The following is an article I wrote about 2 years ago when the topic came up in a group I once moderated. Since the writing of this article I have become aware of quite a few inconsistencies in John MacArthur’s teachings. These articles, written by another blogger will be posted separately.
I am not a follower of JM’s teachings and I never have been. He simply wasn’t in my loop of liars. John has taken a recent strong stand against “charismania”, and rightly so, but he is quite off in other teachings which makes him just as dangerous as the lies he attempts to expose. I know the masses will hate me, but we are talking about biblical truth, not a popularity contest.
Again, be careful who you follow. And above all, allow the work of the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Be safe.
This is a sermon from John MacArthur at
“http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-99
” The Feminist Agenda –
a confused mix of biblical teaching regarding the role of women and submission, feminism and Gnostic beliefs. I have no argument with the scriptures JM offers to establish the role of women. Unfortunately, he went off on his own when he states the following –
Now all of that is very, very clear. There’s really no way scripturally to evade those things. But it’s amazing to me how confused women are today, even in the church, about their role. And they are confused because there is a massive effort, the troops have been sent out from the fortress called the “Feminist Agenda,” to spread their philosophy throughout this society. Radical feminism has so brainwashed our culture that church leaders and church members have even capitulated to the lies. And as a result, marriage and the family, the primary building blocks of social and moral order, are in shambles. Much of this can be laid at the feet of the Feminist Movement because it has overturned the thinking of women so dramatically that they have abandoned their God-intended role and consequently the family has felt the consequences. Unthinking believers, untaught Christians have become prey to the ideology of the feminists.
And frankly, most of us probably have no real idea of what the feminist agenda is at its core. It is frightening and it is fatal. What the public sees is that women want equal pay. Well, you can’t really argue against that. What the public sees is that women want to be free from certain social strictures. Well that’s certainly reasonable. But it goes way beyond that, way beyond that.
A cry for equality, a cry for opportunity, a cry for equal privilege to use their abilities unhindered and unrestricted and the rhetoric sounds fairly sensible. But the real agenda is much more serious. Listen to it.
I am quite angry that JM believes Christian women are so influenced by the world that they no longer know their roles, as tho we do not hear the Holy Spirit and instead follow the world. Not all of us, but he has no place in his article for real women of God!
He continues –
You remember Eve liberated herself from Adam’s authority, plunged the whole human race into sin, wanted to operate independently without the headship of her husband. That’s precisely what Satan wanted. And that’s when it all got cranked up.
Nowhere in the word is Eve solely given responsibility for the fall of man as she is here, or are we given evidence that she wanted to operate outside of his authority! (I won’t go into this, but I do have a research article I will link at the end of this one.) Eve was deceived.
“http://www.gty.org/resources/positions/P00/answering-the-key-questions-about-the-family”
The marital relationship is more intimate, personal, and inward than that of a master and slave. That is indicated in Ephesians 5:22 by the phrase “your own husbands.” The husband-wife relationship is built on an intimate possessiveness. The verse seems to imply that it is assumed the wife would willingly respond in submission to one whom she possesses.
What if the husband isn’t seeking to fulfill his role? What if he abdicates his position of leadership and leaves it to the wife to be the head of the home? It happens frequently, and especially in the realm of spiritual authority.
I once received a letter from a wife who wrote, “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I tried to be submissive to my husband, but he wouldn’t take the leadership. Little by little I took it over, and now I’m dominating and he will never take the leadership. How do I get myself out of this mess?”
The answer is, go back to being submissive. Force the issue. If he doesn’t give you leadership to submit to, submit to the things you think he would like. Put yourself in the proper biblical role, and stay out of his. Then encourage him, pray for him, and support him as head of your home in every way you can. Above all, refuse to take dominant leadership of the family. Be obedient to the biblical pattern. Make suggestions and steer him quietly when absolutely necessary, but leave gaps for him to step into.
In real life, we cannot force a person to take on responsibility and no action of ours will ever change that! JM is talking in circles, still putting responsibility and blame on wives that do not belong to them.
My advice to women who are in danger of physical injury from their husbands is first of all to try to defuse the situation. Be careful not to provoke any circumstances that will make your husband become violent. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath.”
Here he is again putting the responsibility of the actions of a husband on the wife. Anyone who works with abused women know this is simply impossible. JM is acting out of his authority and realm of understanding, even going as far as to put women in danger, when he makes comments like this one. There is nothing one person can do to diffuse the actions of another, especially an abuser.
If a violence-prone husband becomes agitated and abusive, the wife should remove herself from danger, by leaving the home if necessary. God has promised that He will not test us beyond our ability to endure, but will always make a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Sometimes escape is the only way. If you have children and they are in danger, take them someplace where you will be secure until you feel you may safely come back.
Abusers never provide a safe environment, and it is impossible to know when the next incident of abuse will occur because they live in cycles. A woman is never safe in that environment – never.
If you are not truly in any physical danger, but are merely a weary wife who is fed up with a cantankerous or disagreeable husband–even if he is an unbeliever who is hostile to the things of God–God’s desire is that you stay and pray and sanctify that husband by your presence as a beloved child of God (1 Corinthians 7:10-16). The Lord will protect you and teach you in the midst of the difficult time.
Of course, pray for your husband, submit to him in every way you can, encourage him to seek advice and counsel from other biblically-knowledgeable men–and do everything you can to heal the problems that cause him to be angry or abusive.
Again, he is wrong in this advice and has no place and no right to advise women in such a way. We cannot “heal” another person, nor can we do anything to prevent them from becoming abusive or violent in their actions. We do not “sanctify” anyone and many women die in their own homes at the hands of violent husbands. Where is the Lord’s protection? We have not been called to stupidity. When women are abused, they leave, period, and most should never return. I will have words with anyone who preaches, teaches or speaks otherwise. God never called us to die at the hands of our husbands!
In these two articles, he says some very good things. But in the role of husbands and wives, he is playing up to the husbands, placing blame and responsibility on the wives that is not theirs to carry.
These are just some of the problems I have found. I won’t go into an exhaustive biblical exhortation, because we should all know better. Truly, JM sounds as though he is advocating for Islamic beliefs in the rule of marriage, yes, rule – and not those of Christianity.
Here is my article I wrote regarding Eve and that apple –
*If you are in an abusive relationship, please see the right sidebar toward the bottom for resources to help you get out and to heal.
m'kayla's korner 
Hi Mkayla,
I understand the concern presented here about the high risk situation many women are in with violent husbands. I know I’m going out on a limb here, but I was one of those women. My first husband left me for another woman so I had 7 years worth of built up bitterness and fear of it happening again—before I married my second husband. Looking back on the first 2 yrs of our marriage, I can honestly say I provoked him to hostility and violence. Yet, he’s not innocent because he’s easily provoked, or he was then anyway. We’ve been married over 8 yrs. now.
Back then I had a restraining order against him for a while. He had to go to “anger management” classes (a joke) and I had to go to domestic violence counseling (an even worse joke), where I was being brainwashed into believing things would never change and that I had to divorce him. I even asked if there were any success stories. They said maybe one in a million, so I said, ……”I’m going to be that one in a million because I believe God can change things.: They just rolled their eyes.
But God truly did change things but He had to change me first. I didn’t take any advice from John McArthur, in fact, I was totally against him then, because my husband had his book “Charismatic Chaos” and tried to get me to read it and come out of the word of faith cult, which was also telling me to divorce him.
My husband kept telling me it was a cult, that he knew the true gospel and that wasn’t it. I would get furious and then the provoking would start all over again.
Anyway, I can honestly say JM’s advice here worked for me and my marriage, but I got it straight from the Lord not JM. I had to learn to be submissive to my husband and as a result, the Lord led me out of the word of faith cult and into an extremely healed and happy marriage. My husband and I minister the gospel to others now and we make a good team. And it’s all only because of the grace of the God and His mercy on us.
I’m not saying JM is completely right in all he teaches, but we can’t dismiss the fact that this godly advice helps many marriages heal. My husband and I are a living testimony to that. God changed me and changed my husbands hot temper by helping him de-stress and by helping me to help him to unwind and not make life even harder on him.
Sorry for such a long post, this is just a very emotional subject for me because I know God moves mountains when we just trust Him. I hope this can bring hope to others who suffer from violent outbursts, but sometimes I’m sure God says it’s ok to leave.
In my case, I had him leave for two months, which gave me time alone with God in deep prayer over what to do and this advice is exactly what the Lord gave me.
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godlee, I don’t see that what you have stated here and what JM advocates is the same thing. Do take a bit more time to read his links and reconsider. Where is his advice to the men/husbands? Unless he has updated his site, it is non-existent. I am thrilled at the news of your marriage and tho I have not personally witnessed, I do believe God can cause healing in the way he has your marriage. 🙂
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I have to disagree with John McArthur about refusal to let women preach and teach in church based on the scripture that forbids the woman to “usurp the authority over the man,” What was the writer talking about? Was he talking about a married woman who was subject to her husband as the head of the household? What about when God said he would pour out of His Spirit upon ALL flesh and included the daughters and handmaidens. HA. The authority is of the Holy Spirit, and know this, that the Holy Spirit is the authority. So let the women speak the truth. There are some pretty smart ones too! My Bible says “Husbands love your wives.” Man was given a lot of responsibility after the sin. The woman would have the husband to rule over the wife, but what all does that mean? God didn’t say the man had automatic control over all women. So what’s the deal?
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First off, I was kind of disappointed by what I watched of JM’s Strange Fire conference. In my opinion is was a group of smarmy stiff suited white men making comments about that revealed ignorance and often times in an attitude that was ridiculing those who are deceived by the Charismania. It felt like I was watching a GOP convention and I don’t expect it to have much impact.
Second, JM is reveals himself as a misoginist and basically is the antithesis of the whole Spirit Filled/Charismania.
What I feel is that it’s a prime example of all that is theologically wrong with the Gospel Americana. I believe our culture and society has contributed as much detrimental, confusing and borderline heresay in its 250 years of existence as the Church of Rome has done in 1500 years. Buy American, shop American but don’t drink the water of American theology and doctrine… It’s all contaminated.
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Neubeowulf, can you comment on this particular article? I do have some things to post regarding Strange Fire. Took a peruse thru your blog, will be back! 🙂
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Hi, I apologize for being a bit off target with my first comment. In my opinion JM is presenting a reactionary dialogue of the age old war of the sexes that people have been waging for all history. Let’s consider what is written. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I think people avoid the reality of this revolutionary statement. We still are addicted to labels and classifications. How can we apply restrictions thru manipulation of The Word to justify and in effect Judge. We are all humans and we absolutely “suck” at it no matter how righteous of an act we commit. If we consider what Paul said and we do what is good and what The Lord requires of us… To do justly, and love mercy and walk humbly before our God. Christianity is an inside job, it’s not a denomination or any organization where someone such as JM can justify something that reads like he stepped out of the Victorian days of sense and sensibility.
And when ever teacher start bringing up Adam and Eve and the garden… They miss the beauty of a groom who laid down his life for his bride in a mistake she made. As did Jesus laid down His life for a world. We are men and we get the awesome natural responsibility to stand between a mad cold hard world and protect the women that God blessed us with. I actually love my ingrain responsibility and John Mayer sings it well, fathers be good to your daughters because they will love like you do, girls become lovers who turn into mothers, so mothers be good to your daughters too…
Mr. MacArthur shows no love in his words. And men who show vicious animal behavior to women should be buried under prisons. Forget these teachers that have pulpits that espouse ignorance and arrogance. We as Christians, have One great commandment and One high commission and all these idle debates are as ridiculous as people in the Middle Ages debating how many angels can dance on a pin head… This doesn’t save anybody and the gospel is not preached and the Glory of the Cross is not magnified.
That’s just my thoughts on this all… I could be just as full of it as JM…
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Neubeowulf. I agree with you. Thank you for standing firm. It is indeed as you pointed out, the age old war between the sexes which started in the garden. The man blamed the woman who in turn blamed the serpent. None of them took responsibility for their own decisions. We hear it over and again, if the woman would just submit and remain silent, none of this bad behavior would be displayed by the man. It is all our fault, we, as women, have that kind of power. I think not. 🙂
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Here’s a kicker and it goes into the whole Charismania. A Jewish theologian, long ago, commented that the original sin committed in the garden is Gnosticism and it has always been all about man wanting to get one up on God. It’s what all these men of God are trying to tell us, “oh hey, I got some inside information about how God has it all planned and how He wants it…” It doesn’t matter if it’s JM of Hagee or any of these “great men of God” who steer the ship of American Christianity. They’re all a bunch of white washed tombs and they’re great intentions are the pavement to the 6 lane interstate that leads straight too Hell.
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Wish i possessed half the knowledge John MacArthur “believes” he has concerning all things biblical. His comments on this topic (the feminist agenda) is just another instance where he believes he has it all figured out….and is speaking for THE Church. You’ve probably figured out by now, i have no respect for the man at all. That wasn’t always true… But something happened to MacArthur over the years: He went from being a humble servant and fairly good teacher to one who now believes he, along with his small circle of fellow reformers, are the carriers (and protectors) of the only ‘true, pure, doctrinal stream’ within American Christianity today.
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Good article M’Kayla. I’m praying for you as some will judge you and strike back because so many follow JMac like a cult leader. Any time someone points out his error they attack like the NAR and their “apostles and prophets.” It’s like the reformed version of “touch not mine anointed.”
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Hi Dennis. THANKS FOR THE PRAYER!!! I had that happen the other day over Ken Hagin. Just deleted the comment. Things are getting stickier all the time. We all need to read, study and pray for each other!
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Mkayla, it sounds like you may have had some first hand experience in this area, I am so sorry about that. Some of John Mac’s teachings were extremely helpful to me 4 years ago when I was first trying to find my way out from under 30+ years of a poisonous mix of hyper charismatic/WOF/NAR/spiritual warfare false teachings. I have read the specific teaching you are speaking of here, I have not heard anyone else question it in this way… it really made me think….you have really challenged me.
I have been married for almost 38 years, have never experienced physical abuse (my sister did), what I experienced was extreme control and manipulation, and extreme verbal, mental and emotional abuse from a man who was completely untrustworthy and had no truth in him whatsoever. It took me many years before I was even able to call it abuse and many more years before I was able to say it’s not my fault he acts that way, his happiness is not my responsibility, it is not my job to fix him, I am not responsible for his relationship with God, etc.. Of course my husband completely disagreed with that. I am still married, raised 3 children basically on my own, and sometimes when I think back I really don’t know how I survived. I, to this day, am not sure if I did the right thing. I was convinced it was better for my children to have a father and that in order to be obedient and pleasing to God it was the ‘scripturally correct’ thing to do. And believe me, if I had divorced him our lives would have been a whole other kind of nightmare, my husband could take cruel and vindictive to a whole other level. My children suffered right along with me, they have the emotional scars to prove it.The last few years he has mellowed somewhat, but is still the same completely untrustworthy man as always. It is anything but a safe environment in my home and I don’t foresee that ever changing.
My husband has never repented of anything, he either flat out denies it or excuses everything, blaming it on everyone else and on top of it all portrays himself as a hero/victim. According to him he is the rescuer of all, no one cares about anything as much as he does, and claims everyone including his children have victimized him. Believe me it gets pretty bazaar around here from time to time and there is so much more to the story. Needless to say I struggle with unforgiveness (not for lack of heartfelt effort and constantly crying out to God for help), along with bitterness and resentment and all that goes along with that.
What I realized after reading your concerns about John Mac’s teaching was that this has been this kind of teaching I have used to justify why I should stay married. I can see this is going to take much prayer and study of the Word of God to sort this out in my mind. I think this has been just one more bad teaching I now have to ‘undo’. I have spent the last 4 years in the Word of God allowing the Holy Spirit to de-program and re-program me according to His Word…. this is just the next thing I guess. The amazing thing is, freedom begins to come as soon as I realize I have been believing wrongly.
It takes a lot of courage to stick your neck out and bring bad teaching to light, even more so with a teacher as well respected as John Mac. Thank You Mkayla!
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M’Kayla and all: I have sadly seen a lot of this over the years. I have seen humble servants morph into arrogant, self-righteous and hate-filled persons. I’ve wondered if it is possible for a person to possess wealth, fame, influence along with great talent and giftedness, and the answer is yes, we see this in the life of Joseph. But Joseph endured years of suffering and privation that prepared him for his role. Notice he had the wisdom to send his sons away from the glitz, glamor and idolatry of the palace to his shepherd family in Goshen. I explored both scripture and my own experiences here: http://endtimechaverim.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/sauls-davids-and-samuels-in-our-lives/ I would also highly recommend the book, “Guardian Angel,” by Skip Moen, and he has audio teaching on this subject on his site. This book with have the “wives submit,” crowd resort to weeping and knashing of teeth. A little hint: The phrase, “ezer k’negdo,” doesn’t mean, “helper fit for him,” nor is it referring to a wife’s role as a sort of servant/assistant to her husband. We know that God and the Spirit are often referred to as our, “helper,” meaning one who encourages, strengthens, guides and nurtures. The word, “k’negdo,” means, “equal to,” and, “in opposition to,” or, “to confront.”
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Wow, I just realized how my previous post must sound. I have had a quite difficult and challenging marriage but I have no intention of running off and leaving my husband. The Lord has never left me or forsaken me and has used all things, good and bad for my good and for His purposes.. …Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose…. I have chosen to submit to my husband’s authority, but at the same time I have learned how to speak truth in love when needed.
What I have been realizing is the bondage that has been created in my life because of numerous false teachings and I am beginning to think this is one more. Whether my circumstances change or not I want to live in the fullness of the freedom that comes with being a believer in Jesus Christ, and loving and serving Him with my whole heart. False teachings have brought with them fear and bondage… I want to be completely free from all of that.
More than anything I want my life and the choices I make to bring honor and glory to my Lord. But I want the choices I make to be grounded soundly in the Word of God and not on bad teaching.
Thanks again Mkayla for your faithfulness to speak truth.
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contending, I know it’s a lot to take on. 🙂
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The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God, M’Kayla. I have always respected you as a sister in the Lord. I have looked up to you and have thanked God for you. Today, you bring reproach to the Christ’s name and His followers by causing division in the body. You err in judging our brother John. You are causing division and you shouldn’t be. I would ease up and take a moment with God to see if you are truly in God’s will according to His words. I love you and so I speak up. Please, reconsider this slander. It is malicious and without foundation. If you have a problem with MacArthur’s teachings, take it to him directly first. You can write him or email him. I’m sure he would be happy to address this issue. Also, you need to remember 2 Timothy 2:23-26, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” In Christ Jesus.
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micsadaisy,
Whoa. I think you better take a deep breath, a step back, and do some reading here. Apparently you are mesmerized and not doing your research!
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Macarthur is a public speaker who takes his teaching to radio, internet, tv, and books. The damage of his false teaching is already done. A private rebuke isnt called for. Paul corrected Peter publicly when his actions were called into question (being seen favoring the jews over the gentile christians). He wass not pulled aside and rebuked quietly. It was announced to the group. Private rebuke is for personal and private sins. This is not private.
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Well, I know to much already. It’s making me sick to my stomach all the heresy and false poop coming from JM. You go girl. I never understood the underlined hatred Baptist have for women. It’s a conditioning as when I was in the baptist church I lost count at how many messages I heard about “the women.” Never the man though, imagine that. I guess you ladies are real devils, huh? Well, according to JM. Why, as you know M’Kayla, his view of the widow who gave her two mites is pretty bad off since she was trying to buy her salvation, or was it she was a godly women who have sacrificially? It’s a little confusing when JM preaches out both sides of his mouth.
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Mike I appreciate all the work you have done. 🙂 Glad to see you back exposing error.
Much love and many blessings.
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Mkayla, I’m sure you were somewhat prepared for the wide range of emotions and responses you were going to get when you posted any kind of criticism about John MacArthur, (or even about what scripture teaches about women in general) but it still must sting when you get lambasted. I must admit, I have never been in 100% agreement with John Mac but his articles on the charismatic church were a great help when I was just getting started on my journey away from false teaching, so when I saw this article was about him I had to take a deep breath before I jumped in. I learned early on not to place any pastor, teacher, church or ministry on a pedestal because I have been left heartbroken with the wind knocked out of me time and time again when they fall off.
The truth is you started out sounding pretty angry, this is apparently a sensitive issue for you, and I have to admit I hesitated momentarily when you made the comment that John wasn’t in your “loop of liars”. But, I have now read and re-read this article a few times as well as a couple of others on this subject, including your article linked at the bottom of this article, and I find your reasoning sound. And thus far I cannot find fault with your use and interpretation of scripture either. You have actually given me quite a bit of food for thought and study.
Personally I think one issue with John Mac’s article is because of his apparent lack of experience and understanding of the dynamics of an abusive relationship. Sometimes book knowledge about something like this is simply not enough, and that is very evident in his teaching on this subject. Each time I read your point by point critique of John’s article it makes more sense.I cannot find fault with your reasoning. I am looking forward to your next article, I will be doing more study on this and taking it all back and testing it according to the Word of God.
I kept saying one of the things I needed to study more thoroughly was what God says about women.You’ve given me the encouragement to do just that, and a place to start… in the garden.
Thanks Mkayla, I just want to encourage you in this and I want you to know you have also been a great encouragement to me. I know this is a particularly tough subject but it is a very important one. I will be praying for you.
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contending, I appreciate all you have said. You are right. I was angry then and I am angry now, but rightly so. I am tired of women being treated as tho they are second class and seeing scripture twisted to support those horrid misconceptions. I am tired of hearing “woman sumbit!” and nothing said to the the man on what it is God expects of him, as tho it does not exist.
Anyone who reads the bible can see that women have a place and usefulness in the faith, and that they were commended for their work, right along with the men. I do believe we all have a place, and the bottom line is submission to each other and to God in the proper order He has laid out.
I will be saying more in these areas, as I did some research about 2 1/2 years ago to settle my own mind. I have also seen a need for “outreach” to women in this area as I see so many of them suffering under the heavy handed rule of men.
As far as John MacArthur is concerned, I have not read his work on charismania, but I know many have. I understand from them it was a great work. My concern is his flip-flop in doctrinal error that needs to be addressed. All of us need to put away our thoughts concerning our pet preachers – this blog is a perfect example of why – and our silly emotions, cling to the Lord and open the bible! That is where we will find truth and the freedom Christ gave us, as women, as men, as one, when He died on the cross. This is where we will find the unity of the faith.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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I have read John’s first book, Charismatic Chaos, and originally thought it to be an over reaction. mostly because I had never seen any of the extremes that he described. I am currently a missionary in South America and only recently seen some of the extremes that John mentions in his book. In fact, I think John understated his concerns. I do not entirely agree with John’s view on cessation of the spiritual gifts because I do not want to limit the sovereignty of God. But after witnessing the chaos with my own eyes, I can see why John may have taken the extreme opposite view. I suspect John would agree that God is completely sovereign and God will do as he pleases but much of what is done in the name of God would make him blush or boil-over with righteous indignation.
I heard during a sermon of John’s via his website where he admits his own fallibility and how had once given a sermon where after the sermon, a member of his church questioned and revealed to John that his did not correctly interpret what the bible said, John then gave a sermon the following Sunday from the same text that was opposite from the first sermon. John is humble enough to be amendable to correction and teaching. Much of the criticism I hear about John is theological hair-splitting, people angry that he struck a sensitive nerve, or from not understanding what John is teaching. (he is often accused of teaching a form of works / lordship-salvation but reading his sermons and his commentaries (from Romans) he states very clearly his position on salvation, grace, and Jesus as Lord).
Anytime there is a question or doubt, the place to go is directly to the bible. It is amazing what is there and what is NOT there!
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I’m not sure what you are getting at here Kevin. My post was taken from the things posted regarding women, marriage, abuse, etc. on JM’s website.
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M’Kayla,
Sorry… I was caught in the vortex of “thread drift” and responded to some of the ideas in several different replies and posted on your comment when my response may gave been a “better fit” elsewhere.
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Kevin, I agree that we can be wrong on things and that we always need to refer to the word for correction. I also don’t agree with JA’s thinking on cessation of the gifts, I don’t even believe that as a possibility.
He has been wrong in some very serious areas and this is the place where we need to be cautious. I know of people who thinks he can do no wrong, and in the times we are living in, that is a very dangerous way of thinking. I also know some have tried to contact him to no avail. As with most famous big named people, we never even get close to them. It is why I chose to post the articles.
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I applaud the truth you are presenting in challenging women to use their brain and to flee from abusers. Many women have been murdered all in the name of “submission” to an abusive man. I’m not all that familiar with JM. But you are correct when you say his teachings appear to have more in common with Islam than Christianity concerning women. I agree with Mike: You go girl!
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redeemed, hi. I don’t know that much about him either. But he has been coming out strong with some very bad teaching, some of it dangerous. I guess people will stop reading my blog now because I’ve exposed their pet preacher and they can’t handle that truth. We know how many pet preachers I had to let go of. Either we follow man or follow God. There is no in between. I grow more sad for Christianity and for the world every day. We have become fat and weakened in fear, no longer effective to save.
Glad to hear from you. 🙂
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Mkayla, I am looking forward to you sharing more about what you found in your scriptural research about women. I have read some teachings on this subject, mostly from a very fundamental Baptist perspective, not that fundamental or Baptist is bad, but some of their teachings on the role of women seem pretty legalistic. I am very much in need of some scriptural truth in this area… I know there is still some more bad teaching I need to undo, I want to be able to walk in freedom in all areas of my life.
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M’Kayla, this has also been my experience: Everyone loves your insight and discernment, until you cast your gaze, and keyboard, upon one of their camp idols, and make contact. Then the little woman is expected to retreat to her place. Your attacker Daisy did not follow her own admonition, in that she did not speak to you privately as she insisted you should speak to JM. I suggest Daisy attempt to speak to JM and see how far she gets, even as a fan.
It is very dangerous to follow any man (or woman) as even the best among us can fall. Even Paul said, “Follow me (only) as I follow Messiah.” And I agree, many Christian men should just be honest and convert to Islam, as they would find the doctrine and practices more to their liking.
For the wife to desire (reach out with longing) toward her husband, and the husband to not welcome his ezer k’negdo, but instead rule over her and dominate her, was not as some say, a heavenly directive as punishment for the first woman’s deception and sin and a preventative for further deceptiveness and leading astray, but a description of what the results of the sin of both would bring about. I believe one aspect of our redemption is that we are being freed from this bondage to walk in newness of life, freed from fear and a need to control, but instead to honor, love and release into fullness of destiny and giftedness.
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Go to this link and view the cover of his book Strange Fire. It depicts the partial neck, shoulder and breast of a woman, with no head. It’s just bizarre.
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Mkayla, I guess I hadn’t really looked at the cover before… that is indeed a little ‘strange’ (pun intended) …I’m trying to figure out what it is trying to portray…. is it really a woman or just a formation of the smoke? though, it is not transparent like the smoke is, it does make it look like the form of a woman….I looked at it under magnification and it does just look like the smoke is creating a formation that gives the impression of a woman’s body…. I wouldn’t want to speculate on whether that was intentional or not, but my opinion is that they surely could have chosen a better picture for the cover, it definitely gives the impression at first glance of a woman’s body.
chaya, you are right, I have witnessed people flying into an absolute frenzy of rage and become really nasty when one of their favorites are questioned, it’s really a little bazaar, but I think it goes along with that false teaching of “don’t touch God’s anointed”… I fell under that spell for a while myself.
I don’t mean to get off subject but one of the things I have a personal issue with is Calvinism (I am thinking of this because John Mac is Calvinist so some of his teachings have a tendency to reflect that)… not that I think everything about it is scripturally wrong, I just don’t think it’s all right either (btw I’m not Armenian either). My issue is more along the line of why to we have to use the teaching of any man as the foundation of, or as a picture or statement of what we believe, or a certain denomination believes? I don’t get it,why don’t we just simply use the Bible, period?!
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Hi Mkayla,
You’re right, the men with anger problems, don’t seem to be confronted at all. My husband had to learn the hard way that his trying to control me and manipulate me into submission was not biblical and never worked. God Himself was the one who changed me, not my husband and thankfully my husband realizes that now.
For controlling men to stop the madness, they must learn to trust the Lord. When they are determined to take things into their own hands it makes the woman want to be that much more rebellious.
What happened to me was that I realized I wasn’t being submissive to the Lord. Regardless of what my husband wanted, I had to submit to the Lord. I absolutely refused to submit to my husbands anger and I told him that. He didn’t like it, but he knew I meant it. I told him that when he got that angry he had to leave and not come back until he was calm. He realized he wasn’t going to be able to change me and went thru a period of depression, during which time something amazing happened.
A homeless man was pushing his bike loaded down with trash bags, down the road right in front of our house. I told my husband he needed to go take him a bag of food, so he did. This homeless man pulled out a Bible and began quoting verses word for word and then turning right to them. My husband said he talked with him for some time and realized he was a true born again believer and asked this mans advice on what to do concerning me because of the word of faith cult I was in. The man said I was on dangerous ground and told my husband he wouldn’t be able to get me out of it. He said the people in those churches would show me where they were wrong.
This discouraged my husband because he felt that would never happen. But he did stop pushing the issue with me because something else happened to encourage him to listen to that homeless mans advice. The homeless man was spotted in a church parking lot 45 minutes away at the exact same time my husband was talking with him in front of the house. After that we thought maybe he was an angel!!
Two years later, the cult I was in showed me where they were wrong, just as the homeless man had said. We’ve never seen him again, but to this day I still think God may have sent us special help.
The point is, if a marriage is meant to stay intact, God will make a way. But it usually begins with the weaker vessel learning to submit to His will, whatever it is. Then God deals with the man Himself. This was just one of the wild and wondrous ways the Lord dealt with my husband and I thank Him every day for His mercy upon us.
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godlee, my friend and sister – wow. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I have major chills! Because we have spent the last several years talking on our blogs and e-mailing, which has made me know you for the Godly woman you are, I do not doubt the encounter as a real miracle.
Praise God!!
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I love this! Godlee what an incredible story! And a powerful testimony to how God intervenes in our lives!
God started to reveal to me my need to submit about 5 years ago- and i really struggled with submitting to God. I had become a doormat for my husband but had lost sight of God. My submitting to God actually DROVE my husband away. I dont think i could have stopped him from leaving and divorcing me. (believe me i tried!) My husband was so angry at God, and when I found a good church, focused on Bible study again, and got baptized- he became very angry at me! I was devastated- but now, i see how God needed Him gone (especially since He chose to rebel against God) in order to really heal me and lead me down the right path. What Satan intended for evil God has used for good. I am thankful for the peace and freedom i have now.
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godlee, thank you for your testimony of how God worked in your marriage. I also come from a marriage of anger, control and manipulation and I also made the choice to submit to my husband’s authority as unto the Lord and realized my security and safety was in trusting the Lord alone for He was the only truly trustworthy One in my life.
What a blessing it is for me to hear the story of your “special help”. I need to be reminded The Lord is certainly able and willing to send divine intervention, ‘special help’ whenever He desires. Unfortunately.I came out of such bazaar, extreme false teaching, and have seen and experienced so many false manifestations, “gifts’, signs wonders etc,, basically all I ever saw were counterfeit gifts used in a completely unscriptural manner. So it has been very hard for me to trust that there are any legitimate ‘gifts’ or ‘supernatural’ works of God at work in the church today. I have participated in these false things so I don’t trust myself, I liken it to being an alcoholic who cannot ever touch alcohol again. I want to trust, and I certainly don’t want to be guilty of limiting God at any level but I never,ever want to be guilty of going beyond and outside of scripture ever again. What a conundrum. I have not found the answer to this problem other than studying with the intent of knowing the real truth that is found in God’s Word so well that I can immediately identify the counterfeit. I am still a work in progress and God is faithful, I trust that He will teach me His truth about these things in His time, and as He sees fit, by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.
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Thank you M’Kayla for posting this! The defense of MacArthur of any mistakes and/or false teachings, are always and I mean ALWAYS swept under the rug, excused, or overlooked by his “followers”. This man seems to have been raised to the level infallibility with his “followers”, and it just goes to show that just cause someone exposes error (hence his stance against the charismatic movement, which by the way his cessationism IS very unbiblical) does not make them without error. God bless you!
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You’re welcome sis. I love you and I’m thankful this blessed you. This was just one out of so many mercies the Lord has had on us. Maybe I should write about them more. I was just afraid I would sound corny, but perhaps the Lord wants me to share these things.
I just hope it can encourage other women who are suffering and let them know they are not alone. I have a good friend who is in an abusive relationship and I would like to share something she told me last week.
Her husband came home from work in a terrible mood and things blew up and he said he was leaving and not coming back. My friend being the godly woman that she is, prayed God would intervene. Well He did.
Her husband came back very humbled. While he was out driving, both his headlights went out at the same time and he had to come home. She told him about her prayer and said his lights would probably work by morning. He thought she was nuts of course, but when he got up to go to work the next morning, both lights were working again and have been since!!
I’m so thankful she told me about this, because it really cheered me and now I can pass it on in hopes that it will help others to always be on the look out for the answers to their prayers!!!
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godlee, I hope your friend’s abusive husband comes to repentance and that no harm comes to her. That is true Godly intervention. 🙂
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We are warned lovingly, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” I John 5:21, and Mal. 3:18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
A tendency to idolatry is part of our nature, so we need to be cautious. It is not just JM, every camp has its idols that are set up beyond critique. We are told man times in Proverbs that a wise man/woman welcomes correction and that fools hate correction. Draw your own conclusions about “leaders,” and “teachers,” based upon this. Fools rage at rebuke.
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I spent 15 years in a church which had all manner of false teachings, the upshot of which was abuse, abuse and more abuse. Fleecing the flock to finance buildings and elder’s lifestyles while treating the congregation like beggars if they came to the church asking for financial help……interfering in people’s marriages and families and causing separations and divorces…..separating children from parents….and worst of all claiming to BE Jesus so that if you disobeyed them, you disobeyed God. These men were also the very worst kind of misogynists. They reduced the women in their church to ignorant fearful stepford wives. Women had no voice, and everything that went wrong in the church was the fault of the women, even things like autism were considered to be the result of the women not obeying God (read their husbands or the elders, in reality ‘the men’).
So, you can imagine when my husband and family and myself came out of this church I spent a huge amount of time reading on the internet and other places, to get back up to speed on the true gospel. Initially I was drawn to men like Paul Washer and John Macarthur, possibly because I was used to their preaching style and messages on repentance and the word of God. Yet as I have grown in my christian walk, I can see the error I wasn’t able to see at first glance. I think the red flags began to show up when I watched these men preach. I began to feel uncomfortable with the yelling, and pulpit pounding, and on one occasion seeing one of them talking to a group of male bible students after the sermon. He was sitting in a chair surrounded by these young men who were very obviously fawning over him, yet as they stood around him, he remained seated smiling at these young guys, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that he was enjoying the adulation. Which doesn’t make him an evil man of course, but it made me think twice about my own reactions.
I too have a problem with anyone who puts their own name on God’s word. Call me over-sensitive, in face I don’t believe I am because what I have been through makes me careful and vigilant, but anyone who thinks that they have the right to do a whole commentary on the bible and then sell it to christians is clearly a little too full of their own virtue.
I also have a problem with the too easy by far fall-back of the ‘feminist’ agenda. I always remind myself that it was christian women who began the liberation of women in the early years. Having the vote was as important for us as ending slavery or racism. Women are not a minority, and without us the human race doesn’t exist. Our God-given nature is to nurture and birth and create, not to tear down and destroy. Yet throughout human history we have been enslaved, abused and destroyed simply because we are female and therefore vulnerable because of our own ‘agenda’ – to protect and nurture. We need also to remember that God put enmity between us and Satan, I believe because it was Mary who gave birth to Christ . God chose to cause Christ to come to earth through a woman, and Satan hates our guts because of it. The church is called female, so we are considered very precious by God. God has blessed us with a very important place in the earth and in the church. As you can imagine, I don’t agree with the subordination of women or the submission of women to every other man in the church. Paul was very clear about submitting to your OWN husband. Nor does this submission allow other men the right to horn in on the marriage and MAKE women either by covert or coercive, or even overt means, do as they are told. There is a fine line here which most of us have missed completely, mainly because of a lack of humility.
Men do not have the RIGHT to inform other people’s marriages. Pastors are not there to be marriage counsellors or sex therapists or any other such wordly and ugly things. Perhaps we need some help at times, but my husband and I have found more help and wisdom from the Holy Spirit personally than from the many people we have talked to over 25 years because we thought we were too dumb to work it out for ourselves.
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There’s a lot of truth I can relate to here, especially the pulpit pounding. The Bible says “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” James 1:20.
So I’ve been wondering lately why they get so angry behind the pulpit? Recently, while visiting a local church, the preacher bit his tongue between words he was so angry behind the pulpit—with a HUUGH between breaths. Then as soon as his sermon is over he’s all smiles and love—but who can trust such a double-minded, split personality?
Coincidently he’s a missionary Baptist preacher, which is the kind of church my husband grew up in and my husband bites his tongue when he gets angry. So lately I’ve been wondering if this is a learned behavior or just purely demonic somehow.
Either way, it’s been really bothering me lately. I pray God helps us see what’s really behind every demonic façade.
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godlee4life said, “So I’ve been wondering lately why they get so angry behind the pulpit? Recently, while visiting a local church, the preacher bit his tongue between words he was so angry behind the pulpit—with a HUUGH between breaths. Then as soon as his sermon is over he’s all smiles and love—but who can trust such a double-minded, split personality?”
What a performance! I had an orthodox pastor in Bible study once tell me he “loved the sound of his own voice”. He was trumped, however, by the hyper-charismatic preacher in my area who told me he “was in the office of an apostle” and “was one of the 144,000 in the book of Revelation who will not see death”.
We all need to remember that “we need no man to teach us” according to the letter of 1 John. We have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and Jesus Christ (the real Jesus Christ who is the Word of God made flesh) will be with us to the very end of the age.
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Perhaps the angry preaching and pulpit pounding is just a matter of style; it is what people in that branch expect. As you mentioned, the pastor didn’t appear to have an angry demeanor when the sermon was completed. Just a thought.
We know that the gifts of God are irrevocable. Maybe some misuse the good gifts they were given, thus they stray from their divine destiny, their purpose for being on this earth. I am thankful one gift I don’t have is that of leading and influencing others, as there is so much responsibility. One with this gift can influence others toward good or evil, or selfishness. May we all employ our giftings toward the glory of God, and may we return to the path of the Holy One, and walk in the ways he has shown.
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Reblogged this on m'kayla's korner and commented:
I wrote this several years back and am posting it because of the similarity between the teaching of John MaArthur and Jacob Prasch regarding women in the church. These ideas apparently come from the twisted mind of Augustine. Again, I am asking why a man such as Jacob Prasch, who: 1, claims a great knowledge of biblical understanding in Greek and Hebrew comes to the conclusions that he does when others do not, and 2, why his teaching aligns with John McArthur’s whom he has called out so many times. I know I will get no answers to these questions other than the one that is glaringly obvious – these men have an inherent need to keep women out of the ministry. Sorry boys.
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Thank you Mkayla for what you are doing ,i am 5 years since i got born again ,i have been thirsty for God,in deed God loves me ,i came across your blogs
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Blessings to you, Susan! 🙂
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