John MacArthur – Transformation of Grace Community Church
This information has been painstakingly put together by Bob Johnson over a period of several years. It’s shocking and I believe it’s the truth. Bob has been attacked by John MacArthur and Phil Johnson who have tried to discredit him, but the facts remain standing strong.
I am going to present this information only because I stand for the truth AT ALL COSTS. [Edited by DTW: 31 Mar 2010 – I have made a public apology too everyone I told that MacArthur is legitimate. I am very very sorry for this. I trusted MacArthur and I was deceived and I led others to believe he was ok. Every bit of credibility I gave John MacArthur I retract. I did not understand the doctrine of Calvinism at the time, now I do. Please see here for my sincerest apology: http://www.discerningtheworld.com/2010/03/30/what-do-you-do-when]
Now before anyone gets all carried away, I am not a Calvinist. I am a born again Christian and my ‘denomination’ is what lies between the pages of the Word of God. I believe in free will and I believe that repentance of sin is an ongoing essential part of your relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. We are not predestined, or elected by God before the foundation of the world (for biblical predestination understanding please see What it Really Means to be Elected, Chosen, and Predestinated – The Biblical Truth); I won’t even get onto the topic of John Calvin as that’s another story all on it’s own and Calvinism has it’s roots in Rome.
Are there people who are genuinely saved under GCC – Absolutely, when they find out the truth as to what Calvinism is all about, they will leave there sooner or later. God knows our hearts. He knows what we think, He knows what we believe, He knows everything about us. I believe we are all judged on what we know up to a certain point in time. (I am NOT talking about sin here, or using this as an excuse to say, “oh I never accepted Jesus, because I didn’t know anything, or no one told me.) Because the Bible commands you to study to find yourself approved anyhow, so no one has any excuse. And if you have the Holy Spirit in your life you will never get something so wrong or believe and follow something so wrong as the doctrine of Calvinism and the fruit of John MacArthur speaks for itself.Now when the Holy Spirit reveals to us what’s really going on behind the scenes, this is when we are now faced with a massive decision of “should I stay or should I go” – will you accept the false teachings that are slithering its way in, or will I stand firm on the Word of God and warn others about what is happening and get out because you will not tolerate men insulting Jesus Christ! When the Holy Spirit has warned you, you can’t ever say to Jesus one day, “I didn’t know”, because you did know, but you CHOSE (free will) TO IGNORE IT. And in doing so you continued to stay and support ungodly doctrines.
Even if John MacArthur carried on preaching what sounded like the greatest gospel from the pulpit (which we know is not because it’s Calvinistic) – he will slowly but surely lead his congregation astray more and more astray as he turns to Rome along with every other denomination in these end times.
Will his preaching start to change? Will it become a more emergent gospel? It appears has as he is embracing contemplative spirituality for some time: John MacArthur and Dallas Willard – Two Contemplating Calvinists
Does John MacArthur have to make a choice like the rest of us to follow Jesus Christ 100% or follow Satan instead? Absolutely.
We ALL sit in the same position. Jesus Christ is LORD, He is our KING, He judges ALL, NO ONE gets an ‘immunity card’ from GOD.
Ok let’s get onto the info shall we…
—————–
The Transformation of John Macarthur’s Grace Community Church
How Change Agents are Transitioning GCC into the New World Order
Introduction –
by Bob Johnson On January 2, 2005,
John MacArthur gave a sermon to his congregation in which he described the state of his church. In that sermon John MacArthur stated, “I feel like part of the ministry I must discharge before the Lord and you is a ministry of warning about danger. Our church is not in particular danger from some dominating iniquity. It is not in particular danger from some infiltrating heresy. It is not in danger from some loss of resources financially or human. Everything you can see on the surface looks to be good. And we would have every reason to think we stand, and still be on the brink of a fall.”
John MacArthur said that his church was not in particular danger from infiltrating heresy. This paper will show that a dangerous heresy has infiltrated his church; a heresy known generally as the church growth movement. And this paper will show that this movement, being backed by globalists and being used to fulfill their one-world agenda, is now manipulating GCC into that same agenda.
John MacArthur said that his church is not in danger from some dominating iniquity.This paper will show that John MacArthur, being the dominant figure in his church, by disobeying the doctrine of separation, has allowed men to speak at his church and has allowed men to occupy leadership positions in his church, who, professing to be Christians, are actually dedicated to this one-world agenda.
John MacArthur said that everything you can see on the surface of his church looks to be good. I have been to his church, and I have attended his ministries, and I didn’t have to look beyond the surface to see that everything there is not good. I didn’t have to look beyond the surface of his church in order to see the presence of the Purpose Driven Church (PDC) model or the dialectic sessions employed by that model.
Nor did I have to look beyond the surface to see that John MacArthur’s international ministry, a ministry dedicated to “training church leaders worldwide,” is a church growth organization now partnering with foreign governments.In his “state of the church” sermon, John Macarthur said that GCC could be on the brink of a fall. GCC has gone beyond that brink and has now fallen. GCC is not holy, peculiar, sanctified and set apart, but rather, is a church that has now found common ground with Satanic agents pushing the one-world agenda via the church growth movement.
Allow me, by way of introduction, to say how I became interested in the goings on at GCC. My interest in GCC began in March 2005 when a local pastor invited me to accompany him to the GCC Pastor’s Conference being held that same month. Wanting to get information about the conference, I went to the GCC website where I noticed that Dr. Albert Mohler was to be a keynote speaker. I’d never heard of Dr. Mohler.
When curiosity pressed and an internet search ended, I had discovered information about Dr. Mohler that was not in accord with his Christian profession. I had discovered that Dr. Mohler was a Founding Fellow of the “think tank” of a UN-NGO. I had discovered that a UN-NGO is a non-governmental organization that is listed with the UN and that serves the UN and its one-world agenda. And therefore, I concluded that it must necessarily follow, that Dr. Mohler, being a Founding Fellow of this UN-NGO’s “think tank” which serves the UN and its agenda, must also serve the UN agenda. (It has since been confirmed to me by a colleague of Dr. Mohler’s that all the Fellows of the “think tank” of this UN-NGO are dedicated to the principles of the charter of the UN).
Knowing that the UN agenda is satanic and knowing that this agenda includes the destruction of Biblical Christianity, I wondered why John Macarthur would invite a man dedicated to this agenda into his church and into his pulpit. Was John Macarthur aware of Dr. Mohler’s UN affiliation? (I have since learned that Dr. Mohler holds leadership positions in at least two organizations that serve the UN globalist agenda as NGO’s.)
I proceeded to write a letter to each of the members of the GCC elder board. I warned them all of Dr. Mohler’s associations. I received a reply from elder, Phil Johnson, dated March 23, 2005. Regarding Dr. Mohler’s associations, Mr. Johnson wrote, “We may not agree with all his associations, but nothing in Scripture demands that we separate from a true brother in Christ just because we may disagree with him on where he draws the circle of his own fellowship.” Is this a true statement? Is there nothing in Scripture that demands separation from a professed Christian who is affiliated with satanic evil (the UN)? Many verses in Scripture demand that Christians separate from evil and 2 Thess. 3:14 demands separation from professed Christians who are disobedient: “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him that he may be ashamed.” Scripture does demand separation from Dr. Mohler.
Why didn’t the GCC elders seem to be alarmed by Dr. Mohler’s affiliations? Why were they willing to ignore Biblical commands in order to continue a relationship with Dr. Mohler? Being dissatisfied with the reply I’d received from the GCC elder board, I then decided to make phone calls to several other GCC pastors in order to inform them of Dr. Mohler’s UN connection. Surely, they would all be concerned. I told them all that Dr. Mohler was a Fellow of a UN-NGO. What was their response? The pastors all angrily denied this easily verifiable fact. I then decided to write letters to about ten more GCC pastors. I expressed to them my concern that Dr. Mohler was a Fellow of a UN-NGO.
I received a reply from one pastor, Rick Mclean, responding for all, who, putting himself in the position of God, told me that the information I’d given them regarding Dr. Mohler’s associations “was of no eternal consequence.” This pastor also told me to never contact them again regarding this matter. In November 2005, a member of GCC agreed to meet me for a discussion. His name was George. I had asked George during a phone conversation if he’d be willing to have a discussion with me concerning some things at GCC that I had found troubling.
Two days after agreeing to meet with me, I received an email from George informing me that our meeting couldn’t take place. He told me that after checking with his church’s authorities, those authorities had decided not to allow our meeting to take place. George also informed me that only one man at GCC would meet with me. This was the same pastor who had already written to tell me to never contact them again. The email that George sent me was cc’d or copied to this same pastor and George informed me that any future correspondence I might have with him would also be cc’d to this pastor. The GCC authorities were exercising strict control over this situation. If Dr. Mohler’s UN affiliation was “of no eternal consequence” according to pastors at GCC, then why were they taking such extraordinary measures in order to prevent the exposure of that affiliation? Why were they willing to go to such lengths in order to keep knowledge of that affiliation hidden from their church membership?
George was not allowed to meet me for a discussion in a local coffee shop. In not allowing one Christian to meet another, the GCC authorities had taken authority not given them in the Word of God. In not allowing one Christian to meet another, the GCC authorities were exercising a type of control that is cult-like. Believing the GCC authority’s behavior to be deceitful, and knowing they didn’t want Dr. Mohler’s UN affiliation exposed, I decided to do just that at their March 2006 Pastor’s Conference. With Dr. Mohler again invited to be a keynote speaker, I stood outside their church and handed out flyers to the arriving pastors. The flyer was titled “Al Mohler and the United Nations.”
The flyer basically contained 2 facts: Al Mohler was a Founding Fellow of the Research Institute (think tank) of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and that the ERLC was a UN-NGO. How did the GCC officials respond to these flyers being handed out on the public sidewalk outside their church? A GCC pastor, Eric Bancroft, with the head of security in tow, approached me and angrily told me that my flyer contained “all lies”; he then warned me that if I was to set foot on GCC property, I’d be arrested.
When I left GCC that evening, some GCC officials followed me and with the head of security present, they photographed my car and wrote down my license plate number. What began as an effort to warn the saints at GCC about Dr. Mohler’s UN affiliation didn’t end with my threatened arrest. The GCC authorities had tried to keep Dr. Mohler’s UN affiliation hidden from their membership. I couldn’t help but wonder what else they may be hiding. “Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.”
So, I decided to take a closer look into their ministries. GCC has eight subministries listed on their website. Two of these subministries are singles ministries. In looking through these two ministry’s web pages, I began to notice the presence of certain “buzzwords” common to the Purpose Driven Church (PDC) model. I noticed that much of the language used to describe the activities of these ministries was identical to the language used in the PDC model. Being very familiar with both the “buzzwords” and structure of the PDC, I strongly suspected that these two ministries were run on that model. My suspicions were confirmed after I attended both of these ministry’s Friday night “Bible studies.”
It was then that I realized that the church growth movement (CGM)/PDC model had infiltrated GCC in at least their two singles ministries. Knowing that the PDC movement had already spread like wildfire across America’s churches and knowing that once this movement gets a foothold in a church it will spread like cancer throughout the entire church body, I knew that it was my Christian duty to warn the saints at GCC about this real danger within. In the summer of 2006, I wrote a letter intended for the Christian remnant at GCC in which I warned them of this dangerous church growth infiltration.
It was titled “A Wake Up Call to the Saints at Grace Community Church.” While standing on the sidewalk across the street, I handed out copies to the congregants as they left the church. I handed out this letter of warning for three consecutive Sundays. On the second Sunday, as I handed out the “Wake-up Call,” the police were called. A black and white unit stopped and an officer approached me and told me that they had received a call claiming that I was harassing the congregation. I was handing out my letter to Christians as they left the church. I never harassed anyone and no one had complained to me.
Why were the police called? On that same day, in what could be construed as another act of intimidation, a GCC official approached me and told me that the GCC authorities were considering a lawsuit against me. Since handing out this letter of warning, I have continued to look into the activities of various ministries at GCC and I have continued to find activity indicating the presence of the church growth movement. For example, I have seen that a GCC ministry called The Master’s Academy International (TMAI), which states that its mission is to “train church leaders worldwide,” is actually a church growth organization that is now partnering with foreign governments. (A goal of the church growth movement is to merge the church into a partnership with business and government. This is called Communitarianism.)
Later, I will describe both the leadership and the activities of TMAI in detail. Grace Community Church (GCC) [www.gracechurch.org], pastored by John MacArthur is being subverted and transformed by the church growth movement (CGM). This paper will give a description of the CGM, how it manifests itself at GCC, and how it has infiltrated GCC.
Part I
How the Church Growth Movement Manifests Itself at GCC (The Guild and The Foundry)
The Master’s Academy International (TMAI) Leadership
TMAI Leader’s Transformational Language
TMAI Training Centers
TMAI Brazil
TMAI Honduras
TMAI South Africa
TMAI New Zealand
TMAI Mexico
TMAI Russia
TMAI-Philippines
The TMAI Leadership Community
Part IV
How the Church Growth Movement Infiltrated GCC
John Macarthur’s Ecumenical Roots
As I’ve read much of the previous delusional comments on John MacArthur and the ministries of GCC alongside their fellowship with Al Mohler and The entire issue of Calvinism. Several issues needs to be highlighted.
Firstly, What makes you all an authority on such matters?
Secondly, Just because MacArthur like me does not agree with all five points of Calvinism does not make him a double minded man rather because of his commitment to the truth of scripture and where calvinism is right he would have to agree and where they appear to be wrong he rightly would have to disagree.
Thirdly, The application of 2 Thess 3:14 to Al Mohler needs to be revised as one needs to make a biblical and sound exegetical evaluation rather than an emotive one. Firstly what exactly does 2 Thess 3:14 teach? and what is the context in which that passage occurs? To loosely apply a verse at random could prove to be a mis application of scripture which has proven here to be just that. Furhermore, Has association to any particular organisation become the new gospel or does the gospel require believe in the person of Jesus Christ. and what constitute the core commitments of Al Mohler to the Christian faith? Also what is the core doctrines of the Christian faith in which we are to agree. Can one be truly so arrogant as to say that when someone does not agree 100% with us or our specific convictions that individual(s) is therefore not saved? And if that individual is genuinly saved he will go to heaven and whether you like it or not you will praise God with him and have fellowship with him.
Finally though MacArthur and the men at GCC might not agree with all the associations of Al Mohler, the text of 2 Thess simply cannot be applied to that situation as that passage deals with something far more different and you have proven to have wrestled with scripture for your own selfish agenda.
Hey Bob
I read your whole letter regarding your disappointment with Dr. John Macarthur. But you did not back anything up with scripture. Explain? Can you counter everything that Macarthur said with scripture? Remember what you feel and believe is irrelevant to the facts. You must always bring everything to the light of the scriptures.
Respectfully,
Eddie Mo
John 8:32
Boy Eddie, apparently you have not been following the content of this thread? Bob has since gone away for whatever reason. But there is plenty of stuff here for you to munch on and it has a ton of scripture. Graze on friend! See if Lordship Salvation is biblical for example. Then come back and we can have a discussion. Mmmmkay?
Can you explain where people would have originally gotten the idea that the God of the bible predestined us to salvation?
Rich
Ask a few thousand Calvinists and they will tell you God told them so. Read the bible correctly and you will see this is not the case.
Wasn’t Jesus also accused of casting out demons in the name of Satan? 🙂
Burning Lamp wrote:
Please can you tell me how to get those commentaries in paperback at a good price (like those at 3$). I would like to collect hardcopies of all of them too, but those I find are too pricey, and I live in Canada where shipping from the USA is another cost issue. I have some of them in pdf, and I agree with you that they are really good, and I would recommend them as well. I’m currently reading his John’s commentary. You can get my email from Debs and email me them info.
Thanks.
First I will respond to Rich: the Book of Epistles will explain and in the Book of John chapter 6. No one can chose God, they must be drawn to God by God. There is nothing in man that desires the Lord, for they are dead in trespasses and sins. Death does not seek life. And please I’m not a Calvinist. The Bible clearly tells me so. I read the KJV and nothing more.
Now John MacArthur was raised with Masonic influences due to his father, Jack MacArthur’s involvement with Charles Fuller, and Henrietta Mears. Roy Rogers, and Dale Evans were Masons, and died as Mason’s. Photo of their gravesides prove it. John MacArthur has supported Jack Hayford, who is a false teacher and prophet, and is not a believer, he founded Promise Keepers, it’s also Ecumenical.
John MacArthur went to Talbot Bible Seminary which is a branch of Biola University, which is know for it’s ecumenical stance. John MacArthur’s teaching against the Blood of Christ, and Jesus Eternal Sonship also proves his unworthiness as a follower and leader of the Lord’s sheep. John MacArthur always says one thing, but his actions prove otherwise.
John MacArthur has never known the one true Jesus Christ. He is a false believer, and a false teacher.
The Lord’s sheep will hear His voice, and come out from amongst the anti-christ system.
The Lord bless you and guide you into His Truth, His Freedom, and His Light. Anyone who continues to support JM goes against everything the Lord Jesus Christ stood for, and you really do end up calling Him a liar. But we know God does not lie, men do.
Let’s not forget Satan knows God’s word, Judas knew God’s Word, but he was still the Son of Perdition. He was of the Devil, God’s Word speaks it.
The Lord grant all who truly know Him the grace to accept the truth, and set you free from the idolatry of men, to just seeing Jesus and nothing more.
JM is apostate, and has never been honest with the sheep.
In His Eternal Love……
[delete]
Oh Deb-ster…every time I click on the topic Pt. 1, 2 etc…it I get “this page can’t be displayed. I tried to see if I were the problem, but it won’t open any of them. I dunno….
Sharon
Um, yes, he was threatened and he deleted the information. I have found a new place where he put the info: http://www.johnmacarthurexposed.blogspot.com/
Elmarie A wrote:
If what Bob Johnson exposed in his article is the truth and nothing but the truth as he confirmed again and again, then it was not he who judged John MacArthur and GCC but GCC’s own waywardness and apostasy. You can’t judge someone of being judgmental when he exposes error (Ephesians 5:11).
Who will dare to judge Paul of being unloving and judgemental when he wrote:
I’ve heard the little sing-song “judge not lest ye be judged” so many times when exposing error, that it’s not even funny any more. In John 7:24 Christians are admonished to judge righteously and in 1 Corinthians 5:12 and 13 they are told to judge those who are inside the church, not outside (unbelievers) whom God alone judges.
Thomas : I’m sensing that some people can really put their own “snarky” spin on things. One thing is certain, when we stand before God Almighty, there won’t be any “yarn spinnin”. He’ll see right through it and all our cyber-speak of tough talking, legal threatening hay, wood and stubble will be a bit of smoke left over from the pile of burnt up “rabble rousing” at his feet.
We aren’t to be defending “our reformed church” or any other denominational structure (except Christ’s true body of believers) , but rather, the gospel.
I know it’s been covered in some comments above but here it is again….yes, I know that some people don’t agree with everything on this site, but give credit to the research and pay attention to the words of John MacArthur…
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/macarthur-unsaved.htm
“MacArthur Denies the Redemptive Power of Jesus’ Literal, Physical, Blood
The April 1986 edition of Faith For The Family quotes MacArthur as saying in a 1976 article entitled, “Not His Bleeding But His Dying”:
“It was His death that was efficacious . . . not His blood . . . Christ did not bleed to death. The shedding of blood had nothing to do with bleeding . . . it simply means death . . . Nothing in His human blood saves . . . It is not His blood that I love . . . it is Him. It is not His bleeding that saved me, but His dying.”
Mr. MacArthur is a heretic who states:
“It is not the actual liquid that cleanses us from our sins, but the work of redemption Christ accomplished in pouring it out.” -Dr. John MacArthur.”
If it was only this example of Scripture twisting alone, it would be enough to convict MacArthur as a heretic…but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When I first came out of charismania, I listened to John MacArthur with rapt attention. I was into teachers who sounded like they knew something. As I have progressed in knowledge of the Word of God, I have discerned that such men only think they know something. They are masters at Scripture twisting and we the people have to decide whether we want our ears tickled with what sounds good or whether we want the truth. When someone says, “it doesn’t really say such and such” or “it should say such and such”…that’s about the time I start looking to see the wolf behind the sheep’s mask…
Thanks Carolyn
I too was a taken-in by Mr MacArthur when I did not know what Calvinism was all about. (For all of a few weeks – thank goodness not a minute longer.) Then I heard these things about John MacArthur and I investigated and studied his study bible commentaries and found out it was true, he does deny Jesus’ blood. I could not believe it, then I did some more research and found out he was a Calvinist, I thought, ‘What is Calvinism…hmmm” So I went and read up on that, and boy I immediately realised that is not the gospel! Calvinist preachers capture their flock by preaching these ‘wonderful’ sermons that sound so biblical but they fail to tell them from the get go about Predestination. So people listen to these pastors for sometimes years slowly being indoctrinated into their garbage not realizing what it’s about, that when you tell them they fight you tooth and nail.
Well said Carolyn!
It is baffling how someone calling herself “Elmarie” can so fabricate the truth. She makes Bob out to be a crackpot, when clearly, he is anything but. He has backed up his research with fact after fact. But I can see how he is a threat to the change agents who like to work under the radar and under the cover of darkness.
She should read what Bob says instead of showing her ignorance and reiterating some trumped up need for him to ask for forgiveness from the wolves he is exposing. I can’t imagine why anyone who has this kind of knowledge about the infiltrating change agents would be feeling bad about exposing them.
About Bob, she mocks: “He further claimed the PDL philosophy was really akin to Hegelian-Marxist techniques that seek to brainwash individuals to think in terms of an ungodly group think (whatever that maybe). Some of the ways this “group think” supposedly manifested itself was in the manner of “vision casting” talk, small group dynamics where “facilitators,” as Bob called them, would lead the group in “brainwashing” sessions, and the building of relationships.
What he actually says in his paper is something we all know to be true: http://www.johnmacarthurexposed.blogspot.ca/
“Vision Casting
Church change agents work to create dissatisfaction with the old traditional ways. When people become dissatisfied with the present situation, will they be open to change.
One method used by church change agents to sow seeds of dissatisfaction is to “cast a vision” for the membership of a better future. By casting their visions of “what can be” (which is a fantasy or an illusion), the change agent is able to “unfreeze” the group from the old way and move them toward a new way as they all now focus on this new vision. Vision statements are an important part of the church transformation process. As the congregation focuses on a man-made vision or purpose, an organizational collective “group mind” is created.
To “catch the vision” or “vision casting” are New Age terms. According to the TQM model, successful leadership begins with a vision which reflects the shared purpose. This is also called a transformational vision. “Vision” or “what can be” results from a dissatisfaction with God and His Word, and is antithetical to biblical Christianity. “What can be’ or ‘vision’ is the end result of the Hegelian dialectic process or transformational thinking. It is the direct opposite of moral absolutism-‘what is’ [God’s Word]. In order to move a person into this transformational mode of thinking, ‘what is’ must be questioned and challenged. The dialectic process-‘constant change’- requires one to let go of ‘what is’, in order to strive toward potential-‘what can be’ [vision]. You have to leave your moral absolutes behind [God’s Word], or else you will remain resistant to change…” 60.
To me and many others who have researched these affiliations in past years, it is obvious who is doing the lying here and who needs to repent. The tables of the money changers and change agents will be overturned once again in due time. Meanwhile, the truth of John 16:1-3 will be our comfort:
16 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Hey Debs and Redeemed…it’s been awhile since we had a group hug….on the count of three….:-)
love you guys!!!
Yes, Elmarie A has issues, lots and lots of issues.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Carolyn and Redeemed
on three…
[hugs] and love you too!
Carolyn wrote:
Cyber group bear hugs! Love you too!
Last time I read through some of this stuff on MacArthur, I had just been defending him as a simple preacher man, with a simple lifestyle, standing on a simple, no-frills platform. After reading some of this same material, my opinion was altered, my gullibility was strangely withered, my trust in simple preacher-men images damaged and my heart pained.
What a lie, propagated and swallowed by purpose driven, worldly driven alliances funding networks of Christians and non-Christians partnering together to bring a “gospel” to the world. Men who held a knowledge of the precious Word of God and could have made a difference by simple obedience and Spirit led living, instead, left the path of pure faith, where God enables individuals to grow and reproduce. The result? An insidious, man centred, money driven Beast, with an antithetical gospel. Good works done in the name of Christ replacing faithful work done because of a changed life.
This has become the age of purpose driven stage buddies, confident grins, back patting, ego stroking, mystical-experiencial craving false preachers with megachurch oxytocin highs running through their blood. It makes me quite sick, but the real sickness comes when I realize that there are demon spirits behind the whole Satanic induced global plan. The more I learn, the more I thank God that he warned us ahead of time….
We don’t follow the Beast. We follow Jesus, the Christ, The Son of the Living God, the Creator, the Living Word, The Lamb, Our Saviour….Hallelujah!
Carolyn said:
I don’t think MacArthur left the path of pure faith. You can’t leave a path when you’ve never been in or on it. He has always been a Calvinist who believes that Jesus loves only the elect and thus died only for them. If Jesus died only for the elect it follows that He was not incarnated for the reprobate which, if you look at it closely, is a partial denial of Christ’s incarnation. If He died only for the elect, it means that He was only born (came in the flesh) for them too. In other words, He did not come in the flesh for the so called non-elect. And who believes this? Antichrist? You bet.
How can anyone claim to be saved when they believe that God loves some and hates others? Jesus said: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3). To know God means to believe on Him as He reveals Himself in his Word. Therefore, if you do not believe on Him as He reveals Himself in his Word, you are not saved. How does He reveal Himself in his Word? His Word says that GOD IS LOVE. He is the very essence of love and cannot do otherwise but to love his creatures. Yes, of course He hates their sins but Calvinists say that He also hates sinners. They believe this nonsense because they do NOT know the God of the Bible and Jesus said if you do not know Him and his Son whom He has sent to proclaim his love on the cross for all mankind, you cannot be saved.
Calvinists ought to repent of their despicable heresies so that they may be saved. They are not only misrepresenting the God of the Bible but leading millions astray – directly into the jaws of hell.
Thomas…I totally agree with you. Calvinists are not Christians, never were. What I should have said was that that these men have had access to the truth like few others in the world have had…being trained in theology; as opposed to jungle dwellers who have not had the opportunity of such Scriptural knowledge. They are so close to the truth (yet so far away). It’s tragic that men with training in the Scriptures can be so blind.
But it is, of course, no different from the Pharisees of Jesus day. They knew the Scriptures inside and out, and yet they refused to come to Him and be saved because they did not know God. They were blinded by intellectual pride, religious ritual and traditional precedence. They didn’t want to know the real (Christ), since they were happy with the shadows.
Concerning MacArthur, he is so very dangerous because he softpedals his Calvinism and is so widely accepted in the mainstream.
He is an excellent mixer of truth and error. The “sneaky” calvinists are the most dangerous. those who wear it on their sleeve are more easily detected.
He also hold himself up as a discerner and a watchman of sorts, just as others such as Ken Silva and other Calvinist bloggers. They report on the misdeeds of false teachers, but they are entrenched in false teaching themselves.
BEWARE of The MacArthur Study Bible!
I recently took a close look inside the “Revised and Updated” edition of THE MACARTHUR STUDY BIBLE [1997] by Thomas Nelson publishers. Honestly, don’t waste your money, because it’s filled with heresy and really bad theology.
First of all, Thomas Nelson owns the copyright to the New King James Version (hereafter called NKJV). So it’s not surprising that Thomas Nelson publishers are also publishing MacArthur’s garbage. Yes, I said garbage, because that’s what it is. I am not trying to be unkind, but honest. I am warning you about this Modernist who dares to claim the name of Christ, while denying the redeeming power of the literal blood of Jesus Christ. Satan is subtle and if we’re not careful, he’ll deceive us through false prophets like Dr. John F. MacArthur.
Ironically, the insert to MacArthur’s Study Bible reads: “GOD’S TRUTH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD.” I couldn’t agree more, which is why I am exposing Nelson Publishers and John MacArthur as heretics who have corrupted the very Words of God, and perverted the meaning of the Scriptures.
Please don’t misunderstand me, there are many wonderful teachings in The MacArthur Study Bible, just as the Jehovah’s Witnesses also teach many wonderful things in their literature; but John MacArthur, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, teaches damnable heresies as well. As is customary with Satan, we find a small amount of lies embodied within the truth, which is no truth at all. If Mr. MacArthur is wrong on salvation and the blood of Christ, which he certainly is, then he’s wrong about everything else too.
The Damnable New King James Version
MacArthur’s Study Bible is based upon the perverted NKJV. The NKJV is just as rotten and corrupt as the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. The NKJV has most of the same corruptions as does the NIV in comparison to the trustworthy 1611 King James Bible (KJB). The NKJV is based upon the same heretical work of Westcott and Hort as are all other modern perversions of God’s Word. The NKJV is dangerous, because it perverts the Word of God. For example: The NKJV publishers changed “narrow is the way” in Matthew 7:14 to “difficult is the way.” There is nothing “difficult” about the salvation offered to us through Jesus Christ! Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, “For my yoke is EASY, and my burden is light.” Jesus stated THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what the NKJV claims. Boy, you talk about a contradiction! Salvation is not difficult. Anyone can be saved simply by coming to Jesus Christ as a guilty sinner, believing on Him to wash away our sins by His own precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19).
So the first, and biggest flaw, of MacArthur’s Revised and Updated Study Bible is that he is basing his work upon a corrupted version of the Scriptures. Perverted bibles consequently lead to perverted doctrines. This is why so many false doctrines have crept into the New Testament Church today.
Interestingly, MacArthur never addresses the issue of corrupt bibles in his “Study Bible.” How is it that a longtime pastor and Bible-teacher, who has exposed many religious cults, is blind to the reality of corrupt bibles which are corrupting today’s churches. As I’ve gone through MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” I’ve purposely read his comments on Scriptures which have been corrupted in the NKJV, which his study is built upon. This is important. For example: In 2ndCorinthians 2:17 in the KJB states, “For we not as many which CORRUPT the word of God. The NKJV changes it to “For we are not, as so many, PEDDLING the word of God” (ditto NIV, NASV, NRSV, RSV). Here’s MacArthur’s commentary on the word “peddling” in 2nd Corinthians 2:17 (on page 1766 of his Revised and Updated “Study Bible”):
“From a Greek verb that means “to corrupt,” this word came to refer to corrupt hucksters, or con men who by their cleverness and deception were able to sell as genuine an inferior product that was only a cheap imitation. The false teachers in the church were coming with cleaver, deceptive rhetoric to offer a degraded, adulterated message that mixed paganism and Jewish tradition. They were dishonest men seeking personal profit and prestige at the expense of gospel truth and people’s souls.
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 752.
MacArthur’s commentary, as does the perverted word “peddling” in the NKJV, steers the reader’s mind away from the reality that there are CORRUPT bibles on the market today. The phrase, “peddling the Word of God” only casts a negative reflection upon those who are greedy and have something to sell. The actual Greek meaning of this word (kapeleuo) is “corrupt” and it was very dishonest for Nelson Publishers to change this word. The word “peddling” is an incomplete definition of the Greek word. The full meaning is a person who adulterates and corrupts the word of God to make a profit. The word “peddling” does NOT convey the Greek meaning of this word. MacArthur is dishonest to go along with this perversion of the Scriptures. 2ndCorinthians 2:17 isn’t just condemning those who peddle the Word of God; but rather, those who corrupt the Word of God and then peddle it to make money.
Unbelievably, MacArthur’s commentary on 2ndCorinthians 2:17 condemns Thomas Nelson publishers and all the other Bible-corrupters today; YET, he won’t address the issue because he is compromised. MacArthur has enough spiritual insight to expose false religions (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons); but then he fails to expose false bibles. This is a major flaw in MacArthur’s “Study Bible.” People need to be warned about the onslaught of corrupt bibles on the market today. Sadly, MacArthur is as blinded as a blind man. Do yourself an eternal favor and only use the King James Bible.
MacArthur Deliberately Avoids Interpreting Psalm 12:7
Psalm 12:6-8 in the KJB reads, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.” Psalm 12:7 is God’s promise that He will PRESERVE His Words in every generation. That means that somewhere on the earth today we have God’s preserved Words. I believe God’s Words have been faithfully preserved in the precious King James Bible. Here’s the commentary which John MacArthur provides in his Revised and Updated “Study Bible” on page 752 for Psalm 12:7-8
“The hostile realities of v. 8 call for the heavenly resources of v. 7” SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 752
That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say Mr. MacArthur concerning God’s promise to preserve His Words? MacArthur completely avoids the issue of preservation of the Word of God, because he us using a perverted Bible himself to mislead the masses. There’s no money to be made today selling the increasingly unpopular King James Bible in our apostate society. Nelson Publisher’s is pulling on the same rope as the Devil. Please read, The King James Version Hasn’t Changed.
MacArthur Denies the Redemptive Power of Jesus’ Literal Physical Blood
The April 1986 edition of Faith for the Family quotes MacArthur as saying in a 1976 article entitled, “Not His Bleeding But His Dying”:
“It was His death that was efficacious . . . not His blood . . . Christ did not bleed to death. The shedding of blood had nothing to do with bleeding . . . it simply means death . . . Nothing in His human blood saves . . . It is not His blood that I love . . . it is Him. It is not His bleeding that saved me, but His dying.”
Mr. MacArthur is a heretic who states:
“It is not the actual liquid that cleanses us from our sins, but the work of redemption Christ accomplished in pouring it out.” -Dr. John MacArthur
SOURCE:
In MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” he avoids Exodus 12:13 like the Bubonic Plague… “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (KJB). MacArthur doesn’t comment directly concerning this verse. It baffles me as to why any professed Gospel preacher would make light of the literal blood of Jesus Christ. MacArthur has nothing good to say about Jesus’ physical blood, because he doesn’t think it has any value in and of itself. What good is a “Study Bible” that ignores the most important doctrine in the entire Bible? 1st Peter 1:18,19 tells us just how important the blood of Jesus is: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
MacArthur’s Deceitful, Confusing and Misleading Philosophies on the Blood of Christ Deceitfully, in MacArthur’s Revised and Updated Study Bible, he comments concerning 1st Peter 1:18, 19 on page 1941:
“The price paid to a holy God was the shed blood of His own Son.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1941
Yet, to show you how deceitful MacArthur is, take a look at his comments concerning Hebrews 9:22 (i.e., “without shedding of blood there is no remission”) on page 1912 of his Revised and Updated Study Bible:
“Shedding of blood” refers to death.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1912
Wow! What a deceiver! If God meant “death,” then He would have said “death” Mr. MacArthur; BUT He didn’t, He said “shedding of blood.”
Christ’s virgin birth, sinless life, death, burial and bodily resurrection all led up to the application of His precious blood to the mercy seat in Heaven. MacArthur denies this vehemently. Take at look at what MacArthur comments on page 1910 of his Revised and Updated Study Bible concerning Hebrews 9:12 (i.e., “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”):
“A better translation would be “through His own blood.” … Nothing is said which would indicate that Christ carried His actual physical blood with Him into the heavenly sanctuary.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1910
On the contrary, the KJB states, “Moreover he [Moses] sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry … For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:21,24). If you’ll take the time to carefully read the entire chapter of Hebrews 9, you’ll find the word “blood” mentioned 12 times. You’ll also learn that the Old Testament tabernacle was a “figure” of the true Tabernacle in Heaven. Just as the Old Testament high priest was required to bring the lamb’s literal physical shed BLOOD into the holy place and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, so did Jesus Christ enter into the heavenly holy place with His own blood and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat. MacArthur is very wrong!
Hebrews 9:12 in the KJB states, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” MacArthur claims that the phrase “by his own blood” should have been translated “through his own blood”; however, then this means that we would also need to change the phrase “by the blood of goats and calves” to “through the blood of goats and calves.” So then why did God require the blood of animals UPON THE MERCY SEAT in the Old Testament? Leviticus 17:11 reads, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
Perhaps Mr. MacArthur needs some better reading glasses.
Here are MacArthur’s comments for Leviticus 17:11, i.e., the phrase “the life of the flesh is in the blood”:
“…the shedding of blood represents the shedding of life, i.e., death … NT references to the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ are references to His death.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 178
There is NO such teaching in the Scriptures! John MacArthur has fabricated his own corrupt way of thinking. Hebrews 9:6-7 states: “Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second [i.e., the holy of holies] went the high priest alone once every year, NOT WITHOUT BLOOD, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.” How can Mr. MacArthur be so naive and unbiblical as to claim that Jesus’ literal physical blood didn’t need to be applied to the Mercy Seat in Heaven, in consideration of such overwhelming Scriptural evidence?
MacArthur really gets confusing in his commentary of Hebrews 9:7 on page 1910, the phrase “not without blood”:
“…the shedding of blood in and of itself is an insufficient sacrifice. Christ had not only to shed His blood, but to die … Without His death, his blood had no saving value.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1910
While it is true that Jesus’ death was absolutely essential to His work of redemption, MacArthur attempts to use this fact in this Scripture as a means of completely disregarding the efficacy (power) of the literal physical blood of Jesus. Hebrews 9:7 isn’t talking about the “death” of the sacrificed animal; it is talking about the “blood” of the sacrificed animal. The truth is that Jesus’ virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, burial and bodily resurrection were all EQUALLY as important as the blood sacrifice itself; but all those things led up to the blood being applied to the Mercy Seat in the heavenly Holy Place. To deny this is to deny the entire Old Testament, all the types, all the blood sacrifices, and the FACT that God would have killed any highpriest who dared enter into the holy of holies WITHOUT BLOOD.
John MacArthur’s entire “Study Bible” maliciously, but subtly, attacks the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Again 1st Peter 1:18,19 states: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ…” Now how can Jesus’ blood be PRECIOUS if it is only representative of His death? MacArthur continually badmouths the literal blood of Jesus Christ, while simultaneously claiming that he views it as precious of something else it represents. That makes no sense at all.
The blood of Jesus is “precious” to the genuine born-again believer because it is LITERAL, having literal redemptive power to wash our sins away just as 1st John 1:7 proclaims! To no surprise, on page 1964 of MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” in his comments concerning 1st John 1:7, he doesn’t even address the blood of Jesus. How could any preacher completely avoid such a precious Scripture which teaches that Jesus’ blood washes our sins away?
Now I can understand how LIQUID BLOOD can wash one’s sins away, but how does DEATH do so? God says that Jesus’ blood cleanses and washes our sins away (1st John 1:7). We read in Revelation 7:14, “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” How does someone like MacArthur just keep explaining all these Scriptures away? What a false prophet! MacArthur is of the Devil. How does a saint wash his robe with death? It makes no sense Mr. MacArthur. Ah, but if you believe the Word of God, i.e., that Jesus’ literal blood washes our sins away, then Revelation 7:14 makes perfect sense.
MacArthur Perverts the Meaning of Acts 3:38 and Romans 10:9 to Teach Lordship Salvation
Acts 2:38 in the KJB reads: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Concerning the word “repent,” MacArthur states on page 1637 of his Revised and Updated “Study Bible”:
“Genuine repentance knows that the evil of sin must be forsaken and the person and work of Christ totally and singularly embraced.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1637
MacArthur makes salvation difficult. Does a person have to totally embrace the work of Christ to be saved? Romans 12:1 puts MacArthur to shame and exposes him as a false prophet… “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (KJB). It is obvious that these believers in Rome weren’t totally committed to Christ. Yet, they were Christians (Romans 1:7). According to John MacArthur, genuine repentance requires a person to commit their life “totally and singularly” to Christ in order to be saved. In sharp contrast, the Bible says that eternal life is a “free gift” (Romans 5:15). Although MacArthur is quick to agree with this, he hypocritically complicates the plan of salvation by adding requirements to it. All God requires is faith (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:5).
Consider the carnal church of Corinth. The Apostle Paul states in 1st Corinthians 3:1, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” Carefully read through 1st Corinthians and you’ll be surprised just HOW BAD these believers were. They were suing each other (6:6). They were coming to the Lord’s Supper drunk (11:21). They were divided amongst each other in quarrels (1:12). Fornication was openly allowed in the church (5:1). They even ate meats offered to idols (8:4). According to the Lordship Salvation crowd, there’s no way these rascals could be saved; but the Apostle Paul called them BABES IN CHRIST.
We read in Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (KJB). MacArthur perverts the meaning of this Scripture on page 1712 of his Revised and Updated “Study Bible” when he states concerning the phrase, “confess…the Lord Jesus”:
“This is the deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person’s own master or sovereign. This phrase includes repenting from sin, trusting in Jesus for salvation, and submitting to Him as Lord.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1637
MacArthur certainly makes salvation difficult, just as the NKJV says in Matthew 7:14. However, the faithful King James Bible doesn’t say “difficult” in Matthew 7:14, it says “narrow.” Few people are willing to come to Jesus Christ for salvation, because they love their sins (John 3:20). But it is only their unwillingness to come to Jesus that prevents them from getting saved, not that they are required to give up their sins to be saved. Jesus plainly stated in John 5:40… “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Notice that Jesus didn’t say “ye cannot come.” In John 6:37 we read, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
In sharp contrast to the heretical teachings of John MacArthur, the Word of God teaches that any sinner may come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation, and Jesus won’t turn anyone away. MacArthur’s commentary on Romans 10:9 requires a lost sinner to have a “deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person’s own master or sovereign.” You’ve got to be kidding me? John 3:16 puts Mr. MacArthur to shame, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I don’t see anything about having a “deep personal conviction” in there, do you? I don’t see anything about forsaking one’s sins to be saved, do you? I don’t see anything about submitting to Jesus as Lord, do you? What are you talking about Mr. MacArthur?
Romans 4:5 is so plain and simple that it is incontrovertible (i.e., it cannot be denied)… “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” It almost appears as if a ghostwriter (i.e., another author) wrote the commentary for Romans 4:5 in MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” because it is accurate for a change:
“If salvation were on the basis of one’s own effort, God would owe salvation as a debt—but salvation is always a sovereignly given gift of God’s grace (3:24; Eph, 2:8,9) to those who believe.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1699
The preceding commentary is 100% accurate, for a change. It certainly appears that Mr. MacArthur doesn’t believe in Lordship Salvation, right? Wrong! Look what he says on page 1973 in his Revised and Updated “Study Bible” concerning 1st John 5:13, the phrase, “that you may know that you have eternal life”:
“The false brethren’s departure left John’s congregations shaken (2:19). He assured those who remained that since they adhered to the fundamentals of the faith (a proper view of Christ, obedience, love), their salvation was sure.
Here MacArthur gives the impression through his comments that a believer’s salvation is dependent upon the life he lives. Again on page 1439 of MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” concerning Matthew 24:13, the phrase “endures to the end… be saved,” he states:
“To say that God secures our perseverance is not to say that we are passive in the process…”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1439
Scripturally, a believer has absolutely nothing to do with keeping one’s salvation. The term “perseverance” is a bad term when speaking of salvation, because a believer DOESN’T have to persevere in the faith to remain saved. A person who has no faith in the Lord today, but claims to have once been a Christian, is a liar. The second birth (i.e., being born again) is as irreversible as the first birth. Many people adopt the philosophy of Christianity, but never actually repent, turning in belief to the Savior for forgiveness of sins. The “Perseverance of the faithful” is a false doctrine, popularized by the heretic John Calvin (i.e., Calvinism).
Also, I wanted to mention to you that the NKJV perverts 1st John 5:13 by adding the word “continue,” which now reads as: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (NKJV). This is false doctrine. There is no such thing as a true believer ceasing from believing on Christ. We don’t have to “continue” in the faith to be saved; we will continue in the faith if we are saved. Of course, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be times of discouragement in our life. John the Baptist sent his disciples to go ask Jesus if was really the Christ (Matthew 11:3). Yep, I’d say John was discouraged.
MacArthur Often Contradicts Himself
Here’s a perfect example of how MacArthur contradicts himself 100%. On page 1920 of MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” concerning Hebrews 12:14 and the phrase “pursue… holiness,” he states:
“Unbelievers will not be drawn to accept Christ if believers’ lives do not demonstrate the qualities God desires, including peace and holiness.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1920
I agree with the above interpretation by Mr. MacArthur; however, he totally contradicts himself concerning his interpretation of Hebrews 12:14 in another book he has written…
“Eternal security is a great spiritual truth, but it should never be presented merely as a matter of being once saved, always saved–with no regard for what you believe or do. The writer of Hebrews 12:14 states frankly that only those who continue living holy lives will enter the Lord’s presence. [emphasis added]
SOURCE: Kingdom Living Here and Now (pg. 150).
Which is it Mr. MacArthur? They can’t both be accurate. The introduction to MacArthur’s Revised and Updated “Study Bible” calls him a “world-class scholar.” I think not! Either 1 + 1 = 3, or else 1 + 1 = 2. It can’t be both. I’m tired of supporters of John MacArthur quoting places where he says 1 + 1 = 2, while ignoring other places where he clearly teaches that 1 + 1 = 3. This is exactly what MacArthur is doing. MacArthur’s hundreds of books are at best, a compilation of confusion, contradictions and bad theology.
MacArthur’s Study Bible Is Rooted in the Heresies of the New King James Version
I could give you hundreds of examples, but here’s another one. 2nd Corinthians 2:10 in the KJB reads, “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ.” The meaning is clear… we forgive others because the Lord forgave us. This is what Ephesians 4:32 teaches. Now here’s what the dishonest NKJV changed it to: “I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ.” They changed “person of Christ” to “presence of Christ” (ditto NASV, NRSV, RSV). The Greek word for “person” here is prosopon, which means much more than just the presence of Christ. The word refers to the countenance of Jesus Christ, i.e., what we see when we look at Him. We see Christ’s love and forgiveness. Hence, we should forgive others because of the embodiment of all that Christ is — i.e., HIS PERSON. The NKJV distorts this truth, leading readers to believe that God is always watching us, so we should forgive. Although that is certainly true, this is NOT what 2nd Corinthians 2:10 is teaching.
John MacArthur’s commentary of 2nd Corinthians 2:10 goes along with the corruption in the NKJV. On page 1766 of his Revised and Updated “Study Bible,” MacArthur states concerning the phrase, “in the presence of Christ”:
“Paul was constantly aware that his entire life was lived in the sight of God, who knew everything he thought, did, and said.”
SOURCE: The Revised and Updated edition of The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson publishers, page 1766
Although this is certainly a true statement, it does not properly interpret the meaning of 2nd Corinthians 2:10. We read in Hebrews 1:3, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The King James translators (48 of them) were brilliant and highly educated men. They knew what they were doing. The word “presence” in 2nd Corinthians 2:10 does not adequately convey the full meaning of the Greek Word. MacArthur has it backwards. Paul forgave, not because he knew God was watching (although that is certainly true); rather, Paul forgave because of the influence of Christ upon his life.
The MacArthur Study Bible is as corrupt as the NKJV!!! There are literally THOUSANDS of subtle changes in the NKJV and other modern perversions of the Scriptures that will lead you away from the truth. Don’t be a fool, stick to your King James Bible. The alleged “scholarliness” behind today’s modern corrupt bibles is laughable compared to the painstaking work which went into the precious and trustworthy King James Bible. The best way to study the Bible is with a Strong’s Exhaustive Hebrew and Greek Concordance, and an Unger’s Bible Dictionary. This way you are studying the Word of God directly, and only using reference tools to aid your study. The cover on The MacArthur Study Bible boasts of having sold 500,000 copies. Tragically, most of those people won’t study for themselves, but instead will just believe what MacArthur says. This is what’s wrong with our churches today. Jesus commanded in John 5:39… SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!
Redeemed, Thomas…thoughts from someone else who also thinks Calvinism is evil. He makes some good points here:
[link: removed]
“I am very troubled by the logical implications that the Calvinist philosophy forces Christians to embrace. And also the image of the Christian “God” presented to the world.
Calvinism, when consistently taken to its logical conclusions, implies all of the following:
1. God’s offers of salvation to “whosoever will” are insincere. God is not completely honest in Scripture.
2. God offers to save the non-elect IF they will do what is utterly impossible. God taunts the damned.
3. God created most people for the purpose of torturing them forever. God is cruel and sadistic.
4. God CAN save all, and DESIRES to save all, but chooses to damn many for no apparent reason. God is insane.
5. God controls Satan’s every move, and every wicked act of the most vile sinner. God is the source of all evil.
The bottom line is that Calvinism, when carried to its logical conclusions, implies that God is a lying, taunting, sadistic, insane, wicked, tyrant who demands our worship! One could substitute the word “Satan” instead of “God” in most of the above 5 statements, giving a more accurate portrayal of Bible doctrine.”
Yes, most certainly, if you can believe this strange doctrine, you have not yet understood the God of the Bible. I pray that you will come out of darkness and find the God who is love and wants everyone to come to repentance and a knowledge of the truth. I’m not saying that a Calvinist will never be saved but at the least his view is so distorted as to make the light in him dark. As a charismatic, I had light but it was dark…until my idol was smashed.
Since Calvinism emphasizes sovereignty to the exclusion of holiness, it make God’s “elect” out to be aristocratic, elitist robots with no will to choose to love and obey a holy God. What a travesty! God would have no reason to be angry with man’s sin if he had no choice.
Deborah (Discerning the World) wrote:
John Macarthur does NOT deny the “Blood” of Jesus.
Read the whole chapter 9 of Hebrews. Paul mentions the “blood” a few times by itself ( in reference to the comparison to the Old Testament ), using the word “haimatekchysia” for “shedding of blood”, and “haima” for “blood”. Bear in mind he is addressing the Jewish Believers, and stresses the comparison of the Old, to the New, Testament.
Later on, after making the comparison clear to them, ( in terms of the Old Testament rituals ), he goes on to say:
“Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:”
So he’s laid the foundation of the argument, he now goes on to say in summation:
“Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the SACRIFICE of himself.”..(using the word “thyō” )
If it was indeed the Blood that accomplished this, SURELY he would have said: “….but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by His own Blood….”. But clearly, he does not say that, does he?
I do not hold a Masters in Divinity, and reached this conclusion quite apart from John Macarthur’s usual brilliant exegesis.
BTW, i read your comments on the “pleading of the Blood” and Catholic transubstantiation in Eucharist, and completely agree with you.
If you perhaps rethink this all carefully, you will conclude, as I did, that John Macarthur is merely making the distinction to help us all avoid the pitfalls of being carnally-minded when it comes to these important matters.
Much love
Brother-in-Christ.
Dear Leon
I actually have an entire article on this:
Please read article and all comments: John MacArthur – The Blood of Jesus is just Liquid! [REVISITED] – See more at:
Carolyn wrote:
Redeemed wrote:
Hi!
This is an excellent sermon by John on predestination and the like.
[edited by DTW: removed]
Youtube video (audio sermon)
Much love
Deborah (Discerning the World) wrote:
I have read the article and comments in it’s
Deborah (Discerning the World) wrote:
Hi Deborah,
I have read the article and the comments thread in it’s entirety. Paul’s style of argument is the issue here around which there is a certain amount of disagreement. He conveys, or attempts to convey the Heavenly/Eternal truths by comparing them to the picture presented to us through the Old Covenant rituals. He goes on to say as much, in Heb 9:24 ” For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: ”
The term “shedding of blood” is also used elsewhere to denote killing/death. This is a colloquial style, if you like, adopted to convey something idiomatically.
Gen 9:6 “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. ”
Meaning here is clear.
1Ch 22:8 “But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.”
Lam 4:13 “For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, ”
Psa 106:37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
Psa 106:38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
and so on……
And here is an example of the word “blood” denoting “death”
Mat 27:24 “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Mat 27:25 “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”
The meaning here as well, is clear. His DEATH be on us, and on our children.
Pilate declares that he is innocent of the “DEATH of this Just man”
When Paul starts the summation of his argument, he states clearly what he has meant up unto this point, by stating it unambiguously, and plainly, and literally. This is further proof to me of the Divine Inspiration of Scripture.
Heb 9:26 “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the SACRIFICE of himself. ”
Comments welcome.
Much love
Brother-in-Christ