John F. MacArthur

Infobox Person


image_caption = John F. MacArthur
name= John F. MacArthur, Jr.
birth_date= birth date|1939|6|19|mf=y
birth_place= Los Angeles, California
occupation= Minister

.

Biography

The son of Jack MacArthur (an accomplished preacher in his own right), John MacArthur was an athlete and attended Bob Jones University before transferring to Los Angeles Pacific College (now Azusa Pacific University). He later obtained his Masters of Divinity from Biola University's Talbot Theological Seminary, in La Mirada, California. He graduated with honors. From 1964 to 1966 he served as an associate pastor at Calvary Bible Church, Burbank, California, and 1966 to 1969 as a faculty representative for Talbot Theological Seminary. Then in 1969, he became the third pastor in the then-short history of the nondenominational Grace Community Church.

In 1985, MacArthur became president of The Master's College (formerly Los Angeles Baptist College), an accredited, four-year, liberal arts Christian college, and in 1986, founded The Master's Seminary. His daily radio program, "Grace to You" is broadcast throughout much of the world. He is the author of over 75 books, notably his "MacArthur Commentary Series" and the "MacArthur Study Bible" (ISBN 0-8499-1222-9). He works alongside Phil Johnson who edits his preaching messages into book form.

MacArthur received an honorary degree from Grace Graduate Schooland a doctorate from Talbot Theological Seminary. [cite web|title=John F. MacArthur - The Master's Seminary|url=http://www.tms.edu/facprofile.asp?profid=7]

Theological Views

MacArthur is a proponent of expository preaching, and his theology is best described as evangelical, Calvinistic, and dispensational, although he rejects some of the classic dispensational ideas – hence his self-description as a "leaky dispensationalist." ^{[http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/70-16-9.htm]} His book, "The Gospel According to Jesus" (ISBN 0-310-39491-0), caused controversy in the evangelical church by arguing for "Lordship salvation," which teaches that "you must receive Jesus Christ for who He is: both Lord and Savior to be truly saved (II Peter 2:20)." This is evidenced on page 150 in his book, "Kingdom Living Here and Now" (0-802-44564-0), in which MacArthur states: “Eternal security is a great spiritual truth, but it should never be presented merely as a matter of being once saved, always saved--with no regard for what you believe or do. The writer of bwe|Hebrews|12|14 states frankly that only those who continue living holy lives will enter the Lord's presence."

In MacArthur's book, "Charismatic Chaos", he argued that Charismatic and Pentecostal theology and practice regarding the "gifts of the Spirit" (healing, miracles, glossolalia, etc.) are incorrect at best and blasphemous at worst.

MacArthur's writings similarly are critical of other modern Christian movements such as those who run "seeker-friendly" church services such as Robert Schuller, Bill Hybels, and Rick Warren. He is also an advocate of Biblical Counseling (also known as Nouthetic Counseling) which stresses the Bible as a tool for counseling and rejects psychological theories and techniques that are contrary to the Bible in spiritual issues.

MacArthur has also been a proponent of Christians abstaining from alcohol, though he does not think it is necessarily sinful. ^{[http://www.gty.org/Resources/Transcripts/1938]} (See Christianity and alcohol.)

MacArthur has stated that the "theology of Islam is false" and Allah is the "wrong god." [ [http://www.youtube.com/JohnMacArthurGTY] ]

Controversy

MacArthur has been a figure in several controversies, the most notable of which was the first time an employee of an evangelical church had ever been sued for malpractice.

In December 1989, the Bible Broadcasting Network terminated MacArthur's "Grace to You" program. In explaining that step, BBN president Lowell Davey referred to MacArthur's teachings on the blood of Christ, "Lordship Salvation" and "Hyper-Calvinism." He called these teachings "confusing." In a letter dated January 15, 1990, Davey cited a, "....drift by Dr. MacArthur to a theological position that we could not adhere to," and said MacArthur's sermon series on the theology of election "....convinced us that the direction of 'Grace to You' was toward Hyper-Calvinism...." MacArthur preaches "Salvation" by election of God's sovereignty; he accepts Arthur Pink's view of the sovereignty of God in salvation. [(http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg60-2.htm)] However, the term "Hyper-Calvinism" is (mis)used by some to derogatorially denote 5-point Calvinism or even any strong defense of Calvinism, rather than the historical "Hyper-Calvinism" position that only the elect may be offered the gospel. This position does not seem to reflect the truth of MacArthur's position in his sermons which may just as well be called a "weak" or "inconsistent" Calvinism owing to advocacy of Dispensationalism (see below).

The "Lordship salvation" controversy concerns MacArthur's view that submitting to the lordship of Jesus is a necessary part of receiving him as savior. MacArthur's views raised controversy within American Evangelicalism and were challenged in print by Charles Ryrie and Zane C. Hodges, who argued that MacArthur was teaching a form of works-based salvation.

The controversy concerning the efficacy of the blood stems from MacArthur's statement that it is not the literal liquid blood of Christ that saves, but his sacrificial death on the cross, a view which he espoused in an article titled, "Not His Bleeding, but His Dying," published in the May 1976 issue of the "Grace to You" family paper that is distributed to his church.

Dispensationalism has been a frequent source of controversy; critics claim that MacArthur's deviation from Reformed eschatology has led to an inconsistent Calvinism or self-contradiction suggesting two people groups of God, two roads to salvation, and the so-called, "Great parenthesis."

Publications

References

External links

* [http://www.gty.org Grace to You]
* [http://www.gty.org/Radio/Archive Radio Archive]
* [http://www.gty.org/RSS/ Grace to You Podcast Archive]
* [http://www.gracechurch.org Grace Community Church]
* [http://www.masters.edu The Master's College]
* [http://www.tms.edu The Master's Seminary]

Persondata
NAME= MacArthur, John F. MacArthur, Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= John MacArthur
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Los Angeles, California Minister
DATE OF BIRTH= June 14, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH= Los Angeles, California
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=