Grace to You

Qualifications

This week, one of the most impactful and prominent pastors and Bible teachers in the world went to be with the Lord. I must admit my own naivete, because I expected my social media threads to be full of praise and appreciation for both the man and his ministry, which was of course exactly what I found. However, some have also taken this solemn occasion to slander and attack this faithful brother because of the failures and problems they had with his teaching and ministry. I am of course talking about the longtime pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, John MacArthur.

Before I begin to share how the Lord has blessed and benefited me through Dr. MacArthur’s ministry, I want to express condolences to his family and those who knew this brother in real life and are grieving with the true hope of Christ. I didn’t know John MacArthur, but like so many I was privileged to learn from his preaching and his pen. I also want to express sadness that anyone would feel this to be an appropriate time to complain and criticize his life and ministry. With that being said I did not agree with MacArthur on everything or maybe even on most things but in this post I want to focus on a few of the most helpful and beneficial things I learned from this faithful brother in the Lord.

One last important qualification, the Apostle Paul warns the Corinthians against the kind of preacher preference or celebrity culture that elevates the instrument too highly. Who is MacArthur? Who Sproul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each… but God gave the growth (1 Corinthians 3:4-7;21-23)! It is on this basis I express my gratitude to Jesus for these blessings conveyed through His servant John!

Biblical Exposition

I remember when I first encountered faithful biblical exposition in a local church where I served teaching youth at Scotland First Baptist Church. Our pastor was a faithful man leading us verse by verse through books of Scripture. I must admit in those early days I was so ignorant of Christian influence that I didn’t know the difference between C. H. Spurgeon and John MacArthur. But later, as I became more well acquainted with the teaching of Grace To You, I also deeply appreciated how MacArthur was tenaciously welded to the text. We are all fallible and imperfect teachers but it always has seemed safest to me to stay as near the very words of the Bible as possible so if I’m wrong the hearer has the word itself to correct any error. MacArthur made no apology for what Scripture said on any topic. He studied long and taught strong, the text to those under his ministry.

Biblical Lordship

The most personally impactful aspect of John MacArthur’s teaching for me was his strong voice proclaiming the lordship of Christ, particularly in salvation. The book of his that had the greatest influence on me was “The Gospel According to Jesus” where MacArthur shows so clearly the tangible and Biblical fruit of truly knowing Jesus as Saviour AND Lord!  This book was one of the works that helped me think through both my own subjective experience of salvation and my theological understanding of this central Christian doctrine.


Biblical Confidence

If nothing else MacArthur was one who had a steadfast faith. Once he believed that he had understood the instructions and teaching from God about salvation, evangelism, discipleship, ecclesiology, eschatology, or any matter of truth or practice he would stop at nothing to teach, obey, and live according to that faith. As I mentioned earlier in some of these areas I don’t agree with his conclusions but his faithfulness is exceedingly commendable.

One area where this faithfulness is manifested clearly is in his longevity not only in ministry but in the same church. Of course, MacArthur is well known for his writing, broadcasting of teaching, leading a college and a seminary. But what is most impressive to a humble pastor in the trenches of ministry, is his decades of faithful service to one church home. Many pastors don’t have the option of this because of no fault of their own. In all cases is it the Lord who wills the redeployment of His servants from one place to another. But Dr. MacArthur’s tenure at Grace Community Church is extraordinarily admirable.

Finally, at the end of his life he had no regrets. Having given his whole life to the task of teaching the Bible to people verse by verse, he was able at the very end to say that he wouldn’t change anything. He would not have softened his tone. He would not have avoided the battles. He would not have changed his schedule. He would not have sought to save himself from the pain of investing in people who disappointed him or even attacked him. He had no regrets!

“I would never change anything. A life of exhausting my understanding of scripture has yielded fruit in my life, my wife's, my children, my family, my church, and far beyond. I'm only as useful as I am attuned to the truth that comes from heaven.” -John MacArthur (Video)

“I realize I'm on the last lap. That takes on a new meaning when you know you're on the short end of the candle, but I am. All thanks and praise to God for everything he's allowed me to be a part of and everything he's accomplished by his word in these years of ministry. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  -John MacArthur (Video)

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