John F. MacArthur Jr. Quotes & Sayings

Knowledge is essential, but it's not sufficient. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Our responsibility has never been to moralize the unconverted; it's to convert the immoral. Our responsibility is redemptive, not political. We do not have a moral agenda; we have a redemptive agenda. We can't reform the kingdom of darkness that Satan rules. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The bottom line is this: looking beyond all of your false assurance, religious activity, or fair exchanges, do you live with a desire for obedience to the Word of God? Is that the goal you're striving for - not for the perfection of your life (which comes only in heaven)? And when you disobey it, as we all do daily, do you have a sense of conviction and remorse that draws you to confess it to God? If that isn't there, it's a fair question whether you're a Christian. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Although changing our society by calling it back to a safer morality is a noble goal, that has never been Christ's goal for His church. The church has but one mission in this world: to lead people destined to spend eternity in hell to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and an eternity in heaven. If people die in a communist government or a democracy, under a tyrant or a benevolent dictator, believing homosexuality is right or wrong, or believing abortion is a woman's fundamental right to choose or simply mass murder, that has no bearing on where they will spend eternity. If they never knew Christ and never embraced Him as their Lord and Savior, they will spend eternity in hell. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

1Then I looked again at all the acts of aoppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had bno one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2So aI congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3But abetter off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

This is the problem. An unconverted person may have great reasoning power and intellect, but when it comes to spiritual reality and the life of God and eternity, he makes no contribution. Whether it's Athens or Rome, whether it's Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, or Princeton, or wherever else, all the collected wisdom that is outside the Scripture adds up to nothing but foolishness. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Prayer is not an attempt to get God to agree with you or provide for your selfish desires, but that it is both an affirmation of His sovereignty, righteousness, and majesty and an exercise to conform your desires and purposes to His will and Glory — John F. MacArthur Jr.

11The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

This is a day in which one of our great perils is that of doing a thousand little things to the neglect of the one thing, which is preaching.6 — John F. MacArthur Jr.

7Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): 8Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches - Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9Lest I be full and deny You, And say, "Who is the LORD?" Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Consider this simple thought. The Lord could have made everything brown. Brown grass, brown flowers, brown sky, brown sea. But He didn't. There is much for us to enjoy in the variety and the beauty of His creation. These things illustrate His essential goodness. God is good. His goodness is seen in all His works. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

2The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3"Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." 4He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Men have no excuse for not knowing about God because He has revealed Himself in man's conscience and in the physical world (Rom. 1:19, 20; 2:15). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

If the disciples had their eyes set on great prominence and high rewards in eternity, they had to know the path to that end is marked by great suffering and endurance. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The Lord accomplishes great things through weak people ... What is required of His people is an obedient spirit, not a roster of tremendous gifts and abilities. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Human intellect plays no role in redemption. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

A similar attitude causes some people to spurn the use of commentaries and similar resources in their Bible study, as if their own uninformed first impression is just as good as careful study using reference tools. It is becoming more and more common all the time to hear people say, 'I don't read commentaries and books about the Bible. I limit my study to the Bible itself.' That may sound very pious, but is it? Isn't it actually presumptuous? Are the written legacies of godly men of no value to us? Can someone who ignores study aids understand the Bible just as well as someone who is familiar with the scholarship of other godly teachers and pastors? — John F. MacArthur Jr.

preach Christ as Savior but not as Lord is to present a gospel message that is incomplete. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The real challenge of Christian living is not to eliminate every uncomfortable circumstance from our lives, but to trust our sovereign, wise, good, and powerful God in the midst of every situation. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Too often in their church life people adopt an attitude of the theater, imagining the preacher is an actor and they his critics, praising and blaming the performances. Actually, the people are the actors on the stage of life. The preacher is merely the prompter, reminding the people of their lost lines. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

But a prudent wife is from the LORD. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Do you know what the Spirit-filled life is? It is living every moment as though you are standing in the presence of Jesus Christ! — John F. MacArthur Jr.

When all our needs are met and all is well in our lives, we tend to take credit for what we have, to feel that we carry our own loads. We work hard to earn the money we need to buy food and clothes, pay our rent or mortgage. But even the hardest-working individual owes all he earns to God's provision. Moses reminded Israel that God "is giving you power to make wealth" (Deut. 8:18). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Children used to be unknowing and innocent when it came to certain issues in life. But that innocence has been lost in today's electronic environment. Kids are exposed to ideas and content their minds and emotions are not ready to handle. And under the onslaught of this corrupt world with its wrong concepts, wrong desires, wrong deeds, and wrong attitudes, children come under all sorts of negative influences that end up bringing serious problems into the home. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Music in the church ought to be much more than an emotional stimulant. In fact, this means music and preaching should have the same aim. Both properly pertain to the proclamation of God's Word. Preaching is properly seen as an aspect of or worship. And conversely, music is properly seen as an aspect of the ministry of the Word, just like preaching. Therefore the songwriter ought to be skilled in Scripture and as concerned for theological precision as the preacher. Even more so, because the songs he writes are likely to be sung again and again (unlike a sermon that is preached only once). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The cross is proof of both the immense love of God and the profound wickedness of sin. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Simply because God loved us, He provided a way for us to return to Him. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The real key to accepting and enduring a particular trial or persecution, or to persevering victoriously through a certain period of suffering, is discipleship. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

We shouldn't expect popularity. What should we expect? Paul gave us the list: affliction, crushing, persecution, being knocked flat, and always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. That doesn't describe some mystical asceticism; it simply means that He was always on the brink of death, always ready to die, always being pursued by some who were plotting death. He knew that every day He awakened could be the day He died. Death was working in Him as a daily experience, a constant anticipation. In His mind, He had to live daily through His own funeral because He could die any time. Yet this great truth never changed: "I believed and therefore I spoke." That's it, Christian. You believe, and you speak. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Their famous attempt to make clothing of fig leaves perfectly illustrates the utter inadequacy of every human device ever conceived to try to cover shame. Human religion, philanthropy, education, self-betterment, self-esteem, and all other attempts at human goodness ultimately fail to provide adequate camouflage for the disgrace and shame of our fallen state. All the man-made remedies combined are no more effective for removing the dishonor of our sin than our first parents' attempts to conceal their nakedness with fig leaves. That's because masking over shame doesn't really deal with the problem of guilt before God. Worst of all, a full atonement for guilt is far outside the possibility of fallen men and women to provide for themselves. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not even our own disobedience or our failure to love Him as we should. We can be thankful for His love which is unending and will reach out to recover us. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

It's not the length of man's life that establishes his importance and influence, in fact, the length of a man's life has very little to do with it's impact. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

To promulgate a corrupted notion of the Holy Spirit and His work is nothing less than blasphemy, because the Holy Spirit is God. He is to be exalted, honored, and adored. Along with the Father and the Son, He is to be glorified at all times for all He is and all He does. He is to be loved and thanked by those whom He indwells. But for that to occur, He must be worshipped in truth. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The gospels do not relate the story of a misunderstood ethical teacher, a failed social revolutionary, a model of selfless humility, or even a heroic martyr; they reveal the Savior who is God incarnate, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

13But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

If saving faith is present, it can't help but produce fruit. Good works don't save a person, but they do show that his or her faith is genuine. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

No spiritual exercise is such a blending of complexity and simplicity. It is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try, yet the sublimest strains that reach the Majesty on high. It is as appropriate to the aged philosopher as to the little child. It is the ejaculation of a moment and the attitude of a lifetime. It is the expression of the rest of faith and of the fight of faith. It is an agony and an ecstasy. It is submissive and yet importunate. In the one moment it lays hold of God and binds the devil. It can be focused on a single objective and it can roam the world. It can be abject confession and rapt adoration. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him. How do they do it? By attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Christ's atonement fully satisfied the demands of God's righteousness, so forgiveness and mercy are guaranteed to those who receive Christ in humble, repentant faith. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

He was never deterred by opposition, never disheartened by criticism, and never ashamed, for any reason, of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Although that gospel was then, and still is today, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, it is the only way God has provided for the salvation of men, and Paul was both overjoyed and emboldened by the privilege of proclaiming its truth and power wherever he went. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The doctrine of adoption establishes the reality that believers, once saved, are always saved. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

the ultimate purpose of our salvation is to glorify God and to bring us into intimate, rich fellowship with Him, — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The message of the cross is not about felt needs. It is not about Jesus loving you so much He wants to make you happy. It is about rescuing you from damnation, because that is the sentence that rests upon the head of every human being. And so the gospel is an offense every way you look at it. There's nothing about the cross that fits in comfortably with how man views himself. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

If we have no desire to be discerning, we won't be discerning. If we are driven by a yearning to be happy, healthy, affluent, prosperous, comfortable, and self-satisfied, we will never be discerning people. If our feelings determine what we believe, we cannot be discerning. If we subjugate our minds to some earthly ecclesiastical authority and blindly believe what we are told, we undermine discernment. Unless we are willing to examine all things carefully, we cannot hope to have any defense against reckless faith. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

He call us to obey, not because He needs us but because He knows we need Him. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

9But you are aA CHOSEN RACE, A royal bPRIESTHOOD, A cHOLY NATION, dA PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you eout of darkness into His marvelous light; 10afor you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Once I was free in the shackles of sin:
Free to be tempted, just bound to give in;
Free to be captive to any desire;
Free to eternally burn in hell's fire.
'Til Someone bought me and called me His slave:
Bound by commands I am free to obey;
Captive by beauty I'm free to adore--
Sentenced to sit at His feet evermore. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

When two people can't live up to each other's expectations, they'll look for their fantasized satisfaction in the next relationship, the next experience, the next excitement. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

When I pray, "Your kingdom come," I am saying to God's Holy Spirit, "Spirit of Christ within me, take control and do what You will for Your glory." A true child of God won't be preoccupied with his own plans and desires but with the determinate program of God, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

God's wisdom is like the rainbow, in symmetry, beauty, and variety. He does not paint scenes merely in black and white, but uses a riot of colour from the heavenly palette in order to show the wonder of His wise dealings with His people. - Sinclair Ferguson — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Like the saints of old, we no longer chase after the passing pleasures of this world.34 Instead, our eyes are fixed on heaven, our true home, the place where Christ is. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Perhaps the dominant myth in the evangelical church today is that the success of Christianity depends on how popular it is, and that the kingdom of God and the glory of Christ somehow advance on the back of public favor. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

But the correction of fools is folly. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The sad fact is that biblical truth has never been the hallmark of the Charismatic Movement, where spiritual experience is continually elevated above sound doctrine. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Paul was far more concerned with obeying his divine calling than with gaining man's approval. Only one thing mattered - pleasing the Master. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

To be a Christian is to be a slave of Christ. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

12When ahe was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and bhumbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

For the faithful, Spirit-filled Christian, every place becomes a place of prayer. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Exulting in Christ is evidence of the Spirit's work! The focus of the church is not on the dove but on the cross, and that's the way the Spirit would have it. As J. I. Packer puts it, "The Spirit's message to us is never, 'Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me,' but always, 'Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him, and hear his word; go to him, and have life; get to know him, and taste his gift of joy and peace. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The truth is, it doesn't matter what a verse means to me, to you, or to anyone else. All that matters is what the verse means! — John F. MacArthur Jr.

That's the choice: eternal death or eternal life. To gain eternal life, you have to let go of your spiritual pride, and die to yourself. To lead others to Christ, to save them from this eternal judgment, you have to speak that truth in love; you have to tell them the truth without pulling any punches. Does that seem impossible? Will your audience turn you off? Well, as we can see, they turned Jesus off. In fact, they hated His message so much, His own neighbors and relatives, in a rage, tried to kill him for preaching it. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

For joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is bbecoming to the upright. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The remarkable thing about those statements is not the profundity of their sentiments as such, but that they were expressed in the midst of very difficult times for the church. It was attempting to survive and grow even though targeted for sometimes-vicious persecution by a pagan, cruel, anti-Christian government in Rome. Accusations — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Like Lazarus lying motionless in the tomb, the unredeemed soul remains lifeless until the voice of God commands it, "Come forth! — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Are you very much aware of the spiritual battle raging within you? Do you realize that to have true relationship with God, you have to live a holy life - that you can't walk in darkness and claim to have fellowship with Him? Are you willing to confess and forsake any sin in your life as you become aware of it? Do you realize you can choose not to sin - that you're not fighting a battle you're obliged to lose? But when you do fail, do you go to your divine Advocate? — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Our greatest limitation isn't the leader of the lives; it is the spirit within us. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

This is one of the most serious problems with seeker-sensitive churches. I was talking to a pastor at a seeker-friendly church not long ago about his idea that prospective Christians needed to "feel welcome" and "accepted" before anything else: no "threats," no "judgmental baggage." I asked, "If you had a person living in sin come to your church, would you confront him?" He furrowed his brow and shook his head disapprovingly. "Oh, no! We'd want him to feel loved and welcome." My eyes widened. "How long would it be before you would actually say something about that?" "Maybe a year and a half, two years," he said, smiling. "Because then he would really feel a part of things." That was shocking to me. Is there some virtue in leaving a man in his sin for the sake of feeling accepted? "Well, that's the difference between your church and our church," I said finally. "Openly practicing sinners come to our church, and they either get saved or they don't come back. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Accept suffering as a part of God's tenderizing process. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

31"Behold, the wdays are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - 32"not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that xI took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, 8though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33y"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: zI will put My law in their minds, and write it on their 9hearts; aand I will be their God, and they shall be My people. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

God's greatest desire, and our greatest need, is to be in constant fellowship with Him now, and — John F. MacArthur Jr.

If Jesus expresses loving concern for the smallest of our troubles, certainly in His role as the perfect sufferer He cares for our greatest traumas. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Commentator Arthur W. Pink wrote: If God is in heaven then prayer needs to be a thing of the heart and not of the lips, for no physical voice on earth can rend the skies, but sighs and groans will reach the ears of God. If we are to pray to God in heaven, then our souls must be detached from all the earth. If we pray to God in heaven, then faith must wing our petitions.4 — John F. MacArthur Jr.

It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man's true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. ... — John F. MacArthur Jr.

We knock a time or two at the gate of mercy, and as no friendly messenger opens the door, we go our ways. Too many prayers are like boys' runaway knocks, given, and then the giver is away before the door can be opened. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

But avoidance is only part of the biblical approach to media. The Christian life is not only concerned with avoiding immorality; it is also consumed with pursuing Christ. In putting off "the deeds of darkness," we must also "put on the armor of light" (Romans 13:12). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Such slavery is the only freedom. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

While nothing in the Bible is contradictory, many of the Bible's most provocative and profound truths appear to us paradoxical. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Finally, by making activism our priority, we fashion a reputation as rabble-rousing malcontents and foster hostility toward unbelievers that alienates us from them, and them from us. We need to let go of the notion that culture and — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Prayer begins and ends not with the needs of man but with the glory of God (John 14:13). It should be concerned primarily with who God is, what He wants, and how He can be glorified. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The Jewish Talmud is right in saying that the prayer in which there is no mention of the kingdom of God is not a prayer at all (Berakoth 21a). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

When you choose to love someone who is no longer attractive to you, he or she will become attractive. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Take great pleasure and joy in the outcome of a time of suffering, trial, or persecution, realizing that we are enhancing our heavenly reward and understanding more about the power of suffering (Rev. 2:10). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Abraham obeyed God in the extremity, and as a result, he became the model of faith. Thus anyone who has faith in God and is thereby justified is a child in the spiritual line of Abraham. If we trust God as Abraham did, we can be confident in any test or trial. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

How His electing grace and predestined purpose can stand beside His love for the world and desire that the gospel be preached to all people, still holding them responsible for their own rejection and condemnation, is a divine mystery. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

All my csprings of joy are in you. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Have you experienced communion with God and Christ? Have you sensed His presence? Do you have a love for Him that draws you to His presence? Have you experienced the sweet communion of prayer - the exhilarating joy of talking to the living God? Have you experienced the refreshing, almost overwhelming sense of grace that comes upon you when you discover a new truth in His Word? — John F. MacArthur Jr.

But the day of our death will be better than the day of our birth, because the first time we were born into sin. But when we die, we will awaken into the glorious presence of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:8). — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Jesus was always angered when the Father was maligned or when others were mistreated, but He was never selfishly angry at what was done against Him. That is the measure of righteous anger. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The world doesn't judge us by our theology; it judges us by our behavior. The validity of Scripture in the world's view is determined by how it affects us. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

Often it is those who preach "tolerance," "nonjudgmentalism," and "intellectualism" who are most intolerant. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The truth divides people. The more fundamental the truth, the deeper and wider the division. The goal of Christian preaching - the goal of presenting the gospel, the goal of the church - is not just to open the door so wide that we can suck everybody in and make them feel comfortable. The goal is to preach the truth to as many people as possible, so that we can sort out the true from the false. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

God has not given us little angels to be handled carefully lest they get corrupted. They're already sinners who need to be led to salvation and faith in Christ. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

For believers to doubt their security is to question God's integrity and power. It is to add the merit of human works to the gracious, unmerited work of God. And it is to add self-trust to trust in our Lord, because if salvation can be lost by anything that we can or cannot do, our ultimate trust must obviously be in ourselves rather than in God. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

And how can one be a slave and not a slave? When he does all for God: when he feigns nothing, and does nothing out of eye-service towards men: that is how one who is a slave to men can be free. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

7But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."a 9Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

We're not concerned with the temporal and transient. Our success isn't measured in hours, or even centuries. Our focus is fixed on eternity. The gospel is hard to believe, and the people who bring it to the world are nobodies. The plan is still the same for all who are God's clay pots. To summarize, here is Paul's humble, five-point strategy: We will not lose heart. We will not alter the message. We will not manipulate the results, because we understand that a profound spiritual reality is at work in those who do not believe. We will not expect popularity, and therefore, we will not be disappointed. And we will not be concerned with visible and earthly success but devote our efforts toward that which is unseen and eternal. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

You can't confuse childlike faith with childish thinking. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

If you are ever to know power and passion in your prayer life, you need to pray with a devout heart-with a pure motive seeking only the glory of God. You also need to pray with a humble heart seeking only the attention of God, not men. Finally, you need to pray with a confident heart knowing full well that God already knows what you need. — John F. MacArthur Jr.

The freedom of the Christian is not freedom to do what he or she wants but freedom to obey God - willingly, joyfully, naturally. — John F. MacArthur Jr.