The Lasting Legacy of John MacArthur
Yesterday, it was announced that Pastor John MacArthur died. Having faced a number of health challenges in recent months, yet recovering time and time again, he contracted pneumonia this week which led to his death. Our hearts go out to his family and church family for their loss, and our prayers go up to God in similar fashion. Though it’s a time of mourning, it’s certainly not a time to mourn as the world mourns.
Anyone who knows anything about the ministry of John MacArthur knows that it would take multiple volumes to cover all the ways in which the Lord used his ministry. I certainly don’t plan on attempting it here, but a few points are more than appropriate to mention. Whether it was his mastery of verse-by-verse exposition, his bold witness in the public square, his Grace to You radio ministry, his leadership at The Master’s University and The Master’s Seminary, his annual Shepherds Conference, or his dozens of books (including the systematic theology Biblical Doctrine and the MacArthur New Testament Commentary series), his impact on modern Christianity—myself included—is remarkable. He was a man known by many people for many things.
Known by His Enemies
In terms of his unparalleled theological precision, MacArthur almost single-handedly righted the ship of modern Christianity’s doctrinal commitments by doing what virtually no other publicly-known pastor has done: he successfully plundered the soteriological doctrines of the Reformation, preserved the eschatological doctrines of fundamentalism, and polemicized the aberrant pneumatological doctrines of Charismaticism. The end result? A doctrinal trifecta—Calvinism, Futuristic Premillennialism, and Cessationism—which he articulated and defended over decades of sequential exposition through Scripture. You’ll be hard-pressed to find pastors with those three theological convictions, because tradition, emotion, and pragmatism are obstacles not easily overcome. But MacArthur did it. Truth is in the minority, and that’s where you’d always find Pastor John.
In “The Doctrines of Grace” series, MacArthur exalted the sovereignty of God over salvation. In the “Why Every Calvinist Should be a Premillennialist” series, MacArthur exalted the glories of the coming thousand-year kingdom. And in the “Strange Fire” conference series, MacArthur exalted the sufficiency of Scripture for all of life and godliness.
Of course, those sermons came at a cost. You don’t make very many friends when you handle Scripture with his kind of tenacious accuracy, prioritizing truth over everything else. But when you care more about people’s souls than their opinions, you’re willing to pay the price. Though they might not have much else in common, many Arminians, Covenantalists, and Charismatics have been known to see him as a theological enemy. Despite respecting his ministry (after all, how could anyone not respect fifty years of exposition?), many of those with differing views also act is if his name should come with an asterisk.
“I like John MacArthur, but….”
“John MacArthur is a great preacher, but…”
Of course, there are no “buts” about it. While not inerrant, MacArthur’s doctrinal trifecta set him head and shoulders above the rest of his generation. And his theological opponents are great reminders of that. That list also includes liberals, Roman Catholics, egalitarians, philosophers, psychiatrists, seeker-sensitive pastors, prosperity gospel hucksters, and social justice warriors. Show me someone bothered by John MacArthur, and I’ll show you someone with a deep flaw in his or her theology.
Known by His Friends
MacArthur was also known (and beloved) by his friends—including those with differing secondary views. Perhaps the most well-known of those friendships was, of course, with the late Dr. R.C. Sproul. As brothers-in-arms together, MacArthur and Sproul fought several theological battles together—standing against Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) being among the more notable. When the core of the Gospel was at stake (justification through faith alone in Christ alone) or the nature of Scripture was under assault (authority, inerrancy, and sufficiency), these men marched in lock step.
Even when disagreeing on paedobaptism, R.C. Sproul said the following:
“One of my close friends in ministry is John MacArthur in California, and we have worked shoulder to shoulder defending the truth of the authority of the Bible. And I really don't know anybody that I think has a higher view of Scripture than John does, or is more devoted to the study of the Bible. And yet as close as we are in so many points, there are points that we don't agree on. For example, Christians who believe in the authority of the Bible, some believe that we ought to practice infant baptism. Others say, no, we ought not to, because there's no explicit command to baptize infants in the New Testament, nor is there an explicit prohibition.
[…] But here's the good news about those disputes. I know when I'm engaged in a discussion like that with my friend John MacArthur, that if I could show John MacArthur that infant baptism is the biblical way, I have no doubt in my mind that no matter what he's said on the matter in the past, no matter what associations he has with religious groups, whatever love lines exist right now, John MacArthur would unhesitatingly affirm infant baptism. And he is equally sure that if he could convince me that infant baptism were not a biblical principle, that I would abandon it in a heartbeat. So we differ, we differ on a matter that we both think is important, but at least we have the same authority and we can have a discussion together as Christians, both trusting the other person's commitment to the authority of the Word of God.”[1]
Speaking of Sproul, MacArthur expressed a similar sentiment:
“Obviously, the things we agree on are far greater in number and infinitely more important than the things we might disagree on. When it comes to foundational matters and the core truths of the gospel, R.C. and I are in complete agreement. The drive-train of authentic Christianity consists of vital doctrines such as the nature of God; the fallenness of humanity; the person and work of Christ; the authority and inspiration of Scripture; the way of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone; the nature of Christ’s atoning work; and all truths of similar import. On all such matters, R.C.and I stand together without wavering or hesitation.
[…] When anyone understands and affirms all the essentials of gospel truth, we can stand together and affirm the honor and glory of God in His redemptive work. We can participate together and affirm one another in the proclamation and defense of the gospel, and it is a joy and a privilege to do so alongside Dr. Sproul.”[2]
The incredible thing about MacArthur is that he wasn’t friends only with theological giants, either. His warm, welcoming, pastoral heart was evident for the everyman as well. Including me. When I met MacArthur in 2017, preparing to launch Expository Parenting and the associated ministry, I had the pleasure of talking with him for a moment at that year’s Shepherds Conference. He patiently stood to take pictures with all those waiting in line to meet him, making jokes about his own appearance in the photos. After realizing the picture I took with him came out blurry, I returned to get another. Without missing a beat, he cracked a smile and said, in a dry, humorous way, “Oh, you again? Back for another one?”
“Johnny Mac” will always be known for his friends, as well as his friendliness.
Known by His Savior
Scripture tells us that of the spiritual gifts given to the Church, the ability to teach and the office of pastor are among them. In those ways, MacArthur not only received spiritual gifts from Christ, but was himself a gift given by Christ to the Church. Known by his Savior in eternity past, called to salvation at the precise moment of God’s choosing, and now taken to glory, the Lord had a plan to bring John MacArthur onto the scene of redemptive history at just the right time “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). MacArthur’s commitment to the full counsel of God, evidenced by preaching every verse of the entire New Testament, has indeed equipped us. I can assure you that this ministry certainly would not exist without his influence.
John has been known and eternally loved by Jesus. Now, at this point in time, Jesus is known by John even that much better: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).
Undoubtedly, MacArthur would want his legacy carried on by helping others come to know Jesus as well. Until we see Pastor John again, let’s plan on doing just that in our homes and in our churches: unleashing God’s truth, one verse at a time.
References:
[1] https://www.truthnetwork.com/show/renewing-your-mind-rc-sproul/45701
[2] https://www.gty.org/articles/A401/ligonier-interview-with-john-macarthur