Dr. John MacArthur—Wolf In The Church Pulpit

By David J. Stewart | May 2020

       Pastor John MacArthur is an alumni of Bob Jones University (BJU). BJU has gone apostate, today teaching a Satanic counterfeit gospel of being willing to “turn away from sins” to be saved! Nowhere in the Word of God are we taught to turn away from our sins (nor to be willing to turn away from our sins) to be saved! John MacArthur is their hero at BJU today, and at the apostate Harvest Baptist Church (HBC) on Guam who promote his false teachings! Also, Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Cemetery in Iowa teaches this Satanic garbage, where the former HBC pastor of Harvest fled. A coward's face is the back of someone's head as they run away from a battle!

I recently heard Dr. John F. MacArthur Jr., speaking on the radio (his sermon tape, 'The Call To Repentance'). Dr. MacArthur quoted and misrepresented Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) in an attempt to support his damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation. MacArthur states:

Heretic, Dr. John MacArthur, who denies the efficacy of Jesus' literal, physical blood; denies once saved, always saved; teaches Lordship Salvation; and is a hardcore Calvinist.Let me quote from the book he wrote entitled 'Except Ye Repent.' He was a champion for repentance and rightly so. He wrote this, “The doctrine of repentance is the missing note in many otherwise orthodox and fundamentally sound circles today.” This is not a new battle. This is an old battle. People today are preaching a gospel that says, “Well, look, just believe, don't worry about your sin, don't worry about your past, just believe and that will all come later.” Ironside fought that battle in 1937.

Further he said this, he spoke of, quote: “Professed preachers of grace who like the antinomians of old decry the necessity of repentance lest it seem to invalidate the freedom of grace and that was the core issue.” There were some who said if you call for repentance you're invalidating the freedom of grace and grace is so gracious and so free you don't have to do anything but just believe. Ironside recognized in his day the dangers of an insipient easy believism.

SOURCE: 'The Call to Repentance' - Dr. John MacArthur

John MacArthur deceitfully picks and chooses quotes by great men, twisting their words, in a malicious attempt to support his false teachings. This has been the deceitful, lying tactic incorporated by the entire Lordship Salvation crowd. However it shows the fatal flaw and weakness of their perverted theology. They cannot use the Bible, so as a secondary authority, “great men of the past” are being erected as straw-men to bolster their false gospel. Pastor Harry Ironside DIDN'T teach Lordship Salvation, as Mr. MacArthur wickedly claims, he simply taught that Biblical repentance was necessary for salvation, which is evidenced in the following precious quote by Pastor Ironside:

“Repentance is the very opposite of meritorious experience. It is the confession that one is utterly without merit, and if he is ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who gave himself a ransom for all.' Here is firm footing for the soul who realizes that all self-effort is but sinking sand. Christ alone is the Rock of our salvation.” —Harry A. Ironside; Except Ye Repent, pg. 36

Clearly, Dr. Ironside taught a free grace view of the Gospel, and not the damnable heresy of Lordship Salvation. Completely contrary to what Mr. MacArthur implied, that Dr. Ironside taught turning from sins to be saved; in fact, Pastor Ironside just said: “Repentance is the very oppossite of meritorious experience.” False prophets like John MacArthur take excerpts carefully chosen from archived sermons, twisting them out of context, well suited with the error of Balaam, to deceive the Church. So now we have Satan’s new gospel (actually the same old lie) for our modern day. These men are motivated by the flesh, so it is not strange they will use the sins of the flesh (lying) to exalt the flesh. Sadly, they believe that they are spiritual! They do not fully understand true GRACE and Christ’s imputed righteousness. How can a person truly be saved and follow the perverted gospel of Lordship Salvation? There are really only TWO religions in the world—salvation by human works or by God's Grace alone.

It is apparent to me that ministers like Ray Comfort, Paul Washer and John MacArthur are all trying to maintain a middle-of-the-road position on the issue of Free Grace versus Lordship Salvation. Pastor John MacArthur is clearly the modern-day godfather of Lordship Salvation, as was Charles Finney (1792-1875) and John Calvin (1509-1564) before him. The Bible teaches Free Grace. Eternal life is obtained by receiving, not giving. Salvation is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. And if that's not plain enough for you to see, that Pastor Harry Ironside didn't believe in the meritorious type of turning from sins that Dr. MacArthur heretical teaches, then please read this quote from Dr. Ironside:

Harry A. IronsideThe Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.” [emphasis added] Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?

Do you see what a stinking, dirty, rotten LIAR, John MacArthur is theologically? Harry Ironside absolutely did NOT believe a person needed to turn from their sins to be born-again. Yet, that is exactly what evil accusation Mr. MacArthur lays at his doorstep. That is bearing false witness! That is damaging slander against a godly man, who is now in Heaven! John MacArthur teaches you MUST give up your sins to be saved!!! These two men are diametrically opposed to each other on God's plan of salvation!!! Yet, as false prophets always do, Mr. MacArthur sinfully attempts to attribute his ungodly reprobate 'Lordship Salvation' heresy to Harry Ironside! Woe unto John MacArthur!!! Woe!!! Some dirty scoundrels did the same evil thing to Evangelist Alexander Marshall (1846-1928).

I highly suggest that John MacArthur actually read Dr. Ironside's books before making any more naive quotes, because he's really making a fool out of himself. I'm not trying to be unkind, but MacArthur is trying to make a case where there is NONE; and moreover, he is slandering a godly man who had the Gospel correct! Dr. Harry Ironside was right on the Gospel; Mr. MacArthur is wrong on it, because he is wrong on repentance!!!

Read what else Dr. Ironside said in his doctrinally sound Gospel tract, 'ANOTHER GOSPEL?' ...

“When anyone comes promising salvation to those ‘who make full surrender' of all that they have to God, and who 'pay the price of full salvation' he is preaching another gospel, for the price was paid on Calvary's cross and the work that saves is finished. It was Christ Jesus who made the full surrender when He yielded His life on Calvary that saves us, not our surrender in any way to Him. Harry A. Ironside, from the Gospel tract, 'Another Gospel?'

In your face John MacArthur! Harry Ironside just contradicted everything MacArthur teaches concerning salvation. In sharp contrast to Harry Ironside, here are some of MacArthur's foolish unbiblical teachings from his book, 'The Gospel According to Jesus' (Zondervan 1988). In MacArthur's own perverted words, he states:

Saving faith is “unconditional surrender, a complete resignation of self and absolute submission” (page 153).

“Salvation is for those who are willing to forsake everything” (page 78).

“Saving faith is a commitment to leave sin and follow Jesus Christ at all costs. Jesus takes no one unwilling to come on those terms” (page 87).

“Eternal life brings immediate death to self” (page 140).

Are these statements true? Absolutely not, but Bob Jones University says they are! Read again the preceding quotes I shared with you from Dr. Harry Ironside. These two men are diametrically opposed to each other theologically on the subject of Biblical repentance and salvation. John MacArthur is of the Devil and his Calvinistic doctrines are demonic!!! Shame are BJU for supporting this garbage. Dr. Steve Petite is a dangerous man theologically! There is no way possible to reconcile the beliefs of Harry Ironside with those of John MacArthur, and only a wicked person would even dare to try. MacArthur clearly teaches that no one can be saved unless they are willing to UNCONDITIONALLY SURRENDER and FORSAKE EVERYTHING. If you didn't visit the link I provided earlier, please do so now, where John MacArthur adds 7 unbiblical requirements to the Gospel to be saved. This is not what the Word of God teaches.


Conclusion Of The Matter

Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel. Dr. Ironside correctly recognized repentance as the confession that "one is utterly without merit" and that if one is “ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Salvation is without works of self-righteousness. Romans 4:5 plainly teaches that a man's faith is COUNTED for righteousness, i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to one's heavenly record by faith. 

Many pastors and theologians fail to grasp that a changed life is not the result of manmade repentance; but rather, the “fruit” of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:21-22-23). We don't repent AND believe, we repent TO believe!!! Any changes in the believer's life are the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25), and not self-reformation as a requirement to be saved. Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

One of my favorite quotes is from Evangelist Alexander Marshall (1846-1928), who correctly taught the Biblical meaning of repentance unto salvation as “a change of mind”...

“I HAVE NOT REPENTED ENOUGH”

What do you mean? “I am not sorry enough for my sins.”

And if you were very sorry, would God be more willing to save you than He is now? “I think so.”

Then you are completely mistaken.

“But does it not say, unless we repent we shall perish?”

Yes; but what do you think is the Scriptural significance of “repentance”? If you say “sorrow for sin” you are wrong. It does not mean sorrow for sin: it means a CHANGE OF MIND (Matt. 21:29). This change will doubtless produce sorrow; but sorrow and repentance are two very different things (Heb. 12:17. margin, and II Cor. 7:9). When God calls on you to “repent, and believe the Gospel,” He wishes you to lay aside your wrong thoughts, and believe the glad tidings that He proclaims to you. Formerly you may have imagined that you were required to feel very sorry before being saved. Change your mind. You may have supposed you must first “feel” some great change in order to know you were saved. Change your mind. First believe in God's great love to you, as revealed in His gospel, and you will KNOW that you have eternal life (John 5:24).

SOURCE: The Horrible Misrepresentation of Evangelist Alexander Marshall

Yes, that is excellent. Brother Marshall is 100% correct! Don't miss it! Biblical “repentance” is the Greek noun, metanoia, which means, “a change of mind.” Or in the beautiful words of Alexander Marshall, God wishes for us “TO LAY ASIDE YOUR WRONG THOUGHTS, AND BELIEVE THE GLAD TIDINGS THAT HE PROCLAIMS TO YOU.” Boy that's good stuff! This is true repentance unto salvation, which is a change of mind unto the Gospel itself. For a wonderful explanation of Biblical repentance, please read “THE GREAT MEANING OF 'METANOIA.'” Amen!

Repentance means, “TO LAY ASIDE YOUR WRONG THOUGHTS, AND BELIEVE THE GLAD TIDINGS (GOSPEL) THAT HE PROCLAIMS TO YOU.” Dr. Lawson wrongly understands repentance to mean “remorse, sorrow for past sins, turning away from sin.” This is the modern definition found in an English dictionary, but it is NOT the Greek Biblical meaning. The English dictionary has been influenced by the apostate Roman Catholic church.

Pastor Harry Ironside understood that a plan of salvation which fails to include an admission of sinnership is a false Gospel. No man has ever been saved who didn't admit that he is a sinner in God's sight. Yet, he also understood that Biblical repentance unto salvation simply means “a change of mind,” laying aside one's wrong thoughts to embrace the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Either extreme is heresy! A person absolutely must acknowledge that they are a guilty sinner in God's eyes to be saved, which is the purpose for which God gave His law to man (Galatians 3:24-26). Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” My friend, if you see yourself a guilty sinner in the eyes of a holy God, and you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins, believing that Jesus was buried and bodily raised up three days later—YOU ARE BORN AGAIN!

This is the 'THE GOSPEL' (GOOD NEWS), which is our only hope for obtaining forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Do you believe?


Ye Must Be Born Again!

You Need HIS Righteousness!

Believe The Gospel

“As a blind man has no idea of colors, so we have no idea of the manner by which the all-wise God perceives and understands all things.” —Isaac Newton (1642-1727)