SUN VALLEY, Calif. (BP) — Longtime pastor, author and teacher John F. MacArthur died on July 14 after a short battle with pneumonia. MacArthur, 86, pastored Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles area for 56 years.
“At the center of Dr. MacArthur’s ministry was an unwavering commitment to declare God’s truth, and Pastor John preached the Word in season and out of season,” the church’s elders said in a statement posted on the church website.
“Even in recent years, though beset with health challenges, he persisted in teaching, leading, and investing in the ministries the Lord had entrusted to him. Pastor John modeled a true fortitude for His Lord Jesus, believing that to live is Christ and therefore to die is gain,” they wrote.
MacArthur followed his father Jack MacArthur, a well-known pastor and evangelist in the Los Angeles area, as pastor of the non-denominational Grace Community Church. He became the senior pastor in 1969 after serving on staff with his father.
He is survived by his wife Patricia, their four children, 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. The MacArthurs were married 61 years.
MacArthur was known for his dedication to exegetical preaching, a style that focuses on verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible rather than a topical approach.
His radio and television broadcast “Grace To You,” which also began in 1969, currently airs on more than 2,500 radio stations in every U.S. state and in 27 nations, according to the ministry’s website.
Though not a Southern Baptist, MacArthur was beloved by many Southern Baptists and a frequent speaker at Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) seminaries and Southern Baptist events.
SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg said MacArthur’s preaching and commentaries were “an asset to me as a pastor.”
The longtime president of California’s Gateway Seminary, Iorg said, “His influence on a generation of preachers will carry on for years to come.”
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler called MacArthur “the greatest expositor of his times.”
Mohler said he was “gifted” at “the exposition of God’s Word before God’s people, and that meant studying God’s Word with diligence and then standing before a congregation to read and explain that scriptural text.”
MacArthur’s theology was unique as he maintained a dispensational premillennial view of the return of Jesus Christ often rejected by Calvinists, which MacArthur claimed to be.
Dispensationalism explains God’s interactions with humanity through a series of distinct dispensations — including a clear distinction between Israel and the church — even through the end of time into history, including a future and literal fulfillment of the Old Testament land and covenant promises made to Israel.
Its adherents believe that Jesus Christ will return and take believers out of the world in an event often referred to as the rapture, before a time of great tribulation on Earth which will be followed by a 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on Earth before the final judgment.
Many Calvinistic theologians reject dispensational premillennialism.
MacArthur explained his viewpoint in a seven-sermon series in 2007 titled “Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist.” His uncommon stance contributed to his popularity among a wide range of fundamentalist and evangelical Christians.
MacArthur was also well-known for his writing. He is credited with well over 100 titles, a best-selling commentary series, a study Bible and more.
According to Moody Press, the first manuscript for the MacArthur New Testament Commentary was submitted as the pastor’s sermon notes from a series on Hebrews. The now 34-volume set has sold more than 2.8 million copies since its release in 1983.
The MacArthur Study Bible, published by Thomas Nelson, has sold more than 4 million copies, the company’s website says.
“Pastor John MacArthur was a man of unwavering conviction and profound dedication to the clear and faithful exposition of God’s Word,” Mark Jobe, Moody Bible Institute president, said in a statement.
MacArthur stood firm in his convictions, drawing controversy over his ministry.
His 2013 book “Strange Fire” called the charismatic movement into question. “It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him,” he wrote in the book.
MacArthur contended they did so by “attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work.”
In 2019, he faced criticism when he responded to a question about the role of women teaching the Bible. The question specifically focused on Paula White and Beth Moore. When asked about Moore specifically, MacArthur responded to the question saying she should “Go home.”
He added: “There is no case that can be made biblically for a woman preacher. Period. Paragraph. End of discussion,” according to the Christian Post.
In 2021, Christianity Today reported that Grace Community Church received an $800,000 settlement from the State of California related to the church’s unwillingness to shutter weekly worship services after being mandated to do so during the coronavirus pandemic. The church called the order a violation of religious freedom.
Grace Community has also faced criticism and a pending lawsuit for allegedly mishandling abuse cases in 2002 and 2025.
MacArthur’s investment in pastors has reached far over the years as thousands have attended the annual Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church, which featured preachers such as Mohler, R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Mark Dever and others.
A graduate of Talbot Theological Seminary, MacArthur helped found The Master’s College (now The Master’s Seminary) in Santa Clarita, Calif., in 1986. He served as the school’s president until 2019 when he became chancellor.
“What Adrian Rogers was to pulpit oratory, John MacArthur was to biblical exposition,” SBC President Clint Pressley told Baptist Press.
“The reach of his influence among pastors and preaching is incalculable, and we forever stand in his debt.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Porter serves as vice president for communications at the SBC Executive Committee.)
