In all the recent discussions about transgender weddings, one thing that didn’t come up that much is that a wedding is very different from other types of events. At a wedding, a covenant is made between three parties, both the husband and wife making an oath to God and vows to one another, and with the guests participating as witnesses and taking upon themselves a responsibility to hold both the husband and wife to what they have committed. When we forget this, as even much of the church has, it causes us to treat weddings and marriage as little more than a party, focused on the happiness of the bride and groom. But when we understand this, we can see why God compares divorce to murder and why he holds not just the couple responsible, but also the community that allowed such sacred things to be treated as unholy.
And just to put things into context, we are referencing a particular event that occurred in September 2023 but only gained significant attention in early 2024. Last year, during an interview as part of a book tour, Alistair Begg responded to a question from a Christian grandmother by recommending her to attend her grandson’s wedding to his “transgender” partner. And while the response to Begg’s advice was generally negative and he was encouraged to repent of his position, we feel like there is still a lot that needs to be said about the issue.
In this episode, we want to discuss why Christians can’t attend a homosexual/transgender wedding. We discuss the nature of marriage itself and how it is a picture of the gospel, that publicly displays God’s mercy and holiness. Weddings, even secular ones, celebrate truth, but homosexual and transgender weddings are built around lies. There is no husband, there is no bride, it is not a man and a woman. For a Christian to go and to affirm such a wedding took place, is to affirm a lie, and to be part of a covenant that cannot be upheld. Please join us as we discuss this crucial topic.
Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2024/03/why-a-christian-cant-attend-a-transgender-wedding-ep-160-audio/
Thumbnail image by yggg on Flickr under CC BY-NC 4.0
Timecodes
00:00:00 The Problems
00:05:16 Should We Be Judgmental?
00:10:56 What Makes it Different
00:17:43 Joining in Evil
00:24:10 Honoring God’s Name
00:27:42 Meaning of Marriage
00:33:22 What is a Wedding?
00:43:08 Denying the Image of God
00:49:26 Cross dressing
00:58:16 Testimony to Everyone
01:04:40 Would it Ever be Possible to Attend?