Heritage Baptist Church

– 7 Min Read

Introduction

The news broke yesterday (July 14, 2025) that John MacArthur had gone to be with the Lord at 6:17 p.m. (PST). Since 2023, MacArthur had been dealing with several health issues and challenges. This past Sunday, the 13th, Grace Community Church, along with the rest of the world via live stream, was informed that MacArthur was in the hospital with pneumonia and was expected to pass shortly. John MacArthur died at 86 years of age and served as the Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, for 56 years. MacArthur is survived by his wife of 61 years, Patricia; four children; fifteen grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. He was known as a faithful expositor of the Bible, an immovable bulwark for the truth, and a bold proclaimer of the gospel. He has left behind a legacy of faithfulness.

Who Was John MacArthur

Irene MacArthur and John F. MacArthur Sr. were his parents. His father was a traveling Baptist evangelist and preacher. By all accounts, it seems that MacArthur admired his father. He recalls that there was never a time when he did not believe the gospel, and credits this to his upbringing. Ultimately, following in his father’s footsteps, this seems to have certainly influenced young MacArthur. Later, while attending Bob Jones University, MacArthur joined the street preaching team. MacArthur was an athlete who wished to play college football, but, obeying his father’s wishes, he attended Bob Jones. It was while attending there, traveling with the street-preaching team, that MacArthur was involved in a traumatic car accident. The car he was traveling in flipped, going 70ish MPH, launching MacArthur out of the car. Surviving the crash, MacArthur decided to return to Bob Jones, but this time he had really submitted his life to God and desired to serve him with his second-chance life. He would end up playing college football at Los Angeles Pacific College later on, but his focus was on the ministry. MacArthur graduated from Talbot Theological Seminary with his Master of Divinity in 1964. But before seminary, he would meet his wife Patricia.

In 2011, at the Resolved Conference in Palm Springs, MacArthur was asked on a panel about how he and his wife met. MacArthur tells this story about how, after college, “I was looking for a woman who could be described in the way I described a godly woman … who came from a godly heritage … understanding my call for ministry, somebody who loved the Lord, who walked with the Lord” [1]. MacArthur found Patricia. MacArthur was involved at a local church, teaching Sunday school and preaching some. Patricia was particularly drawn to MacArthur’s teaching. He saw Patricia as the woman he had been looking for to be his wife. But there was a problem, Patricia was already engaged to another man. She had all of her invitations to the wedding stamped and ready to send out, but could not find it in herself to send them. Something was off, according to MacArthur. In this story, MacArthur would have the audience in loud laughter as he explained how he convinced Patricia to call off her wedding with this man and instead marry him. MacArthur met and married Patricia Sue Smith in the year of 1963.

MacArthur would then become the senior pastor at Grace Community Church in February 1969, he was 29 years old. The church was looking for a new pastor since the two previous pastors had died of heart attacks. The church was down to 400 people and was looking for someone like MacArthur to ignite the flame that was once there. The church received MacArthur and would go on to enjoy quick and endured growth, filling up their 3,500-seat auditorium every Sunday for both services. The first sermon that MacArthur preached at Grace Community Church was from Matthew 7:21. (Of course it was!)

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Remembering All The Good He Had Done

MacArthur may be known for many things, but certainly his steadfastness for the truth is at the top of the list. In 1994, there was a document published called Evangelicals and Catholics Together. In this ecumenical attempt to unite Protestants and Catholics around social issues, the document omitted certain language around the doctrine of Justification. Catching this, R.C. Sproul would assemble an Evangelical summit in Florida to address the concerns of the document; John MacArthur was one of the men invited. MacArthur would later explain, “R. C. pointed out that the document’s discussion of justification by faith omitted the all-important word alone (the sola in sola fide). This was and always has been the central point of disagreement between Roman Catholics and Protestants, he said. By deliberately omitting that word and acting as if it were a non-issue, Protestants who helped draft the ECT document were deliberately capitulating to the main Roman Catholic error and undermining the gospel itself” [2]. MacArthur was invited because he was a man who sought to uphold the truth, which he did. This was not the first time he stepped up for the truth, nor would it be the last. In 1978, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy was produced. Over 200 evangelical leaders came together to sign this document, including John MacArthur, who also helped draft the statement. This statement carefully explains how our Scriptures do not and cannot contain any errors. In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, MacArthur and Grace Community Church would stand up against the government of California and its overreach of authority into the sphere of the local church. This bold move would end up costing Grace Community Church fines, threats of imprisonment, and a battle in the courts. The state of California and Los Angeles County ultimately settled the case and awarded Grace Community Church $800,000.

MacArthur was a well-published author, with over 400 books and study guides. One of his best-selling and most impactful books was “The Gospel According to Jesus“. MacArthur also published a study Bible. In 1997, The MacArthur Study Bible hit the bookshelves with over 20,000 footnotes and even contained Bible-reading plans. In 22 years, it has sold over 2 million copies. It is a great resource that has served the body of Christ well over the past few decades and will continue to do so in the future. But probably one of the greatest contributions MacArthur made to Christendom is the 33-volume MacArthur New Testament Commentary set. One of the great achievements of MacArthur was preaching through the entire New Testament verse by verse. MacArthur began this endeavor in 1969 and finished it on June 5th, 2011. Thanks to the great work of Grace to You and the men who work there, like Phil Johnson, all of MacArthur’s sermons were archived and modified into commentary form. It is no wonder that MacArthur is referred to as the modern American Matthew Henry. Every pastor’s library deserves to have room for this set. There seems to be nothing MacArthur couldn’t do. From starting the Master’s University in 1985 to starting the Master’s Seminary in 1986, to assembling a team to produce the Legacy Standard Bible translation, MacArthur seemed to accomplish all he set out to do. I am sure he would say that this was not by his strength or from his ambition, but out of a need that he recognized for the church of Christ and by the Lord’s grace alone.

His Impact on People Like Me

It is impossible to quantify how much impact a fellow believer can have on another. This is because we are speaking of things spiritual and eternal. The impact that MacArthur had on me and others like me will never fade away. It will be appreciated as long as we live on this earth, and it will be remembered forever in glory. As MacArthur’s dear friend and comrade R.C. Sproul says, “Right now counts forever.” The things we do for the kingdom of God and for the church of Christ will indeed count forever. This is certainly true of MacArthur. He was not in the business of people-pleasing; he did not seem to fear man. Instead, he feared God and made an almost humorous, at times, pattern of life of upsetting or offending others as a consequence of protecting the flock of God. Sure, MacArthur is often accused of being divisive or unnecessarily brash, but this is simply misreading the situation. MacArthur was a watchman! He took the office of pastor and his global platform seriously. No gimmicks, no tricks, just simple, gospel-saturated, unfiltered, Biblical truth! That was the aim of John MacArthur. If the truth of God’s Word was offensive or hard to hear for someone, MacArthur didn’t mind. The Word of God is sharp, not dull, and it cuts and divides soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12). This was one of the many things I loved about him. As John Piper, another close friend and partner in the gospel, noted, “He believed it was a sin to make the Bible boring. How could the word of the Creator of the universe be boring?” [3]. MacArthur brought the text to life before your eyes. You could always depend on MacArthur putting on an expository preaching masterclass every Sunday from the pulpit. As Bible teachers or pastors, we all reach that part towards the end of our sermon prep, asking the question, “I wonder what MacArthur says about this passage?“

Like others, I appreciated his steadfastness for the truth. No matter what the controversy was, if it did not agree with the Word of God, MacArthur was ready to make a stand. MacArthur almost became a battle flag for the Evangelical Conservative. Christians, churches, and pastors often waited to see if MacArthur would hoist the sails or not. Because of his proven track record, many were ready to follow MacArthur through the controversies, making him one of the greatest Evangelical leaders we have ever seen. Whether he was hosting themed conferences, publishing books, or preaching powerful sermons, we could always count on MacArthur to say something on the matter. He was engaged with the threat. He did not sit idly by waiting for things to blow over. MacArthur was prophetic in his attitude and delivery of the truth. He was always ready to speak against evil and proclaim the truth. He served as a great model of what biblical masculinity looks like. A tender, kind, compassionate shepherd to the sheep, but a courageous, fierce lion against the wolves. Pastors should always remember MacArthur and seek to be like him in this regard. Today, pastors have the backbone with the rigidity of a bowl of Jell-O. They would do well to study the steadfastness of John MacArthur as a recent example for us to follow.

Conclusion

I will miss the man, John MacArthur. But I know that our loss is his gain. He finished his race strong. He fought the good fight. He kept the faith. He is now enjoying the glorious presence of the Lord that he so faithfully proclaimed and served. Though I had theological and exegetical disagreements with John MacArthur, I still thank God for him! I am who I am today in large part to him. From his sermons, to his books, to his speeches at conferences, I have greatly benefited from his faithful service to the King of Kings.