Pastor John MacArthur's Corrupt Understanding of Hebrews 12:14

Hebrews 12:14-17, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

I was shocked when I read John MacArthur's interpretation of Hebrews 12:14. Dr. MacArthur deceitfully claims that he believes in the Eternal Security of a believer, while simultaneously teaching that only those who continue living holy lives will go to Heaven. Read MacArthur's damnable heresy for yourself...

“Eternal security is a great spiritual truth, but it should never be presented merely as a matter of being once saved, always saved—with no regard for what you believe or do. The writer of Hebrews 12:14 states frankly that only those who continue living holy lives will enter the Lord's presence. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: John MacArthur, “Kingdom Living Here And Now,” p. 150

Mr. MacArthur horribly perverts Hebrews 12:14, by alleging that the author of Hebrews was teaching that a believer must continue in holy living in order to go to Heaven. LIES! The inspired Word of God is adamantly clear in Romans 4:5, “But to him that WORKETH NOT, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” [emphasis added].  What are you talking about Mr. MacArthur?

Hebrews 12:14 is speaking about our influence upon other people. If we don't pursue peace with others and live holy lives, then lost sinners WON'T see the Lord in us. You are the only Jesus that someone knows. That lost sinner might go to Hell if they don't see the Lord in you. As believers, we are supposed to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Jesus said in Matthew 5:13a, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?” Do you know what salt does to people? It makes them THIRSTY! Christians are supposed to be the salt of this sinful world, that cause lost sinners to thirst for God. Have you lost your saltiness, i.e., savor? This is what Hebrews 12:14 means.

In sharp contrast, John MacArthur corrupts Hebrews 12:14, claiming that a person cannot enter into God's Kingdom unless they continue in holy living. That is the Devil's fallacy of Calvinism, not the free grace Gospel taught in the Scriptures! Mr. MacArthur perverts the Holy Bible to mean that one's salvation is dependent upon holy living. Clearly, John MacArthur is a false prophet who doesn't rightly divide the inspired Word of Truth. MacArthur is an unsaved heretic, an infidel, a modernist who pretends to be a Christian. See also, John MacArthur's heresy on the blood of Jesus.

Dr. MacArthur confuses repentance with the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He confuses faith with that which faith should produce. He confuses saving faith (which takes place in a moment of time - Genesis 15:6; Ephesians 1:13), with discipleship (which is a lifelong process). Let me clarify...

• Roman Catholics errantly teach that you MUST do good works to be a Christian.
• Calvinists errantly teach that you WILL do good works if you are a Christian.
• The Holy Bible correctly teaches that you SHOULD do good works as a Christian.

As Miles Stanford has correctly said:

“Lordship salvation is not the childlike faith of John 3:16. It rightly insists upon repentance but wrongly includes a change of behavior IN ORDER TO BE SAVED. No one questions that there must be a sincere change of mind, a turning from oneself to the Saviour, but Lordship advocates attempt to make behavior and fruit essential ingredients of, rather than evidence of, saving faith.”

SOURCE: (Miles Stanford, in his review of John MacArthur's poisonous book: 'The Gospel According To Jesus')

Tragically, churches all across America have been duped by this wolf in sheep's clothing. Examples of MacArthur contradicting himself could be multiplied. It seems that deep within he recognizes that what he is saying is Biblically and practically flawed and so he knowingly or unknowingly contradicts himself.

Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" The Bible teaches that when a believer commits sin, God's saving GRACE DOTH ABOUND. Romans 5:20, "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND:" Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. Christian believers fall "in grace," never "from grace." Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan said it best (I love this quote):

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Also, Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) rightly said...

"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, “Hebrews”; Zondervan Publishing House; 1959 (p. 117)

Lordship Salvation is a perversion of God's grace (by Pastor Curtis Hutson, 1934-1995).