John MacArthur, Champion of Expository Preaching and Defender of Biblical Authority, Dies at 86

An Evangelical stalwart, MacArthur leaves a mighty legacy behind him.

John Fullerton MacArthur Jr.—pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church, founder of the Grace to You media ministry, chancellor emeritus of The Master’s University and Seminary, and a voice who shaped modern Reformed evangelicalism—died Monday evening from complications of pneumonia. He was 86. Grace Community Church confirmed the death shortly after 6 p.m. Pacific time. The ministry’s announcement said simply: “Our hearts are heavy, yet rejoicing… This evening, his faith became sight. He faithfully endured until his race was run.”

Associate pastor Tom Patton told the congregation Sunday morning that MacArthur was hospitalized with pneumonia and “may be in the presence of the Lord soon,” sparking a global outpouring of prayer.

A lifetime devoted to verse-by-verse exposition

Born June 19, 1939, in Los Angeles, MacArthur was fifth in a line of preachers stretching back to 19th-century Scotland. A near-fatal automobile accident at 18 convinced the college quarterback prospect that his future lay not on the field but behind a pulpit. After earning a B.A. from Los Angeles Pacific College and an M.Div. from Talbot Theological Seminary, he accepted the pastorate of Grace Community Church in February 1969—at age 29—and never left it.

During 56 consecutive years in the same pulpit, MacArthur delivered more than 10,000 exegetical sermons, a corpus many scholars consider one of the largest sustained expository commentaries in church history. Those messages birthed Grace to You in the spring of 1969; today the radio program “airs more than a thousand times daily throughout the English-speaking world,” according to ministry literature.

MacArthur’s pen proved as productive as his pulpit. He wrote or edited over 150 titles, including the 34-volume New Testament Commentary series and 1997’s MacArthur Study Bible, whose annotated edition has sold more than two million copies worldwide.

In academia, he rescued what is now The Master’s University from financial crisis in 1985 and founded The Master’s Seminary the following year. Under his leadership those schools—and the allied Master’s Academy International network—sent graduates to plant or strengthen churches on six continents, a legacy supporters say will “outlive any single sermon.”

Most recently MacArthur served as general editor of the Legacy Standard Bible (2021), a precision update of the New American Standard Bible that seeks maximum fidelity to Hebrew and Greek texts.

Public clashes and courtroom victories

While revered for faithful exposition, MacArthur never avoided cultural confrontation:

• Chicago Statement signatory (1978). At age 39 he joined 333 leaders in drafting the landmark statement on biblical inerrancy.
• “Strange Fire” conference (2013). The event condemned charismatic excesses, reigniting debate over sign-gifts.
• “Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel” (2018). Co-authored by MacArthur, the document warned that identity politics threatened sola Scriptura.
• COVID-19 showdown (2020-21). Defying California’s indoor-worship ban, Grace Community Church remained open; the state and Los Angeles County later paid $800,000 to settle First-Amendment litigation.

To admirers these battles illustrated what Reformed theologian Sinclair Ferguson once called MacArthur’s “rare blend of doctrinal backbone and pastoral heart.” Critics called him combative; he replied that Scripture, not popularity, set his agenda.

Tributes from every corner of evangelicalism

Condolences poured in within minutes of Monday’s announcement:

• Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist, wrote, “Well done, good and faithful servant. John MacArthur inspired millions with his clear proclamation of the Word.”
• Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship called him “a true man of God… already hearing, ‘Well done.’”
• Southern Baptist Convention president Clint Pressley thanked MacArthur for “leading so many back to expository preaching.”

Even leaders who once sparred with him acknowledged his influence. Biola University dean Ed Stetzer noted that MacArthur’s early embrace of inerrancy “helped shape preaching around the world for a generation.”

Lasting marks on Reformed evangelicalism

MacArthur’s impact extends beyond numbers. Scholars credit him with:

• Normalizing line-by-line exposition in pulpits that had drifted toward topical homilies;
• Re-centering evangelicalism on inerrancy amid rising theological pluralism;
• Training thousands of indigenous pastors through The Master’s Academy International;
• Equipping laypeople via Grace to You broadcasts, podcasts, TV, mobile apps, and the free “Grace Stream,” making decades of teaching accessible in poorer regions;
• Hosting the annual Shepherds Conference, which for decades drew thousands of church leaders to Sun Valley for theology, fellowship, and book tables stacked with MacArthur’s latest commentaries.

Personal life and final years

MacArthur married Patricia Lynn Smith in August 1963; the couple celebrated 62 years together. They raised four children—Matt, Marcy, Mark, and Melinda—and delighted in 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Health challenges began mounting in 2023 with heart and lung surgeries. By 2024 he relinquished more than half his preaching schedule. Yet friends say he retained keen interest in current events, editing sermon manuscripts from a reclining chair and approving projects such as the Grace to You Arabic stream launched last year.

In a July 4 video message—a final public appearance—MacArthur told supporters he was “on the last lap” but grateful: “If the Lord has used my voice to explain His Word, that’s grace upon grace.”

Grace Community Church elders said memorial details will follow, likely including a public service in the 3,500-seat Worship Center MacArthur helped build debt-free in 1977.

He is survived by Patricia, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

MacArthur often reminded young preachers, “An expositor’s sacred trust is to let the text speak for itself and not impose on it what he thinks or wishes it said.” For half a century he modeled that trust—inside the pulpit, behind a microphone, and, when necessary, inside a courtroom.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7

John MacArthur finished that race Monday evening. The Bible he expounded—and the pastors he equipped—will keep running.