Drinking with John MacArthur: A Friendly Critique

We will go so far as to say that alcohol—whether beer or wine—is about the enjoyment of life.

Introduction

With the release of The Essential Church, John MacArthur has been lauded for his courageous stand during COVID lockdown. I have expressed my gratitude for Jonny Mac in various articles. I defended his position and used the opportunity to chastise his opponents, who should have known better.

I am thankful for MacArthur’s commitment to the Scriptures and his love for the gospel of grace. Early in my study, MacArthur was certainly one wave that carried me into the rich world of the 16th-century Reformation. Since then, I decided to take the Reformation road much, much farther than my favorite Dispensationalist. We have embraced the larger Reformational world not simply because of its Soteriology—which we affirm—but because of the richness it provides to both mind and body. The Reformation means embracing the biblical vision of a new humanity engaging a re-created world in and through Jesus Christ.