Saying Goodbye to John MacArthur
John MacArthur died July 14 at the age of 86 after coming down with pneumonia. MacArthur served as the pastor of Grace Community Church in southern California since 1969, was the author of countless books, former president of The Master’s Seminary, and the main voice on the radio program and podcast Grace to You.
MacArthur was deeply committed to expository preaching, going through entire books of the Bible on Sunday mornings at his church, much like we do at New Life. He finished a 42-year long sermon series on the entire New Testament in 2011.
MacArthur gained a following for his strong stances on a number of doctrinal issues: he was a firm Calvinist; he wrote books disputing charismatic theology (he was a committed cessationist); he often spoke out against same-sex marriage and became embroiled in controversy during the Covid crisis when he refused government orders to shut down worship services. Those events are captured in a pretty good but overly long documentary called The Essential Church, released in 2023. A California court eventually ruled in favor of the church being able to continue worship.
I wouldn’t say that MacArthur was my favorite preacher. In my opinion, he came across as a little too severe and grim in his demeanor and presentation. He also was a kind of celebrity pastor, which in general is not healthy for members of the church, but I don’t think he intentionally stoked the fires of adulation in order to perpetuate his fame. He was just extremely gifted, and people followed him devotedly.
But I do have immense respect for the man. He remained true to his wife for 62 years. He was faithful to God’s word from the pulpit. He held some views that were not consistent with what we would affirm in the PCA, but he was solid on the essentials, and always held out the crucified and risen Christ as our only hope for salvation. When other pastors started to wobble under the influence of trendy ideologies, MacArthur was a rock, standing up to the government in California, and proclaiming the Biblical view of marriage to a national audience on Larry King.
Like all preachers and pastors, MacArthur was a flawed man in need of a Savior. But we need more men like John MacArthur in the church, especially now that this man has departed the flesh to be with Christ. As the Grace to You ministry said after his death: “His faith became sight,” and he “faithfully endured until his race was won."
