JOHN MACARTHUR'S DUBIOUS LEGACY

 John MacArthur, Reformed Expositor with Tainted Legacy, Has Died

John MacArthur has been dubbed "the world's premier expository preacher"  by his own organisation.1 Although he was highly revered within his own echo chamber, he was not so revered outside his own collection of sycophants. MacArthur's serious theological issues and his obdurate refusal to apologize or ever admit any wrongdoing or error were extremely concerning. There are undoubtedly former members, and in all likelihood current members of GTY, who have been damaged, particularly by MacArthur's attitude towards women and children and his mishandling of abuse cases. 

MacArthur has been accused of repeatedly shaming or ignoring abuse survivors and enabling abusers, leaving vulnerable women without support and at risk. In 2003, Hohn Cho, a lawyer and former elder at GCC, accused the church of "awful patterns" of siding with abusers and endangering victims.2  

In 2001, Eileen Gray turned to the elders of GCC for support, in a desperate attempt to protect her children from her husband, David Gray, a teacher at the church, who was physically and emotionally abusing them. Later, it emerged that he was also sexually abusing them. When Eileen refused to submit to their "advice" to return to her marriage and remove a restraining order, they wrote formal letters accusing her of ruining her family. GCC: “We strongly believe that it is time for you to remove the restraining order and return to end the separation from your husband,” they warned. “There are no longer sufficient reasons for the two of you to stay apart. We therefore are requesting that you forgive David, allow him to move back home, and once again follow his leadership as the Scripture teaches.” GCC followed up with further letters instructing her to "repent" for her failure to submit to their demands. On August 18, 2002, MacArthur announced publicly to the entire congregation of 8,000 that Eileen Gray had violated Matthew 18, that she refused to repent of her wickedness, that she was being subjected to church discipline, and that the entire church ought to essentially shun her and treat her like an unbeliever. Just four years later, in 2005, David Gray was convicted on multiple counts of sexual and physical abuse of children. He is currently serving 21 years to life for his crimes.3  Incredibly, MacArthur subsequently endorsed David Gray's "prison ministry".

Earlier this month, former member Lorraine Zielinski sued GCC for maliciously sharing and misrepresenting confidential information relating to her marriage. Zielinski advised GCC counselors she was afraid for her safety and also the safety of her daughter, alleging that her then-husband was physically abusive. However, the counselors advised her to drop her request for a legal separation. When Zeilinski attempted to resign as a church member, pastors put her under church discipline for failing to follow their counsel. They also allegedly told her to either come to a meeting with church pastors, and threatened that if she refused, confidential details of her counseling would be made public to the congregation.4 These are not good people on any level! (Matthew 7:20).

MacArthur's theology was a kind of pick and mix position between Calvinism and dispensational pretrib rapture eschatology, both of which are extremely problematic. 

MacArthur's patriarchal views went far beyond the scriptural mandate not to appoint women pastors. (1 Timothy 2:12). According to MacArthur, women shouldn't teach or publicly discuss theological issues at all! 5 Similarly, his stand against charismatic NAR false prophets and teachers was tainted by cessationism and a complete denial of any gifts of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 4:6).

One of the most shocking episodes was MacArthur's claim that believers can take the mark of the beast during the "seven-year tribulation"* and be saved. There is a powerful warning in scripture not to take the mark of the beast, but MacArthur simply doubled down when he was challenged.6

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”(Revelation 14:9-11).

MacArthur's denial of the blood of Christ was another example of his aberrant understanding of the scriptures. MacArthur's commentary on the Book of Hebrews, published in 1983 by Moody Press: "It is possible to become morbid about Christ's sacrificial death and preoccupied with His suffering and shedding of blood. It is especially possible to become unbiblically preoccupied with the physical aspects of His death. It was not Jesus' physical blood that saves us, but His dying on our behalf, which is symbolized by the shedding of His physical blood.." (emphasis mine)7

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9).

..according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:2).

..and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. (Revelation 1:5).

MacArthurs Masonic Connections

MacArthur never repudiated his family connection to Freemasonry; in fact, on one occasion, in 2009, he even boasted about it. During a sermon on the parable of the four soils (Mark 4:1-20), MacArthur spoke of his ministry as the “explosion of spiritual fruit and the harvest” of the ministry of his great-grandfather, Rev. Thomas Fraser Fullerton, who was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of PEI.8 

“The good news is, when the soil is prepared by God, there’s going to be an explosion of spiritual fruit and the harvest will go on and on and on and on and on. A nice young man in our church was recently in Prince Edward Island and I had said in the church service that my great-grandfather was a pastor of St. James Kirk Presbyterian Kirk in Prince Edward Island back in the 1800’s. So when he was up there, he started digging around and found all kinds of things about my great-grandfather. Thomas Fullerton was his name and he was pastor there at the main church in Charlottetown for about twenty-eight years. He was a chaplain in the Canadian Military and he went to the Boer War in South Africa and fought and did ministry among the troops. And you look back and that and you say, ‘Okay, there’s a...his father was also a pastor who had been in Scotland and then gone to Australia and come there and at some point the Lord plowed the heart of that family and it just kept going and it just kept going and it kept going and it came down through my...from my great-grandfather to my grandmother, his daughter, and then through her to my father and then through me and this is the explosion and we’re all in this process somewhere. All of our lives intersect and that’s the...that’s the good news in the story and the disciples needed to hear that because it all basically looked like it wasn’t going anywhere.” (A Diagnosis of the Soils)

Those currently paying tribute to MacArthur desperately need a reality check; we should question their motives and/or their discernment. (1 John 4:1).  

1. The Expositor | The MacArthur Center for Expository Preaching
2. Grace Community Church Rejected Elder’s Calls to ‘Do Justice’ in Abuse Case - Christianity Today
3. Navigating Grace & Truth: Addressing John MacArthur’s Legacy.
4. Former Member Sues John MacArthur’s Megachurch for Public Shaming
5. MacArthur Says Not to Speak at Events With Women, Even Though He Has
6. (272) John MacArthur Shock Claim: Take the mark of the beast and go to heaven! - YouTube
7. (272) "We are not saved by Jesus' blood!" Reaction to John MacArthur #bibleline #jmac #salvation - YouTube
8. John MacArthur’s Masonic Heritage – The Watchman Wakes

* WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION FALLACY