Responding to Alistair Begg Defenders (Stepping Down / Retirement Video)

Alistair Begg Defenders and the Pressure to Conform

Hello and thank you for listening to the Testing the Spirits podcast. In this episode, I'm going to be responding to Alistair Begg fans, Alistair Begg defenders, because I've about had it with some of these people.

Obviously, there's a lot of good folks who appreciate the ministry of Alistair Begg, and that's fine. I'm not against you. But it's become very clear to me that it's not just Alistair Begg who is now affirming this idea that a Christian not only can go and attend a gay wedding, gay wedding, quote unquote, because there's no such thing.

It's a ceremony. It's a celebration of sin, is what it is. But not only is Alistair Begg giving this advice, or he publicly gave that advice, that's a fact, but now his fans, his defenders, are now giving this advice.

They're going all over the internet and posting on Twitter and YouTube and Facebook, and they are now saying that this is the right thing to do. I've had several Alistair Begg supporters come on my YouTube channel, and they will say things like, Jesus would attend a gay wedding.

One of them said that attending a transgender wedding is completely in line with Christian.

Love.

They say this is Christ-like to attend a gay wedding and to buy the couple a gift. Why are they saying this? Why is there now hundreds, if not thousands, who knows how many, why are there all these Reformed Christians now saying that, yeah, you should attend a gay wedding.

It's completely in line with the teachings of Christ. Why are they saying this? Because Alistair Begg said it. This is the whole problem of when you follow a man instead of following the Word of God. A Reformed Christian, no true Christian, would have said this 20, 30 years ago.

So what has changed? The Bible hasn't changed. What's changed? Well, the culture changed. Alistair Begg, maybe he's always believed this way, I kind of doubt it, but now that Alistair Begg, this is the bigger point, now that Alistair Begg has publicly come out and given this advice, now people who follow him, now they're giving this advice.

Now there's all these people online, Reformed, you know, normally what you would call a conservative Reformed evangelical or a conservative Reformed Christian, now they're giving the same advice. This is the problem.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. So I'm going to play a video in a moment showing you where all this came from. I reviewed Alistair Begg's sermon. After the controversy broke, he preached a sermon defending himself where he basically attacked his critics as Pharisees.

I'm going to play that sermon and my review of it, or at least I reviewed parts of it. I'll play that in a moment. But just to go over what's been happening over the past 24 hours or so, I posted a video.

It was reported that Alistair Begg is stepping down from his role as senior pastor. So I posted a video saying Alistair Begg stepping down, whatever, retiring. He said in the clip, if you watched the clip, he said specifically, I am not retiring.

He said pastors don't retire. So I didn't use the word retire because he said he's not retiring. But he's stepping down from his role as senior pastor. So I did a video about that and I was talking a little bit about what happened earlier this.

Year.

And just most, I'd say 90, 95 of the comments were in support of what I had to say. But there was, you know, 5 or 8%, whatever, just defending Alistair Begg. And some of the people were pretty nasty and, you know, spreading slander.

And I had to block a few of them. Listen, if you disagree with me, that's fine. If you want to tell me I'm wrong and quote scripture, totally, totally fine. But slander or just spreading left-wing propaganda, no, you're going to get blocked or deleted.

But you would never expect that from reformed Christians or conservative evangelicals or Bible believers. But, you know, Alistair Begg is reformed and a lot of his fans are reformed and you would just never expect this.

But yeah, now they're coming on my channel saying, yeah, this is all, attending a transgender wedding is completely in line with Christian love. Jesus would attend that wedding. That's crazy. Okay, that's, that's crazy.

Romans 12:2 and the Call Not to Be Conformed

So that concept obviously is not found in the Bible anywhere. This idea that it's even a legitimate wedding. And I think Alistair Begg agrees with that. But this idea that a Christian should attend, because remember that was his advice to the grandmother.

He didn't say you can, you know, I give you permission or something. No, he said you should attend. And he said you should buy the couple a gift. Because if you don't attend, that'll just prove and reinforce this idea that Christians are these terrible, you know, judgmental bigots.

And so you, you should attend. That is unbiblical advice. So for the past 2000 years, here's the thing. If there's some Christian doctrine, because again, it's not biblical. So if there is a Christian doctrine or someone's teaching something as doctrine, and you're not really sure, because there's people on one side saying this and on another side saying that, another thing you can do is just look back at church history.

Because if you can't find anyone who believed this way for 2000 years, I mean, that pretty much settles it. So I would hang my hat on this. No one for the past 2000 years, no Christian before the 20th century, the late 20th century ever thought that it was acceptable for a believer in Christ to attend a quote unquote gay wedding and buy the couple a gift.

Nobody would have said this 50 years ago. So again, what has changed? Well, the culture has changed. That's what's changed. What does the Bible say? Romans chapter 12, verse two, do not be conformed to this world.

These people who are saying this, these Alistair Begg defenders now repeating his advice. They are, whether they admit it or not, whether they recognize it or not, they are being conformed to this world.

And now they are picking up Alistair Begg's rhetoric and they are now spreading this all over the internet.

Okay.

So let's just play the clip of Alistair Begg defending himself. And this was, I don't know, six, seven months ago, and I reviewed a part of that sermon and I want to play it for you now.

I would not answer in any other way, no matter what anybody says on the internet as of the last 10 days. If that were the case, I would never—if that were the case, I should never have said it in the first place.

If people want me to recant and to repent—to repent? I repent daily, because I say a lot of things that I shouldn't say. I mean, check with Sue, but the fact of the matter is, I'm not ready to repent over.

This.

I don't have to.

Okay.

So you can see Alistair Begg acts as if this is ridiculous. I mean, the idea that I would have to repent, I mean, you can see it in his face. I mean, that's just absurd. He says, I don't have to. Well, the majority of the body of Christ believes that you do.

So a lot of people are saying that this is just a prideful attitude. And listen, I don't want to accuse him, try to read his mind, read his heart, and accuse him of things. I'm doing these videos because I believe this potentially is a watershed moment in evangelical Bible-believing Christianity.

If one of the most respected and conservative pastors comes out and says this, and his church practically gives him a standing ovation, I mean, something has happened, and we didn't even realize it. So, I'm talking about this and doing several videos because I think it's that big of an issue.

But yeah, Alistair Begg, you're going to see later on, he says, oh, this will just.

Blow over.

I don't see how this can continue. I mean, he just doesn't think it's a big deal at all. And the idea that he would have to repent, yeah, I mean, that's ridiculous. So, not good, but let's play the next clip.

Pharisaic Separation and the Charge of Legalism

I've lived here for 40 years, and those who know me best know that when we talk theology, when we talk stuff, I've always said I am a little bit out of sync with the American evangelical world. For this reason, that I am the product of British evangelicalism, represented by John Stott, Martin Lloyd-Jones, Eric Alexander, Sinclair Ferguson, Derek Prime—I am a product.

Of that.

I have never been a product of American fundamentalism. I come from a world in which it is possible for people to actually grasp the fact that there are nuances in things. Those of you who are lawyers understand this.

Everything is not so categorically clear that if you put one foot out of this box, you've got to be removed from the box forever.

Okay, so right there, he took a swipe at American Christianity or American fundamentalism. Well, you know, fundamentalism. Who is a fundamentalist? Well, basically, his critics, he's labeling them as fundamentalists.

And you're going to see later on that he's going to imply that they're basically just a bunch of legalistic Pharisees. Let's listen to the next clip.

Pharisees, actually, is an Aramaic term for separatists. And the Pharisees were the religious exclusives of their day. Quotes, in their determination to conform strictly to the law, they held aloof from any and every contact which, in their view, might defile them.

This entailed an avoidance not only of Gentiles, not only of Hellenized Jews whom they regarded liberals, but of the common people as well, who through ignorance of the law no doubt broke it and, as lawbreakers, were unclean.

The superior and scornful attitude which the Pharisees adopted towards the common people appears several times in the Gospels, including right here in chapter 15. The Phariseic doctrine of holiness of separation from the world, he says, was a perverted doctrine.

The motivation to keep yourself pure and holy is a right motivation, but it was perverted by the way in which they applied it. Instead of seeking to be holy in thought and word and deed, while retaining relationships of love and care with all men, they withdrew from social contact with sinners and despised those who didn't follow suit.

They basically became a holy club. And they, in the process, became harsh and censorious. And it is that which Jesus is taking on when he tells these stories and when he gives these.

Parables.

If that's the Pharisees' attitude, what is the attitude of Jesus? Well, the attitude of Jesus is totally at variance with that of the Pharisees themselves. They were scandalized by his free and easy fraternization with these people.

You can't do that. You can't go there. That's why it begins. All the publicans and sinners who said, We gotta go meet Jesus! And the Pharisees were grumbling, Can you believe this thing? He goes to the house of publicans and sinners.

He meets with sinners.

Okay, so there it is. The not-so-subtle hint or accusation that my critics are like the Pharisees. Now, he talked about the Pharisees and their extreme separation. Here's the problem with that. Nobody is saying don't love the grandson.

Nobody is saying don't minister to these people. Nobody is saying don't take them out to eat. I mean, Jesus ate with sinners, right? Nobody's saying don't do that. All we're saying is don't attend the ceremony.

That's literally all we're saying. You shouldn't attend the ceremony because it is a celebration of what God calls sin. That's all we're saying. Okay, we're not. And the Pharisees were the enemies of God.

I mean, they were the enemies. They killed Jesus. So to imply that your critics are Pharisees, I mean, it's outrageous. But in the sermon, he really, and I don't know if he doesn't understand the criticism or if he's intentionally trying to muddy the water.

I'm not sure. But he seems to be saying that, oh, my critics are saying that we're not allowed to even be in their presence or that they're saying I'm gay affirming or they're saying we shouldn't minister to these people.

Nobody's saying that that I know of. I'm certainly not saying that. But just as far as separation, because he brought up the issue of the fundamentalists. Apparently, they're the bad guys. They're the Pharisees.

You know, you're a Pharisee. I mean, I will just read Psalm chapter one, verse one. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners. That's still in the Bible.

So you have to balance that with the desire to evangelize the lost, wanting to see them saved and loving your enemy, which I don't regard these people as an enemy. But are they an enemy to the faith? I mean, but again, nobody is saying don't minister to them.

We're literally just saying don't go to the wedding. But apparently he seems to think that makes you a Pharisee. Very disappointed. That's the thing that makes me most upset and disappointed with Alistair Begg.

Let's play the next clip.

The Storm Will Blow Over and the Refusal to Repent

Hopefully, this whole thing will just—the storm in the teacup will—eventually the teacup will.

Fall over.

There's only so many things you can—I don't know how you can keep this going, actually. The reason that I haven't responded to any of the things in a personal way is because there's nothing that I can really add that I think would make anybody believe me anymore.

I think I can make it worse if I say more things. And it's bad enough as it is. And just one other thought. And I expect people to—how do they decide which bit they're going to troll through the social media, which bits they want to pick up?

It was my personal opinion as I sensed what was best, as I learned about the individual and specific situation. That's as good as I can say. I hope that will be helpful to you.

Okay, so hopefully that was helpful. I'll say it again. This is compromise. Nobody throughout church history ever thought that a Christian should attend such an event. It is a celebration. It's not a wedding.

It's a celebration of sin. It's two people making a commitment that they will never repent for the rest of their life, because we vow to live in this relationship until death do us part. A Christian can't go and participate in that.

Unless the Christian went and that moment during the service, assuming that they still do this, you know, if anyone objects to this couple coming together in holy matrimony, you know, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Okay, if you go and at that moment you speak up and you call them to repentance and you preach the gospel, hey, great. God bless you. But that's obviously not what Alistair Begg told the grandmother to do.

He said, go, you should go and bring a gift, which bottom line, your presence is the affirmation. Oh, well, she says that, you know, she doesn't agree. And her granddaughter knows that she doesn't agree.

Actions speak louder than words. The fact that you're there with a gift, that is the affirmation. That's the affirmation that they're looking for. That this born-again Christian is now at this gay wedding.

Something has changed and that's not God's word. This is a clear compromise and Romans 12 verse 2 says, do not be conformed to this world. One last thing, and I've said it before, I'll say it again and again, I'll keep saying it.

This is the one question people have. They'll just say, well, you know, Jesus hung out with sinners, though. No, he didn't. Jesus never hung out with sinners. He did eat that one time with Matthew and his friends, the tax collectors and the sinners,.

Right?

Jesus did sit down and he had a meal with them and look, read that story. What does it say? Look at what it says. Jesus called them to repentance. So that's the big difference between going to this ceremony and Jesus eating with sinners.

He called them to repentance. So it's all about repentance. And again, with Alistair Begg, what I said in the previous video, he gave that advice. Listen, we all, you know, that's bigger than just a mistake, but we all make mistakes.

We all sin. It's how he responded. He doubled down. He tripled down. It's that he did not repent and he attacked his critics as basically just a bunch of Pharisees. That is what is disqualifying. And now you have all these Alistair Begg defenders basically promoting sin.

That's what they're doing.

Okay.

By defending and spreading that advice and attacking people who don't agree, they are defending sin. They're following Alistair Begg. This is how Christians, this is how leaders lead other people into sin.

So if a pastor is openly in sin and he won't repent and he's defending himself, this is how pastors lead other people into sin and false doctrine. It's happening right before our eyes and people are blind to it.

And most people I don't think are, but a lot of people are. It's because they don't want to see it. They know this isn't, they know this, Jesus and his apostles would never go to one of these events. I think people know that, but they have made a decision to side in with the world.

And you know how people are. They just don't want to admit when they're wrong. But this is what Christianity is about. Admitting that we are wrong. We are all sinners. I repent, I admit it. I confess my sin.

And 1 John 1, 9 says, if you confess your sin, then the Lord is faithful and just to forgive you of all of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And that's what God will do. So this is the good news of the gospel.

Even if you're the person getting married to the transgender person, right? Even if you're in that situation, even that person can repent and be saved. Anyone can be saved, but people have to repent. Thanks for listening.

And until next time, may the Lord be with you and have a great day.