Bible-teaching legend Pastor John MacArthur went home to be with the Lord Monday at the age of 86.
He had been hospitalized earlier this month after contracting pneumonia, The New York Times reported.
MacArthur pastored Grace Community Church in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles for more than 56 years, starting in 1969.
The expository preacher authored many books during those years, including the bestselling “The Gospel According to Jesus,” first published in 1988, and the “MacArthur Study Bible,” first released in 1997.
MacArthur gained national notoriety not only through his teaching and books, but also by being a cultural warrior, standing up for the truths found in scripture.
He was a regular guest on CNN’s “The Larry King Show,” including in 2004, when he debated then-San Francisco mayor, now-California Gov. Gavin Newsom on the topic of same-sex marriage.
Then-President George W. Bush had just announced his decision to back a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
In a clip from the program, which has gone viral since MacArthur’s passing, the pastor showed how Newsom was being a hypocrite by appealing to his Catholic faith as a reason that Christians should not be opposed to same-sex marriage.
Have you listened to John MacArthur speak?
MacArthur first made the argument that the family is the bedrock of civilization, “And the only way you procreate the race is between a man and a woman. So built into the fabric of human society is, of course, the male/female and the producing of a child.”
He then noted that “just about every civilization has done everything it can to protect the sanctity of marriage, because they understand not only do you produce the life, but you want to bring the life to the standards and the values that are precious.”
King asked Newsom to respond.
He first made the argument that some people used to think different races should not marry, which did not address the issue of marriage being between a man and a woman.
“In 1948, Larry, these were not dissimilar arguments, not quite analogous, about the fact that races were put on separate continents around the world because God decreed that they shouldn’t in any way, shape or form procreate,” Newsom said.
“The point is, some of these arguments, they’re just reminiscent. With respect to the pastor, I just, you know, I’m a practicing Catholic. I got married in the church … I don’t see what we’re doing in terms of advancing the bond of love and monogamy and extending that to families — families of same sex — in any way, shape or form takes away anything from the church or the sanctity of the union that my wife and I have,” the mayor added.
The governor was referring to his marriage to his first wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, whom he married in 2001 and divorced in 2006. Soon thereafter, he admitted to having an affair with his campaign manager’s wife. He ultimately married his current wife, Jennifer Siebel, in 2008, and they have four children together.
All of us fall short of the glory of God, as the scripture says, but Newsom may not be the best authority on the sanctity of marriage.
MacArthur responded to the 2004 Newsom, before his later actions, saying, “I would just like to ask the mayor, as a practicing Catholic, do you believe the Bible is the word of God?”
You could tell by the look on Newsom’s face that he knew where this was going.
Pastor John MacArthur faithfully testified to the Truth of the Gospel for decades all while the culture, the media, and our politicians peddled lie after lie. He was a legend and he will be deeply missed. pic.twitter.com/Zgy8KKxOV3
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 15, 2025
“Pastor, I’m not going to get into a theological debate with you,” he began to reply, because he knew he would lose badly.
MacArthur interjected, “That’s not a theological debate. That’s just a straight question: Do you believe the Bible is the authoritative word of God?”
Newsom hemmed and hawed a bit, but knowing he was cornered, reluctantly answered, “With respect, I guess I do. Now the response.”
After all, what kind of professing Catholic is going to say on national TV that does not believe the Bible is the authoritative word of God?
Next came the knockout blow from MacArthur: “Then the Bible says when God created man, he said one man, one woman, cleave together, for life. That’s a family. Jesus in the New Testament reaffirms that, all of the writers of the Old and New Testament affirm it.”
“Adultery, bestiality, homosexuality was punishable by death, according to the Old Testament law, because it was so serious in those early years, because it literally shattered the hope of civilization. The New Testament offers us, of course, grace. Those sins — our sins — they are forgivable. Jesus died to redeem us from those sins. We’re all sinners,” the pastor noted.
King then asked, “What does the state have to do with it?”
MacArthur explained, “But the point at this juncture is, he’s representing the state. He’s coming back and saying, ‘I’m a Catholic … and somehow this fits into my Catholicism,’ and I’m saying, what’s your authority, then?” MacArthur answered.
Newsom then fell back on a diversity argument not based on scripture, basically calling it outdated, and then trying to differentiate his faith from MacArthur’s.
“I’m proud to represent a city that has diverse points of view, open points of view, that doesn’t believe in discrimination and has evolved from the old constructs that I think have frankly held back society, and many that are inconsistent, yes, with your faith, and I respect the difference of opinion,” the mayor said.
Newsom respected the fact that he just got trounced in the argument, and was doing his best to gracefully retreat.
Conservative Allie Beth Stuckey posted on social media, “No one challenged Gavin Newsom’s evil and stupidity as persistently or effectively as John MacArthur. And no one prayed harder for Newsom’s repentance.”
No one challenged Gavin Newsom’s evil and stupidity as persistently or effectively as John MacArthur. And no one prayed harder for Newsom’s repentance.
In 2022, after Newsom put up billboards advertising California as the abortion destination, MacArthur wrote him this letter,… https://t.co/DN203K8bRQ pic.twitter.com/bBIETJrt9M
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) July 15, 2025
Oklahoma pastor Nathaniel Jolly — a graduate of The Master’s Seminary, which MacArthur founded in 1986 — responded to the teacher’s death, posting on social media, “He was a giant of our time, a stalwart of the faith, and his absence will be keenly felt.”
It has been confirmed that Pastor John MacArthur went to heaven today at 6:17 p.m. California time.
May the Lord be with his family and his church. He was a faithful minister for 56 years. A bold voice for the Christian faith—never wavering, never backing down from truth, and… pic.twitter.com/uAEVfNG0Kf
— Nathaniel Jolly (@NathanielJolly) July 15, 2025
“But now he receives the reward of his labors and is in the presence of His master whom he has so faithfully served and proclaimed all these years.”
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