John MacArthur - Christ, Not Caesar, is head of the church

Running2win said:

Not sure what his Church does, but probably something similar.

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There was a pic showing they were packed to capacity and few masks to be seen.

_Dave_ said:

I just want to say how proud I am of Pastor MacArthur's opening of Grace Community Church. He is absolutely right that we are to render onto Caesar that which is Caesar's, but Caesar does not have authority over God's church.

To the comments here that he is putting his congregation at risk my answer is that he does not say attendance is mandatory. I'm pretty sure that the service will be live-streamed, and parishioners who are uncomfortable assembling during this virus time are welcome to stay home.

I'm also fairly certain that when we see that first service we'll see plenty of people wearing masks, avoiding shaking hands, hugging, etc.

Personally, next thing I think the church should do is get out from under the yoke of the government all together and decline the church tax exemption. But, that's a topic for another post.

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So are you a member of Grace Community Church? I agree, in order to stay pure, every church will have to drop the tax exemption.

rockytopva said:

Grace Community Church, led by Pastor John MacArthur, announced this week that it will not submit to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s order to halt indoor church services, declaring that “Christ, Not Caesar, is head of the church.”

John MacArthur's CA Church Announces It Will Not Submit To Gov. Newsom's Ban On Indoor Church Services ⋆ Activist Mommy

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He's leading others to an early grave.
Pastor: 40 infected with coronavirus after church event
An Alabama pastor says more than 40 people have been infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at his Baptist church
By
The Associated Press Pastor: 40 infected with coronavirus after church event

redleghunter said:

There was a pic showing they were packed to capacity and few masks to be seen.

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Is that recent, or do you know? It is optional at our church, and very few are wearing them.

rockytopva said:

Grace Community Church, led by Pastor John MacArthur, announced this week that it will not submit to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s order to halt indoor church services, declaring that “Christ, Not Caesar, is head of the church.”

John MacArthur's CA Church Announces It Will Not Submit To Gov. Newsom's Ban On Indoor Church Services ⋆ Activist Mommy

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Christ Himself acquiesced to the powers that think they be. What He teaches agrees with that philosophy as I understand it. We are never to strive with our fellow man. We are not to bow down to false gods either. The point is that it seems to be more about the pastor than about Christ.

pescador said:

Putting the lives of the congregation in jeopardy is not anything a responsible pastor would do. Since when did Jesus say "kill my sheep"?

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How many people who go to his Church are going to die? They know the risks and are adults.

Dave L said:

He's leading others to an early grave.

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No, He is following God not men. He is doing what the Bible says to do as we see the day of the Lord approaching. If it is the time for some members of the congregation to die, it is their time. God numbers our days, not a virus.

What can man or a virus do to me? The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, whom shall I fear? Come on! Where is your faith people?


13For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

1The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

2When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

3Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

How many people who go to his Church are going to die? They know the risks and are adults.

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Bingo! It's the same ole fear mongering the enemy has been pushing, and slandering conservative, Bible believing Pastors is the norm today- even among those that claim to follow Christ.

I agree with John M 99.9% of the time.
Once more he gets it right.
John has been teaching the Bible for over 60 years
and yet some think they know more.

Mcarthur is a fabulous Theologian and pastor in our times. My only regret is like Piper he is getting old and feeble and may not be able to be with us much longer. For those saying hes putting his congregation at risk I'm sure hes using separation laws and his congregation are probably still required to wear masks.

I've watched a recent sermon of his, it seemed most of his congregation were fairly distanced apart. Dunno about masks but everyone is requiring everyone to wear a mask everywhere these days.

rockytopva said:

Grace Community Church, led by Pastor John MacArthur, announced this week that it will not submit to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s order to halt indoor church services, declaring that “Christ, Not Caesar, is head of the church.”

John MacArthur's CA Church Announces It Will Not Submit To Gov. Newsom's Ban On Indoor Church Services ⋆ Activist Mommy

Click to expand...

It is the duty of the church to remain open despite tyrannical government orders. The church is to share the gospel and believers are to participate in the means of grace. Believers are in far more danger not participating in the means of grace than they are in danger of dying from Chinese Coronavirus. We cannot pretend to be wiser than God, he commands our presence in worship and he does not add an asterisk excusing us because of mass hysteria over a virus that 99.7% survive.

Running2win said:

No, He is following God not men. He is doing what the Bible says to do as we see the day of the Lord approaching. If it is the time for some members of the congregation to die, it is their time. God numbers our days, not a virus.

What can man or a virus do to me? The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, whom shall I fear? Come on! Where is your faith people?


13For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

1The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

2When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

3Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.

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This is why people know some "Christians" ARE crazy. Two people meeting at home are more of a church than what passes for the church today.

rockytopva said:

Grace Community Church, led by Pastor John MacArthur, announced this week that it will not submit to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s order to halt indoor church services, declaring that “Christ, Not Caesar, is head of the church.”

John MacArthur's CA Church Announces It Will Not Submit To Gov. Newsom's Ban On Indoor Church Services ⋆ Activist Mommy

Click to expand...

I liked this well-measured, thought-out response from the 9Marks guys:

https://www.9marks.org/article/a-time-for-civil-disobedience-a-response-to-john-macarthur/?s=09

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

How many people who go to his Church are going to die? They know the risks and are adults.

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How many I wonder don't believe any risk exist.

Running2win said:

So are you a member of Grace Community Church? I agree, in order to stay pure, every church will have to drop the tax exemption.

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No. Fortunately, I live in a free state and our church has been holding service for some time now ... with voluntary masks, no handshakes, no passing around of the offering etc.

I do catch most of Pastor MacArthur's sermons, however. And have watched many, many hours of his teachings at the GTY site and on YouTube. Since the passing of Chuck Missler he's my go-to guy when I need a refresher course in sound biblical doctrine.

Running2win said:

Where's your faith? What happens when the time comes to worship the beast or not if you are afraid to even go to church now? Did you even read the article. How can any born again christian not agree with what he wrote?

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I’ve been attending church every Sunday. Our services are broadcast via Facebook.

redleghunter said:

There was a pic showing they were packed to capacity and few masks to be seen.

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They are asking for trouble. We have had seven church-related COVID outbreaks in WV. One of them spread to 70 people, one of whom died.

_Dave_ said:

No. Fortunately, I live in a free state and our church has been holding service for some time now ... with voluntary masks, no handshakes, no passing around of the offering etc.

I do catch most of Pastor MacArthur's sermons, however. And have watched many, many hours of his teachings at the GTY site and on YouTube. Since the passing of Chuck Missler he's my go-to guy when I need a refresher course in sound biblical doctrine.

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Have you ever seen Piper or Sproul either? I think they are both fantastic as well. I used to like how Piper preached it was with such love for God in his heart. It's a shame Piper retired and Sproul is with Christ now. But at least Piper still does his radio show for Lord knows how much longer.

I still like watching Sprouls sermons and classes but there's not anything much new anymore. Ligionier just keep replaying the same lectures over and over again. If you havent seen either you might like them. They're on par with Mcarthurs teachings.

Redwingfan9 said:

It is the duty of the church to remain open despite tyrannical government orders. The church is to share the gospel and believers are to participate in the means of grace. Believers are in far more danger not participating in the means of grace than they are in danger of dying from Chinese Coronavirus. We cannot pretend to be wiser than God, he commands our presence in worship and he does not add an asterisk excusing us because of mass hysteria over a virus that 99.7% survive.

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I have been watching a series of Gospel study videos without attending the church publishing them. They were published earlier this year on the church website.

Grace is not something that was automatically imputed to me for sitting in a pew, singing hymns and contributing to the offering.

In one family both the husband and the wife died from the coronavirus and left their three children orphaned. Telling people not to wear face masks is part of the problem, not the solution.