A Faithful Life – and a Legacy That Will Endure

American Christianity said farewell to an iconic Bible teacher and theologian last week. John MacArthur, who pastored his church in California for more than 50 years, passed from this life at the age of 86 and went on to his eternal reward. Over that span he preached more than 3,000 sermons and authored hundreds of books.

 

Sometimes controversial but always steadfast in his trust in the inerrancy and timeless relevance of the Bible, MacArthur was known for his verse-by-verse exposition of the Scriptures and bold stance on foundational biblical principles and doctrines. While some might have differed with some of his interpretations, MacArthur left a solid legacy of unwavering confidence in the Word of God, touching countless lives through his preaching, radio programs, and writings.

 

In 2 Timothy 4:3 the apostle Paul warned, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” We’re living in such a time, but MacArthur wasn’t among those teachers. He was a champion of biblical truth, letting Scripture interpret Scripture rather than shaping the message from the pulpit to fit the prevailing culture.

 

I met MacArthur once at a CBMC conference where he was the week-long Bible teacher. One of his messages pointed me to a life-changing understanding of my relationship with Jesus Christ. He was speaking about how to study the Scriptures effectively, suggesting one way for grasping what a book of the Bible says is to read it repeatedly. He suggested 1 John in the New Testament as a good start, since it consists of only five chapters and can easily be read daily over the course of a month.

 

That’s what I did. Every day for 30 days I read through 1 John, a simple book that offers a clear, concise synopsis of the Gospel. Its teachings gradually became more and more familiar, but I kept stumbling over two seemingly contradictory verses.

 

The verses were 1 John 2:7-8, “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in [Christ] and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” 

 

It troubled me that the apostle John was saying in one verse this was an old command “which you have had since the beginning,” but in the very next verse was declaring it’s “a new command.” If one of these verses had appeared at the start of the book and the other at the end, I might have concluded John was addressing different things. But as a writer, I questioned how this close follower of Christ could be saying two apparently opposite things in consecutive verses. I thought, ‘Come on, John, is it old or is it new?!’ 

 

I was in a small group Bible study at the time, and we’d been memorizing specific Bible verses. One was Galatians 2:20, which says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” The other was 2 Corinthians 5:17, which declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

 

These verses also bothered me. While believing they were true, I wasn’t experiencing them in my life. I was still being defeated by some of the same temptations and sins I’d always wrestled with. Jesus didn’t seem to be living in me. And I didn’t feel like a new creation. In my mind I was the same old sinful mess I’d always been.

 

Over time, however, pondering these passages and others, I came to a startling realization. I’d been trying to live the so-called ‘Christian life’ in my own strength, maybe asking God for a little boost from time to time. I was way off base. God wanted me to recognize that living the Christian life isn’t difficult – it’s impossible. That is, without the power of Christ at work in me through His Spirit. 

 

This is why Jesus told His disciples, “…apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The apostle Paul had learned this lesson well, but also observed, “I can do everything through [Christ] who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

 

Getting back to the two verses in 1 John that had confounded me, they affirmed for me this truth. Admittedly, the context for those words concerns loving one another as believers. However, God used them to help me understand that all of His commands, starting with the Ten Commandments, have been given to mankind from the beginning. As we read the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, we see even the most faithful have had a terrible time obeying God’s requirements.

 

So, the apostle John was stating the command to “love your neighbor as yourself,” originally found in Leviticus 19:18, is an “old command.” However, through the power of Christ living in us, it is now also a “new command.” That is, we might not be able to love our neighbor as we should – as well as many other things. But by allowing Jesus to work in and through us, we can do what we’re commanded to do.

After years of struggling, praying and then telling God, ‘I can’t!’ His response to me, in essence, was ‘I know, My child, but I can do it through you – if you’ll let Me.’ And I have John MacArthur to thank for putting me on the path to discovering this foundational truth. 

Taking Steps to Conquer Temptation

It’s been repeated many times since, but it was probably Irish poet and dramatist Oscar Wilde who first declared, “I can resist everything except temptation.” Kind of like stating, “I’m not tempted to eat anything except food.”

 

This witticism carries with it a ring of truth. We’re not inclined to do or say something we know we shouldn’t, except when the opportunity to do so presents itself. For instance, if we’re among the many who are frequently tempted to give someone a piece of their mind they can’t afford to lose, the only time they risk doing exactly that is when they’re around other people. Or perhaps, responding to someone’s post on social media.

 

Temptation is a universal problem. There’s no one that’s never had to deal with temptation. Even Jesus, the Bible informs us, confronted it at times. Hebrews 4:15 candidly states, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

 

As I’ve met with men in mentoring relationships, one important understanding I’ve emphasized is the distinction between temptation and sin. As I’ve explained, temptation is encountering or being presented the opportunity to sin – sin is when we act upon it, deciding it seems like a good idea.

 

James 1:14-15 affirms this: “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Clearly, yielding to temptation – in whatever form it takes – ignites a destructive, potentially fatal process.

 

What steps, then, can we take to conquer or overcome temptation before it transforms into sinful behavior? Recently I learned of an acronym that could help us, especially in times of weakness. The acronym is HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired.

 

Think of it – each of those states can weaken our resolve as we focus on satisfying immediate needs. Feeling hungry can make us irritable and impatient. Anger can provoke verbal or physical responses we would later regret. Loneliness can prompt us, as the old country song warned, to go “looking for love in all the wrong places.” And tiredness and fatigue could cause us to do any of the above.

 

Even with safeguards we erect and the best of intentions, temptation can still sneak up when we’re least expecting it. Perhaps this was why the apostle Paul conceded, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15). If even Paul struggled with temptation, what chance do we have of conquering it?

 

Thankfully he responded to this question in another of his letters, the first that he wrote to followers of Jesus in ancient Corinth. He asserted, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

When confronted with temptation, whatever it might be, there are times when good intentions aren’t enough. Instead, we need to face it through the power of Christ, made available to us through His Spirit. “The way out,” or as another translation expresses it, “the way of escape,” is to turn away from the sinful “opportunity” and look instead to the Lord, trusting Him to empower us to overcome whatever is threatening to take us down.

 

In another epistle, Paul summed it up this way: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

 

Trying to overcome temptation on my own, I might experience failure – as has been the case in times past. But through Christ and His power, each of us can enjoy victory instead.

Escaping The Prison of Unforgiveness

The story is told about the couple that decided they needed to get a divorce. Counseling with their pastor, the husband was asked, “Why do you want a divorce? Does your wife beat you up?” “No way,” he responded. “I’m always up at least half an hour before her.” “Well,” continued the perplexed pastor, “do you have a grudge?” “Yeah,” he said, “it’s big enough for two cars, but what’s that got to do with this?” Exasperated, the clergyman finally said, “So what’s the problem?” With arms folded, the husband smugly replied, “We just can’t seem to communicate!”

Unfortunately, when it comes to conflict and divisions, many people do trace it to grudges they hold toward others. Like ships passing in the night, they harbor those grudges.

It’s truly unfortunate, especially because in many instances, the most grievous victim of grudges – the unwillingness to forgive – is the individual clutching the grudge in a death grip. Speaking recently on the topic, author and pastor Alistair Begg observed, “Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free – when it turns out that prisoner is you.”

 Putting it into another metaphor, holding onto a grudge or refusing to forgive another person is like drinking poison and expecting the person you’re mad at to die.

Although I don’t there’s been a scientific study done to prove it, I suspect much of the hostility we witness in the world around us is due at least in part to unforgiven wrongs, grudges that have been nursed for a long time. The musical, “The Sound of Music,” taught that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, but just a drop or two of bitterness can kill even the healthiest of relationships. 

Hebrews 12:15 speaks to that directly, admonishing, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” And this word,“defile,” offers another vivid image for the negative and often long-lasting effects of unforgiveness.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning wrongs that have been committed, whether in deed or in word. Nor does it mean we must force ourselves to forget those wrongs. Forgiving, however, does mean refusing to let anger and animosity imprison us, or “defile” our spirits, not only toward the offending party but also to many others we encounter from day to day. 

There’s a second important reason for doing what might seem impossible by extending forgiveness to someone who doesn’t deserve it. As the apostle Paul exhorted his readers, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). Keep in mind, forgiveness is something that none of us deserves.

How did the Lord forgive each of us? He stretched out His arms, allowing His hands and feet to be impaled on a cross, and declared, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). At that moment He might have been referring specifically to those responsible for putting Him on the cross, but if we’re honest, we must acknowledge we each shared in that responsibility. 

So when we forgive, we’re in effect freeing ourselves from the prison of pain, anger and negativity. We’re recognizing that no one could wrong us as much as we have wronged the God who has provided us with His forgiveness. 

And there’s one more reason for consciously resolving to forgive others even when it seems impossible. If our goal is to become more and more Christlike, more “godly,” then forgiveness can’t be excluded from the equation. As a wise man has stated, “We’re most like beasts when we kill each other; we’re most like men when we judge each other; we’re most like God when we forgive each other.”

If we bring up the excuse, “Well, I just can’t do that,” Jesus understands. He told His followers, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But as Paul wrote, drawing from much personal experience, “I can do everything through him (Christ) who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). 

As the Lord has shown me more times than I could ever remember, whenever I decide “I can’t!” He’s quick to respond, “Yes, I know – but I can. Through you.”