Christian leaders respond to Alistair Begg saying people should attend "Trans Weddings"

Alistair Begg’s Advice on Attending a Trans Wedding

Hello in this video. I just want to return to the Alistair Begg story for a moment because since then since I did my original video several Well-known Christian leaders have weighed in so John Harris from the conversations that matter podcast.

He has commented. I'm going to show you what he said. Also James White from Alpha and Omega ministries. I'm going to show you what he said and then I'll add my statements at the end. But this is a big deal and something that I didn't really highlight this actually wasn't a Compromise on gay marriage quote-unquote.

This was actually a trans wedding, you know trans way. I don't even know how that works. But and I only bring that up because in the minds of most Christians a gay wedding is bad. It's unbiblical but a trans wedding is like at a whole other level.

So this is very serious and we need to pray that Alistair Begg would recant because it's getting a lot of attention and Here's what James White had to say and that'll play John Harris and then my comments at the end watch.

James White on Why This Is Not a Fine Line

I.

Love Alistair Begg. Love his accent, obviously. September of last year this just come out. September 17th, 2023. An interview about a sermon that he preached and At the end he makes comments that have left most everyone completely lost.

Here's a man again with as many years in ministry consistent ministry as I have. So decades and The Lord has used him mightily and great insights. But we're all influenced by the society in which we live.

And so I'm gonna play what he said. Make some brief comments and then we'll we'll wrap up.

So here it is the moment. Can you come alongside me learning to say? Yes, I know that these people believe a very different agenda that their lifestyle is Orientated in another direction and learning to say but I have no Basis upon which I could argue that I would myself would not be where they are where it not for the amazing grace of God where it not for his compassion towards me and In very specific areas this comes across.

I mean you and I know that we field questions all the time that go along the lines of my grandson is about to be married to a transgender person and I Don't know what to do about this and I'm calling to ask you to tell me what to do.

Which is a huge responsibility and in a conversation like that just a few days ago And people may not like this answer, but I asked that I asked the grandmother Does your grandson understand your? Belief in Jesus.

Yes. Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can't Countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life. Yes, I said well then okay as long as he knows that.

Then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony and I suggest that you buy them a gift. Oh. She said What she was caught off guard. I said, well, here's the thing You there you're not going to your your love for them may catch them off guard.

But your absence will simply reinforce The fact that they said these people are what I always thought judgmental critical Unprepared to countenance anything and it is a fancy. It is a fine line, isn't it?

It really is and people need to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, but I think we're gonna take that risk.

Ah.

Alistair it's not a fine line. It's a it's a clear biblical line now look we need to we need to acknowledge what he said He said do they know He said your your faith in Jesus. I'm not sure exactly that's a little vague.

Do they know that you you do not count limits that this is a proper thing to do because we're not talking about Homosexual marriage here. We're talking about transgenderism. So we're talking about I what does that even make it?

Does that make it a male-female marriage. I mean when you think about it, I don't even know I mean, that's There are really horribly messy things that happen in the world today but marriage established by God and It is not you know to say that we should not attend a homosexual marriage or Especially a Transgender marriage, which I don't even know what that would look like.

I Mean, is that a guy marrying a guy who's pretending to be a girl or a girl who's pretending to be a guy? I I can't even figure that one out but all of those are blasphemies of marriage itself and Hence to attend and to bring a gift is To demonstrate where your commitment is.

The grandma had the right sense. She had a basic proper sense and recognition that there's something disordered here. There's something wrong here and It's not a fine line. It is a line that takes courage it's a line that takes commitment.

It's a line that takes commitment to saying that marriage is defined by God and that therefore to attend to the blasphemy of that Established reality is something of believing Christian simply must refuse to do.

Now I can't speculate as to why Alistair Begg would come to this conclusion why he would for example Say it this demonstrates judgmentalism or narrowness or an unwillingness. I I don't know. I know that my my mother country in many years past is in full-scale wild rebellion Against God's way in God's truth.

That's for sure. I mean Scotland is Wow, what a mess Scotland is in. But I don't think that's what's going on here. At least I wouldn't expect it to be. So I don't understand this. What I hope is for serious responses for people to seriously say to Alistair Begg Brother, you need to rethink this you need that wasn't wise counsel that you gave to this woman.

Is there something else that you didn't mention that that would change? The character of this advice. I think we need to very graciously in light of Decades and decades of faithful ministry Go this seems completely out of character.

Could you explain? How that is not a fundamental compromise on the part of a Christian person to attend to an Anti-sacrament and a an act that is an open rebellion Against God's way in God's truth. That's what I would like to hear.

You know, there are people, you know jumping all over it. Okay, it needs to be discussed. But hopefully graciously. And I would I would hope Since it obviously flew under the radar for you know, four months.

Almost exactly four months. I. A public discussion of it on his part and an explanation. How is this not? How how is attending and bringing a gift? How is that not in some fashion an? Acceptance that this is a marriage.

It is not a marriage and no Christian can say it's a marriage.

The Need for Public Correction and Repentance

Alistair Begg is the person and I would say I don't discount all this man's preaching because of this one clip but. But there's compromise. There's compromise and So I'd like to start off with the question of what do you do with someone like that?

Who's had some some fairly faithful consistent preaching I think for decades and then says something like this. So I'm gonna play it for you. And then we'll talk about it on the other side in very specific areas.

This comes across I mean you and I know that we field questions all the time that go along the lines of my grandson is about to be married to a transgender person and I don't know what to do about this and I'm calling to ask you to tell me what to do.

Which is a huge responsibility and in a conversation like that just a few days ago. And people may not like this answer, but I asked that I asked the grandmother. Does your grandson understand your Belief in Jesus.

Yes. Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can't countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life. Yes, I said well then okay as long as he knows that.

Then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony and I suggest that you buy them a gift. Oh, she said. What she was caught off guard. I said, well, here's the thing. There you're not going to your your love for them may catch them off guard.

But your absence will simply reinforce The fact that they said these people are what I always thought judgmental. Critical unprepared to countenance anything and it is a fancy. It is a fine line. Isn't it?

It really is and people need to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. But I think we're gonna take that risk. We're gonna have to take that risk a lot more if we want to build bridges into the hearts and lives of those who don't understand Jesus and and Don't understand that he is a king.

Okay, so what do you do with something like this? This is kind of blatantly off. There's I don't even know what you would appeal to. I mean the only thing he's trying to appeal to principally is that we're supposed to be good witnesses.

So that means buy a gift if your child or grandchild is marrying a transgender person I don't know if this makes you recall the time there's a show Calvary Chapel have put out there called pastors perspective and It was Chuck Smith was getting older and he started there.

There was actually one. There was a few like weird things he said, but there was this one that sticks out to me where a caller called in it was a Female I believe and asked about abortion and He opened the door for in certain cases, perhaps.

Perhaps right. I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was like wait a minute doesn't that go against everything you've preached and the explanation and and I was somewhat satisfied with this at the time is He's getting old right and I really want to be able to say that about Alistair Begg here.

It's like well, he's getting older, you know, and if he's getting older perhaps take him out of the pulpit. Maybe maybe that's what needs to happen. His reasoning faculties just aren't there. He's not thinking straight and so it's like the insanity defense, right?

That's what I'd like to say because it really is from what I know. Maybe there's something some of you know that I don't but from what I know That's kind of a one-off that that's inconsistent with the rest of his Preaching and so and he is trying to at least say The grandson should know that you disapprove, but then you're going to give mixed signals by going attending right a fake ceremony that is meaningless, but you're gonna attend as a witness before God that these oaths are important and legitimate and then you're gonna give them a gift so they can start their life together, which is by definition a sinful life a.

Little weird.

I mean you can still give them a gift and spend time with them without going to the wedding and making it a wedding gift. Right and show them that you love them and be a witness, right? So this is like.

The Effect of Big-Name Evangelicals on Local Churches

So, what do you do with this? Well, yeah, I would expect Alistair big needs to. He needs to say something publicly needs to repent of this. He needs to be confronted on this and. Yeah, and maybe if this is the people close to him are realizing that he's having moments like this more consistently.

Hey time time for you to step down. That would be the obvious thing in my mind, but You know, this is it might be a little easier because of age In that situation and it's so out of the blue it just like knocks you down.

Once you have a big evangelical leader a supposed, you know Conservative evangelical leader once you have guys like Alistair Begg starting to say things like this. Starting to approve or it's even suggesting recommending that Christians attend gay weddings.

Once a guy like Alistair Begg does that the damage has already been done. Now you have taken that next step towards full Affirmation. Now to be clear Alistair Begg as far as I know he is Orthodox in his theology.

He is not affirming homosexuality. But he did tell a woman that a Christian woman that it's okay to attend a gay wedding. He said in fact you should go and you should buy them a gift. Because if you don't his reasoning his logic is that if you don't go it's just gonna reinforce their belief that all Christians are bigots, etc.

Now again, some of you don't believe me, you know, you think I'm making this up. I never say anything without Proof. Okay. So here's the clip. Listen to what Alistair Begg says.

You and I know that we field questions all the time that go along the lines of my grandson is about to be married to a transgender person and I don't know what to do about this and I'm calling to ask you to tell me what to do, which is a huge responsibility.

And in a conversation like that just a few days ago. And people may not like this answer, but I asked that I asked the grandmother Does your grandson understand your Belief in Jesus. Yes. Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can't countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life.

Yes, I said well then okay as long as he knows that. Then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony and I suggest that you buy them a gift. Oh, she said. What she was caught off guard. I said, well, here's the thing.

There you're not going to your your love for them may catch them off guard. But your absence will simply reinforce The fact that they said these people are what I always thought judgmental critical unprepared to countenance anything.

Okay, so I mean I sympathize with this woman, I mean it has to be difficult if a Christian woman or a man, you know was torn and they ended up going please understand. I'm not condemning anyone, but my friends you have to understand by attending that gay wedding.

It will be seen as affirmation. It's at least a step in that direction. It's like they say actions speak louder than words. So just understand once the big-name preachers start saying things like this.

Local church pastors are going to follow suit and then if a pastor says to his church members No, you should not be attending gay wedding. Someone will say yeah.

Well.

Alistair Begg says we can and he knows the Bible better than you and I mean this type of thing is going to lead to serious problems and division within the body of Christ so For Alistair Begg to tell this woman to attend no matter what she believes on paper, right?

No matter what she technically believes by attending. Yeah actions speak louder than words. It will be seen as Affirmation or again at least a step in that direction because nobody goes from solid Bible-believing Christian one moment to full-blown LGBT rainbow flag.

Affirmation the next like it happens in incremental steps. It's like deconstruction. It happens one step at a time. So not only will the gay couple view this as a form of affirmation I mean you're going you're buying them a gift that implies that you're gonna be.

You know smiling and at least on the surface going along with it to some degree. That's that's gonna be seen not just by the couple. But what about other people other Christians other family members? Just people looking at the situation.

It seems like affirmation.

But.

With the woman going the the worst thing about it in my view is is the pastor? Telling you to go like that's the worst part and I've had reservations about Alistair Begg for a long time. I have to admit that his preaching has always seemed solid everything.

I've heard from Alistair Begg seems good but Alistair Begg Also know is a council member for the gospel coalition and that never really sat well with me. I'm gonna release a video about the gospel coalition maybe tomorrow maybe next week, but The gospel coalition one of their writers just recently He said that the church should change and take the position that Noah's Flood was not a worldwide flood.

He said instead in order to improve our witness with the unbelieving world. We should say that the flood was only a regional flood and this is what the gospel coalition and people who work for them. This is what they do.

This is their whole deal. They take what the world thinks. You know, the flood is ridiculous. That's what the world thinks about that they take what the world thinks and they take what the Bible says and it's like let's try to find some middle ground which is compromise.

Gospel coalition or TGC members have also advocated that the church embrace evolution in the form of theistic evolution and now this with Alistair Begg that well technically homosexuality is wrong, but You know you as a Christian you should go to the gay wedding.

Which the wedding is a celebration of the couple coming together. Not only can you go Begg says you should go.

You know.

What if you go and the minister says during the ceremony if anyone has any reason why this couple should not get married let them Speak now or forever hold their peace. Then what's the lady supposed to say.

Alistair Begg has put her in a very bad situation. Again, I know that must be very difficult for a woman with a grandchild and I like I get it. It's gonna be really hard. But for a pastor to give that advice I Don't care what you say.

That's compromise on his part. So in conclusion, what's the takeaway? I don't want to leave you discouraged, but you know these issues. These issues need to be addressed and we need people to respond to this stuff with clarity.

Because you know the Pope and his statements and Alistair. But this is just muddying the water and that's what the devil wants to do. He wants to muddy the water. So we need to speak with absolute clarity on The issue that's what I'm trying to do.

So if you found this video helpful Consider subscribing click thumbs up that helps it to get out to more people and just know you're not alone. There are other like-minded believers out there. So we need to stick together Amen, and we need to support each other.

So thanks for watching and until next time. May the Lord be with you and have a great day.