Grace To You

I could use some help. I became a christian in January of 2012. I thought I was a christian my whole life because I thought I believed, and in my heart I was absolutely convinced. Then, I began hearing the teachings of MacArthur and my life changed. I stopped drinking and smoking and doing drugs after so long! And I no longer wanted to be with all my old friends and are not anymore, because they have no desire for Christ. Christ is the foundation of my life now. Everyday I can't stop thinking about Him. I don't think I could even if tried, whenever I do rebel, it hurts. That brings me to my question for anyone reading: I still keep eating unhealthy portions all the time and I hate it. I know people who are habitual drunks and drug addicts and adulterers and I am convinced that they don't know the Lord because of their lack of fruit, and lack of repentance. However, I am a glutton and need to know: am I even saved because of this ongoing sin? Is there a a difference between this sin and the others. I don't mean to rationalize my sin, but gluttony, to me, is harder because we have to eat. We don't have to drink alcohol or fornicate or commit adultery in moderation like we do food. One thing I love about Grace to You is that I can type anything in the search bar that I want to know about. However I can't find anything from MacArthur on gluttony. I hope that he reads this so he may see it as a challenge. We certainly need help in this area. If anyone can help me with this, it would end a lot of depression I've been dealing with lately and lack of assurance. This conflict within is hindering my ability to do the Lords' will. Thank you.

Along with Joyce I want to thank you Josue for your post. Like yourself I was raised old "Holiness Pentecostal", have read Charismatic Chaos many times and used it as reference material in many personal studies and teaching sessions. I am, as well, committed the the biblically accurate understanding of salvation found in the doctrines of grace commonly referred to as Calvinism. Many years ago I walked away from my pentecostal upbringing, I am the son of a pentecostal pastor, and have leaned heavily upon the consecutive expostional preaching/teaching of pastor John and the GTY staff like yourself. The Word of God is powerful when wielded by competent called believers! I want to encourage you to remain faithful to God's Word and share your conversion to Biblical Christianity as often as possible with any you may meet influenced by the errors of emotionalism and experientialism found in Pentecostal/Charismatic theology. There is nothing quite like the understanding and empathy we can share honestly with those caught in the delusion of this false belief system. You are in my prayers brother. Know that God is faithful! In Christ, Ben

Thank you for your post, Josue. I am a member of a "holiness" church and have been listening to John MacArthur as well as RC Sproul, reading books, studying. I am about to become, like you, a Calvinist. PTL What freedom!

I listened to John MacArthur's message today regarding discernment and have a concern for my own church. We have invited a ministry to hold a conference at our church in February. I have serious concerns that it is a group much like John described in relation to the charismatic movement. Your conference in October is too late for us at this time but I would like some feedback, suggestions for me in discerning error and especially how to handle the situation. I am a board member so I do have a responsibility for my church.

Words could never express how entirely grateful I am to God for Pastor MacArthur and Grace To You ministries. In a time when most mainstream Christian teaching has become as satisfying as cotton candy to a starving person, I go to Grace to You’s website for a veritable buffet of solid meat that is Pastor MacArthur’s Biblical teaching. After hundreds of hours of listening to Pastor MacArthur, I am so grateful to report that not once has he tripped the hair trigger error alarm on my discernment meter. Yes, he has challenged me. Yes, he has boggled my mind. But when I listen, I know that the Holy Spirit is using Pastor MacArthur to grow me by leaps and bounds over the years. One of the things that I love about MacArthur’s teaching is that he doesn’t coddle, he doesn’t cajole. He teaches. Hallelujah! Chances are slim that I will ever meet Pastor MacArthur. But if I were ever given the chance, I would like thank him for his obedience to God in his teaching, the expression of his love for Jesus Christ, and for his role in equipping those of us who are passionate in their contention for the faith and for Biblically accurate teaching and theology.

What can I say about GTY and Pastor MacArthur. Well he doesn't know it but he has been my pastor for the last 2 years. We have never met and I live in the East Coast, I've never been Grace Church neither. However, I feel as part of this ministry as if I lived there and was a member of Grace Church. To make a long story short, the Lord used pastor MacArthur to lead out of the obscurities of the Pentecostal church. I was a licensed minister with a large Pentecostal denomination and a associate pastor at my local church. I attended this church for 13 years... my wife did it for 26 years. When I met GTY and pastor MacArthur I learned what preaching was really supposed to be like, I learned about the true ministry of the Holy Spirit, and I learn what being saved by grace really means. When I read Charismatic Chaos (twice) I stopped being a Pentecostal, and when I listened to the sermon series Doctrines of Grace (three times each sermon) I became a calvinist. And then I was humbled... I was crushed. The Word of God worked in me like a hammer the crushes the stones. Learning about the real ministry of the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin of blasphemy against the third person of the Trinity; and learning about God's sovereign election and eternal security of my salvation made feel so unworthy of such a great gift that I now live my life grateful of such a blessing. It has been a year since I left my old church. Since then I have been called apostate, heretical, and full of error. When I made my views public in my old church they tried to cast a demon of error out of me. I lost all of my old friends (except one). My testimony was stained. Even my old pastor has publicly said that I am now following a doctrine of error and that I have abandoned the sound Gospel. But for my part, I feel like the Apostle Paul. “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,” (Philippians 3:8, NASB95) I pray for the Lord to continue using GTY and pastor MacArthur to spread the light of the Gospel around the world. Amen!!!

recentely i was born again ,just happen to walk into a church that was a penticostal , over the last year my walk has grown and i became a little concerned about my church leadership ,at the same time a began to listen to pastor john macarthur and asking god for direction at the same time ,it a church that we all know, a church to have fun at a church that seems to think jesus christ is co star in their production,a pastor that has more laughs during his gosple than a late night tv show, so i question the pastor he said and i quote i want church to be fun, really, no thanks well i found a new church ,which puts christ first it small no hollywood production here thank you but i want to thank pastor macarthur for his message of christ first . and i tell all who want to hear about this wonderful site which tells us of all the body of christ is a solid christian doctrin god bless ,all christians are in my prayers

Dr. MacArthur's teaching has been influencing me since I was a young boy sitting in the passenger seat of my dad's truck. He always had Dr. MacArthur's sermons playing on the radio during the commute to and from our family farm. Now as a husband and father twenty years later I see the fruit of those early years and continue to grow in my faith as a result of Dr. MacArthur's teaching. Praise God for His work through Dr. MacArthur and thank you pastor for your years of consistent service.

In response to Donna' s comment on Jan. 7. It is hard to be in a church were you are not feeling welcomed or appreciated. But if God has called you there, remember God has chosen you and He wants you to be there. Pray for God to open a door for you to serve. Look for ways you can bless others and pray for others. Don't get discouraged , that is what the enemy wants. Put a smile on your face and and stay faithful. When thoughts of not being wanted come into your mind, remember God wants you and He is the head of the church.

My wife and I are very grateful for the work that Mr. MacArthur has done for our Lord in spreading the wonderful word, properly, and sticking to his guns on controversial subjects. I pray that we might be able to travel to sit through one of his sermons in person, I also pray we get a pastor from the masters school here in Charleston as we desperately need true scripture based teaching. May God bless every person behind Grace to you.

Thank God for your teaching and preaching Dr. MacArther. It is a breath of fresh air and light in a world filled with darkness and hatred of all things biblical. It is a blessing to hear preaching from God's Word as it is written and you don't dance around sin in order not to offend people. Thank you for your geniune love for God's Word and your commitment to preach it like it is. After hearing your message I am always challenged to check the scriptures and do word studies to see what you are telling me. And with God's Holy Spirit teaching me, I am both convicted of sin and blessed because His Word working in my life. We will continue to pray for you and your ministry. As you have said many times when spoken, taught, preached, or discussed, His Word will not return void. I am glad to serve an awe-inspiring God. Come quickly Lord Jesus!!!

I am a single father doing my best to raise my daughter according to God's principles in an increasingly godless society. Less than a year ago, my daughter was so upset with my choices for her schooling and living situation that she told me she did not want to live anymore. Almost every night I prayed God would work in her heart and bring her to salvation in His Son. God worked in my heart as well, and I decided to make concessions on her schooling situation under certain conditions. I also did my best to make sure I took her to Grace Community Church every weekend she was with me. She would also catch pieces of sermons as I listened to on Grace To You while we do chores. I just want to share that my daughter Teresa recently accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. She finally made the decision after downloading the GTY app on her phone and listening to Pastor MacArthur's sermons. After listening to the series "Examine Yourself", she was compelled by the Holy Spirit to get down on her knees and confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Today she is thriving in school, soccer, and most importantly, in her walk with God. I have my precious daughter back, and it's with tears in my eyes that I give the GLORY all to GOD. Thank you John MacArthur, and the Grace To You family for all your hard work and devotion to the Word of God. And to the parents of struggling teens or children, please, please don't give up on the POWER of PRAYER. Your prayers don't fall on dead ears. Praise the Lord, and may His peace and blessings be upon you all. Your Brother And Soldier In The Truth, Carlos

I want to say how thankful I am for Pastor John MacArthur and the Grace To You ministry. I accepted Christ a few years ago, but only recently realized that I was accepting a doctrine and theology that was based around me instead of God. Going to a modern, entertainment-based church, I fell into a mainstream theology that twisted the Scriptures. A prosperity and ambition based gospel. A work colleague of mine suggested I get the John MacArthur study bible. It came in the mail when I was at home sick one day. I began reading it and suddenly the scriptures began to make SENSE. With that, I realized I had been taught things in my own church that were not based on scriptural truth. I then read John MacArthur's book "Anxious for Nothing." I realized a lot of my daily anxiety about my work, career, etc was not just wrong. It was a sin. It was so refreshing to read a book that was solidly based on the Bible, and not just one man's opinion. God is now working wonders in the area of my anxiety. As I began to delve deeper into my Bible, I realized it was time to change churches. I now to go a church where the preaching is based upon God's Word. The pastor cares for his flock, preaches by exposition, and leads his congregation based on the Bible. I realized the sermons I had heard in my previous church were just inspirational messages with a few sprinkles of Scripture. At my new church, The Bible is front and center. I don't think I have ever felt closer to God and He is teaching me so much that I needed to hear. I am growing. It really scares me, and for a while angered me, to see the false teachings out there even amongst the Christian community. I pray each day that God helps me to discern His truth and gives me the courage to share it with others. It is so easy to be deceived and accept a doctrine that tickles the ears. It has happened to me. And it will happen to others. Thank you to all at Grace To You for preaching the Truth in a world that rejects it.

I would also like to thank Pastor John MacArthur for the way of teaching the word of God ‎ so clear and in the same time so depth!‎ I am so blessed, I am so rich to find your teachings, Praise the Lord for that! ‎ ‎ As Arnita posted before that she spend a lot of time listening to your teachings, so do I ! I am ‎able and I do hear your teachings mp3 all day long ,24 hours from 24 hours.‎ When I wake up, when I drive to work and back, when I am in the kitchen and when I go to ‎sleep all those teachings are so precious to me. I can’t stop to thank God for you and ask upon ‎you many blessings, also upon your family and for the local church who sustain you with their ‎prayers.‎ Right now I am in the Book of Romans,(mp3) which it canceled many, many questions that I’ve ‎had before about the election and the doctrine of Salvation.‎ Thank you again for all the free resources that everyone who wants to grow , can be blessed.‎ I’ve lost 12 years since I knew your name and I passed over your teachings, and I am so sorry ‎for that, but on the other hand , only God the Father knows, that maybe I wouldn’t ‎understand many doctrines as I understand today. Everything in the right time.‎ Also I bought a Bible with your commentary. I didn’t receive it yet but these days for sure I will ‎get. it. I can’t wait to read many it!‎ Thank you and God’s to be the glory!‎ Bar Am F. from Israel

I would like to thank Pastor John MacArthur for his sound Bible teaching. I hope that the members of his church truly appreciates the time John spends in the study of God's word because it is literally impossible to find a minister who teaches with such depth. I can't come to Grace Community Church because I live in Virginia. However, I spend time listening to his teachings on the book of Ephesians on my 25 minute drive to and from work almost every day, without exception. Then I listen to one or two sermons on the GTY website almost every night. I ran across the GTY website about three months ago and I didn't realize how starved I was for God's word. In my prayers, I thank God for leading me to John's teaching. His teachings has truly helped enlighten me in the understanding of God's word. I sincerely thank you, Pastor John MacArthur. God bless you.

I want to personally thank John Macarthur for writing "The gospel according to Jesus". John showed me what salvation truly is and now I am truly walking with the Lord! Thank you Pastor Macarthur!

We are so thankful to God for all the free and true Biblical information we can find on GTY's website for the purpose of study. It is difficult when using internet search engines to find relevant Biblical information. Most of what we do find there, we don't know if we can trust what we learn. We know we can trust John MacArthur because of his dedicated study of God's Word and the Holy Spirit's confirmation of the truth of what he teaches. Thank you dearly for all the free Biblical studies we have learned from and look forward to continuing to learn from using your website. (We also love to learn from his books and preaching on tv.) Love in Christ Jesus, S

I thank our Father in Heaven for the many blessings that He so generously bestows upon us. I thank Him for His Word, so timeless and relevant. May the Lord continue to bless GTY’s ministry, so that others may be reached and saved. In Jesus' name I pray.