What About Begg?

“Do not, many of you, become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the entire body as well” (James 3:1, 2, Legacy Standard Bible). I wrote earlier this week about Alistair Begg’s comments to a grandmother, encouraging her to attend a ceremony that celebrates the rebellion of two people against God’s Word on marriage. In this blog, as painful as this is, I want to deal with Begg himself. Begg is a very prominent preacher around the world, and in our area where we live, he perhaps looms even larger due to his church being less than an hour away.

First, we need to understand something clearly that James says in the above verses, that we all stumble in many ways. In celebrity pastor or celebrity Christian culture, we too easily fall into the trap of forgetting that those who become well-known are still men who are in need of God’s grace daily. I promise you that every famous pastor still is in need of daily foot-washing by Jesus as they continue to struggle with sin in their lives. We all say we are in need of grace, but unfortunately, when that need is revealed as someone stumbles, we can all react like we expect true perfection from one another. Do not hear this as an excuse for Begg’s comments, it is not, but rather a simple recognition that we so often fail to remember that every Christian is in need of God’s grace every moment of their lives.

For Begg’s part, over the years he has had a faithful ministry of the Word of God to millions of people, and no doubt millions have benefited from such. The reason this latest issue is so shocking is because it is so far afield from what we would expect from such a faithful man. It may give us pause, to reconsider the issue because Begg has been so faithful, but it does not take long to evaluate this issue and recognize that on this one, Begg is grievously wrong. Unfortunately, since then, I now have greater sorrow and concern for Begg.

Last Sunday, Begg put out a sermon to his church and the public defending his remarks, and what was revealed in that sermon is sorrowful. You can listen to it by clicking here if you desire, and if you plan to comment on this, then you ought to at least take the time to listen to it yourself, do not take my commentary on it alone. The reason I find this sermon so disturbing is that I am confident Begg knows how to handle Scripture based on his years of faithfulness, therefore it is very difficult to assign his mistreatment of God’s Word and other people in this sermon to ignorance or innocence. I desire not to see Begg as sinister whatsoever, but this sermon is revealing a character in Begg that is grievous.

In his sermon, Begg seems to be confused and irritated about the many people criticizing his comments to this grandmother, which is why I began this blog post quoting James 3. James had no idea there would be celebrity pastors when he wrote that I am sure, but God knew. Begg has chosen to promote, or at least allow himself to become a teacher of many people, and as he did, he chose to take on the scrutiny, the responsibility, and the accountability that he is now under. James warns us of taking on this responsibility in the church, how much more if one takes it on over millions of people? There is stricter judgment, and that stricter judgment comes both from the Lord and from those who sit under your teaching. Begg should not be surprised by the criticism he is receiving, and he should not bemoan that criticism, but rather recognize that he himself signed up for that when he took on this role. Furthermore, he should be even more concerned about the future judgment before Christ he will have.

Begg also claims that this firestorm surrounding him is a result of private counsel that he gave to a grandmother in one specific situation, and he seems upset with the fact that this private counsel has created such a problem. Once again, Begg is failing to accept his own responsibility in this matter. It is Begg who chose to take his private counsel and make it public, and in so doing, he even stated that many were not going to like what he had to say. Begg cannot now act like he is surprised, like the reaction people are having is out of line, when he knew what he was saying was not going to be well received. Unfortunately, Begg is painting himself in these things to be a victim of others, rather than owning his words. He also claims it is private counsel for only one particular situation, then later goes on to state that he is always going to land on the side of compassion over condemnation, thus seeming to say that this is the counsel he would give more frequently. He wants to both hold on to his comments and back away from his comments at the same time.

Ultimately, that seems to be Begg’s conclusion, that if he is erring, he is erring on the side of compassion over condemnation. In drawing this conclusion, however, he is accusing others of calling for condemnation on those who are in such sins rather than trying to hear their argument that we can have compassion on such people, but his specific call to action is a sinful way to try to demonstrate what he calls compassion, therefore it is not even compassionate. Begg desires nuance for his position and gives none to the many who call for repentance from him. He sets himself up to be the white knight of compassion and those who oppose his view as the evil villains of condemnation. It is sorrowful that he would go to such lengths to defend himself.

The worst of it all, however, is not Begg’s failure to own his responsibility in the matter, nor is it his boasting about his compassion and his unkind condemnation of those who desire to see him truly repent and come to the truth. No, the worst of it all is Begg chose to misuse and abuse the Word of God in defending himself. Begg chose to use the parable of the prodigal son to defend himself, and rightly choosing to focus on the elder brother, the main character Jesus is focusing on as well in that parable. However, he equates those who do not agree with him as being the elder brother, that the brother refused to come to the feast, being so high-minded he would not even go to find out about it but rather sent a servant. The elder brother lacks any compassion toward his younger brother, just like the Pharisees, just like those who oppose Begg.

Unfortunately, in Begg’s hurry to use the Scripture to defend his position, he fails to see the difference between a younger brother returning home in repentance and a grandchild who is holding a celebration in defiance to God and His Word. These two are not remotely comparable and even the most immature Christian reading their Bible would be able to discern that difference. What disturbs me the most is that I cannot believe Begg did this unknowingly based on his years of faithfully exegeting Scripture. I would love to give Begg the benefit of the doubt, that he just made an error in his exegesis on the text, but for me to do that, he is going to have to come out and repent not only of his comments on the grandmother’s situation, but also of this terrible sermon.

So, in the end, how do we deal with Begg going forward? First, we do not have to negate his faithful preaching and his bold stances for truth in the past. Begg has been uncompromising in many ways over the years, and while it is hard to square all of that up with what is going on now, let us not suddenly pretend that he has never been solid. God has used Begg mightily in the lives of probably millions of people, but we also must remember that it is God who used Begg. It is never about the man in the first place, it is always about the work of God and God’s grace working through that man. Therefore, the fruit of Begg’s ministry from the past is not negated, is not false, and should still be celebrated to the glory of God.

Second, he still needs to repent, now of both the counsel given to the grandmother as well as of his abuse of the Word of God to defend it. He has chosen to dig his hole deeper, but should the Lord bring him to repentance, we ought to be the first in line to celebrate such, holding to the true meaning of the parable he misused. As brothers in Christ, we hold one another accountable, we rebuke one anther when we fail, and we restore one another when we repent, remembering our own need for God’s grace.

Third, the only way we have of holding Begg accountable is through ceasing to support his ministry. If you give to his ministry, you should stop. If you listen to his radio program, you should write and tell them you will turn their station off when he is on. Personally, I had a ticket to his conference coming up, but I wrote in and called him to repentance and if he refused, asked for a refund. If I would not have received the refund, I still would not have gone, or would have gone to hear the other speakers, and walked out when Begg was on the platform. These are my only means of holding my brother in Christ responsible for his errors, but in love for my brother, I will do such.

Let me close with that, that Alistair Begg is my brother in Christ. He has stumbled, badly even, but he is a brother, one of Christ’s beloved, and therefore beloved by us who are being made one in Christ. We who are in Christ will spend eternity with Alistair worshiping our gracious God who provided the means necessary to bring all of us to Himself through the death of His Son and the work of His Spirit. It would not be healthy to spend time railing against Begg, but it would also not be wrong to share with others the concerns about Begg in a serious manner. The very reason we hold Begg accountable, the very reason we might caution others about Begg, the very reason we discuss such things, is because we are brothers and sisters together and our desire is for God to be glorified in all things. The rebukes and calls for repentance to Begg by his brothers and sisters, I believe, are mostly done in love, and his failing to recognize that publicly does not mean he will not recognize that in future days. We hold fast to truth, speaking it in love, so as we move forward, let us do our best to express our love for God, His Word, and His people when speaking about this issue.