In Light of The Alistair Begg Controversy, Can We Attend in Love Without Compromising Our Faith?

Alistair Begg is in the headlines for his advice to a woman to attend her grandson’s gay marriage ceremony. I’ve also heard one of your previous episodes on the subject. The issue has hit close to home with a brother-in-law who has chosen this lifestyle. A hypothetical marriage combined with Alistair Begg’s advice made for an interesting Valentines date conversation with my wife. How do we juxtapose attending “in love” with “not compromising our faith”.

Excerpt From The Answer

“Personally, I would not affirm any such relationship outside of a heterosexual, monogamous, lifelong marriage. You can still be loving without approving. Depending on the relationship, we can carefully communicate love without endorsing a lifestyle contrary to Scripture. 

Given the right context, a well written note or better yet, a face-to-face conversation where you can say, “I love you enough to tell you that Christ loves you more than you can know and His design for you is not this relationship.” You’ll need to think about it very carefully and expect it will be met with anger, hurt, or at least misunderstanding. 

Keep in mind, clarity is important. Be clear about what you believe and why. This is no small problem with Christians who are soft and unclear on what they believe much less what the Scriptures teach. 

At the end of the day, it is not my worry or concern that I offend someone’s feelings. Rather it is that I am true the Lord calling sin, sin and encouraging the sinner to come to Christ. If that ends in a broken response, I hope my last words will be, “you know I love you and I believe Christ loves you even more.” 

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