It hasn’t even been five days since Pastor John MacArthur (1939-2025) left this transitory world and entered heaven’s eternal glories and yet there have been countless tributes to him, his ministry, and his legacy on the church of Christ around the world. The testimonials of his impact are flooding in and will continue to do so.
A 100-Watt Light Bulb
The Bible says that God dispenses the spiritual gifts to his saints at his discretion, and he gives the gifts in variegated measures and levels. Believers are divinely empowered to varying degrees. God makes some Christians 40-watt light bulbs, some 50 watts, some 75 watts, and some 100 watts. That is what Paul meant when he said, “God has allotted to each a measure of faith…we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Rom 12:3, 6). In this same passage the apostle Paul tells Christians to think soberly about how God has endowed them, for we are not all the same. We all have different capacities and limits.
Pastor MacArthur was in the 100-watt category of divine enablement at God’s gracious, sovereign discretion. He was a unique gift from God to the church by virtue of the legacy he produced during his long and faithful ministry and also by what he left behind for believers everywhere—a veritable treasure trove of resources, in every conceivable medium, to help people understand and apply God’s Word. As time goes by, history will bear this out. In God’s sovereign providence he chooses a few to leave an indelible impact in a wide-reaching, long-lasting, and deeply-abiding manner. Think of Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, and a few others. Pastor MacArthur’s multi-dimensional influence is in such a prolific category
Unmatched Clarity as a Bible Teacher
As I read the testimonies about Pastor John on the internet that are pouring in, there are common themes among them. Two prominent ones were John’s distinctive preaching and the personal spiritual impact he had on so many. His preaching was distinct because he had the unique ability to explain the profound, deep, and even complicated truths of Scripture in a comprehensible, concise, and practical manner. And he could do that with any audience. His versatility was unmatched in this regard. He was not a boring Bible teacher. He could engage at the level of 3rd and 4th graders, as evidenced by the times he shared at Grace Church school’s elementary chapels in the 1970s. He could gain the attention and respect of 100 undisciplined, squirrely teenagers, and have them become laser-focused as he preached an expository message for an unprecedented 45 minutes straight from the Bible. He did that countless times at Hume Lake Christian Camp in the 1960s.
For 35 years he would have know-it-all collegiates (like me) at The Master’s College chapels riveted on every word that came out of his mouth. He would preach on Mondays at chapel, and I remember the college students would leave their early morning classes, run across the campus, and try to find a front row seat (or fight for a front row seat) in the gym where Dr. MacArthur would be speaking at 10:00 am. I must admit, I was one of those students who was always trying to get a front row seat. And when Pastor John was not the speaker on Monday chapels because of his travel schedule, I would be highly disappointed and considered that week a loss.
For 30-plus years Pastor John was the favorite preacher at Shepherd’s Conference, with more than 3,500 men in attendance. Over the years I would routinely take pastors from other countries with me to the Shepherd’s Conference to host them and to bless them. They were from Africa, Central America, Ukraine, Russia, India, and other places. English was not their native language.
At the end of conference week I would always ask my guests, “Of all the speakers you heard this week (and there were many, from the likes of Mohler, Dever, Sproul, Piper, Phil Johnson, Ligon Duncan and more), which speaker did you understand the most?” I was not asking, “Who was your favorite speaker?” Invariably, every year, the different visiting pastors would tell me without hesitation, “Dr. MacArthur! I understood him best.” It wasn’t even close. That was an intriguing, unexpected and profound testimony to me. I often wondered why that was the case. In the end I determined that it was due to John’s inimitable and uncanny ability to communicate divine truths with such beautiful, practical simplicity, at a very personal level. John MacArthur was a master of clarity in thinking. And it translated to other languages.
Speaking of John’s unmatched clarity when speaking of spiritual truth, his perspicuity did not come by accident. He diligently worked on it and had a protocol for attaining it. He shared this method so many times that it became proverbial. It also became a staple in his hermeneutical repertoire that would end up benefiting preachers all over for a generation. He would say, “I read myself clear, then I write myself clear, and then I preach myself clear.” All this enabled him to think himself clear.
A Commitment to Biblical Sufficiency
In addition to relating to young people and the average church leader, Pastor John could go toe-to-toe with the elite, highbrow “scholars.” I saw that first-hand when he was the featured speaker at the 1990 regional meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) when he presented a paper titled, “Faith According to the Apostle James.” He astutely and authoritatively defended “Lordship Salvation” which was the byproduct of his most influential book, The Gospel According to Jesus. The publication of that book in 1988 shook the entire evangelical world, including the scholars, as John drew a definitive line in the sand on the definition of the saving gospel. The reverberations from the clarion call of that book are still ringing in all quarters of the church almost forty years later.
If I had to summarize John’s whole approach to life and ministry, it would be under the rubric of “biblical sufficiency.” John once said,
I have never aspired to be known as a theologian, a polemicist, or an academician. My passion is teaching and preaching the Word of God. I want to know what is biblical. All of my concerns are biblical, and my desire is to be biblical in all my teachings.
John’s conviction that the Bible has all the answers for every issue we confront in life as well as having all the answers for every conceivable metaphysical question that comes up, is where he influenced me most. I was stunned when I first saw this played out in a Master’s College chapel in February of 1988 as John preached a sermon on the theme of “What the Bible says about the fall of Jimmy Swaggart.” My first thought when John gave his opening remarks was, “The Bible doesn’t say anything about Jimmy Swaggart.” Then for 30 minutes, Pastor John eloquently, and convincingly, showed that many biblical principles intersected clearly with how to think about a compromised preacher. I was amazed. John showed that you could preach about any topic under the sun, and title your sermon, “What the Bible says about…” and then fill in the blank. What a contrast to the five, highly regarded evangelical scholars in the book, 5 Views on Apologetics, who agree and state explicitly in the book repeatedly that “The Bible doesn’t say anything about epistemology, or meterology, or a lot of other topics.” Pastor John said, “Yes it does!” And then he would prove it. The Bible gives all the information God wants us to know in this life so that we can live a life that pleases Him (2 Pet 1:2-3).
Those Memorable, Biblical Sayings
Because of John’s commitment to biblical fidelity and sufficiency, he also became known for short, profound, memorable adages that were biblically informed that served as foundational life principles for any who were willing to listen and apply them. There were many that my wife, Debbie, and I benefitted from. Too many to count. Several were ones John spoke to us personally, ad hoc. For example, in a casual conversation, early on in our marriage, John told us that when it comes to parenting, “Insulate, don’t isolate.” We both latched on to that and it became one of the guiding principles as we raised four children, who are now all grown. That principle served us well. So simple, and yet so practically profound. The perfect balance, as it kept us from being overbearing, religious legalists (Col 3:21), while at the same time it mandated that we have proper boundaries and safeguards in place (Heb 12:9-10).
Another more popular mantra John propagated to pastors was, “You worry about the depth of your ministry; let God take care of the breadth of your ministry.” Again, concise and profound. And another: “The meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture.”
In addition to the publicly known and shared blessings that Dr. MacArthur bequeathed to the universal church, I also want to share some special traits about John that were not as well known publicly that I was exposed to behind the scenes on a personal level.
“Call Me ‘John'”
I first met Pastor MacArthur in July of 1987. I was a new believer and just finished two years at a liberal Christian college. I had recently heard a John MacArthur sermon for the first time and it rattled me. I had never heard the Bible taught like that before. I did some research and discovered his church was just an hour away, so I headed to Grace Church for the first time in July going into my junior year of college to hear this unique Bible teacher. I sat in the center row of the 3,500-seat auditorium, right in front of the pulpit. Dr. MacArthur preached for fifty-five minutes and I was hanging on every word.
Before the sermon, during announcements, he welcomed all first-time visitors and invited them to meet him at a reception after the service where we could receive a gift. I went to the reception and stood at the end of the long receiving line. I finally reached the front, extended my hand toward his and I said, “Dr. MacArthur, I’m Cliff and I’m looking for a college to study the Bible and play basketball.” He immediately quipped, “Call me ‘John.’ And let me tell you about the Master’s College!” I never called him “Dr. MacArthur” again. For the next 38 years I would call him Pastor John or “Johnny Mac,” a term of affection Master’s College students assigned to him, which John heartily welcomed and was proud of.
I was taken aback that day when he insisted I call him “John.” It didn’t seem right. He was so high profile and his first name seemed too familiar. But he meant it, and it showed that John truly saw himself as one sheep among many of God’s sheep. We were all needy, helpless, and in need of a Savior. John’s conviction was that only Jesus was the true Master, Head, Lord and Senior Pastor of the Church and the only one, along with the Father and the Spirit who deserved any adulation or glory. The John MacArthur I knew personally since 1987 was truly a humble man.
Powerful in the Pulpit, Humble With People
Many who never met him, who only heard him preach from afar, never saw this private, personal side of John. If you were exposed only to his teaching ministry, then all you saw was his preaching persona, which was real and exemplary, but only one side of John’s profile.
In the pulpit Pastor John was comfortable, confident, and preached with a consistent, focused authority. He believed he was relaying the very divine words of the Creator of the universe, words from Scripture that had inherent authority. What the Bible says, God says. Pastor John was passionate about Scripture, and so his preaching came across to many as aggressive, and even intimidating. Some mistook his preaching with authority as lacking humility or lacking in tenderness. Some found his matter-of-fact teaching insensitive, overly dogmatic, and harsh.
An interesting survey was conducted in the late 1980s among Christians who listened to radio preachers. The survey found that a majority of females preferred Chuck Swindoll’s preaching because he was more jovial, story-based, and less harsh, whereas the majority of Pastor John’s listening audience were men because they liked his strong, didactic, no-nonsense approach to proclaiming God’s truth. I loved Pastor John for his powerful preaching, but I also loved him for his personal humility that he showed toward me on many occasions and which served as a personal model for me to follow in life and ministry.
Exemplary Generosity
Another trait that many probably did not know about Pastor John is that he was very generous and giving. I was on the receiving end of his generosity for thirty-eight years. Examples abound, but I can only relay a few to illustrate. After meeting him in July of 1987 I immediately applied to The Master’s College and got accepted. I was on my own for paying the expensive college bills semester by semester. Pastor John caught wind that I was struggling financially and graciously paid part of my tuition for my four final semesters at The Master’s.
Upon graduating from college, I wanted to go to seminary, which I could not afford as a newly-wed who was in debt with a wife still in college. Pastor John found out about my financial need and graciously paid for my first year of school at The Master’s Seminary…the entire bill…without me asking. It blew me away.
My second year of seminary Pastor John had Debbie and I over for dinner at his house. After dinner and dessert Pastor John asked, out of the blue, as we were about to leave, “Cliff, what size shoe do you wear?” I said, “Eleven and a half.” He said, “Perfect. I’ll be right back.” And then he promptly returned with a very expensive, brand new pair of running shoes that were a little tight for him. They fit me perfectly. They were my all-time favorite shoes!
A few years later I was pastoring at a small church in Utah and in the heat of ministry and all its trials. I was discouraged. I wrote Pastor John a letter to update him. In return he mailed me the entire set of MacArthur commentaries as a gift, which I did not have, nor did I ask for. I was blown away by his thoughtfulness. Pastor John’s generosity was not just directed toward me. I have heard countless stories from many others over the years where they received the personal touch of kindness from Pastor John. And John’s giving was usually tailored to the person he gave to. He gave thoughtfully, to meet a need or to personally bless. This kind of deliberate, wise giving was one manifestation of his loving shepherd’s heart toward people.
With respect to giving and being gracious to people in an unprecedented manner, John MacArthur was the first high-profile, world renown religious figure and Bible teacher to give away his resources for free. For decades now, anyone in the world can go on the internet to GTY.org and access thousands of John MacArthur’s sermon recordings that date back to 1970. As a pastor and student of Scripture, I have taken advantage of this gift since the 1980s.
I was reminded of John’s generosity in this respect recently when I visited another sizeable church in my area one Sunday when I had a day off. The church I was visiting had a high-profile preacher who has a daily radio program. The day he preached, as he concluded his forty-minute message from 1 Samuel, he let all of us in the audience know that immediately after the service we could purchase his sermon in the lobby for only $9.95. And he encouraged us to purchase a sermon for a friend or two. This guy was literally selling the Word of God for a profit. So, I thank God for Pastor John’s example.
Pastor John has also given away countless thousands of his books for free, for decades, through his Grace To You ministry. I remember back in the early 1990s when The MacArthur Study Bible first came out, and I was getting a tour of the Grace To You warehouse. Phil Johnson took me to a huge warehouse room and said, “Cliff. You see all those pallets and boxes. That is over 30,000 copies of the The MacArthur Study Bible that we are giving away free to our listeners.” I said, “Wow!” I left the warehouse that day with my own, free, signed copy.
Faithful in the Little Things
One more trait about Pastor John that stood out as a tremendous example and testimony was his faithfulness. One example illustrates. I heard John say on many occasions that he tried to answer personally 100% of all the correspondence that he received. And since he was old-school, he would respond by mail, hard copy, typed letters. For him, that was a lot of correspondence…hundreds of letters and emails weekly from around the world. Because of this conviction he insisted that no one else open up his mail.
I was the personal beneficiary of his standing policy. I have a file folder full of personal letters from John MacArthur, dating from August 13, 1989 to April 14, 2025, most of which are personalized, thoughtful letters of response to me from letters I wrote him. My letters were usually letters to thank him for his ministry; and his notes were letters thanking me for thanking him. With me, he proved true to his word, for as far as I can remember, he responded 100% of the time to me whenever I contacted him. And this was over the course of thirty-six years! And I have a few letters he sent over the years where he initiated and they were just letters of encouragement or gifts, usually books. And to think he did the same with innumerable others boggles the mind. John was true to the words of Jesus who commanded His followers to “be faithful in the little things.”
A Good Gift from the Father of Lights
I could say a lot more about my memorable interactions with Pastor John over the years, but there are too many to relay in a short article. Thousands of Christians all over the world have similar stories recounting how God used Pastor John in so many ways to bless them as well. A definitive, detailed biography of John MacArthur’s life of ministry could take up a few volumes and would edify many. I look forward to such a biography being written someday. Ian Murray has blessed the church by getting the project started, as he wrote a prequel to such a final project, called, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock, published in 2011. I, along with church saints across the globe, thank God for every gift that comes down from the Father of lights with which God intends to bless us (James 1:17). Pastor John MacArthur was one such heavenly gift.
