John MacArthur, influential pastor and theologian, has died aged 86 after being hospitalised with pneumonia, which he contracted last week.
MacArthur was pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles, California.
The church stated: “Last week, Pastor John unexpectedly contracted pneumonia, and the Lord took him home on Monday [14 July]. Dr. MacArthur was 86 years old."
“Having fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith, Pastor John was summoned home by his heavenly Master.”
Last year, MacArthur sparked controversy when he denied the reality of mental illness. “Psychiatry and psychology [are] finally admitting the noble lies that they’ve been telling for the last hundred years; the major ‘noble lie’ is that there is such a thing as mental illness.”
As well as pastoring Grace Community Church – since 1969 – MacArthur founded Grace to You, a media ministry responsible for distributing his books, audio resources, and radio and television programmes of the same name. His influence extended across the globe.
Grace to You writes: “What we’ve seen happen in over [fifty] years of ministry is no monument to John MacArthur, our staff, or our ingenuity, but to God’s faithfulness to bless His Word.”
MacArthur is survived by his wife of 61 years, Patricia, their four children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Grace Community Church has asked for prayer for the family during this season “of sadness mixed with eternal joy.” It adds: “Though our hearts are heavy with this loss, we do ‘not grieve as do the rest who have no hope’ (1 Thessalonians 4v13).”
