Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, delivered a scathing open letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) this week, accusing the leader of “rewarding evildoers and punishing the righteous.”
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The Sept. 29 missive, seemingly sparked by Newsom’s decision to place pro-abortion billboards in conservative states, takes aim, among other grievances, at the liberal governor’s use of the Bible on those placards.
As Faithwire recently reported, Newsom employed Jesus’ words in Mark 12:31, placing the following message on billboards advertising abortion in at least two states: “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.”
MacArthur took explicit aim at this action and called the governor’s use of Jesus’ words an “act of gross blasphemy.” He then summarized the campaign as sheer “wickedness.”
“In mid-September, you revealed to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America promoting the slaughter of children, whom He creates in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16; Isaiah 45:9–12),” MacArthur wrote. “You further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12:31 as if you could somehow twist His meaning and arrogate His name in favor of butchering unborn infants.”
Read Pastor John MacArthur’s open letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, in response to billboard advertisements placed across the country by Newsom’s campaign shamelessly misquoting Mark 12:31 in support of abortion: https://t.co/7NjAUR6DFx
— Grace Church (@GraceComChurch) September 29, 2022
And he wasn’t done there. Earlier in the letter, the popular preacher went on to cite the Prophet Isaiah’s warning against calling good evil and evil good, claiming many of Newsom’s policies reflect an “unholy, upside-down view of honor and morality.”
MacArthur said the “diabolical effects” of Newsom’s beliefs are being seen in crime, homelessness, and other cultural consequences in California.
The pastor wrote that his goal in penning the letter — rather than political posturing or arguing — was to “plead” with Newsom to listen to the Lord.
“My concern, Governor Newsom, is that your own soul lies in grave, eternal peril,” MacArthur wrote. “You will stand in the presence of the Holy God who created you, who is your Judge, and He will demand that you give an account for how you have flouted His authority in your governing, and how you have twisted His own Holy Word to rationalize it.”
MacArthur offered hope Newsom might come to know Christ and turn from the aforementioned actions and said he and others are praying for the governor’s “full repentance” and reliance on Christ.
Read the full letter in its entirety here.
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