John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (born June 19, 1939) is an American pastor and author who hosts the national Christian radio and television program Grace to You.
His MacArthur Study Bible has sold more than one million copies, receiving a Gold Medallion Book Award.
[9] In 1963, he was granted a Masters of Divinity from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles's new Talbot Theological Seminary, in La Mirada, California, with honors.
When at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, MacArthur’s father recruited him to the Voice of Calvary singing quartet, often broadcast on Christian radio in Southern California.
On February 9, 1969, he was hired as the third and youngest pastor at the nondenominational Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, California.
[14] A Milestone of 55 years after beginning in the pulpit of Grace Community, MacArthur completed one of his own life goals,[2] that of preaching through the entire New Testament on June 5, 2011.
[16] Furthermore, he believes that Christians are obliged to render full submission to scripture above all else and that "[t]o mishandle the Word of God is to misrepresent the One who wrote it.
[17] He is one of the most prominent voices in American Christianity against the continuationist beliefs of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement, which assert that God continues to confer sign gifts today.
In 1989, after some criticism, he defended his views in a plenary session of the annual convention of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA).
These views raised controversy within American evangelicalism and were challenged in print by Free Grace theologians such as Charles Ryrie and Zane C. Hodges, who argued that MacArthur's ministry was teaching a form of works-based salvation.
"[35] MacArthur is a critic of same-sex marriage, the ordination of women, the Roman Catholic Church, and the social justice movement.
"[39] MacArthur has received an honorary degree from Grace Graduate School in 1976 and from Talbot Theological Seminary (Doctor of Divinity, 1977).
[40] In 2012, at the annual Shepherd's Conference, MacArthur was participating in a word association questionnaire when the moderator gave the name "Steven Furtick."
[46] In August 2021, MacArthur told congregants that "many people" had contracted COVID-19 while it "went through" the church in December 2020 and January 2021, including both him and his wife.
Eventually, all lawsuits were settled out of court with the County of Los Angeles and the State of California paying $400,000 each to Grace Community Church.
MacArthur associate pastor Carey Hardy allegedly told a victim to lead by example and “suffer for Jesus” by enduring her husband’s abuse.
A church elder, Hohn Cho, allegedly urged MacArthur to reconsider the victim's request, who told him "forget it."
[56][55] In the second half of 2024 MacArthur underwent an additional three surgeries,[57] including an Aorta replacement and a procedure on his lungs to treat fluid build-up.
[55][57][58] On 6 January 2025 it was reported that recovery from the surgeries was slower than expected, and that he had been in hospital for 2 weeks with "occasional setbacks affecting his heart, lungs, and kidneys.