Pastor John MacArthur’s views on child salvation are of interest
because they seem to relate to his understanding of Lordship salvation. On
September 25, 1990 at the Calvary Baptist Church in Brewer, Maine (Pastor Larry Pawson), Dr. MacArthur was involved in a question and answer session
which was publicly taped. During that session he said the following about child
salvation:
"Now let me say this and I don’t want you
to panic when I say it. Saving faith is an ADULT ISSUE. Saving faith is an
ADULT EXPERIENCE. Salvation is an ADULT EXPERIENCE. Am I saying that a child cannot be
saved? I’m saying that salvation is a conscious turning from sin to follow Jesus
Christ with an understanding of something of the sinfulness of sin, its
consequences and something of who Jesus Christ is, what He has provided and that
I’m committing my life to Him. At what point can a child understand that?... I
tell parents that salvation is an adult decision... There is no
illustration in Scripture of childhood salvation. There is none. People want to
throw the Philippian jailer and his household; well that’s talking about his
servants so there is no reference there about his children. So there is no such
thing as a childhood conversion."
MacArthur is saying that if a child is to be saved he must
understand as an adult, make an adult decision and have an adult experience.
[The
Lord Jesus taught that to be saved adults must become as little children (Matthew
18:3); MacArthur teaches that to be saved children must become as adults]
How does this relate to His teaching on Lordship? If salvation is by simple
child-like faith in the Saviour, then child salvation is no problem. On the
other hand, if salvation involves obedience to Christ’s commands, surrendering
to Christ’s Lordship, fulfilling the demands of discipleship, commitment of
one’s life to the Saviour, etc., then salvation has become a very involved and
complicated thing that would not at all be simple for a child to do. If we
complicate the gospel with all kinds of Lordship requirements, then we have
indeed made it very, very difficult for children (and for adults)! If we
proclaim the Gospel message that salvation is simply BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
(based upon the Person and work of Christ, not based upon sinful man’s fragile
commitment), then this is a message that can be gladly received by people of all
ages.
In an Article by John MacArthur titled "Age of
Accountability," he states:
"With this in mind, I believe that it is
absolutely essential, all along the way with children, that every time
they desire to make a commitment to Jesus Christ, at whatever age, you
(as someone giving spiritual oversight to them) encourage them to do
that."
SOURCE:
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/4836 (Grace To You)
Here again we see Mr. MacArthur's heresy of Lordship
Salvation, teaching that a child cannot be saved unless they are old enough
to understand what it means to make a commitment to Christ. MacArthur
goes 100% contrary to the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, "Except
ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as
this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And
whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."
Concerning Timothy, the Apostle Paul states in 2nd Timothy 3:15, "And
that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able
to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
A small child, who understands that he has sinned against God, and BELIEVES
on Jesus Christ to forgive him, is saved! Salvation has nothing to do
with making a commitment or persevering in a holy life.
Again, If we complicate the Gospel with all kinds of
Lordship requirements, then we have indeed made it very, very difficult for
children (and for adults)!
MacArthur Corrupts the True Meaning
of Matthew 19:16-22
Matthew 19:16-22, “And, behold, one came
and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may
have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there
is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt
do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him,
All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus
said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and
follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”
In this passage, we read about a rich young man
who asked Jesus how to have eternal life? When the young man bragged about
keeping all of God's Law (which shows that he was self-righteousness), Jesus
pointed out that he was covetous (which is a violation of the 10th
Commandment in Exodus 20:17). Jesus used the Law the way it was intended to
be used, i.e., to show us our sinfulness and need for a Savior. Romans
3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God.” Jesus simply pointed out to that young
man that he was not righteous in God's eyes.
To understand the issue of Lordship Salvation, realize that THEY ARE ALL
CALVINISTS!!! John Calvin (1509-1564) taught a heresy called the
PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS,
which taught that if a person is truly saved they will continue in holy
living, surrendering their life to Christ, and departing from sin and the
world; thus, this becomes a REQUIREMENT to be saved in Calvinism.
This is EXACTLY what Lordship Salvation teaches today (it is Calvinism). It
is a false gospel.
John MacArthur, Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort
all pervert this passage to mean that Jesus was giving a plan of salvation.
Jesus WASN'T giving that young man a plan of salvation; but rather, was
simply showing him that his self-righteousness was flawed and unacceptable
to God. The Apostle Paul
taught the same
truth in Romans 2:13, because the Jews thought they could be saved by
keeping the Law. No one can be saved by keeping the Law (Romans 3:20). We need Christ's
righteousness, which MacArthur doesn't teach (Matthew 6:33; Romans 4:5-6;
Romans 10:3-4; 2nd Corinthians
5:21).
The rich young man in the Bible was covetous.
According to MacArthur, that young man would have been saved if he'd denied
himself, let go of his pride, pushed aside his selfish ambitions, given up
his covetousness and given his life to Christ. John MacArthur is teaching
lies of the Devil.
At 4:31 in the preceding video, Dr. MacArthur states
concerning the young rich man:
“He is a classic
illustration of someone who will not deny himself. He wanted to hold
onto his own will. He wanted to hold onto his own pride. He wanted to
hold onto his own money. He wanted to hold onto his own ambition, his
own sovereignty if you will, in his own life. The competing issues are these,
very simple...
The Gospel says,
'give your life to Christ and He rules' and if you're not willing to do
that it's because you want to keep the rule of your own life. The rich
young man wanted his own life for himself. He wanted to control his own
life. He had his choice: sins, he had his choice, religion, and he
wanted to hang onto control. It's that simple. Coming to Christ means
you give up the control of your life, and you yield it to Christ. That's
what kept him from salvation, he was unwilling to do that.”
Ladies and gentlemen,
that is
Catholic theology and damnable
heresy!!! MacArthur said: “Coming to Christ means you give up the control
of your life, and you yield it to Christ. That's what kept him from
salvation, he was unwilling to do that.” The reason why the rich young
man didn't get saved was NOT because he refused to yield to Christ, nor
because he was unwilling to give up control of his life; the reason why he
didn't get saved is because he was self-righteousness.
Notice what the self-righteous young man asked
Jesus in Matthew 19:16...
“...Good Master, what good thing SHALL
I DO, that I may have eternal life?”
The young
man didn't ask how he could get to Heaven. No, rather, he asked what
THING I NEED TO DO. Jesus
knew the young man's heart. The young
man was self-righteousness. Jesus used the Law to show the young man his
wickedness. There was nothing he could do in his own self-righteousness to
have eternal life. He needed Jesus as his Savior. Romans 3:19 and Galatians
3:24 plainly teach that the Law's purpose is only to show us our guilt of
sin and need for a Savior.
John MacArthur requires people to fulfil the Law as
a prerequisite to faith in Christ, which is the heresy of works salvation.
That is exactly what Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort and John MacArthur are
teaching...
They all teach that the
rich young man should have forsaken his covetousness to be saved.
In sharp contrast, Romans 4:5-6
proclaims, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as
David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works.”
Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort are going to be
damned because they are following the false gospel of John MacArthur. The
Bible plainly teaches that false prophets would go through pains to avoid
being detected.
Satan is subtle. 2nd Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who
PRIVILY shall bring in damnable heresies...”The word
“privily” here means “taking pains to avoid being observed; to lead aside.”
This is the nature of false prophets. They are used by Satan to mislead
people, going through pains to avoid being detected.
Carefully notice that the false prophets in
Matthew 7:21-23 were SINCERE; but they were sincerely WRONG. Proverb
16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof
are the ways of death.”
Lordship Salvationists all pervert the Gospel message, requiring sinners to stop living in
their sins to be saved. Moody Bible Institute and many other
theological schools have been caught up into MacArthur's doctrines of
devils...
1st Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;1Tm:4:1:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and DOCTRINES
OF DEVILS.”
Lordship Salvation is
a backdoor approach to Works Salvation. Instead of requiring people to do
good works to be saved as the Catholic Church does, Lordship Salvationists
require people to stop living in sin to be saved. The result is the
same—self righteousness. The perverted doctrine of Lordship Salvation is the
primary ecumenical bridge now being used to merge Catholics with apostate
Evangelicals.
The Confusing World of Dr. John
MacArthur
Ye Must Be Born Again!
| You Need HIS Righteousness!
