Apologetics
Thanking God for John MacArthur and Where I Disagree With Him
Well-known California pastor John MacArthur passed away July 14, 2025, at the age of 86. Many considered him the most influential American Christian leader since Billy Graham.
I never met MacArthur, but know scores of pastors who studied under him, greatly valued his expository sermons, and read his many books.
This week a prayer leader friend in Washington, D.C. sent me an audio sermon by MacArthur saying she wanted my “careful review and keen discernment on the subject matter.”
I listened to it.
I thank God for John MacArthur’s life and legacy. But I disagree with him in two areas.
Valuable Lessons From the Twelve Day War
For years I have made it a practice to daily clear my Inbox. I like to stay current on news and respond promptly to people who contact me.
As Israel (and finally) the USA bombed Iran to stop them from getting a nuclear bomb, I couldn’t keep up with the stories and videos coming in. Some I pasted into the draft of this week’s blog. Others continued to sit unread in my Inbox.
With Monday’s announced ceasefire–really Iran’s inevitable surrender–I will attempt to summarize what we learned the past two weeks.
Here are some valuable lessons from “The Twelve Day War.”
Make the Bible Your Final Authority
I grew up in a church where the Bible wasn’t central. Both at home and in the pews, God’s Word wasn’t our primary source of truth.
After graduating from high school, I attended a “Christian” university in a nearby city. In one of my first classes called “Judeo-Christian Life and Thought,” the professor quietly but confidently proclaimed that “God was dead” and “the Bible was filled with many errors and historical myths.”
I ditched that college after a year and traveled to New Zealand where godly people taught me about the primacy of God’s Book–the Bible. Under their wise discipleship, I made it my “Book of books.”
Fifty-years later, God’s written Word is still my truth-seeking GPS in all things.
Make the Bible your final authority.