Alistair Begg displays on the life, legacy, and affect of John MacArthur, who died on July 14, 2025.
Video Transcript:
In 2 Samuel we have now the memorable phrase the place the king turns to his servants, and he says, “Are you aware {that a} prince today has fallen in Israel—a prince and an incredible man?” That context could be very totally different, however once I realized the information within the final couple of days of John’s loss of life, it was that exact verse—that battle scene, in the event you like—that got here to thoughts.
And I believe it’s truthful, as a result of within the warfare of the church militant, John has been over all these years such a servant and a stalwart and an unashamed defender of the reality. And many people—and I imply many of us—have been in a position on the tough days or the disappointing days, not less than in our thoughts’s eye, to have the ability to look throughout the sector of battle, because it had been, and see him there. And simply his very presence in his pulpit and within the ministry that God gave him has been a strengthening factor to us all. We may see him there, because it had been, in full battle gown, shirt and tie—striped tie, usually—taking very significantly the duty and privilege of pulpit ministry.
I bear in mind on one event, he and I had been speaking, and we had been reflecting on the verse in Malachi which says, “The lips of a priest ought to guard data, and other people ought to search instruction from his mouth, for he’s the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” I believe as a lot as anyone in my lifetime—residing individuals, not less than—John was utterly satisfied that the well being of the church was tied on to the well being of the pulpit.
And he for all of his life was unashamed in proclaiming “the previous, previous story.” He understood, as C. S. Lewis in one among his books says, that any try both in literature, artwork, and definitely in preaching—makes an attempt at originality are nearly destined to fail. And Lewis says there, “Simply inform the reality, and don’t care about whether or not you’re authentic or not, and 9 occasions out of ten, you’ll even have proved to be authentic in what you’re doing.
And that’s one thing of a legacy that all of us ought to cherish. As a result of in all of the passing fads and fancies of the second half of the 20 th century and into the twenty-first—all of the issues which have come to us and alongside us in the middle of church life—a lot of them are lengthy gone. However as soon as once more, John was reminding us that the grass withers, the flower falls, and the Phrase of the Lord endures eternally.
I believe it’s simply that image of John in his pulpit, with an open Bible, that has not solely stood the take a look at of time, but it surely additionally has marked the lives of many people. As a youthful man—I met him once I was twenty-seven—I truly had the privilege of welcoming him to Scotland for the primary time. And right here we’re, all these years later, and the affect that was made then and the continued affect is one thing that I, together with so many, admire enormously.
John was satisfied of what Gresham Machen on one event wrote: that
it’s with the open Bible that the actual Christian preacher comes earlier than his congregation. He doesn’t come to current his personal opinions. He doesn’t come to current the outcomes of his researches within the phenomena of faith, however he involves set ahead what’s contained within the Phrase of God.
And John I believe simply masterfully, by instance, made it clear to all of us who had been following him, who in some ways had been standing on his shoulders, that the Phrase of God does the work of God by the Spirit of God within the individuals of God—that he was proclaiming the one Phrase of the one true God in regards to the a technique of salvation by means of the one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so, now, as we have now event to replicate, we acknowledge that his absence from us right here within the church militant means his presence there within the church triumphant. And it’s for that purpose that we will stand facet by facet and ship our love and the reassurance of our prayers to Grace Church; to his widow, Pat; to his youngsters, Marcy and Melinda, Mark and Matthew; and to all who miss him with nice freshness in as of late.
All of us can have our personal private fond remembrances of John, footage that come to thoughts. And one that may fill my gaze usually is the outline that Paul gave of Tychicus as “a beloved brother,” a “devoted minister,” and a “fellow servant within the Lord.” Together with many right this moment, I retain that image, and I thank God for each remembrance of John for instance, as a pastor, as a husband, as a pal on the golf course, and as somebody to whom I seemed and from whom I realized and whose reminiscence I’ll cherish.
