I would like to take a moment and honor the memory of one of the most respected Bible expositors of our day who is now with the Lord, Dr. John MacArthur. I cannot think of a more fitting way to do this than to draw attention to one of the greatest legacies he leaves the evangelical church, namely The Master's Seminary.
Regrettably, all too many pastors today are woefully weak in such areas as theology, church history, theological ethics, the biblical languages, and apologetics. Christian leaders have a duty to improve their own education. They have an obligation to read serious books about the Bible and hermeneutics instead of some psychological pablum often sold in Christian bookstores. Wise Christians will reject all such nonsense. These Christians know that the only faith capable of meeting the challenges of today -- the only faith worthy of their continuing commitment -- is historic Christian orthodoxy. The three men on this panel are profoundly convinced of that. They are adamant that pastors need to learn how to think biblically. They care deeply about the content of education. They demonstrate irrefutably that there is no such thing as a neutral educational system. That's why seminaries are so important. Here thinking is shaped, formed, and matured by the word of God. The question of values, standards, and biblical norms must once again be given center stage in the educational process.
Irv Busenitz was one of my professors at Talbot. I took him for every class I could. At the time Dick Mayhue was pastor of Grace Brethren Church in Long Beach. Through the years we became friends, and it was to him that I dedicated my second book. It is nothing short of amazing what they accomplished by God's grace, under Dr. MacArthur's leadership, in establishing The Master's Seminary, a school that makes no apology for its commitment to Jesus Christ, to the inspired and authoritative word of God, and to the essential doctrines of Christian belief that have always defined the nature of historic Christianity.
To God be the glory.