John MacArthur and Dispensationalism

BB:

Here is my answer: The Rich Young Ruler


LM

 

jarthur:

You can belly-ache all you want, and I will continue to pay no attention to it.

I feel no need to reproduce from memory or copy and paste, in these threads, what I have already written to refute the egregious errors of Lordship Salvation.


LM

 

For the Reading

To All:

The following question (in the linked article below) was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and answered by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-16, titled "Bible Questions and Answers." A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.

With that in mind, when canadyjd trumpets his false claims that JM is being misrepresented and/or misquoted, you can know canadyjd has a personal agenda he is tryng to defend what he does not understand. jd views JM as a personal favorite, he misunderstood JM's view on LS and now jd refuses to answer the most basic questions about JM's view of LS because he erred in the beginning.

So, when jd, and probably will, continue to falsely cry "misrepresentation," contact Grace to You, order the tape, and you'll have it in JM's own words and know jd is being disingenuos. It is a shame that jd has allowed personality to motivate his passions and ill-advised actions.

From the article,

Now, read what MacArthur has to say, in his own words, about Dispensationalism.

John MacArthur & Dispensationalism: And Our Response


LM

 

Do the Reading

Bob:

Good words. The article John MacArthur & Dispensationalism: And Our Response is transcribed, but I also suggest men order the tape.

You’d be surprised how many people in the Lordship Salvation discussions have NEVER read any of the major works by the major figures in the Lordship debate. They do not like to hear this, but what many of them “like” a certain personality, and refuse to consider that the person they “like” and trust, might possibly be wrong on the Gospel.

This is what canadyjd is going through, and I have seen it numerous times in the past. He has not, and refuses to read MacArthur’s books as a study. He thinks reading a few non-descript paragraphs at a web site is all he needs to read to understand John MacArthur’s Lordship Salvation (LS). IMO, jd has already seen some things that have concerned him and this is why he will not answer even the most basic question in a clear, unvarnished way.

I have always agreed that John MacArthur has made valuable contributions that all of us can be grateful for. His LS interpretation of the Gospel, however, is a departure from the faith once delivered (Jude 3). He has a good reputation, well thought of by many, so when the LS issue arises, people who “like” him, just do not want to dig too deeply because it may reveal something they do not want to come to grips with. I commend TCGreek, he did the work and found that there are areas in JM’s interpretation of the Gospel that are of concern to him. At first he would not even consider the possibility.

In my book I note how MacArthur tells of a man who refused to read because he saw that he might have to choose sides. That is part of jd’s problem, only worse because he has chosen sides without understanding what he has chosen to side with. I had the exact same experience as MacArthur with an American missionary in South Africa. Here is the excerpt from my book,

A long time ago I thought I could understand a man’s theology by doing a cursory read. I was wrong. My initial review of JM's The Gospel According to Jesus (TGATJ) in 1988 showed me some danger signs. I read some men who objected to LS. It was not until later, when I was thrust into the middle of the debate, that I did the hard work of buying and reading all of MacArthur’s major works on Lordship Salvation. (I did the same with Zane Hodges over his “Crossless” gospel) What I found was even more disturbing than what my initial read uncovered. MacArthur's unorthodox viewing of James 4:7-10 as an “invitation to salvation” is buried in one of his appendices.

I have ordered taped sermons preached by various men and transcribed them verbatim, word-for-word, so that I could study their message and give a fair analysis. After drawing some conclusions I phoned them to discuss what I heard and transcribed. I told them I wanted to be fair in my book, it was non-threatening. One would not discuss any of it, one was defensive, but gave honest answers, the third had an explosion within 30 seconds of my call: shouting and ranting. I had to politely say goodbye, and hung up. I can tell of pastors meeting to discuss this and the lead LS man in that meeting having verbal explosions, stomping around the room, and making crazy accusations against two of the men in the room.

My experience has shown a pattern among many men in the LS camp. If you question their LS interpretation of the Gospel, sincere doctrinal questions, they bristle and take offense that they are even being asked to explain what they believe. In my book I tell of a missionary saying to me that to question his pastor friend’s view of Lordship Salvation is to, “question the Lord’s anointed.”

If MacArthur was clear and orthodox on the Gospel, why do you suppose the IFCA called MacArthur for an open interview to discuss what he had written? They questioned his stand in regard to dispensationalism. They were shaken by a number of his polarizing statements in TGATJ. Two of his Master's Seminary faculty members expressed concern with TGATJ. (See IFCA Interview & Report)

Over the years a number of men have resigned from the IFCA over various doctrinal issues with JM. MacArthur’s, now recanted, views on the eternal sonship of Jesus, raised a huge flap in the IFCA. Year after year, JM signs agreement to the IFCA doctrinal statement. The problem is that he signs that statement and it is widely known that while MacArthur signs, but does not agree with portions of it.

To reiterate: men like jd do not want to dig too deep, do not want to read MacArthur’s LS books because it may force them to make a decision they do not want to make. It is bad enough for them to defend a personality and his doctrine that they do not understand, it is worse to be propagating a works based, non-saving Lordship message to unsuspecting believers and not even realize it.


LM

PS: I may create a new thread on this subject.