I had given my copy away so I ordered it again a few weeks ago....and read it again. I had done a post on it when it was first published....and mentioned it a few times in posts since then. The book is John MacArthur's....Christ's Call To Reform The Church...Timeless Demands From the Lord To His People....(2018.) I strongly recommend that you read it....and not only that but that you take advantage of MacArthur's ministry of Grace To You....gty.org. I have a number of his teaching series on cassette....along with many of the books that he has written over the years...and I was even able to meet him at a conference a number of years ago here in the Pittsburgh area. I wasn't able to listen in but was thankful to see that he was in his pulpit yesterday for the morning service....for he has been ill....and is one of the few stalwarts of the faith left on the national scene.
Having given these plaudits....and I could give many more....I still find myself asking....'how could this contradiction be'....who is this man who can write and preach so wonderfully....and warn against over-involvement in politics....but still be immersed in politics himself? I believe that there are over thirty elders in his church. Are there not some....a number even....who may have over the past few years given advice to leave this area? Who is this man who can write Christ's Call To Reform The Church....and yet continue with his pandemic crusade?
He has a movie out....a regular movie theater film....The Essential Church....that just opened on Friday. The issue is the closing of churches during the pandemic.
I watched....(on video)....as John MacArthur stood before his congregation in September of 2020....and said....slowly as to emphasize the words...."There...is...no...pandemic." It made national news. How did he make this mistake?
Donald Trump is a genuine false prophet....a biblical false prophet....and an 'antichrist' as the Apostle John referred to in his letters. Trump may even turn out to be more than just a false prophet. One of John MacArthur's strengths over the decades has been in warning the church on these false prophets. In fact I first heard his radio program episode....Beware Of False Prophets....on May 8, 2015....forty days exactly before that false prophet Donald Trump came down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president....that being June 16, 2015....where he paid people to cheer. How has MacArthur over the years missed the real Donald Trump?
At one point in the 2020 campaign President Trump called MacArthur on the phone. Maybe it was a surprise.....maybe not.....and Pastor John....who has blessed the church for decades in his preaching on salvation....what it is....and what it is not....and on what a true Christian is....how could this phone conversation come about? According to MacArthur's words it went like this....
"He called me after the Sunday morning service and was very gracious and said, 'I just want to thank you for taking a stand....(MacArthur kept his church doors open)....church is essential....(essentially the title of this movie)....and I'm glad you're doing what you're doing.' and then we talked for a little bit about why from a biblical standpoint Christians could not vote for a Democrat." He concluded his conversation with this..."Any real true believer is going to be on your side in this election...." Well that relegates me into not being a "real true believer"....and millions more of us.
John MacArthur recently said that he made the movie...."to make some pastors feel guilty." That is a very unwise statement to craft....and an odd goal to have....even if his assumptions were true. There is something wrong here....possibly due to age. Churches are indeed going to be persecuted....a lot more than stopping Sunday service while people are dying all over the place....and it will not refer back one iota to this political fight being waged over open church doors during the pandemic....but they will claim that it does....unaware that they themselves failed to warn of the....real dangers....to the....real church....false prophets being one....politics another....while promoting a political movement that....(gathering in our young people by the way)....may officially stand for biblical truths on social issues of the day....but incites hatred....and all too often employs racism....lacking compassion in many areas....and attracting those who we would normally want nothing to do with....all to build its base.
Whether or not the health field scientists such as Fauci and Birx were correct or not in their actions....they tried to save lives....if you cannot even believe that then you have been terribly taken in. Whatever the origin of the virus....and whatever China's involvement....it was still judgment from God. Getting to the bottom what happened is not based on saving lives in any future pandemics.... but rather winning the upcoming election....even if Donald Trump....false prophet....and an antichrist....should get the nomination.
Addendum: Folks….John MacArthur is eons beyond me in any category. That he made these mistakes late in life is an anomaly. None of our heroes in the faith are perfect….and although we have to take great care….we have to defend the gospel even over our beloved pastors and denominations….particularly in times when they might be most susceptible. Which leaves us also in need of constant self-examination.
I feel that I need to add this for new visitors to these posts. I voted for Trump in 2016....but within months knew that there was something terribly wrong with this man that I knew little about. So I started reading....books for him....books against him....books by him....books on every decade of his life and most of his interests. I am just shy of 100 books read on the life of Donald Trump. In a word...he is a destroyer. He either purposely destroys that which does not further his malignant egomaniacal goals....or whoever flies too close to his flame are destroyed.....Rudy Giuliani is a prime example here....but there are dozens of others. Whole institutions are destroyed. Conservatism is gone. Evangelicalism has been neutered. Talk radio is worthless. Rush was taken in. Fox News was split down the middle and seriously compromised. Franklin Graham ignored the warnings that his father gave....and John MacArthur from the above post is another example. Is Trump really a false Prophet? He reeled evangelicals in with his constant...."We are one glorious nation under God"....(we are not and were not!)....."And our best is yet to come." February 4, 2020 was the high water mark in the economic progress but also the end of the sham. It was the State of the Union address....and here are some of the words in that speech....as Republicans frolicked in the aisles...and God's judgment was just coming out of incubation.
"Tonight I stand before you to share the incredible results....(of the past three years)....Jobs are booming....Incomes are soaring....Poverty is plummeting....Crime is falling....Confidence is surging....and our country is thriving....America's fortunes are on the rise.....America's future is blazing bright....our pride is restored....("Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" Proverbs)....we are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago....and we are never going back....we are advancing with unbridled optimism"....and the address ended with this...."This nation is our canvas, and this country is our masterpiece. We look at tomorrow and see unlimited frontiers just waiting to be explored. Our brightest discoveries are not yet known. Our most thrilling stories are not yet told. Our grandest journeys are not yet made. The American Age, the American epic, The American adventure has only just begun. Our spirit is still young. The sun is still rising, God's grace is still shining, and my fellow Americans, the best is yet to come."
note: The recent sermon from John MacArthur that I mentioned above is wonderful....and you can easily listen to it by Googling....John MacArthur, Heaven On Earth, Part Two! You can also listen to his sermon on false prophets....also by Googling....John MacArthur, Beware Of False Prophets. Part One.....and/or....Part Two
