Why MacArthur's Gospel Leaves Listeners "Empty and Dry"

The tragedy of John MacArthur's gospel is that it imports the Mosaic Law requirements for Israel into the church age of grace.[1] Notice what one listener of MacArthur's radio broadcast "Grace To You" (a misnomer in that it is actually "Law To You") said in this regard. The listener of MacArthur's broadcast shared the following comment:

"John MacArthur leaves me empty and dry when I hear him on the radio. The letter of the law kills but the spirit gives life [2 Cor. 3:6]. I do love to hear Vernon Magee [i.e. J. Vernon McGee], even though he is dead [cf. Heb. 11:4], he is a wonderful man even with that accent that I have learned to love."[2]

This "dryness" is the inevitable result of lingering at the foot of Mt. Sinai rather than at the foot of the Cross. This experience mirrors the scene in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress where Christian is lured toward Mt. Sinai by Mr. Worldly Wiseman. As he draws near the mountain to seek relief from his burden through the Law, the hill begins to flash with fire and thunders so loudly that Christian falls down in fear, realizing that the Law cannot save but instead only condemns. 

D. L. Moody, the great 19th-century evangelist, encountered this same "Law-gospel" in his day and remarked:

"I pity those who are always hanging around Sinai, hoping to get life there... [My friend] thinks I preach free grace too much; and I must confess I do like to speak of the free grace of God. This friend of mine feels as though he has a kind of mission to follow me; and whenever he gets a chance he comes in with the thunders of Sinai... I have made inquiries, and I never heard of any one being converted under his preaching: the effects have always dwindled and died out. If the law is the door to heaven, there is no hope for any of us."[3]

The remedy for this spiritual dryness is not to strive harder under the Law, but to take a deeper drink of the finished work of Jesus Christ — where our standing is based on His performance, not ours.

References:

[1] Here I'm referring to the dispensation of the Mosaic Law in the Gospels (the Gospel of Matthew in particular that MacArthur especially draws upon), not discipleship per se. MacArthur fails to "rightly divide" the Word (2 Tim. 2:15) by taking the strict requirements of the Mosaic Law — which Jesus preached in Matthew to bring His Jewish listeners to the end of themselves — and turning them into a checklist for salvation in this church age of grace.

[2] "Ray Comfort/John MacArthur teaches a false gospel" (ChristianChat.com). See the comment by Jezreel (#3), dated September 19, 2009. https://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/ray-comfort-john-macarthur-teaches-a-false-gospel.6432/ (accessed 1-17-2026). The link to the archived page is: https://archive.ph/oYN7V (archive.today webpage capture).

[3] D. L. Moody, Sovereign Grace (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1891), pp. 48-49, brackets and ellipsis added.