Bob Tamasy
American Christianity said farewell to an iconic Bible teacher and theologian last week. John MacArthur, who pastored his church in California for more than 50 years, passed from this life at the age of 86 and went on to his eternal reward. Over that span he preached more than 3,000 sermons and authored hundreds of books.
Sometimes controversial but always steadfast in his trust in the inerrancy and timeless relevance of the Bible, MacArthur was known for his verse-by-verse exposition of the Scriptures and bold stance on foundational biblical principles and doctrines. While some might have differed with some of his interpretations, MacArthur left a solid legacy of unwavering confidence in the Word of God, touching countless lives through his preaching, radio programs, and writings.
In 2 Timothy 4:3 the apostle Paul warned, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” We’re living in such a time, but MacArthur wasn’t among those teachers. He was a champion of biblical truth, letting Scripture interpret Scripture rather than shaping the message from the pulpit to fit the prevailing culture.
I met MacArthur once at a CBMC conference where he was the week-long Bible teacher. One of his messages pointed me to a life-changing understanding of my relationship with Jesus Christ. He was speaking about how to study the Scriptures effectively, suggesting one way for grasping what a book of the Bible says is to read it repeatedly. He suggested 1 John in the New Testament as a good start, since it consists of only five chapters and can easily be read daily over the course of a month.
That’s what I did. Every day for 30 days I read through 1 John, a simple book that offers a clear, concise synopsis of the Gospel. Its teachings gradually became more and more familiar, but I kept stumbling over two seemingly contradictory verses.
The verses were 1 John 2:7-8, “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in [Christ] and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”
It troubled me that the apostle John was saying in one verse this was an old command “which you have had since the beginning,” but in the very next verse was declaring it’s “a new command.” If one of these verses had appeared at the start of the book and the other at the end, I might have concluded John was addressing different things. But as a writer, I questioned how this close follower of Christ could be saying two apparently opposite things in consecutive verses. I thought, ‘Come on, John, is it old or is it new?!’
I was in a small group Bible study at the time, and we’d been memorizing specific Bible verses. One was Galatians 2:20, which says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” The other was 2 Corinthians 5:17, which declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
These verses also bothered me. While believing they were true, I wasn’t experiencing them in my life. I was still being defeated by some of the same temptations and sins I’d always wrestled with. Jesus didn’t seem to be living in me. And I didn’t feel like a new creation. In my mind I was the same old sinful mess I’d always been.
Over time, however, pondering these passages and others, I came to a startling realization. I’d been trying to live the so-called ‘Christian life’ in my own strength, maybe asking God for a little boost from time to time. I was way off base. God wanted me to recognize that living the Christian life isn’t difficult – it’s impossible. That is, without the power of Christ at work in me through His Spirit.
This is why Jesus told His disciples, “…apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The apostle Paul had learned this lesson well, but also observed, “I can do everything through [Christ] who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Getting back to the two verses in 1 John that had confounded me, they affirmed for me this truth. Admittedly, the context for those words concerns loving one another as believers. However, God used them to help me understand that all of His commands, starting with the Ten Commandments, have been given to mankind from the beginning. As we read the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, we see even the most faithful have had a terrible time obeying God’s requirements.
So, the apostle John was stating the command to “love your neighbor as yourself,” originally found in Leviticus 19:18, is an “old command.” However, through the power of Christ living in us, it is now also a “new command.” That is, we might not be able to love our neighbor as we should – as well as many other things. But by allowing Jesus to work in and through us, we can do what we’re commanded to do.
After years of struggling, praying and then telling God, ‘I can’t!’ His response to me, in essence, was ‘I know, My child, but I can do it through you – if you’ll let Me.’ And I have John MacArthur to thank for putting me on the path to discovering this foundational truth.
* * *
Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor, and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 20 books. These include ”Marketplace Ambassadors”; “Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace”; “Tufting Legacies,” “The Heart of Mentoring,” and “Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart.” He writes and edits a weekly business meditation, “Monday Manna,” which is translated into nearly 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for Bob's blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.