Dear Alistair Begg
Dear Alistair Begg,
Over the past decades many of us have appreciated your ministry of the Word from afar. Unlike so many other pastors of churches (especially large churches) who have ignored difficult, culturally despised passages of Scriptures unashamed of the gospel you have not. You have spoken with biblical clarity, courage and compassion you have done this regularly. And you have done so full of grace and truth. Thank you for this. Your message about “the man on the middle cross” was and remains very powerful and encouraging to all of us who are sinners who know we are saved by God’s grace in Christ alone. Thank you for that and praise God for His grace to seek and save sinners like us who were once lost but have been found. What is written below is done so out of love for the Lord and His truth as well as a love for the flock God has entrusted to us to serve as under-shepherds under the Lord Jesus the chief shepherd. And it is done out of love for you.
In recent weeks you have been called on to repent for your public words when you counseled a grandmother to attend her grandchild’s transgender “wedding” ceremony. It was reported by your staff recently shared you consider attending a matter of individual conscience on par with a Christian going to a rated R movie or not (it’s not the same). Then this past Sunday you doubled down. You said you not only won’t repent and mocked the idea but you called those of us who have raised serious concerns with your counsel “American Fundamentalists” comparing us to “Pharisees lacking compassion.” Really?
Pastor Begg when heretics and false teaches who hate God’s truth are defending and praising you on this counsel that ought to give you pause. When many faithful Christians who are for you but disagree strongly with the counsel you gave, don’t you think that matters (see at the very bottom many names who disagree with you)? Is it not worth seriously considering your claims in light of Scripture? Is it not a better route to seek out God-fearing counselors rather than defensively dismissing all of those who made the claims? How did you arrive at the conclusion that someone is a cold, pharisaical, American fundamentalist for caring deeply about biblical consistency in our Christian witness? Do you really think caring about God’s glory and truth especially God’s design for marriage and not belitting or lying about true marriage and blessing others in their sins makes one a pharisee without compassion? Regardless of your intention that is what your defense sounded like.
About fifteen years ago Evangelical Baptist seminary President Dr. Al Mohler said to (false teacher) Joel Osteen who had in context just said he (Osteen) would attend such a “wedding”:
“This is beyond mere incoherence. It is moral and theological nonsense. More than that, it is a massive statement of ministerial malpractice…you cannot celebrate what you say you know to be sin. You cannot honestly say that same sex-marriage defies the law of God, and then join in the celebration of that ceremony.”
Pastor Begg, how exactly is Mohler wrong here since you seem to disagree with Mohler and agree with Osteen now? Is the Word of God sufficient for us still and has God not spoken clearly enough in His Word? Are the sins of cross-dressing, exchanging the truth of God, lying as well not clear? What about the warnings on who will not inherent the kingdom of God-are these not defined clearly in the Scripture? Is God not clear these are something to repent of and flee from that will lead to earthly and eternal destruction and does it not follow we should not at all endorse or encourage them (Deuteronomy 22:5;Romans 1:24-28; 1 Cor. 6:9-11)? Are we not called to hold marriage in high esteem? (Hebrews 13:4)?
Pastor Begg do you know of any respected God-fearing, Evangelical Christians who agrees with the counsel you gave here? Can you at all see how some would claim it is incompatible with Scripture and truth? And with these particular sins in our day when the world is “squeezing us in its mold” (JB Philips translation of Romans 12:1-2) how do you not see your counsel was unwise and foolish?
Do you not see the incoherence of your counsel when applied in other situations? For example:
Christian: “Pastor my grandson is joining the Klu Klux Klan and invited me to his hooding ceremony. what should I do?”
Pastor: “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?
Christian: “Yes”
Pastor: “And 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?”
Christian: “Yes.”
Pastor: “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 him and the his other friends being hooded at the ceremony a gift.”(credit to Ethics Professor Daniel Strand for this example)
Pastor Begg you might think this example ridiculous but by what standard is it any different than the counsel you gave? By what standard other than a very fuzzy subjective one is there a difference? You said you might counsel other people differently. Okay, based on what? You have already given a loophole and said at times attending such a “ceremony” may be acceptable. You have made your position clear that you feel going is a conscience matter and is connected to showing compassion. So would not attending be cruel and if it would not why not? By what standard can you claim it is wrong for a Christian to attend a polygamous “wedding ceremony”? A divorce party? A post-abortion celebration? An illegal border crossing reunion? (Oh you claim but that last example is illegal and immoral so there! Okay let me ask you this then: what if “the laws” of a nation changed so that it was merely immoral to cross a border and not illegal. Just immoral. Would you then attend an illegal border crossing reunion party so people would not think you were judgmental so you could build bridges and take risks? Would people really know Jesus is a king and what kind of king would he be if you participated in each of these?)
You recently claimed to only be concerned with the relationship between this grandmother and her grandchild above all. Respectfully this is not acceptable for a true God-fearing minister and I think you know it. Relationships can never trump truth. God has spoken clearly and sufficiently in His Word and we are in His world where God has also spoken secondarily to our consciences and in the creation. In Scripture God has told us to faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ is costly and will even divide families and involve the world hating us. Is refusing to participate in evil celebrations no matter the cost not part of the cost of following Christ?
You said you did not know this woman. Why didn’t you direct her to Scripture that speaks of the cost of following Jesus? Why didn’t you direct her to her husband or to the pastors or fellow church members of her local church? Pastor Begg many of us pastoring in the local church wil have to deal with the ramifications of your counsel here and it is not an enjoyable prospect (Update: Begg said this past Sunday, Jan. 28 he did direct her to her husband. Originally he did not though in September 2023).
Pastor Begg we have another issue with you. You clearly broadened your counsel beyond this grandmother to Christians back in September 2023 when you said you thought “we would need to take risks like this more and more to build bridges so people know Jesus is a king.” Do you stand by this counsel? What are some examples of these risks? It is all relative and subjective? How can we know if we should take these risks and if the risk we take would honor God?
We are very sad to see you double down and defend yourself over what is a short putt and an easy layup. You are the first Evangelical to offer, defend and stand by this foolish counsel.
We hope and pray you will come to repent or at a minimum say something like:
“Above all I want to glorify God according to the whole counsel of His Word. In recent weeks it has become clear many God-fearing Christians disagree with my counsel and consider it a very serious error. God tells us in His word faithful are the wounds of a friend and that the one who speaks first seems right until another comes and cross examines him. I am committed to prayerfully searching the Scriptures and listening to faithful Christian friends who disagree with me. I want you to know I have no desire to endorse or celebrate sin or confuse God’s people. God has spoken clearly in His Word on what marriage is one man and one woman. It is dishonoring to God when people mock His design and cast off the very good gender God has blessed them with and kindly given them. I know a lot of you are feeling pressure to conform to the world and perhaps even for some of you to give in to these sins. Please don’t use my counsel to justify any sins in your life. Don’t use my words to live a cowardly, quiet life that never speaks the truth in love or that disobeys God’s Word or harms your conscience or witness. That was not and is not my intention. Flee to Christ and find forgiveness, freedom and hope in Him alone. Find a faithful local church that takes God at His Word and is unashamed of the gospel. Join it and follow your pastors as they follow Christ to God’s glory. Pray for me please and let us seek to glorify God and live wisely in this present evil age exalting Christ and seeking to be full of grace and truth.”
Something like the above would be very welcome and a true blessing to the larger body of Christ (even if you do not yet think you need to repent). We pray you do change course quickly and repent of this unbiblical and foolish counsel. We pray you see your counsel for what it is: compromised, inconsistent with Scripture and common sense, conformed with the spirit of the age, cowardly, relativistic, worldly, antinomian (against God’s law), partnering with darkness and unrighteousness, diminishing of marriage, mocking the Creator’s good design, giving the appearance of evil, promoting lies, rejecting God’s counsel to hold to what is good and live a holy life as God is holy and more. This is not a matter of individual conscience. We love you and so we tell you this now praying for you and for your repentance. We are not singling you out but are confident God is glorified when brothers speak the truth in love (even brothers you have never met). And we are confident God is glorified and His church is edified and more unified under Christ’s Lordship according to God’s Word when we humble ourselves and admit errors, foolish counsel and sinful advice. We are confident Christ’s church militant is more zealously committed to the saving gospel, Christ’s kingdom and holy living in anticipation of Christ’s return when there is public repentance for public sins and when Christian leaders model this. And this is true not only you but every single Christian who is not straightforward about the truth of the gospel (Galatians 2:14). We warn you Pastor Begg that if you continue to be obstinate and dig your heels in we truly do fear what may come of you and your ministry legacy that God has blessed. You will reap what you sow and no man is above biblical correction. Your words carry great weight because have you earned the respect of many for faithful gospel ministry over the years. As Tom Ascol wisely put it:
“The error of a faithful teacher is more dangerous than the error of a kook. The former will be considered more seriously because of the trustworthiness of the source. The latter is regarded skeptically because of the source.”
May you Alistair Begg listen to your own words at the Liberty University 2023 Convocation:
Pastor Begg you also recently and rightly said:
“Either we are operating from a worldview that is framed by the thought forms of the age or by a worldview that is grounded in the will of God. No possibility of compromise, actually between, the two. They’re incompatible…we cannot hate and we cannot affirm because of God’s Word. We have to be prepared to say we are unprepared to rewrite the Bible in order to accommodate a society that needs the Bible and needs the Jesus who is the focus of the Bible.”
Amen and indeed! This is sound counsel from God’s Word that you should have given that grandmother and this does not square with what you told her to do and are now defending. Know we are praying for you. God is good and faithful true and just. He is gracious and forgiving.
In and for Christ with love and appreciation for so much of your ministry,
The Elders of Christ the King Reformed Baptist Church
To read more from those who oppose Begg’s counsel: courageous and thoughtful blogger Samuel Sey, respected professor Carl Trueman, leading New Testament scholar Robert Gagnon, seasoned and gracious apologist Greg Koukl, sharp cultural commentator and writer Bethel McGrew, scholar Tony Costa and more.
Many Christians have addressed these same matters and in the past have directly opposed the counsel Begg gave: President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and public theologian Al Mohler, respected pastor and author Kevin DeYoung, African Christian University’s Voddie Baucham, best-selling author Rosaria Butterfield (a former lesbian), Christian author and podcaster Alisa Childers, recent convert and author Becket Cook (a former homosexual) to name but a few.