“Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant”: Pastor John MacArthur Enters Glory
John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (1939–2025) — pastor, teacher, author, and a stalwart defender of biblical truth — has entered the presence of his Lord and Savior at 6:17pm PT on July 14th, 2025 after a lifetime of faithful ministry. With profound sorrow yet deeper gratitude, we at Protestia mourn the earthly loss of a man whose legacy towers across the landscape not merely of conservative, reformed evangelicalism, but the universal church as a whole.
MacArthur served as the pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California for over 50 years, beginning in 1969. His long and faithful expositional ministry through every book of the Bible became a model of verse-by-verse preaching, setting a standard for generations of pastors. Under his leadership, Grace Church was not merely a local congregation but a beacon of doctrinal stability.
He was the president of The Master’s Seminary and The Master’s University, shaping thousands of men and women for ministry and scholarship grounded in the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture. Through Grace to You, his global radio and media ministry, MacArthur’s teaching reached tens of millions in over two dozen languages.
His best-selling MacArthur Study Bible, published in 1997, remains one of the most trusted and widely used resources in the evangelical world. In both the pulpit and the pen, MacArthur’s hallmark was clarity without compromise.
A Voice of Courage in Controversy
MacArthur was a man unafraid to name names and take arrows for the sake of the truth. His Strange Fire conference and subsequent book (2013) marked a seismic moment in the charismatic–cessationist debate, boldly confronting the unbiblical teachings and spiritual abuses in the broader charismatic movement. His stand provoked fierce backlash, but also awakened thousands to the dangers of emotionalism untethered from Scripture.
Protestia has long chronicled and defended MacArthur’s public theology. When critics slandered his motives or distorted his statements, we were among the first to correct the record and/or offer support (see here, here, and here). Whether it was the charge of spiritual pride, false accusations surrounding financial matters, or attacks over his stance on social justice, we sought to bring clarity to the man, his message, and his mission.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Pastor MacArthur’s decision to reopen Grace Church in defiance of California’s draconian orders became a national flashpoint. As we reported extensively at the time (here, and here for example), Grace Community became ground zero in the battle for religious liberty in the West. Though legal threats loomed, MacArthur remained steadfast, declaring, “Christ is Lord of all — and that includes the church.”
In the later years of his ministry, he became a leading critic of the woke gospel and social justice incursion into the church. His multi-part series on “The Gospel and Social Justice” and the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel (2018), which he helped draft, clarified the biblical gospel against the creeping ideologies of the age.
A Life Marked by Faithfulness
Though he would often say, “I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet; I’m just a Bible teacher,” few modern men have had as prophetic a voice. He did not seek the limelight. He did not soften his stance to broaden his reach. He did not pander to celebrity. He simply opened the Word, explained it, and trusted God to do the work.
Despite his flaws, MacArthur’s personal integrity, longevity in ministry, and fidelity to Scripture earned him respect across denominational lines. His opponents often accused him of being harsh, but even they could not accuse him of being inconsistent.
His influence extended beyond the pulpit. He played a pivotal role in defending complementarianism in an age of gender confusion, upholding the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement when many abandoned it, and calling churches back to reverent, God-centered worship. He never courted the evangelical establishment—he challenged it.
The Legacy He Leaves
Pastor MacArthur has now joined the great cloud of witnesses. But his voice continues — in the hearts of his congregation, in the pastors he trained, in the books he wrote, and in the lives transformed by his unswerving commitment to the Word.
For those of us at Protestia, his death is personal. Our own commitment to discernment, polemics, and the defense of the faith was shaped in no small part by his example. We wrote in his defense not because he was above critique, but because he was so often falsely maligned for standing where others refused to.
We thank God for the gift of John MacArthur. His race is run. His fight is finished. And now, he hears the words we all long to hear:
“Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”
— Matthew 25:21
Let me begin by saying that I do believe John MacArthur was, in all likelihood, a Christian—and there’s good reason to think so. He was baptized in the Trinitarian formula; he publicly and repeatedly declared—seemingly with deep sincerity—that he had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior; and he truly appeared to desire to serve the Church worldwide through what he himself believed to be faithful biblical teaching. I do not think his intention was ever to undermine the Church or turn hearts away from Christ.
Yet I do find myself concerned for his soul. Perhaps I am mistaken—but I cannot recall another prominent figure who, so often and so nearly, approached the fearful boundary of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Whereas most cessationists simply argue that miracles, visions, healings, and other supernatural gifts no longer occur, MacArthur took it a step further: conceding that such things might indeed happen, yet insisting that, if they do, they are always and invariably the work of Satan.
My hope for MacArthur, now that he has departed this life and stands before the Lord, is that he might finally lay down his battle against the Agape love of God—so that it might not be, for him, the River of Fire, but rather the River of Life.
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Who the h3ll are you to judge John MacArthur ?!!! You’re so hung up on being non-cessationist that you miss the whole heart of the Gospel and how MacArthur was faithful in teaching it.
If anyone misses Heaven, it will be you.
Sorry for the rant, but I am SOOOO tired of hearing this garbage about him – and idiots who pick the day after he dies to start airing out their gossip !
hellow hy
The big question is: Whose name will be on the best selling dispie study bibles now? Or will the dispie heresy slowly die out with MacArthur since so many are against it and since people are tired of the Christ-Killers in Israel?
Anon your hate of Jews and the Bible is showing…. Please go pollute some other place with your vile hatred…. I can’t imagine being you…… must be a struggle to live with so much hatred and anti semitism….. I pray for your repentance and salvation…..
The ones that still haven’t become Christian literally approve of their fake ancestors having killed Christ. Fake ancestors since they’re actually Germans and Ukrainians who disgusting vagabond ancestors rejected Christ to join the religion of Satan.
This is the response I hate most. And those who post videos never seem to correct false theology. This soul attempts to dissuade those who now are Jews and Greeks under the new covenant !
Let me tell you the Truth! The Father put His Son on the Cross.!!
Anyone who would defend Catholicism and Mary worship is an antichrist. The fact is certain races are degenerate goddess worshipers and push that religion of Satan because their ancestors sold their souls to Satan, as the Jews did who push LGBTQP+. Its just an observable fact.
You belong in H3LL !
All you dispies who put Israel above the church, who teach Reverse Replacement Theology, you will get to be with your precious Christ-Killer in hell for eternity.
GREAT
HELLOW
I get queasy when someone attempts to canonize another. We may judge others by their fruits but ultimately God is the judge, let’s stop pretending we have a spot on the judgement seat.
So now we are seeing those like Jay who can’t stand Biblical Truth, waiting til 5am next day, to take a shot on whether or not John MacArthur was saved? Scripture can’t be more clear as to how one is saved. Jay, among many others, sit in waiting to torment, question believers, and distort Truth. They plant a seed of doubt in the bedrock of Christianity! They dance on dead man graves! They sit anonymously behind screens and flourish on worldly secular social media. They come small like Jay or larger like Julie Roys of The Roys Report or Rick Pidcock of Baptist News Global . They attempt to rewrite Scripture by demeaning and destroying the people of God . They hate Christ so they hate Christ’s true messengers, regardless of shortcomings. They twist Scripture! They deny the Work of the
Cross by promoting a false salvation through works, their work on social media and people lick it up! Thank you pastor John for your teachings. Prior to 2006 before my gay brother’s death, I was “forced” to listen to your sermons because my husband tuned in a lot despite my protest! John MacArthurs devotion to the inerrancy of Scripture and never swaying from biblical truth opened my eyes several years later! All these modern day anti-Christ secular marxists: feminists, LGBTQIA, BLM, Antifa, etc etc …will never place one doubt in my heart as to who is saved. The Bible explains that for me! I also have no doubt that John MacArthurs feet are being washed right now!
He was a Calvinist heretic who blasphemed God accusing him of being the author of sin daily publicly, and taught dispensationalist Israel worship heresy. If he made it, God was particulalry lenient.
The people who comment on this site are a bag of crazies and angry heretics, what the heck. First off get lost Charismatic weirdos, go practice your babble demon language together and quit being mad John shed light on your demonic practices, navel gazing effeminate Pentecostals, your demonic babble language is more important to you than the true Gospel. As for the people who say your eschatology is what saves a man you’re literal idiots. No preacher ever other than Christ Himself was fully correct, John was spot on when it came to salvation and when He preached on it he was very eloquent and insightful. Catholics and Charismatics are two wings on the same bird, you think your works will save you and you can’t handle truth, because the truth is not in you. Speaking in “tongues”( ashamma lamma gamma shalama, look I’m doing it!) is demonic as is Mary worship.
You also have (un)Redeemed Zoomer, supposedly Presbyterian, saying MacArthur went to hell for not calling Mary “Mother of God.” I declare here and now that “St.” Cyril of Alexandria is in hell for inventing that title, and all who voted for that title at the demonic “council” of Ephesus are burning with him and have been since the 5th century. And (un)Redeemed Zoomer will surely join them for demanding people commit blasphemy and idolatry. Ephesus is the most heretical of all councils, with Nicea II merely being a corollary of its heresy. All who hold that the “council” of Ephesus is a standard of orthodox and necessary for salvation WILL absolutely burn in hell.
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