John MacArthur on Canon of the Old Testament
1939 – 2025 · REFORMED BAPTIST / DISPENSATIONAL
READ IN A PRIMARY SOURCEAFFIRMS°
66 books — Apocrypha useful but not Scripture
"the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, constitute the Word of God."
THE POSITION
66 books, stated as directly and plainly as any entry in this whole project.
13 OTHERS HOLD THIS
AthanasiusCalvinJonathan EdwardsThe Church of Eleven22 Statement of FaithJosh HowertonSecond London Baptist ConfessionLutherGavin OrtlundJohn OwenJustin PetersR.C. SproulWestminster ConfessionZwingli
Wider canon — deuterocanonical books includedAQUINAS · AUGUSTINE
Predates or straddles the settled disputeCHRYSOSTOM · IRENAEUS
See all 21 figures on canon of the old testament →ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Pastor of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, from 1969 until his death in July 2025. Expositional preaching, hard cessationism, dispensational premillennialism. Researched from the church's own Doctrinal Statement, covering all 15 loci in one document.
15 OF 16 POSITIONS QUOTED
Everything John MacArthur holds →Cite this page
"John MacArthur on Canon of the Old Testament", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/macarthur/ot-canon (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/macarthur/ot-canon).