Alistair Begg is one of the most well-respected preachers in all of evangelicalism. His Truth For Life radio and media ministry reaches thousands of listeners every day. He has been the pastor of Parkside Church since 1983. Even those who don’t know his name are probably familiar with his powerful “Man on the Middle Cross” sermon. Thousands, in his local church and beyond, look to Pastor Begg for spiritual guidance. It is precisely for this reason that he now must be canceled (at least at his local church).
You may bristle at that statement. I abhor the cancel culture, spread like wildifre through social media, that has taken hold in our society. People should he allowed to do wrong and be wrong and still make a living. Cancel culture is judgemental and unforgiving. Even worse, that that judgement comes from a generally unrighteous society. Cancel culture creates an atmosphere of fear and repression. The judgement of the church, however, should not be feared. It is the judgement of a righteous people by a righteous standard.
Gina Carino dresses up like a space marshall and pretends to hunt outlaws with the Mandarlorian. She dared express personal opinions on gender contray to the zeitgeist. She was canceled. Kevin Spacey, far from a minor character Disney+ space-western, is one of the most talented and decorated film and theatre actors of our time. He got caught up by the #MeToo movement. He was canceled. Mike Lindell sells pillows. He dared question the outcome of an election. He was canceled. Alistair Begg doesn’t pretend to fight space criminals. Alistair Begg doesn’t sing and dance on Broadway. Her certainly doesn’t sell pillows. Alistair Begg is in the care of souls and Alistair Begg told one of those souls to attend her grandsons transsexual wedding.
I’ve lived roughly half my expected life span, in church since the womb and I can’t recall such horrible pastoral advice being given by anyone. To attend a wedding is to celebrate the marriage. To attend a wedding is to signal approval of the union. To attend a wedding to bear witness that the union took place before God and men…and any given “gay” or “transgender” wedding is basically two big middle fingers pointed towards Heaven and directed at the God who created us all male and female. In his epistles to the Romans, Paul not only condemns those who would engage in a wicked act like homosexuality, but condemns those who would express approval of them.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Romans 1:28-32 NASB1995
It is a sin, worthy of church discipline, to attend a gay wedding. To do so is to countenance sin. Begg told the grandmother who asked his advice to attend the so-called wedding and buy a gift for her grandson and his sodomite paramour. His argument was that, since the grandson knew that the grandmother was dedicated to Jesus, attending the wedding and buying a gift would be an act of “love” that would “catch them off guard.” Love does not countenance sin. The act of attending a celebration that formally defies God does not communicate a dedication to Jesus. Instead, it reinforces the homosexual propaganda that “love is love.” Consider the scripture above, do you even think that the transgender grandson and the man he intends to “marry” understand the love of God? Alistair Begg should be fired. The world doesn’t need the Christian witness of church members attending “gay” weddings.
It is precisely because of Begg’s history of faithful preaching that the grandmother sought his advice. We should not, therefore, look to Begg’s history of fidelity to the cause of Christ and let that overshadow this one instance of pastoral malpractice. Because of his history, Begg, more than anybody, should have known better. But he didn’t. His reputation needs to be thoroughly reconsidered. He’s telling a woman to sin. This advice defines where Begg is now, where he might of been before is all but irrelevant.
Bad advice is not unforgivable, even when the advice is sinful. The man on the middle cross would still let Begg into Heaven. Thank God we don’t have to get everything perfectly right to be saved. However, a biblical standard demands that Begg should not be let into the pulpit or your podcast rotation. He’s shown himself unqualified.
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church of which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
