Pastor John MacArthur Says Martin Luther King Jr. ‘Wasn’t a Christian at All,’ His ‘Life Was Immoral’

King, who held a Ph.D. in systematic theology and was a Baptist minister, is widely regarded not only as one of most influential political figures of the 20th century but also as one who was distinctly Christian. Nevertheless, he has also been accused of having multiple extramarital affairs.

RELATED: John MacArthur Touts the Benefits of Slavery in a 2012 Video That Has Resurfaced

MacArthur contended that celebrating King’s legacy of fighting for justice is “woke.”

“This was a symptom of the impact of the woke movement that basically displaced that whole [T4G] organization. That was really—it was over after that,” MacArthur reiterated. “And some of the effects of those men who were leaders there are still going on, and it had a negative effect on their leadership and, I think, the role they play in evangelicalism today.” 

“The Gospel Coalition kind of followed the same path and today, The Gospel Coalition is propagating just about anything and everything, good, bad, and indifferent,” MacArthur said. 

MacArthur went on to claim that TGC once sought to hold a conference at Grace Community Church, saying that a TGC representative told the church that TGC had “associated with some of the wrong people, some of the compromising people” and that the organization would rather identify with MacArthur. 

MacArthur said Grace Community Church rejected the request after seeing the lineup of speakers, which MacArthur said the church would “never, ever, ever have here.”

“Dealing with issues of gender and all that kind of thing,” MacArthur added. “So these amorphous evangelical organizations, without diligent, fastidious, vigilant leadership to keep them faithful to the truth of Scripture, just wander off and do everything and they become, I guess in a sense, useless as an entity.”

“The Gospel Coalition is like Christianity Today. It’s Christianity astray,” MacArthur concluded. 

Notably, this is not the first time MacArthur has made controversial comments about Martin Luther King Jr. For some years, MacArthur has told a story about driving to Memphis, Tennessee, with civil rights leaders Charles Evers and John Perkins on the night of King’s assassination. 

RELATED: 25 Martin Luther King Quotes

“When news of Dr. King’s murder broke, we drove to Memphis—and literally within hours after Dr. King was assassinated, we were at the Lorraine Motel, standing on the balcony where he was shot,” MacArthur wrote in 2018. “We were also shown the place where James Earl Ray stood on a toilet to fire the fatal shot.”