There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Matt MacArthur, son of the late John MacArthur and the President of Grace To You Ministries, has shared an update regarding the continued vision for the organization following John’s death over a month ago.
Founded in 1969, Grace to You is a nonprofit media ministry that has distributed John MacArthur’s Bible resources—including sermons, books, videos, and pamphlets—for over five decades, reaching millions worldwide.
Matt MacArthur, the eldest of John’s four sons, has served as a board member at Grace to You since 2004, including in recent years as President. He also holds the position of Vice-Chairman at the John MacArthur Charitable Trust. According to sources, John wanted a family member who could speak for him to lead the board.
I’ve had the great privilege of serving alongside my dad for many years and of sitting on the Grace to You board for more than 25 years. Like so many of you, I’ve loved this ministry all my life. And while these days are marked by both sorrow and joy, I want you to know that I am more committed than ever to the work God entrusted to us through my father.
Explaining that “We are not looking for an alternative voice or a different teacher. Our purpose remains clear: to preserve John MacArthur’s teaching ministry and make it available to as many people as possible, worldwide, for generations to come,” MacArthur reveals that that there are 3600 distinctive sermons in their archives, with hundreds more than have never aired slated to be released.
As a result “Grace to You can keep producing new broadcasts for decades to come. So we intend to keep doing precisely what we have always done, for as long as the Lord permits—and for as long as friends like you want to hear and support our ministry.”
Noting that “We are already well underway with an effort to translate and record at least 600 essential sermons from the Grace to You archive into as many languages as possible.,” MacArthur concludes:
Alongside Phil Johnson, Jay Flowers, and our remarkable leadership team, I consider it a profound honor to lead Grace to You into the future. We are confident that this ministry, by God’s grace, will continue to bear fruit for decades—faithfully declaring the truth of God’s Word to the ends of the earth.
Thank you for standing with us. Your prayers, generosity, and unwavering support make this work possible.
The memorial service for John MacArthur, held on August 23, 2025, celebrated his impactful 56-year ministry at Grace Community Church. Attendees honored his dedication to preaching and discipleship, reflecting on his friendship, encouragement, and unwavering focus on God. MacArthur’s legacy as a faithful servant will inspire future generations.
Saturday, August 23, 2025 was the day that the MacArthur family and the elders at Grace Community Church set for the memorial service honoring their departed pastor-teacher John MacArthur. JMac or Johnny Mac, as he was affectionately called, had passed away in July, after having been their lead pastor teacher for 56 years at Grace Community Church.
The impact his life and ministry has made on the world is impossible to calculate. But it was a huge impact. His sermons, recorded since his very first one at Grace Community Church in 1969, slowly, organically, grew into a tape ministry, then a CD ministry, then a streaming ministry heard on every continent on the globe.
I won’t go over all that MacArthur has done, as I and many others have related his biography, as impressive as it is. The point of the memorial of course was to punctuate his graduation from this life to the next in glory. Also it was a testimony to Jesus Christ. An honoring of our Great God who had raised up a man, just a man, and placed him on one spot, to serve and serve and tirelessly serve- with joy and unending interest, for 56 years. See what the Lord can do with one man.
MacArthur’s steadfast commitment to the Lord, His word, and unfailing confidence in the sovereignty of God were threads that all the hymns, prayers, eulogies and sermon speeches pointedly focused upon at Saturday’s memorial. The memorial service was a goodbye to a friend and father and husband, but it was much more than that. It was a joyful and encouraging testimony to Jesus. It seemed a tiny glimpse of worship in heaven because the singing was so robust, the prayers so deep, the worship and focus on Jesus was so exalting.
And that is exactly how John MacArthur would have wanted it.
He had two goals: preach, and raise up men to preach. MacArthur’s strong stand on the sufficiency of the word, his confidence in the Lord, and his meaningful friendships based on Christian love were his hallmarks. He never wavered. He never fell. He never scandalized, unless it was to stand for Jesus in an increasingly darkening world
The Masters Seminary Professor Abner Chou said,
“John MacArthur was the conscience of evangelicalism.”
His voice will sorely be missed.
I was struck by so many lessons I learned as I watched the memorial.
Keep the main thing the main thing
In the hospital, MacArthur’s last words to his son Matt were “be faithful”. John MacArthur’s steady focus on his Lord, being faithful to Him and the calling He places on us, never faltered. Keep persevering, keep praying, keep studying, keep worshiping, keep walking in holiness. This is what the Christian is called to do.
There are many temptations in this world these days. There are many side tracks we can get off on, losing our focus and some people, losing their way entirely. Social media controversies, church controversies, work controversies, anything and everything can and does distract us from the main thing. The Bible warns us to persevere. Yes the Lord keeps us in His hand, but it also emphasizes perseverance as a vital spiritual quality. We are urged to patiently endure trials, do good, and remain firm in our faith. This leads to character development, hope, and in the end, a promised reward, as James 1:12 relates. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16). The memorial reiterated for me to keep the main thing the main thing.
No ‘cancel culture’. Be a friend
Many people participated in speaking or singing at the Memorial. At one point, I was Alistair Begg came out and stood at the podium. Same with John Piper.
Alistair had embroiled himself in a controversy recently when he advised a grandmother to attend her grandchild’s ‘wedding’ to a transsexual. There was an outcry against Begg’s publicly shared advice. In fact, Begg, unmoved, doubled down on it in his very next sermon. Cancel culture reared up.
Piper, left, MacArthur, right, at a previous conference in former years
John Piper is a confirmed continuationist, and of course, MacArthur was a firm cessationist. This doctrinal chasm between the two regarding the spiritual gifts made no difference to the closeness the two felt for each other personally.
As per MacArthur’s instructions he’d left behind, both men were invited to appear and speak.
One testimony I’ve heard over many years of watching Grace To You and reading MacArthur’s output, is that is he a friend. Famously of course we know he was dear friends with RC Sproul, an amillennialist to JMac’s dispensationalism. John Piper movingly said the following at the memorial, “John befriended me and he never stopped befriending me.”
Sinclair Ferguson said at the service as well, “Years ago now when I was in my 30s, Dr. MacArthur reached out to me and drew me into his friendship without any apparent reason in me. And this room and this planet is filled with multitudes of us who can give the same testimony. … in this ministry we were drawn into his friendship and he was our friend forever.”
Be a friend. I need to be a friend. Be one through thick and thin. If a person is in Christ, he IS our friend, we share a bond not of this earth and unless he or she violates a foundational tenet of Christianity, our bond should be in love for this brother or sister. It is an eternal, firm, transcendent bond. So, live this bond and be a friend. Initiate, cultivate, and be a friend to those around you, as I will try harder to do myself.
Be encouraging
MacArthur was busy. He had a family, which he said was a priority. He had a church, another priority. He needed to study. Definitely a priority. He had meetings, books to write, recordings to record, conferences to attend. No matter. He found time to reach out to his friends and encourage them. Piper said,
“I doubt that he liked everything I wrote. But when he really liked it, he called me. I couldn’t believe it. When he read Spectacular Glory, he called me. When he read Providence, he called me to just effuse. And in those conversations and others, it became clear we have a deep common taste for the honey of heaven.”
This tells me that no matter how busy, MacArthur kept up with his friends’ accomplishments. He was proactive. He took time to encourage his friends in their successful endeavors (and withheld criticism and negativity when it wasn’t necessary to issue it).
Be encouraging. As I will strive to encourage others as well. In these conversations, we can take time to praise the One who undergirded us in these accomplishments and endeavors. We unite through praise of Jesus and it is apparent MacArthur looked for opportunities to do so.
Conclusion
I appreciate what the Lord did in raising up and keeping John F. MacArthur in His calling. I appreciate the work JMac put in to stay solid, faithful, loving, consistent, and above reproach. He was famous but not a celebrity. King but not ingratiating. Positive attitude but a lion if he had to be
His legacy will be studied for generations to come. His life will serve as an inspiration. Yet he pointed to Jesus as the One under him, for him, and in him. Just a man. But see what the Lord can do with a willing, submitted man.
Phil Johnson, an elder at Grace Community Church and the executive director of the Grace To You ministry provided a brief update on John MacArthur’s health, explaining that the beloved pastor has been bedridden in the hospital for so long that he requiring physical therapy.
Earlier this month Johnson shared on X that the beloved 85-year-old pastor, who briefly appeared during a late-November evening service and revealed that he’s had “three heart surgeries and surgery on my lungs in those last few months,” is understandably still in recovery from these procedures.
Johnson, who is likewise battling against a serious ailment with multiple myeloma- an incurable blood cancer that is treatable- provided his own health update, including the upcoming prospect of heavy chemotherapy.
Grace Community Church provided an update on Pastor John MacArthur’s health to the congregation before the Sunday morning service on January 5th:
Those who attend Grace Church or follow the ministry of our pastor are already aware that he suffered a series of health issues that kept him out of the pulpit and required three surgeries in the second half of 2024.
His recovery has been slower than expected, with occasional setbacks affecting his heart, lungs, and kidneys. Doctors have not yet discovered any single root cause for these diverse troubles, and Pastor John has been hospitalized for the past two weeks, undergoing tests and treatments.
Please pray for him and for the physicians who are handling his case—for the physicians, that they will identify a suitable treatment or treatments; and for John, that he will recover strength and health enough to resume public ministry. John and his family covet your prayers.
Please pray earnestly and steadfastly. John’s desire is to return to his beloved church soon.
We are praying for his swift recovery and return to the pulpit.
Elder Tom Patton of Grace Community Church gave an update today on John MacArthur’s health. pic.twitter.com/1xHhS3bwwi
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