Remembering the Day I Changed My Mind About Dr. John F. MacArthur

I remembered back then when all I had learned about Dr. John F. MacArthur was based on slanderous accusations from a Hylestic website that has a lot of heresies that you may have not noticed since it's one huge site. Later I realized something was pretty wrong with the Hyles Foundation especially with one cover-up after the other (though many of the articles there are still useful but I soon figured out Jack Hyles himself taught a watered down repentance) and I apologize to him and his organization for that. The sites accusing Dr. MacArthur of this and that were taking things straight out of context or misrepresenting him. Then I started to analyze Grace to You myself and found out that the first edition of "Hard to Believe" had an erroneous statement made which was later revised. Thank God that the old copy of "Hard to Believe" is gone. 

Some of the critics of Dr. MacArthur believe that he's teaching works salvation. But the more I read through his books (and right now, I'm also listening to Paul Washer's sermons) the more I realize why they are falsely accused of teaching works salvation. Dr. MacArthur himself is a proponent of once saved, always saved while he warns that some people can claim to have it but never had it. What does that mean? You can always claim you are once saved, always saved but your lifestyle is far from it. I thought I was an "easy believist" until I realized I can't agree with the whole idea you can get saved and still live like the world. Although Christians may not be 100% sinless, the flesh is still there, some people didn't give their all (Lot, Samson, Solomon) but there's a difference. Remember Lot vexed a lot while he was in Sodom, Samson felt remorse in jail and Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes to express his wasted life - all as proof that they were still believers.

The more I read through Grace to You the more I agree with the definition of repentance. Right now, I still struggle with Calvinism if I should embrace it considering that some teachers that Dr. MacArthur and I endorse weren't Calvinists. Some still endorse non-Calvinistic teachers such as Vernon McGee and Aiden W. Tozer (though I cringe why he refutes Roman Catholicism while liberally quoting some Roman Catholic mystics). I still endorse David W. Cloud (I'm a moderate King James only like he is) remembering how he said he can still embrace a Calvinist as a brethren (if they show signs of true conversion) all the while he's still convinced that Calvinism is error.

Then I decided I should "catch up" and buy some books written by him. I started reading with "Fool's Gold" which was useful insight. I went for "The Gospel According to Jesus", "The Jesus You Can't Ignore" and later "Hard to Believe". I can't read in any one of them were works were require to be saved. When you say salvation is for those who put Christ first place I would dare agree with that. If you depend on your works or you love your sin then you will refuse Christ or accept a wrong christ. The truth is that salvation is free but it can cost you everything you hold dear. How true. How many people today love the world and sin too much that they refuse to be saved. Also, the Gospel isn't mean to be tailored to suit the needs of people but to be promoted as the hard to swallow truth that people must have.