My Deep and Complex Gratitude for John MacArthur

A Tribute Honoring John MacArthur's Legacy in My Life

John MacArthur died on Monday, July 14, at 6:17pm.

My Immediate Reaction to the News

I heard the news of great concern at home while checking YouTube on Sunday July 13, 2025. I saw a clip from Grace Church that MacArthur was in the hospital, had pneumonia, and was not expected to make it.

The next day, Monday, I was on twitter every hour, sometimes every few minutes, refreshing the feed to see when John MacArthur actually passed away. I was listening to a panel discussion on John's 55 years at Grace Church and the family of ministries it led to (Grace to You, The Master's University, The Master's Seminary, and The Master's Academy International). In the mean time I was grieving, thinking of, and texting some of my friends that have become dear to me through my time at The Master's College and The Master's Seminary in large part due to John MacArthur. Then, while talking about John with my wife and 15-year-old daughter I refreshed twitter and got the news while sitting at the dining table.

My immediate reaction was sadness. I felt a deeper sadness that I really couldn't shake. I was sad even as I spent time with my family (I’m on a 3-week vacation). I also felt a little confused on what to think and how to feel given my disagreements with some of MacArthur's leadership initiatives and positions.

I Thank God for John MacArthur

There are so many reasons for me to thank God for JMac. I write and reflect as one who grew up hearing JMac’s voice on 99.5fm at 6:30am preparing for school, as an alumnus of The Master’s University (B.A. in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Biblical Languages, 2002) and The Master’s Seminary (M.Div., 2006), and as a local church pastor preaching every Sunday.

Through John MacArthur I’ve met friends, experienced his kindness, received and deepened critical convictions, and received training for pastoral ministry.

God used John MacArthur to bring dear friends and mentors into my life. His influence for Scripture extended to my pastors at Christian Fellowship Bible Church and to two of my pastors who went to Master’s, Pastor Alan Balatbat and Pastor Alex Lim. Their expositional preaching and teaching shaped me. I’ve met so many dear friends at The Master’s College (now University) and the seminary that there are too many too count and I will certainly fail to mention all of them. Derek Brown and Ben Borders were groomsmen at my wedding. Derek is still a pastor-colleague that keeps in touch. I met many cherished friends like Andrew Callaway, Brock Mollet, Rick Zaman, Dave Herring, Josiah Grauman, Gunner Gundersen, Dom and Jess Avila, Jon and Andrea Hoglund, Jonathan Holmes, Rusty Webb, Andrew Keuer, Redi Abazi (RIP), David Robison, Nick Orosco, Jason Nenadov, Matt Nicosia, Jason Upchurch, Donovan Drew, Lisa Voth, Bobby Blakey, Ben Gladd, Seth Pollinger, Brian Colmery, Scott Mehl, and staff and faculty like Kent Dresdow, Joe Keller, Mark Spansel, Lisa LaGeorge, Dr. Varner, Dr. Dave Hegg, and Dr. Horner. I met and hit it off with Bobby Scott at a TMS alumni hangout at a Shepherds’ Conference many years ago (and Steve Balentine some time later). Steve Ross, a staff member I met later when preaching at chapel, is a good friend and helped me walk more faithfully with Christ. Alumni Chris and Bethany Valencia, and Jabez Hwang are members and dearly loved friends at Bellflower Baptist Church (BBC). Many other church members (past and present) have become dear friends and partners and joined because I went to TMU and/or TMS. Friendships are the riches of life and God has given me many friendships enriching my life because of the public ministry of John MacArthur.

Secondly, I’ve experienced MacArthur’s kindness as a student. My second year at TMU I went to Grace Church and had my "wowees" (new “Week Of Welcome” TMU students in my small group) sneak up on John MacArthur for a surprise picture after the morning service. John was happy to do it and greeted the new students with love and warmth that dissipated their nervousness and hesitation in meeting “John MacArthur.” John MacArthur was generous with us taking pictures with him. I tried to get a selfie (in 2002) during my graduation after walking the aisle and shaking his hand. He obliged, but the camera didn’t work at that moment! My favorite picture with John is the one I got with him and RC Sproul my senior year.

Truth and Life Conference, The Master’s College, January 2002.

Senior year I was the ASB chaplain. I found myself wandering into John’s TMU office and saw his bookshelf of new/unused books he wrote, including some special edition ones. Next time I saw MacArthur in chapel I asked about the books on the bookshelf in his office. There was one book I wanted specifically though there were a bunch of other ones I desired too. When I brought it up to him, he told me, go up there and “take whatever you want.” So, I did! John was so kind and generous.

Being part of the chapel planning committee trying to decide what we’d ask John to preach in chapel, I pressed the crew to have him preach Philippians 2:12-13 because I wanted to hear him preach it and see if he would handle the “for” of verse 13 the way I was learning to handle that text and logical connectors like that from John Piper.¹ He got up in chapel and said something to the effect of, “Even though I’m the president, someone commanded me to preach Philippians 2:12-13 and I’m a man under authority so open your Bible to that passage.” I enjoyed that little intro (for the record he didn’t preach the “for” but preached the two verses as an antinomy and didn’t explicate the logical relationship between 12 and 13). John was very kind and humble in these and many other ways.

I give glory and praise to the Lord Jesus for giving and deepening a conviction to trust and stand on God’s Word, the Scriptures, through John MacArthur. I still remember my first convocation chapel in the Fall of 1999. John preached that “fortress” in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 could be translated prison or tomb. The opinions, ideas, and perspectives of this world rebelling against Christ are not only fortresses to destroy in our spiritual war, but they are prisons that lock people up and tombs that bury people in their death. The war for ideas and truth to take every thought captive to Christ Jesus is constant, the stakes are eternal, and the way forward is biblical. Those images have stuck with me as a 19-year-old and still inform my life and ministry today.

Chapel at The Master’s College, maybe the Truth and Life Conference in 2001 or 2002.

John MacArthur pressed on me the lifestyle of conviction, confidence in Scripture, fearing God over man, preaching boldly, calling out error and sin as an act of love, and valuing integrity and holiness even when no one else is watching. I remember MacArthur did a chapel series in 1999 on premillennialism and was so bold and clear in denouncing all other interpretations as erroneous. He did this at Shepherds’ Conference a few years later. I’ve seen John MacArthur call out what he saw as dangerous error and he’d even call out the names of those committing the error (Lordship salvation opponents; ECT errors of J. I. Packer and Charles Colson; opponents to biblical inerrancy; psychology and integrationist counseling; charismatics including John Piper during the Strange Fire conference; Amillennialism mentioned above; TGC and T4G going woke;² Social Justice; Critical Race Theory, COVID compromisers including 9Marks). In my college days he was a hero to me in many ways strengthening and modeling the masculine and pastoral life I aspired to. I give fresh thanks to God this week as I reflect and mourn MacArthur’s passing.

The training I received in biblical languages, exegesis, theology, preaching, leadership, and counseling are still things I use and depend on all the time. Biblical languages and exegesis with Dr. William Varner was probably the greatest gift. Learning how to think biblically about culture through Dr. Grant Horner might be just as great. Reading Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen while also learning systematic theology and Calvinism gave me the tools to think theologically and critically, even if I ended up using those tools to move from dispensational premillennialism to historic premillennialism and to a Goldsworthian (Graeme Goldsworthy) biblical theology and understanding of how the Bible fits together.

MacArthur’s preaching has shaped my aim in preaching in a significant way. Not only do I feel the need to hit all the particulars of a text, I feel the need to clarify the message of each text so that my hearers can re-read the passage and see it for themselves. John would preach a passage. I’d follow carefully and take notes. I’d write down his outline. He would show me in the text what he was saying and show me with cross-references how the idea is theologically framed. At the end of my sermon I would think to myself, “why did I need John MacArthur to understand this passage? It is so clear and it’s right here on the page for anyone and everyone to see!” I would think this repeatedly such that it has now become one of things I hope my hearers think when I exposit a passage. I praise God for John’s clarity in expository preaching. I thank God for John’s textual and theological framing of concepts while unfolding the meaning and theology in a passage. Some things are better caught than taught. John didn’t teach this to me, by God’s grace he threw it to me and I caught it.

The friendships, training, convictions, and experiences of kindness were all made possible through John MacArthur. I thank God for him. All glory be to Christ!

Complications in My Grieving for John MacArthur

Like many who I’ve seen write tributes, I too have disagreed with John MacArthur on some things. Some things are less heavy on my heart though I think they are important and obedience issues. For example, I think that congregationalism is an obedience issue and not just a different perspective (see Matt. 18.17 and this video). I think it is disobedient to call two or more “services” by one organization a local “church.”³

I have emotionally heavier disagreements that complicate my grieving over MacArthur’s death. His leadership decisions on some publicly reported abuse cases are suspect. I think he should have either led the church to clarify why the reports are false or own the failure and repent. Failing to address the reports or own up to failure hurts those truly abused, disciples other pastors and church leaders to remain silent, and hinders the transferring of biblical discernment on how to address and handle these kinds of cases and accusations. I grieve the unnecessary pain of failing to clarify or take responsibility for some of these reports. (I understand there can be explanations for this that I don’t know which is why I’m calling it at the very least a failure of silence; and at most a double-failure to handle the situation righteously in the past and repent from it humbly in the present).

(What I believe to be) MacArthur’s error on biblically and righteously responding to racialization in America today is also a heavy thing for me to grieve. It is reductionistic and wrong to say “all we need to do is preach the gospel” when Jesus tells us not only to preach the gospel but to teach the nations “to observe all that I command them” (Matt. 28:20). I’ve argued for the existence of ethnocentric oppression in America today and the ethical necessity and for Christians to address it in faithful neighbor-love. I’ve went back and forth with Phil Johnson and others on MacArthur’s articles online. I disagree with MacArthur that “the evangelical social justice agenda” and CRT is “the most dangerous” controversy he has faced in his 50+ year ministry.⁴ Not only do I think he should have said the inerrancy, the Lordship salvation, or ECT controversies are more dangerous, I think he incorrectly and harmfully discipled people (and pastors) in regard to social justice and racialization.

Mentioning Gratitude and Concerns as a Two-Pronged Approach to Honoring John MacArthur

I rejoice that John preached justification by faith alone, the exclusivity of Christ, the Trinity, the atonement of Christ on the cross, the five points of Calvinism, the inspiration, authority, and inerrancy of Scripture, and more. We agree on so much and I follow him in these and more. At the end of the day I will rejoice in these gospel agreements more than I dwell on the heavy moral disagreements and concerns I have with his ministry and legacy.

I follow the spirit of Thomas Kidd (reflecting on the failures of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards on slavery) and think God used MacArthur in similar ways against today’s pop Christian culture:

“Christians understand that we are all sinners, and that sin imparts a narrow vision about our own failings. . . . The leading preachers of the Great Awakening put the riches of the Reformed and evangelical tradition in stark relief against the shallowness that all too often marks today’s pop Christian culture. Yet we should never expect perfection from those heroes: we find phenomenal strengths in some areas, and appalling deficiencies in others. Realistic, flawed heroes may be more edifying anyway: If God used “crooked sticks” in the past, then perhaps he can use me, too.”(See how Thabiti Anyabwile, Albert Mohler, Mika Edmonson, John Piper, and Isaac Adams process the moral failings of our historical heroes).⁵

I want to be faithful to the end and I know that my blind spots and unintentional sins will be clear to many leaving them hurt and angry by the sins I failed to see and repent of when I pass away (Psalm 19:12-14). I grieve over that and pursue the holiness MacArthur and Christ call me to knowing I won’t be perfect. May God have mercy on me and all of us. May we keep growing and learning from those before us as we seek to leave a legacy of faithfulness, imperfect as it may be, to those behind us.

MacArthur taught me to stand on the truth. He taught me to value and protect my integrity. He taught me to keep an honest and clear conscience. He taught me to teach the truth. He taught me to confront error. He taught me to follow Christ and the Scriptures no matter what, as my ultimate allegiance, even over dearly loved friends and heroes. He taught me to call out sin and error courageously and clearly. He taught me to be biblical. He taught me that there are times to use names in order to be faithful, to stand on the truth, to transfer discernment to others, to protect the church, and to glorify our God. He taught me to follow him as he follows Jesus. He taught me to follow Jesus instead of following him if he strayed from Christ on any point.

John showed us a way to be a warrior for the truth. In this, I honor him by both recognizing the impact on me of his life devoted to the truth and by following his courageous example of pointing out specific error and commending what I believe to be biblical truth (and faithful obedience/ethics).⁶

Thank you, Pastor John MacArthur, for leaving behind a faithful testimony of seeking progressive sanctification in Christ as you sought to preach the Word and pastor a local church.

A prayer: Father in heaven, thank you for the life and ministry of John MacArthur. Thank you for your grace in giving him the gospel, saving him from his sins, sanctifying him to the degree you did, and using him greatly in my life and in the lives of so many people. Thank you for your mercy and patience with us in our sin, failures, and inconsistencies, and for you patience with the unintended consequences of our failings. Help all of us who sin and are sinned against to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, crucified for our sin, risen, and coming again for us and our salvation. I pray for comfort, mercy, strength, and hope in Christ for Patricia, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as they grieve. I pray that you would guide and shepherd Grace Church through the elders and help them to find their footing for this next season of gospel and great commission local church ministry. May the church continue and grow still more in communing with you, embodying Christ, discipling their neighbors and the nations toward Christ Jesus, and in biblically-discerning love. Bless The Master’s University, The Master’s Seminary, The Master’s Academy International, and Grace to You as they seek to glorify you in their various mission objectives. Help us continue to grieve, process, be grateful, and press on through the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of your Holy Spirit. Make your grace overflow to us so that we may be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in your work, knowing our labor is not in vain through your resurrected Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I’ve been reading a bunch of tributes and reflections on John MacArthur. Here are some of my favorite that I commend to you:

• John Piper, “‘Oh How I Love Your Law’: My Tribute to John MacArthur (1939–2025),” Desiring God, July 15, 2025. (Side note: John Piper’s interview with MacArthur in 2022 is gold, especially from 56:26 on).

• Scott Mehl’s 4-set tweet

• Jason of MindSoulAndBodyFitness had a nice instagram tribute

• Daniel Silliman, “Died: John MacArthur, Who Explained the Bible to Millions”Christianity Today, July 14, 2025.

• “Tributes for John MacArthur,” 9Marks, July 15, 2025. There are short tributes by Mark Dever, Lig Duncan, HB Charles, and others.

• R. Albert Mohler Jr., “A lion of the pulpit, now in Christ’s presence,” World, July 15, 2025.

• R. Albert Mohler Jr., “A Straight Line to the Pulpit: The Legacy of John MacArthur,” First Things, July 16, 2025.

• Erwin Lutzer, “John MacArthur: A Tribute,” Moody Church Media, July 15, 2025.

1. John Piper, Biblical Exegesis: Discovering the Meaning of Scriptural Texts, (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God), July 1999. (pdf from desiringGod.org)

2. MacArthur said, “It was very much like T4G, Together for the Gospel, that had that conference. We had as many as ten thousand people. I was a part of that every year at these huge conventions, and it was Together for the Gospel. But both of those organizations—well, T4G is basically nonexistent. They bought into the deceptiveness of the woke movement and the racial baiting that was going on a couple of years ago, and it literally put them out of existence” in “Bible Questions and Answers, Part 80,” Grace to You, February 18, 2024, https://www.gty.org/sermons/70-57/bible-questions-and-answers-part-80.

3. For more on “One Assembly” see the resources on this page at 9Marks.org.

4. On whether John MacArthur sees different levels of sin or error see, “Are Some Sins Worse than Others?” at crossway.org and “John MacArthur Calls out Ministry for Criticizing Him During COVID Lockdowns: ‘What are you Talking About? We Fight EVERY Battle’”, Protestia, protestia.com (accessed on July 16, 2025). For one important persoective on the culture at The Master’s Seminary for an African American student see Terrence Jones, “The Truths that Dr. MacArthur’s Social Justice Series won’t Change,” Live for Him or Die Trying, August 22, 2018, and “The Truths that Dr. MacArthur’s Social Justice Series won’t Change (part 2),” Live for Him or Die Trying, August 31, 2018. For a helpful book on the same theme see Adrian Pei, The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press), 2018.

5. Thomas Kidd, “When Our Heroes Don’t Live Up to Their Theology,” The Gospel Coalition, January 17, 2018. For more see this YouTube playlist of The Gospel Coalition’s videos on processing the moral failures of our heroes.

6. Ben Shapiro had a tribute to John MacArthur that summarized the spirit of speaking hard truths to another:

MacArthur, of all the people that I know in this sphere, I know quite a few, was absolutely staunch in his defense of the Bible, he is somebody who certainly never shied away from the messages of the New Testament and somebody who made himself controversial because of that, which I think is quite a good thing. In the first interview that I did with him, a lengthy interview, he spent fully 30 minutes of the interview talking to me about why I ought to convert to Christianity. And as a Jew, I will say that not only do I not find that insulting, I find that absolutely useful. Why? Because he is saying the thing that he believes. And I think that that is a good thing. And the reason I considered him a friend is because he's somebody who cared about my eternal soul. We could have disagreements on what would happen, you know, with regard to heaven or hell or whether the New Testament was truth or not truth depending on whether you're a Christian or a Jew. But I was never upset by the fact that he believed that I ought to convert to Christianity. Because of course, many Christians believe that I ought to convert to Christianity. It's not an insult. That's because somebody cares for my spiritual welfare. And we disagree about how best to attain that spiritual welfare. But it's because he was able to say hard hard truths as he saw them to people like me. That he was also able to say hard truths to everybody about biblical values. And that meant he was never shy about biblical values, which is absolutely useful in a time when moral relativism runs rampant. (italics added)

Like MacArthur was to Shapiro, I’m not “insulting” MacArthur, but honoring him and his greatest legacy—seeking to be “useful” by speaking what I believe is biblically true, with both truth and love. John has his reward in heaven and has it better than any of us on earth (Phil. 1:21-23). And like JMac to Ben Shapiro, I desire the spiritual welfare of those who read this piece and my two-pronged approach that seeks to bring about biblical values and eschew moral relativism.