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“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Pastor John MacArthur Enters the Presence of Christ

David Scott Fields II, Senior Writer

July 24, 2025

SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA – Revered pastor, theologian and teacher John F. MacArthur Jr. passed into the eternal presence of his Savior on July 14, 2025, at the age of 86. He was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and passed away in the presence of his family. One source records his last admonishment to them as being, “Stay faithful.”

For the church – and not just Grace Community Church where he ministered faithfully for over five decades – but for the church around the globe, the loss of Pastor MacArthur is profound. His ministry has impacted the world. From his long time shepherding of the flock at Grace Community Church, to the ministry of Grace to You, to the training of new pastors at the Master’s Seminary, to his many books not the least of which is the MacArthur Study Bible, his love for the Lord, the church, and the word has been undeniable. He was a man without compromise – delivering biblical truth even when it was hard to hear.

Recently, Grace Immanuel Bible Church of Jupiter, Florida held a special tribute service to honor the life and ministry of Pastor John. The congregation at GIBC are not strangers to MacArthur’s ministry. Many in the church are actually transplants from Grace Community Church, including GIBC’s senior pastor, Dr. Jerry Wragg, who once served under MacArthur and was a longtime friend and mentee of the late pastor.

The service, which was entitled A Conversation Among Disciples – Tribute to John MacArthur, was hosted by GIBC Pastors Jerry Wragg and Lance Quinn, on Sunday July 20, 2025. Since GIBC and Grace Community are so intertwined, at the start of the service Pastor Jerry asked everyone who was connected to the ministry of MacArthur to stand – whether they served with him directly or attended Grace Community in the past. Many stood all over the sanctuary including at least one that was with MacArthur in his final hours.

One of MacArthur’s most profound ministries was Grace to You, a media ministry started in 1969, the same year he became the pastor of Grace Community Church. The ministry started as simple audio recordings of sermons for homebound believers but later grew into a worldwide outreach with its own facilities and staff. Pastor Wragg also asked his congregation how many of them had first been exposed to expository preaching through the ministry of MacArthur, to which an even greater number of congregants raised their hands. Expository preaching is the rule for churches like Grace Immanuel and Grace Community, and can be summed up by the slogan of the Grace to You ministry, “Unleashing God’s Truth, One Verse at a Time.”

Pastor Wragg and Pastor Quinn recounted their own experiences first meeting MacArthur. Quinn was given a tape of MacArthur’s sermons and quickly began devouring all he could get. When he finally had the opportunity to meet Pastor John, he asked for a hug as by that point the teachings of MacArthur had profoundly changed his life. In 1986, Quinn became MacArthur’s personal assistant and that is also when he met Jerry Wragg for the first time. Quinn was instrumental in bringing Wragg both into the ministry and staff of John MacArthur. Ultimately both men would serve with MacArthur directly.

Despite all the demands of ministry, these men developed a deep friendship – often sharing a friendly game of golf and other moments of fellowship where the joy of being together was simply undeniable. As Pastor Quinn put it, “In addition to the pressure of ministry, it was a boatload of fun.”

Both men recounted John’s patience and sobriety in every situation. Quinn described him as “even keeled” even in situations that might frustrate, anger, and provoke to impatience younger believers in his circle. Pastor Wragg also noted MacArthur’s distain for personal accolades, but extreme patience with those who were not always patient with him. Quinn, who grew up without his own father, considered John the father figure he never had. He expressed his gratitude to the Lord for bringing MacArthur into his life, whom God used powerfully in his own sanctification.

Pastor Wragg noted MacArthur’s constant admonishment to trust the word of God, no matter how difficult the circumstances within or without the church might be. He could often be heard quoting 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work” (BSB). MacArthur would also ask Wragg, anytime Jerry called to share difficulties he was having at GIBC, “Are you careful with your sermons? Are you shepherding God’s people? Preach faithful sermons and be with your people.”

What Pastor Wragg admired most about John MacArthur was that he was driven to honor Christ in every aspect of what he did. Pastor Quinn recounted an incident when he and John visited Angola Prison, the largest maximum security prison in the United States. MacArthur was preaching from a favorite passage, Psalm 19, to the inmates, and halfway through the message, the lights went out! Certainly unnerved by being surrounded by hardened criminals in the dark, Pastor Quinn had the fear that he was about to be “knifed in the back,” but Pastor MacArthur was encouraged to continue despite the outage. And so he preached the rest of the sermon in the dark. Quinn recalled that you could hear MacArthur crystal clear, and the inmates were so quiet you could hear a pin drop as he “…preached the unadulterated gospel in a prison with his two friends.” Though in that moment Quinn considered the experience epic, he was later convicted that everything done for Christ is epic – even the most mundane tasks. This was the attitude of John MacArthur.

The tribute service ended with a special audio clip of Pastor John MacArthur preaching on the topic of Heaven – the place he rejoices in before his Savior this very day. There is no doubt that as he stepped into the presence of Christ, John heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Yet, as a man who loved the word of Christ so much, it is perhaps possible to guess at what his first face-to-face words to his Lord were. Echoing the sentiment of Luke 17:10, it is is very possible he said, “I am your unworthy servant; I have only done what was my duty.”

The ministry of John MacArthur was a blessing to all who shared in it for the past 56 years. As Pastor Wragg noted in his closing prayer, “He was a choice servant of whom the world was not worthy.” He will be deeply missed. And yet we do not grieve without hope. For we know that this very day, his faith has been made sight, and one day we will meet this dear brother again. God bless you, John!

References

“About Grace to You.” Grace to You, Grace to You, 2025, www.gty.org/about?tab=ministry. Accessed 24 July 2025.

Grace Immanuel Bible Church. A Conversation Among Disciples – Tribute to John MacArthur. July 20, 2025. https://gibcjupiter.org/media/sermon-details?sermonId=15593&venueId=38&type=video. Accessed July 24, 2025.

“Louisiana State Penitentiary.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, last updated 18 July 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_State_Penitentiary. Accessed July 24, 2025.

Riggs, Brylan. “These Were the Final Words of John MacArthur… Reaction!” YouTube. July 22, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vpVTsEm4LI. Accessed July 23, 2025

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is a project of Bible Hub. Used with permission. The Berean Standard Bible has been released into the public domain.