John MacArthur (American pastor)

John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (June 19, 1939 – July 14, 2025) was an American Baptist pastor, theologian, author, and broadcaster. He was the founder of Grace to You, a nationally syndicated radio and television Bible teaching program. He was also the longtime pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California from 1969 until his death in 2025. Additionally, MacArthur served as the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University and The Master's Seminary, both based in Santa Clarita, California.

MacArthur was known for his advocacy of expository preaching, and was recognized by Christianity Today as one of the most influential Christian preachers of his era. MacArthur wrote or edited more than 150 books. His The MacArthur Study Bible has sold more than one million copies and received a Gold Medallion Book Award. In 2021, he worked with a team from The Master's Seminary and the Lockman Foundation to produce the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), an update of the 1995 edition of the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

MacArthur’s radio and television program, Grace to You, began broadcasting in 1977. Over his decades-long ministry, he completed a 42-year sermon series covering the entire New Testament and remained a prominent voice in evangelical Christianity until his death in 2025.

Theologically, MacArthur was known for his staunch positions on cessationism, Young Earth creationism, complementarianism, and Lordship salvation, often sparking debate within evangelical circles. He criticized modern Charismatic practices, opposed same-sex marriage and the ordination of women, and promoted a literal interpretation of Scripture within dispensational theology. His ministry faced controversies, including disputes over pastoral qualifications, responses to domestic violence, and his defiance of COVID-19 public health mandates. MacArthur authored numerous books on theology, biblical interpretation, and Christian living.

Early life and education

John MacArthur was born on June 19, 1939, in Los Angeles, California, to Baptist radio preacher Jack MacArthur and Irene Dockendorf. He was the grandson of Canadian Anglican minister Harry MacArthur (d. 1950). In a 1979 interview, he stated that he was "distantly related to General Douglas MacArthur [...] a fifth cousin."

Following in his father's path, MacArthur attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina from 1957 to 1959. After a gap year, he enrolled at Los Angeles Pacific College (affiliated with the Free Methodist Church) in 1960. He earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1964 from the Talbot Theological Seminary, graduate school of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles' new in La Mirada, California.

Career

When MacArthur was at Bob Jones University, his father recruited him to the Voice of Calvary singing quartet, often broadcast on Christian radio in Southern California. Then, from 1964 to 1966, he was hired by his father to be an associate pastor at the Harry MacArthur Memorial Bible Church (now Calvary Bible Church) in Burbank, California, which his father Jack had planted and named for his own father. From 1966 to 1969, John MacArthur served as the faculty representative for Talbot Theological Seminary. On February 9, 1969, he was brought on as the third and the youngest yet, pastor at the non-denominational Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, a neighborhood of Los Angeles adjacent to Burbank.

MacArthur's daily radio and television program, Grace to You, began as sermons from the Grace Community Church pulpit recorded on reel-to-reel (and then audio cassettes). In 1977, the sermons were first broadcast on WRBS in Baltimore, Maryland, and the radio ministry of the church was born. Also in 1977, he received an honorary degree from Grace Graduate School in 1976 and from Talbot Theological Seminary (a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1977).

In 1985, MacArthur was made the president of Los Angeles Baptist College, now The Master's University, a four-year Christian liberal arts college. In 1986, he was named the president of The Master's Seminary. On June 5, 2011, MacArthur completed a 42 year long sermon series of the entire New Testament at Grace Community Church, a self-described life goal.

His final sermon that he preached was at Grace Community Church on November 24, 2024.

Theological positions

Calvinism

John MacArthur held to classic five-point Calvinistic soteriology (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints).

Cessationism

John MacArthur was a cessationist, who believed the "sign gifts", such as prophecy described in the Bible, were temporarily granted to the apostles to authenticate the origin and truth of the scriptures. He held that these gifts ceased to be given after the close of the Apostolic Age, having served the purpose. MacArthur was a prominent critic of the continuationist beliefs of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement, which assert that God continues to grant spiritual gifts today. He authored three books on the subject. In October 2013, his church hosted the "Strange Fire Conference" to mark the launch of his book, Strange Fire featuring various speakers who advocated cessationist theology and critiqued the Charismatic movement.

MacArthur said that modern "visions, revelations, voices from heaven... dreams, speaking in tongues, prophecies, out-of-body experiences, trip to heaven, anointings, miracles [are] all false, all lies, all deceptions attributed falsely to the Holy Spirit." He described the Charismatic movement has "stolen the Holy Spirit and created a golden calf, and they're dancing around the golden calf as if it were the Holy Spirit."

Christology

In 1983, MacArthur first publicly taught the doctrine of "incarnational sonship," holding that Jesus became the Son of God at His incarnation rather than eternally existing as the Son. In 1989, after receiving criticism, he defended his views in a plenary session at the annual convention of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA). Approximately a decade later, MacArthur retracted this position in an article published by Grace to You, stating that he had come to affirm the eternal Father-Son relationship in the Godhead and no longer regarded Christ's sonship as a role assumed only at the incarnation.

Complementarianism

John MacArthur stated that he believed Scripture opposes both "male chauvinist and feminist views." He held a complementarian position on gender roles, maintaining that the Bible forbids women from preaching to men or exercising authority over men in church settings. MacArthur taught that the roles of elder and pastor are restricted to men. To support his view, he cited the biblical passages of 1 Timothy 2:11–12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34–35.

Dispensational theology

MacArthur viewed himself as being a "leaky dispensationalist" to acknowledge the areas where his views differ from traditional dispensationalism. Specifically, he emphasized a literal interpretation of Scripture and a distinction between Israel and the Church. He held to the premillennialist view of eschatology, a pre-tribulational rapture of the church, and a literal millennium. He believed the Bible teaches a completely restored Israel shall inherit physical ownership of the land of Canaan on the earth.

Gender and sexuality

MacArthur was against same-sex marriage as well as a critic of the ordination of women and the social justice movement. He delivered multiple sermons in which he discussed these issues.

With respect to sexual orientation, he asserted that "no one is gay" as "God didn't hardwire anybody" to be gay any more than he "hardwires" individuals to be adulterers or bank robbers. He compared the assertion that sexual orientation is a born trait to a hypothetical bank robber's protestation, "That's like saying, 'You know, I keep robbing banks, but I'm a robber. I'm a bank robber. What am I gonna do? I'm a bank robber.' That is not an excuse for what you do."