Month: February 2024

Faith, Trust

Throwback Thursday ~ Fear Not: 9 Biblical Ways to Trade Worry for Trust

Michelle Lesley

Originally published April 24, 2015

Did you have any fears as a child? Monsters? The dark? Dogs? When I was a little girl, I had this record of the story of Peter and the Wolf, and I was afraid of wolves at night (Look at the picture and listen to him growl. Can you blame me?). I just knew they were skulking around my bed in the dark, black as midnight, drooling rabidly, ready to shred me to ribbons should I stick so much as one toe out from under the covers. It was terrifying.

As adults, we look back on those childhood fears with some degree of smugness or embarrassment and think about how silly it was to be scared of something that was never a threat in the first place. But even if we don’t like to admit it, fear is something we grown ups still struggle with, at least from time to time. Finances, health, and our children’s futures may replace wolves, darkness, and the boogeyman, but fear is still fear, whether you’re four or forty.

And God is well aware of that fact.

Even if we don’t like to admit it, fear is something we grown ups still struggle with, at least from time to time. Fear is still fear, whether you’re four or forty. And God is well aware of that fact.

In my Bible, the phrases “fear not,” “do not be afraid,” and other similar expressions appear over 75 times. Fear is a normal, God-given reaction that can be healthy and keep you safe in the event of a real threat. Fear is a blessing when it motivates you to jump out of the path of a speeding truck or stay away from a rattlesnake, but just like everything else affected by the Fall, fear can often be misdirected and thwart our growth in Christ.

Just like everything else affected by the Fall, fear can often be misdirected and thwart our growth in Christ.

Most of our fears as adults have nothing to do with tangible, imminent, life or limb danger. Usually, we are fearful of “what if’s.”

“What if I get a bad report from the doctor?”

“What if I get fired?”

“What if my teenage daughter gets pregnant?”

In other words, we worry about what might happen.

It’s really easy to sing “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” on Sunday, but much harder to actually do the work of trusting Him on Monday.

It’s really easy to sing “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” on Sunday, but much harder to actually do the work of trusting Him on Monday. Worry almost seems woven into the fiber of our DNA. In fact, worry has been such a common theme in the human experience that Jesus took time to address it during his Sermon on the Mount:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34

Clearly, it is not God’s will for us to worry. No matter how strangling our fear may feel, God wants us to trust Him in everything, from the most dire situation to the most mundane. But how?

Clearly, it is not God’s will for us to worry. No matter how strangling our fear may feel, God wants us to trust Him in everything, from the most dire situation to the most mundane. But how?

1.
Make sure the object of your trust is the right one.

A popular false teaching from the Word of Faith (prosperity gospel) camp these days is that it’s never God’s will for you to be sick, poor, or experience tragedy. If you just have enough faith, and decree and declare enough, you can yank whatever outcome you want right out of the hands of God. Do you know why that’s not true?

Arguably the mightiest men of faith in history, eleven of the twelve disciples were martyred. So was Paul. David, who God said was “a man after His own heart” suffered tragedy after tragedy. Jesus Himself prayed in Gethsemane that God would keep Him from having to go to the cross, and God said no.

Like these godly men, as Christians, we do not place our faith in positive outcomes. We place our faith in Christ, and His sufficiency for us in all things, regardless of the outcome. Make sure you’re trusting Christ, not what you want Him to give you.

We do not place our faith in positive outcomes. We place our faith in Christ, and His sufficiency for us in all things, *regardless* of the outcome.

2.
Get off the guilt train.

Sometimes we can fall into Satan’s trap of believing that if we’re really saved or really trusting the Lord or really have faith, we’ll never fear anything. Then, when those worries creep in, we start feeling guilty. We’re not supposed to have those feelings.

Have you ever read the story of Gideon? Gideon was one scared dude, and he had good reason to be. But even though he was scared and fumbling, he believed and obeyed the Lord. And the Lord commended him for being a man of great faith.

Trusting Christ doesn’t mean you’ll never be afraid of anything. Trusting Christ means you keep believing Him, keep loyal to Him, and keep obeying Him even when you are afraid.

Trusting Christ doesn’t mean you’ll never be afraid of anything. Trusting Christ means you keep believing Him, keep loyal to Him, and keep obeying Him even when you *are* afraid.

3.
Take reasonable precautions.

Trusting God doesn’t mean you should be careless. Eat healthy and exercise. Be frugal. Watch your children carefully. God gave us a whole book about using wisdom, and He gave us brains, so let’s use them.

4.
You’re not in this by yourself.

God has promised never to leave you or forsake you. He has promised to give you the strength to deal with anything you come up against. He has promised you a way out of temptation. Trust that God is with you and will help you.

5.
Rehearse your trust instead of your fear.

A lot of therapists will encourage you not to “repress” your fears but, rather, talk about them, write about them, examine them, etc. In other words, rehearse them (which only leads to more fear, because fear feeds off itself). But the Bible never says to do that. It says, “do not fear” and “trust in the Lord.” Period. No analysis required.

Those worries may start creeping in, but you don’t have to set the table and turn down the bed for them. Push them right out of your mind, slam the door behind them, and say (out loud is helpful), “No. I’m not going to worry. I’m going to trust the Lord.” You’ll still feel worried at first, but “fake it ’til you make it.”1 Your feelings will eventually follow.

6.
Replace fearful thoughts with biblical thoughts.

After you’ve pushed those fearful thoughts out of your mind, consciously redirect your focus to trusting the Lord. Spend a few minutes in prayer asking God to help you trust Him. Put on some biblical worship music that focuses on the goodness of God, and sing along. Be thankful- start listing all the ways God is good and has blessed you. Recite and meditate on Scripture about trusting God. Some of my favorites are:

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3

For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:6-7

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

 7.
Get your mind off it.

Watch a good movie. Have coffee with a friend. Better yet, serve someone who needs your help. Share the gospel with someone who’s lost. Get your mind off the worries and on to something better.

8.
Get physical.

Go running or do some physical labor around the house or something like that. Either you’ll get some endorphins going and you’ll start feeling better or the shin splints and backache will completely erase any memory of whatever you were afraid of.

9.
Repent and get a fresh start.

Sometimes (often, if you’re like me), you’re going to blow it. You’re going to give in to fear and let it control you instead of trusting God. You’re going to act on your fears and disobey God instead of trusting and obeying Him in spite of your fears. When that happens, don’t run away from the Lord. Run to Him. Repent and be forgiven. That’s what His mercy and grace are all about.

Worries are a normal part of life in a fallen world, but, in Christ, we are not to be enslaved by them. We have a Savior who is sovereign over all things. He clothes the grass with lilies. He feeds the wild birds. And He cares oh so much more for you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and fear not.

Worries are a normal part of life in a fallen world, but, in Christ, we are not to be enslaved by them. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and fear not.

How do you deal with worry in a godly way?

1If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase “fake it til you make it,” in this context, it simply means that we should obey Scripture (in this case the Scriptures that tell us to trust God) regardless of how we feel about it and trust God to eventually line our feelings up with His Word.

Additional Resources:

Do not let your hearts be troubled at A Word Fitly Spoken

Discernment, False Teachers, Mailbag

The Mailbag: Gather25

Michelle Lesley

Does anyone know what Gather25 is about? Is it similar to IF:Gathering?

This past weekend was IF:Gathering 2024. I shared my article about it on social media and one of my followers asked this question. I’m glad she did so I could give you a heads up and so you can have a whole year to warn your church and your friends away from it.

According to its website, Gather25 is a 25 hour global simulcast of “prayer, worship, repentance, and commissioning” (i.e. sending people out under the auspices of the Great Commission, ostensibly, to share the gospel) which will take place in March 2025.

On their FAQ page it says:

“Gather25 is being organized and led by an alliance of Christian organizations: IF:Gathering, YouVersion, illumiNations, Right Now Media, and many more international ministries and churches. The original vision for Gather25 was cast by Jennie Allen.”

Jennie Allen is a false teacher and founder of IF:Gathering, an annual conference for evangelical women (and, no doubt, some men) which routinely platforms false teachers, women pastors, and women who preach to men.

YouVersion is hosted by Craig Groeschel’s LifeChurch.TV. He is a false teacher and platforms many other false teachers and women who preach to men.

The majority of the resources RightNow Media carries are from false teachers. For example, their home page – the “face” they present to the public – currently features Tony Evans, Jennie Allen, Bianca Olthoff, Francis Chan, and First Baptist Orlando.

illumiNations seems to be a Bible translation and distribution organization, which may be just fine, but I’m concerned that all of the evangelical celebrities they currently and proudly list on their home page as supporting their organization (Elevation Worship, Lecrae, Sadie Huff, Passion, IF:Gathering, MVMNT Conference, and Chris Tomlin) are false/woke teachers, or conferences and individuals that platform false/woke teachers. 

And these are just the four organizations mentioned by name on the FAQ page. There are many more sponsors, and the ones I’m familiar with are all doctrinally unsound and/or run by false teachers. This thing is absolutely saturated with false teachers.

This event is going to sucker in a lot of undiscerning pastors, because, “What could possibly be wrong with prayer, worship, repentance, and commissioning people to share the gospel? We can just set aside the ‘secondary issue’ differences we have with these people and join them.”. But Scripture forbids us from having anything to do with false teachers. And if your pastor invites these false teachers into your church via simulcast, he is disqualified from the ministry. Titus 1:9 is part of the biblical qualifications for pastors and elders:

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Titus 1:9

Furthermore, what sort of false gospel might these false teachers be “commissioning” people to spread? What sort of unbiblical prayer and worship practices will they lead participants in? What is the definition of “repentance” these false teachers hold to? Will they lead participants to “repent” of things like “whiteness,” refusing to baptize practicing homosexuals, oppressing women by not allowing them to be pastors, and such?

If you think your pastor might be the type to have your church participate in this event, I would recommend you start praying now, start preparing now, and prayerfully consider whether or not you should warn him about Gather25 now so that he has plenty of time to be obedient to the Titus 1:9 mandate the Lord has given him.

If not, and he throws open the doors of your church to these false teachers, he’s a hireling, not a shepherd, and it’s time to start searching for a new church.

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Church, Faith, Salvation

Throwback Thursday ~ Pass/Fail

Michelle Lesley

Originally published March 17, 2011

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

2 Corinthians 13:5

Remember the story of the ugly duckling? Somehow a swan’s egg finds its way to a duck’s nest and hatches right along with all the other ducklings. The swan chick is similar in appearance to the ducklings, but it quickly becomes obvious to all that there’s something different about him. The swan chick is convinced that he is a duck. He tries to walk like a duck, quack like a duck– but it doesn’t work. He can’t figure out what’s wrong with him.

The problem is, the swan chick wasn’t, in fact, a duck. He might have lived with a duck family. He might have even learned how to imitate the sounds, habits, and mannerisms of ducks, but sometimes, even though it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck– it isn’t a duck.

Sometimes, even though it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck– it isn’t a duck. Sadly, this is scenario taking place in many churches. There are swans among us who think they are ducks.

Sadly, we have the very same scenario taking place in our churches. There are swans among us who think they are ducks. They walk like ducks, quack like ducks, sometimes we’ve even told them they are ducks. Unlike the duck siblings in the story of the ugly duckling, we don’t, as a rule, pick at them and tease them mercilessly. We love them, accept them, and assume they are Believers. Some swans look and sound an awful lot like ducks.

But the fact of the matter is, many – maybe even most – of the people you sit next to in church on Sunday morning are not Believers. They have never been genuinely converted to Christ and become new creatures. Some of them know this consciously about themselves and are just trying to fake their way through because church attendance looks good on a resume or in the eyes of their family and friends. But there are untold thousands who have been deceived into thinking they are saved when, in fact, they are not. Could you be one of them?

There are untold thousands who have been deceived into thinking they are saved when, in fact, they are not. Could you be one of them?

Most of us grew up during a time when there was great pressure on churches to “get the decision” and up their baptism numbers. Somehow, this is what evangelism was boiled down to. The pressure started with the higher ups in the denomination and was passed down to individual pastors, who, in turn, passed the pressure on to their church members. Frankly, this dynamic hasn’t waned much and is still going strong today.

 As a result, the Gospel presentation Jesus preached – we must repent (Luke 5:32), deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily (Luke 9:23), forsake all else (Luke 14:26), even lose our lives for the Gospel (Mark 8:35) – got watered down and redesigned into the easy believism of, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” and, “Don’t you want to go to heaven when you die?” Let’s face it, in this culture, dying to self and turning your back on everything that’s comfortable and convenient isn’t an easy sell.

(And if you’ve never heard the truth of the Gospel – that you are guilty of breaking God’s laws, and that God will punish your lawbreaking with an eternity in hell unless you turn away from your sin and place your faith in the fact that Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied God’s wrath against you – please take a few minutes to examine these materials carefully and prayerfully, and learn how you can be saved.)

Folks, I don’t care what Rob Bell or any of the other wolves in shepherd’s clothing tell you, Jesus himself said that “the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

So how can you tell whether you’ve found that narrow way that leads to life, or if you’re just one of the many who has been deceived? Don’t bet your salvation on church attendance or service, your own personal “goodness” or even the fact that you recited a “sinner’s prayer” and someone told you that if you “really meant it in your heart,” you were saved. And certainly, don’t wait until you stand before Jesus when you die to find out (Matthew 7:21-23).

Test yourself. Examine yourself. The proof that you’re saved is not simply that you once said a prayer and invited Jesus into your heart. The proof is in the fruit of your life, right now – today.

Test yourself. Examine yourself. The proof that you’re saved is not simply that you once said a prayer and invited Jesus into your heart. The proof is in the fruit of your life, right now – today. Jesus said,

You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

Matthew 7:16-17

What does the fruit of a genuine Believer look like? The MacArthur Study Bible1 has a great tool you can use for examining yourself. Find a quiet time and place with no distractions, and prayerfully and honestly go over this list with the Lord. Don’t trust your own opinion of your fruit, ask God to reveal to you what He thinks.

I. Evidences that neither prove nor disprove one’s faith:

a. Visible morality: Matt. 19:16-21, 23:27
b. Intellectual knowledge: Romans 1:21, 2:17ff
c. Religious involvement: Matt. 25:1-10
d. Active Ministry : Matt. 7:21-23
e. Conviction of sin: Acts 24:25
f. Assurance: Matt. 23
g. Time of decision: Luke 8:13-14

II. The fruit /proofs of authentic / true Christianity

a. Love for God: Psalm 42:1ff; 73:25; Luke 10:27; Romans 8:7
b. Repentance from sin: Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; Romans 7:14ff; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:8-10
c. Genuine Humility: Psalm 51:17; Matthew 5:1-12; James 4:6, 9ff.
d. Devotion to God’s Glory: Psalm 105:3; 115:1; Isaiah 43:7, 48:10ff.; Jeremiah 9:23, 24; 1 Corinthians 10:31
e. Continual Prayer: Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:18ff.; Philippians 4:6ff.; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; James 5:16-18
f. Selfless Love: 1 John 2:9ff, 3:14; 4:7ff.
g. Separation from the world: 1 Corinthians 2:12; James 4:4ff.; 1 John 2:15-17, 5:5
h. Spiritual Growth: Luke 8:15; John 15:1-6; Ephesians 4:12-16
i. Obedient Living: Matthew 7:21; John 15:14ff.; Romans 16:26; 1 Peter 1:2, 22; 1 John 2:3-5

“If list I is true of a person and list II is false or non-evident, then there could be cause to question the validity of one’s profession of faith. If list II is true of a person, then list I will be true as well.“

Are you really saved? Are you sure? This test isn’t graded on a curve.

Are you really saved? Are you sure? This test isn’t graded on a curve.

1From: MacArthur Study Bible Index Notes, 1997.

Additional Resources

What Must I Do to Be Saved?

Am I Really Saved?: A First John Check Up

Searching for a new church?

Second Coming, Uncategorized

How to Stop Arguing about Christian Nationalism in One Easy Step

Michelle Lesley

“We lose down here!”

“You’re just a bunch of Boomers with a pessimistic eschatology!”

It’s been going on for months on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter). The post-mil “We’re sick of the depravity in America. Let’s build a biblical society” Christian Nationalists against the pre/a-mil “Preaching the gospel is the only way you get a biblical society, and the signs of the time seem to indicate that that biblical society is not going to happen before Christ’s return” tribe.

Is it

“Change the structure and you’ll have an environment conducive to changing hearts.”

or is it

“The only way to truly change the structure is for people’s hearts to change first.”?

Yes. No. Both. And at this point, I’m tempted to add, “Who cares?”.

If you opened this article looking forward to finding out which side of this argument I take, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. I’m not on either side. I’m on the third side of the argument, which is to stop arguing about it regardless of which side you’re on.

I have friends and loved ones – good, solid, doctrinally sound brothers and sisters – on both sides of the argument. I’m sick of the tension. Sick of each side treating the other like the enemy, idiots, traitors, slanderers. Sick of feeling forced to choose sides. And I’m not going to do it. And I don’t think I’m alone in this “third way”. Not by a long shot.

I have to wonder, were there variegated incarnational theology streams in Israel prior to Christ’s first coming? Did they sit around in the city gate arguing about how much longer it would take for the Messiah to get here? His station in life? The exact timing, order, and nature of the way He would set His people free? Exactly how He would accomplish all of that?

Maybe there were, and maybe they did. And how many of them do you think got all of the details exactly right? My guess is zero. And even if there was some champ of an Israelite who managed to accurately predict exactly how, and in what order everything related to Jesus’ first coming would happen, what did he win? We certainly don’t see God giving him a trophy, or “I told you so” rights, or even mentioning his name and his amazing feat anywhere in Scripture.

Arguing over Christ’s second coming is no less folly.

Can you hold an eschatological position? Sure! Study the Word like there’s no tomorrow. Draw biblical conclusions. Knock yourself out. But at the end of the day, the most any of us can say is, “Based on my best good faith reading of Scripture, I think it’s going to happen like this…”. If God has veiled from our eyes something as simple as the day and hour of Christ’s return, is it not arrogance to think we’ve got all the more complex details figured out definitively?

Nobody knows with 100% certainty exactly how it’s going to happen, brothers and sisters. And we all need to humble ourselves, admit that, and stop beating each other over the head with our educated guesses.

How? There’s just one very simple, very biblical step.

Daily bread

Daily manna

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you…’

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

God’s mercies are new every morning.

You can probably think of other verses and stories that fit this biblical motif of trusting and obeying God today and not fretting about the future.

The daily manna was actually a test of Israel’s obedience and trust in God on a daily basis. If they gathered more than they needed for that day, they failed the test and God disciplined their disobedience.

Only for the Sabbath were they allowed to look to the future and gather manna one day in advance.

It’s not an accident that “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,” is immediately followed by “Give us this day our daily bread.”.

“Tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”

Want to stop arguing about Christian Nationalism? Get up every day, love the Lord, and walk in obedience to Him in whatever He gives you to do that day. God opens up an opportunity for you to run for office? Go for it. You have a chance to share the gospel with someone? Do it. Pray. Work. Worship. Study the Word. Love and serve your family and your church.

Stop trying to figure out the next five or five thousand years. Live faithfully today, and glorify God to the best of your ability.

And get up tomorrow and do it all over again.

Stop trying to figure out the next five or five thousand years. Live faithfully today, and glorify God to the best of your ability. And get up tomorrow and do it all over again.

Discernment

Alistair Begg

Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

I get lots of questions about particular authors, pastors, and Bible teachers, and whether or not I recommend them. Some of the best known can be found above at my Popular False Teachers tab. The teacher below is someone I’ve been asked about recently, so I’ve done a quick check (this is brief research, not exhaustive) on him.

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I am not very familiar with most of the teachers I’m asked about (there are so many out there!) and have not had the opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I do involves items a and b (although in order to partner with false teachers (b) it is reasonable to assume their doctrine is acceptable to the false teacher and that they are not teaching anything that would conflict with the false teacher’s doctrine). Partnering with false teachers and women preaching to men are each sufficient biblical reasons not to follow a pastor, teacher, or author, or use his/her materials.

Just to be clear, “not recommended” is a spectrum. On one end of this spectrum are people like Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth and Kay Arthur. These are people I would not label as false teachers because their doctrine is generally sound, but because of some red flags I’m seeing with them, you won’t find me proactively endorsing them or suggesting them as a good resource, either. There are better people you could be listening to. On the other end of the spectrum are people like Joyce Meyer and Rachel Held Evans- complete heretics whose teachings, if believed, might lead you to an eternity in Hell. Most of the teachers I review fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum (leaning toward the latter).

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.

Alistair Begg
Not Recommended
I do not consider Alistair Begg
to be a false teacher at this time.

photo courtesy of Truth For Life on Facebook

“Alistair Begg has been in pastoral ministry since 1975. Following graduation from The London School of Theology, he served eight years in Scotland at both Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church. In 1983, he became the senior pastor at Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio. He has written several books and is heard daily and weekly on the radio program, Truth For Life.”

Alistair Begg has a long and solid history as a doctrinally sound pastor and Bible teacher. Until a few years ago, he was one of the featured teachers at my Recommended Bible Teachers page. I was pleased and happy to recommend him to my followers as a trustworthy teacher of Scripture.

Unfortunately, in mid- to late 2022, one of my followers made me aware of a 2019 sermon Begg had preached in which he endorsed the idea of a woman preaching or teaching the Sunday morning message in church (in other words, preaching/teaching to men) as long as she has been invited and given permission to do so by the pastor and elders. Begg has invited and permitted at least one woman to do this at his own church. This is unbiblical.

It was the second (see below) significant red flag with Begg that I had become aware of, and I was disappointed to have to remove him from my list of recommended teachers. But, having removed other teachers for similar things, I felt that in order to be fair and consistent about who I recommend, it had to be done.

Listen as Begg explains in his own words in this sermon (starting around 30:12) on 1 Timothy 2:9-15b. (I would encourage you to listen to the whole sermon – in which he says many good things – for context.)

Christian Women (2) – Alistair Begg | September 16, 2019

Transcript of relevant portion, beginning at 30:50:

“…One of the chestnuts that always comes up says, “Well you did that thing on 1 Timothy 2 and then you had Helen Roseveare here come to the church. Nananananana. And she spoke on a Sunday morning, and she’s not allowed to speak on Sunday mornings because of first Timothy.”

Yes, she’s allowed to speak on Sunday mornings if the elders determined that we’d like her to. She’s not going to speak as the pastor and the teacher. She is not going to speak in a position of rule and authority, but she has something to say and we’d like to hear it.

There are women who have unique abilities in relationship to, for example, dealing with bereavement. And if that woman has something to share with a fellowship in the context of the Lord’s Day worship then she can come and share it providing it does not negate all that we have said.

In other words, loved ones, we can’t take a principle and make a law out of it. And legalists always make laws out of principles.“

Again, this is unbiblical. When God says no – especially in a pastoral epistle like 1 Timothy, instructing pastors about how to run God’s church – no pastor has the right to say yes. Pastors have no right to give anyone permission to sin. Alistair Begg’s personal opinion that a woman who speaks in his church is not speaking “as the pastor and the teacher” or “in a position of rule and authority” is not the deciding factor here. God has commanded pastors that women are not to pastor, preach, teach the Scriptures to men, or exercise authority over men in the gathering of the Body. And when God tells us not to do something and we do it anyway because “we’d like her to” or “we’d like to hear it,” that is sin.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

1 Timothy 2:12

Furthermore, it is not “legalistic” (as Begg unbiblically judged those who apparently took him to task at the time) to boldly declare that Christians must obey any rightly handled, in context command of Scripture. Begg can call 1 Timothy 2:12 a law, a principle, or whatever he wants, it doesn’t change the fact that God said, “Don’t do it,” and Begg said, “I want to, so I’m going to.”.

Several questions have arisen about Helen Roseveare: whether or not she was a missionary, the content of what she said at Begg’s church, and the possibility that she may have been giving a personal testimony.

None of that matters as it pertains to the issue at hand. The red flag is what Begg said about it in his sermon, which I’ve just addressed.

Prior to my follower making me aware of the incident above, the first red flag I was (already) aware of also happened in 2019, just a couple of months after the incident above. Alistair Begg announced that he would be speaking at Baylor University’s National Preaching Conference, sharing the stage with Beth Moore (also Tony Evans and others), much to the chagrin of and numerous protests from his followers. In response to a follower who expressed concern, a statement1 from Begg’s ministry indicated that he accepted the invitation to speak without knowing who any of the other speakers were. Rather than going to the organizers and explaining that he could not share the stage with:

  • false teachers (Tony Evans and Beth Moore),
  • a woman who preaches to men (Beth Moore),
  • a woman “pastor” (Mary Hulst),

and that he could not speak at a conference at which pastors and future pastors -men- were being instructed in pastoring by two women – sanctioned by the seminary and voluntarily attended by these men – Begg kept the speaking engagement.

I did not remove Begg from my recommends at the time of the Baylor incident because I was hoping it was a one time goof that would teach him to use greater wisdom and discernment in the future. We all do dumb things from time to time, and well known pastors are no exception.

The Baylor incident following so quickly on the heels of the “women preaching incident” (above), was troublesome. And Begg’s statements in the women preaching incident are not a one time lapse in judgment. They are the well thought out, planned, and implemented policy of the church he pastors.

Once might be an “oopsie”. Twice was the beginning of a pattern of Begg doing or saying unbiblical things and then either doubling down, or lashing out, or both at those who tried to biblically correct him.

In this September 2023 episode of Truth for Life entitled The Christian Manifesto (an interview with Begg about his recently released book by the same title), he explains how a grandmother wrote to him asking for counsel about whether or not to attend her grandson’s “wedding” to a trans-gender person. With seemingly no qualms whatsoever, he advised her that, as long as her grandson knew she didn’t approve, she should not only attend the wedding but take a gift as well. In Begg’s reasoning, refusing to attend the “wedding” would just reinforce the grandson’s opinion that Christians are mean, unloving, etc. Ironically, he then immediately quoted James 3:1.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

James 3:1

‘The Christian Manifesto’ Interview | September 17, 2023

Transcript of relevant portion, beginning at 28:45:

“…we field questions all the time that go along the lines of my grandson is about to be married to a transgender person and I don’t know what to do about this, and I’m calling to ask you to tell me what to do. Which is a huge responsibility.

And in a conversation like that just a few days ago – and people may not like this answer – but I asked I asked the grandmother, “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?”

“Yes.”

“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?”

“Yes.”

I said, “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 them a gift.”

“Oh!” she said. She was caught off guard. I said, “Well here’s the thing, your love for them may catch them off guard. But your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said these people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.”

And it is a fine line isn’t it? It really is, and people need to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. But I think we’re going to take that risk, we’re going to have to take that risk a lot more if we want to build bridges into the hearts and lives of those who don’t understand Jesus and and don’t understand that he is a king.

This is pastoral malpractice, and is the very reason God included James 3:1 in His Word. Our personal opinions about someone’s anticipated reaction is not what governs our actions as Christians – Scripture does. We are to obey Scripture regardless of what we think the outcome will be. And in this case Scripture tells us:

  • Marriage is between one man and one woman Genesis 2:20-24
  • Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4
  • We’re not to be ashamed of the gospel – a major component of which is “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:16-18) – rather, we’re to be willing to shed our own blood for obedience to Scripture (Hebrews 12:4). Compromising with sin is one form of being ashamed of the gospel.
  • We’re to abstain from even the appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
  • Jesus did not come to bring peace between pagans and Christians, but a sword, and anyone who puts loyalty to family ahead of loyalty to Jesus and His Word is not worthy of Him: I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:34-39
  • If even pagans aren’t to give approval to sin, how much less are Christians to give approval to sin? Romans 1:32
  • are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?… I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 1 Corinthians 10:18-21
  • Do not…take part in the sins of others; 1 Timothy 5:22
  • He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 17:15

Anyone, pagan or Christian, who knows anything about weddings (and Begg, a pastor who performs them, certainly should) can tell you that by being a non-objecting witness at a wedding, you are making the statement that you support and approve of the union. Why would any pastor suborn the sin of hypocrisy by encouraging a Christian to express disapproval of the union and then turn right around and demonstrate support for the union by joyfully attending the “wedding” with a gift? And, in the future, how is the grandmother, when sharing the gospel with her grandson, to call her grandson to repent of his sin when she has already approved of its codification by attending his “wedding”? More hypocrisy!

Furthermore, though the grandson may know of the grandmother’s biblical disapproval, does his “intended” know? Does the rest of the wedding party, the officiant, and all of the other guests know? Do all of her friends who know she’s attending the wedding know? To all of them, many of whom will know she’s a professing Christian, her attendance means she approves of the “marriage”. (All of these are also reasons Christians don’t attend homosexual “weddings”.)

Shortly after the video above went viral in late January 2024, American Family Radio, which carries Begg’s Truth for Life program on 1800 radio stations, contacted TFL leadership to plead with Begg to repent. He doubled down on his position, and AFR made the decision to stop carrying TFL.

A few days later, in his sermon at church, Begg addressed the backlash and calls to repentance he had received by saying he had no intention of repenting and had nothing to repent of. He then proceeded to cast those who decried his unbiblical advice to the grandmother as “Pharisees” and the older brother in Luke’s account of the prodigal son.

Begg was subsequently disinvited from speaking at the 2024 Shepherds Conference, and TFL was dropped from (Ligonier’s) RefNet’s lineup.

For more details and links regarding this incident, please listen to Talk Back: Alistair Begg at A Word Fitly Spoken, and check the show notes for more links.

Alistair Begg is not a new Christian or a young pastor who made a rookie mistake. This question should be a no-brainer for any Christian, let alone a seasoned pastor with many decades of experience and a world-wide public ministry. Counseling a sheep to base her behavior on a sinner’s opinions and feelings rather than to submit to and obey God’s clear Word, refusal to repent when corrected, and mishandling God’s Word belies a foundational problem with his theology as do his aforementioned errors. And because of that, I believe we will continue to see Begg make these kinds of blatant errors in the future.

In September of 2024, about nine months after the scandal broke regarding his advice to the grandmother, Alistair Begg announced that he would be retiring as pastor of Parkside Church. June 8, 2025 was his last day as pastor, but he remains active at Truth for Life and continues to speak at various venues.

I’m not saying Begg is a heretic on par with Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland. Far from it. I don’t even consider him to be a false teacher at this time. I just no longer feel comfortable saying, “Hey, this is a great teacher. I recommend that you follow him,” (i.e. putting him on my list of recommended teachers) when there are others I decline to recommend who also unrepentantly hold the same or similar erroneous positions.

Earlier in the “women preaching” sermon Begg humbly admits (as should every good pastor) that he and his church don’t claim to have everything right, but that they will continue to grow in Christ and make corrections. If and when he corrects his errors (and any others that might come to light), and publicly repents, I’ll be delighted to reconsider him for inclusion on my Recommended Teachers list. Until that time, however, I cannot recommend that you follow him.

1This is not a website I endorse. It is linked only as evidence of the statements in this paragraph.