“By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have been a Christian for a long time now. I became an ardent follower of Jesus at 21, 40 years ago. During those days there was fresh fire and unquenchable faith. There was also not just a little bit of arrogance and desire for certainty. Also, during those days I listened to several Bible teachers on the radio (that’s what you did then). One of those was John McArthur. He was sure and brave…and “biblical.” Everything I was looking for. But, even in the cocky, more youthful version of me, I quickly began to sense his hard, and non-humble take on things. He was the only one “right” in the world. I also quickly discovered that he had a very unyielding theological grid in which he read the Bible through. This came off as very ungenerous and very ungracious toward others. It became most evident to me in a book he published called, “The Charismatics.” A book in which his deductive approach (I’ve pre-settled the issue, now I will interpret the Bible to prove my opinion) was clearly exposed. It was incredibly stilted in its hermeneutic. After combing through it several times, I reasoned that it was nonsense. He built a fence of fear around the full-life of the Spirit for scores of good-hearted Christians who hung on his words as gospel. Even as a young pastor, I intuitively felt like there was something more going on. Almost a vendetta. I turned the radio off. I stopped listening.

I have found this axiom to be true. As a person gets older, one of two things happens. You either get softer, more bighearted toward others (I get to watch this lived out in the beautiful life of my father-in-law, Papa Keith, whose heart enlarges toward others with each passing day) or you get more calcified and hard, set in your ways. This good work doesn’t happen by accident. It takes diligent interior work, actual submission to trusted others and holding all things with humility. Oh, and being with and listening to people who don’t play in your established theological sandbox.

John MacArthur just celebrated 50 years in pastoral ministry. In doing so, he seemingly felt the liberty to level his Bible (read “I’m right about everything gun”) at Beth Moore and consequently, all women teachers. You can read about it here. This was not a surprise to me. He has been doing that type of thing the entire time. Just this time, with the help of social media, it has become a deal.

In my very humble opinion, I think he should probably stop now. Not because of age, but because of harm. It appears that the “only one who is right” younger man has sadly not morphed into a more magnanimous, humble version (both personally and theologically).

The tagline for JM’s public persona is “Grace to you.” It is unfortunate that for most who observe his actions from the outside look on like a dog hearing a high pitch squeal, tilt their head, and wonder how that makes sense.