John MacArthur, America's fiery preacher and evangelical giant, dies at 86

Dubai: John MacArthur, the steadfast California preacher whose verse-by-verse Bible expositions shaped evangelical pulpits worldwide, has died in Santa Clarita. He was 86.

His death on Monday, following recent hospitalisation for pneumonia, was confirmed by longtime associate Phil Johnson, who led MacArthur’s Grace to You media ministry.

For over five decades, MacArthur stood behind the pulpit of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, preaching through scripture with what admirers called unmatched clarity and conviction. He eschewed storytelling and emotional appeals, opting instead for rigorous exegesis, delivered always in a suit and tie, New York Times said.

To his followers, he was a lion in the pulpit. To his critics, a lightning rod. But few denied his impact.

“The longer I knew John MacArthur, the more I loved him,” wrote popular theologian John Piper. “Admiration intensified into affection… I simply stood in awe of what he could do in the pulpit with a passage of Scripture.”

Piper, a retired pastor in Minnesota who was a longtime friend, said in an email: “To this day, from Dallas to Dubai, young people (especially men) come up to me and say that they listen to John MacArthur.”

“He was a preacher God used to make other preachers better preachers,” Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told AP news agency.

Franklin Graham called him “one of America’s great Bible teachers,” and Jonathan Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University, said his legacy “will inspire generations to come.”

Known to many simply as "JMac," MacArthur taught that truth was objective, not shaped by culture or feeling.

His sermons — numbering in the thousands — were first distributed on cassette tapes and later across the globe via radio, internet, and translated books. His MacArthur Study Bible and 33-volume New Testament commentary series became staples in churches.

He never strayed far from home. From 1969 until his death, he served the same church. He also founded The Master’s Seminary, training thousands of men in his model of pastoral ministry.

MacArthur’s ministry began with a bold message. On his first Sunday in 1969, he preached from Matthew 7 — warning that many who profess faith are “dead spiritually.” That unflinching approach defined his career.

Though MacArthur often avoided the media spotlight, in later years he stepped squarely into the nation’s culture wars. He became one of the most vocal evangelical critics of modern social justice movements, critical race theory and pandemic-related church closures, according to the New York Times.

“The church must be so well-defined,” he once said, “that it becomes the antagonist of the world.”

Even fellow evangelicals weren’t spared. He publicly rebuked Bible teacher Beth Moore and prosperity preacher Paula White-Cain. His teachings on male-only leadership and his critique of the charismatic movement sparked frequent backlash — but also deep loyalty.

“He could get more out of a Bible verse than anyone I’ve ever known,” said Franklin Graham.

Piper wrote. “He made the Bible come alive.”

In the end, John MacArthur stayed true to what he believed mattered most: fidelity to Scripture and to the God it reveals.

“The Bible is not ambiguous,” he often said. “It’s not subjective. It means what God intended it to mean.”

And for thousands of pastors who now preach as he did, John MacArthur’s voice will continue to echo — line by line, verse by verse.