio and weekly on television. There is so much more I could say about John MacArthur, affectionately known as “Johnny Mac” to his longtime friends. Despite his many critics, his passion to accurately handle God’s Incomparable, infallible, inerrant Word has continued throughout his years of ministry at Grace Church, and will continue long after God has taken him home, through his broadcasts, publications, videos and recordings. History will record that he was, without doubt, one of God’s great Men.
-David Nicholas
I have very mixed feelings about John MacArthur.
At one point in my life (mid 2000’s), he was one of my favorite speakers. I learned much from him and was greatly encouraged in my faith. I loved listening to him on the radio on the way home from Thursday night pick-up basketball.
However, the more time went on the more he turned me off until I could no longer listen to him. At first, it was his certainty on almost every single Biblical issue. He was NEVER wrong. Really?
That seemed to morph into what bothered me next which was his poor treatment of other Christ followers like when he laced into one of his “friends” RC Sproul at a Shepherds conference circa 2010 over infant baptism or his “Go home” comment about Beth Moore years later.
However, the moment I lost almost all respect for him was when I found out (circa 2019) that his great athletic skill and achievements were highly exaggerated. Years before I had heard him talk about his great football skill and how he “gave it all up for God” even though he was an ‘all-american’ football player and that NFL teams were interested in him. Being very interested in sports, that greatly impressed me. It even challenged me to re-prioritize the position I had given sports in my life. Then when it came to light that none of that was true, it was a real gut punch to me. In the years that have followed even more things far worse have been exposed— abuser harboring, innocent victim shaming, failure to admit he made a mistake, failure to apologize, etc.
I’m not sure how exactly to feel about his ministry other than it’s complicated. Is he to be honored or shamed? Which verse is more appropriate, James 3:1 or 1 Tim 5:17?
PS- I find it a bit humorous that his sermon/podcast ministry is called “Grace to You” when quite often he was very ungracious with those who held different opinions or beliefs.
Thanks for airing your honest views Rob. What you’ve said may be found in numerous other places online. It’s intriguing that that there’s little response from MacArthur or his surrogates to these issues. What should we make of that?
I won’t attempt to refute what you’ve said, but I will comment on two areas. First, the exaggerated college athletic career: the comment above yours supports MacArthur’s prowess at a low level of college football. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that he attended a tryout camp with the Redskins, or that some west coast scout for the Browns contacted him when Warfield got hurt. Second, as to his “lacing into” RC Sproul over pedobaptism at a Shepherds conference: I have seen a clip where there was some good-natured jousting bewteen them over baptism and eschatology. There well may have been another time when the conversation grew more heated.
Both James 3:1 and 1 Tim 5:17 are appropriate when thinking of John MacArthur or any other minister of the word of God. I choose to honor him now for his commitment to preaching the Scriptures. The extent to which he is ultimately to be honored or shamed is not up to either of us but to his Master.
God has used common clay pots like Peter, Paul, MacArthur, and a host of other flawed people to build up his church through the centuries. Maybe the problem is with us turning them into something more than the simple farmers they really are.
I’m pondering 1 Cor 4:1-5 right now.
Thanks for these gracious and balanced perspectives.
While I didn’t agree with every conclusion and sometimes felt that his tone was a bit harsh, I always appreciated his plain-spoken commitment to the Word of God.
You wrote that when MacArthur took over the LA Baptist College that a GARBC executive said that Masters University is no longer a school for Baptist students. Who was the GARBC executive?
You’ll find the quote and the name in this LA Times article:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-05-me-3094-story.html
Thank you for your post on John MacArthur; it was fair and balanced. Many divergent views on his life and ministry are being shared; I may not agree with all of your conclusions, but I do agree that he was a man of God for our generation. I am hearing a very mixed response among churches and pastors. I think everyone agrees that he was a very influential expositor, pastor, and church leader; he is to be commended for his faithful preaching of the Word and holding the line on doctrinal truth.
Some comments on the past relationship of MacArthur to the GARBC: it is a complicated one. Historically, when he was given control of Los Angeles Baptist College back in 1985, it caused quite a stir among GARBC leaders. LABC was led for many years by Dr. John Dunkin, a former dean at Baptist Bible Seminary, and a leader in the GARB fellowship. I think that you are correct in your assessment that the school was declining in both enrollment and finances, and something needed to be done. But many in the GARBC felt that giving the school to MacArthur came at too great a cost and compromised the school’s position on Baptist polity, especially in the areas of dispensationalism/eschatology, and ecclesiology in the elder governance model that MacArthur espoused.
Many donors who had given over the years to maintain LABC’s baptist position felt betrayed. Correspondence was sent from Dr MacArthur to Dr. Paul Tassell, who was the National Representative of the GARBC at the time. He responded with a letter to Dr. MacArthur that was published in the Baptist Bulletin (articles can be made available), expressing disappointment in the change in Baptist nomenclature and polity. It was, indeed, a watershed moment; since that time, many GARBC churches that began to follow MacArthur and his ministry, moved away from the Pastor/Deacon model of church governance to the teaching/ruling elder model which is prevalent today in many of the churches.
The GARBC has changed and dwindled so much since then, that I doubt this generation even remembers that previous point of contention. Many within the fellowship have became ardent followers of MacArthur, while others think he went too far in the areas of Lordship salvation, leaky dispensationalism, and questionable tactics in church discipline.
That is my perspective, for what it’s worth. Links to articles on this subject can be included, if useful.
Well said Lee, that was helpful.
Please provide the links you mentioned to the MacArthur/Tassell correspondence and to any other relevant documents.
I get your concerns about elder rule. I’ve seen both elder and congregational rule rue run amok. Heeding Paul’s admonition about maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-6) is the real issue, whatever model of church governance is being used.
Here are the April 1985 documents supplied by Lee Kliewer:
https://drdavidlturner.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/LABC-becomes-The-Masters-College.pdf
1. John MacArthur’s letter to Paul Tassell, GARBC National Representative
2. Tassell’s reply to MacArthur
3. MacArthur’s letter to pastors
4. The issue of the LABC Summary that announced the changes.
Thanks Lee!
If I remember correctly, when Grace Church ministries (or whatever the official name was) took control of the former LABC, this included Grace assuming at least a $13 million debt load which the school could not really service. That would most likely have led to LABC’s demise, as has sadly been the case with other colleges/seminaries like LABC in the past decade.
I remember having mixed feelings when considering it from all angles. In retrospect, the LABC/Master’s transition was the best path forward, even if the school was not officially Baptist as before. It still had some baptistic features, as well as a strong commitment to God’s Word. As we all know, other schools have not fared as well.
Anonymous, I wish you would share your identity with us. How else can we assign any degree of credibility to your comment?
Does anyone with an identity wish to affirm or deny what Anonymous is saying?
Haha – sorry, I hit the “post comment” button and then after the fact realized that I did not fill in the information blanks- my apologies, I certainly don’t want to start any controversy on this page!
And I wanted to add that after my previous comments were submitted, I saw the LA Times write up and they stated that the financial debt was $2.7 million total. So, I may be wrong, but that $13 million figure was overwhelming to me when I first heard it and is what I personally remembered over all these decades. It was still a large commitment for MacArthur and his ministries to assume the debt, other liabilities, and upgrading the physical buildings and grounds. Looking back, it was a blessing for all parties involved.
Thanks for the clarifications Don, we certainly wouldn’t want ANY controversy on this page.
I agree with you on the long terms results of the transition, but see the doc’s supplied by Lee Kliewer above for the concerns in 1985.
I have an identity and I can confirm that Anonymous is saying what he is saying.
Grace Community Church has announced the memorial service for Pastor MacArthur will be held on August 23 at 10:30 am PDT. The service will be livestreamed.
For more info, go to https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/4232
As a young pastor 38 years ago, I began to preach through the Gospel of Luke. As a result of my own personal study, I began to question statements like “Let Jesus into your heart,” “just pray the sinner’s prayer” and “never doubt your salvation.” As I was finishing my studies and preaching in Luke, I became aware of The Gospel According to Jesus, and I read it with keen attention. Wow, I found out that I had been forming conclusions that were in The Gospel according to Jesus. I found that work to be insightful and helpful. I’ll never forget staying up late at night to finish chapters. My copy was well marked with my own notes. I’m guessing I had read and heard this before, but my thinking was crystalized. Those were days of personal growth.
Dr. Turner mentions above the Bible Conference at Grace Seminary in the early 1980s. I was there as a student then and came into the chapel about 1/2 hour early and decided I’d get a couple of minutes of nap time in before the service started. I dozed, and heard some shuffling behind me. A man I’d never seen before sat down behind me. He was by himself, I turned around to greet him and nodded back to sleep. So when chapel started, the speaker’s accolades were announced, and as you probably guessed, the man behind me was John MacArthur. I hoped that I had not done anything to embarrass myself.
A second encounter was when I attended the Shepherd’s conference in the early 1990s. During lunch times you could request to sit with faculty and staff of Grace Community Church. I don’t know how I made the cut, but I did get to sit at his table. I was afraid I might say something embarrassing, so I thought hard before I asked the question, “What is the greatest thing about your ministry so far?” Without hesitation he said, “That all my children are born again disciples of Jesus.”