Shepherd’s Conference 2009 – Session #3, John MacArthur

John MacArthur delivered an eloquent and poignant testimony of his 50 years of expository preaching, 40 of them at Grace Community church.

Initially, he shared the things he was committed to early on;

1. The church has to get the Gospel right
   
   1. His very first sermon at Grace Community was on Lordship salvation
      
   2. His second was on the Biblical model for the church
      
2. There are three basic elements in the history of the church
   
   1. It should bring glory to God
      
   2. Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone
      
   3. The church functions in and through the revealed Word of God
      

He also listed the non-negotiables that have governed his ministry:

• The absolute authority of Scripture
  
• The church is an assembly of believers who are worshippers informed by the Word
  
• Doctrinal clarity is essential. Clarity translates into conviction.
  
• Spiritual Discernment is vital to keep the truth from being perverted
  
• The church is to pursue holiness
  
• The church needs to develop godly leaders
  
• There should be a plurality of leaders
  
• Unity is produced by honest, mutual love and affection
  
• The church should be marked by prayer
  
• The church should be marked by sacrificial giving
  
• All of the non-negotiables result in evangelism. Evangelism is the people of the church leading lives that make the Gospel believable
  

A few choice quotes from the evening:

"We're not trying to reproduce the world in the church."

"We worship an unchanging God who has an unchanging message that comes out of an unchanging Word."