Discussions about gender fluidity and transsexualism have spread through both secular and Christian circles for years now. Debate swirls around whether or not transgenderism is a sin or a type of mental illness known clinically as gender dysphoria.
Transgenderism’s rapid rise in our culture presents Christians with difficult choices.
These days, transgenders insist they be addressed with their “preferred pronouns” that correspond to their preference, not their biology. Pronouns are words like he, him, his, or she, her, and hers. For example, a male who self-identifies as female might ask to be referred to as “she” or “her.”
To make matters worse, transgenders and their supporters now have the ear of the current administration. This past week the current “president” issued an executive order that would remove any legal recognition of the two different sexes. If it stands, it will destroy women’s sports, denying women the opportunities that Title IX of the federal civil rights law has provided for over the past half-century. The order goes so far as to dictate that boys can compete against girls in sports, and after the girls lose, they may well have to shower with them… putting them at risk for sexual assault. The order opens doors to sexual minorities who want access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports traditionally reserved for the opposite sex.
Also included in the order are special military privileges, forcing biological women soldiers to share their private facilities and shower with so-called transgender men. These build on older directives issued during the Obama administration, such as the 2016 “Military Transgender Policy Implementation Handbook,” that ignored concerns about personal discomfort and possible sexual assault. Women, states the guidebook, will just have to “get used to it.”
We live in a confused and fallen world, and that madness includes those who are unsure of what sex they are. Those who view their gender as nothing more than a “choice” are rejecting God’s design in creation, denying the proven science of biology. An individual may claim to be transgender or “gender-fluid,” but that doesn’t nullify God’s design and purpose in creating them.
Transgender ideology rejects the Biblical truth that gender is assigned by God at conception. Male and female characteristics exist long before birth in every cell of every person’s body. God has a plan for each of us that was predetermined before we were born. Consider the example of Jeremiah…
"5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NASB)
Psalm 139 goes farther…
“13 For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my formless substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139: 13-16 NASB)
The truth is that biological sex does not change with alterations in outward appearance, chemical, or surgical procedures. If you put a Corvette body on a Volkswagen, it is still a Volkswagen. Scientific research and common sense prove that men and women are different in muscle strength, size, and other obvious physical characteristics.
Nonsense like transgenderism and gender fluidity is based on the absurd, illogical, and irrational idea that men and women are the same. They are not. God intends us to be equal, different, and complementary… not the same.
As always, the Bible is the source of inerrant truth for us…
“So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NASB).
Transgenderism proponents seek to destroy moral and cultural traditions, including the belief in God’s word.
When one’s sex is only what one says it is, then it is no longer sex at all. It’s gender. A person cannot change their sex. To do so is rebellion against God’s plan for their lives.
When the Bible was written, there was no such thing as a sex-change operation. The closest Scripture comes to mentioning transgenderism is in its condemnations of homosexuality (Romans 1:18–32; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10) and transvestitism (Deuteronomy 22:5). The Greek word is often translated as “homosexual offenders” or “male prostitutes” in 1 Corinthians 6:9. It literally means “effeminate men.” So, while the Bible does not directly contain the word transgenderism, when it mentions other instances of gender disorders, it clearly identifies them as sin.
What to do?
As Christians, we are to show the love of Christ the way that He did while on earth to each transgender person we encounter at work or socially. Whatever choices we make about using preferred pronouns, it’s important that one does not give the appearance of endorsing sexual sin or a transgender’s self-deception. As Christians, we also need to be careful to not give the impression that we agree with the idea of preferred pronouns. Using those words only works to enable that person to believe what they are doing as a transexual is acceptable before God. It is not.
Isaiah warns us not to speak or write in ways that agree with something that is false…
"20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20 NASB).
As Christians, we need to prayerfully consider these concerns regarding how, or if, to use someone’s preferred pronouns. Truth is important, but that does not mean the choice not to use preferred pronouns needs to be handled in a judgmental way. Consider how Jesus dealt with the woman at the well in chapter 4 of the Gospel of John...
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.” 16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said to Him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe Me, woman, that a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming, and even now has arrived when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people, the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.” (John 4:15-26 NASB)
Jesus did not make her sexual sin the main point of His conversation with her. Instead, he gently told her about how salvation was available to her in the same way it is available to all of us.
We are all in a spiritual battle for our souls. Satan often tries to make us unhappy with how God made us. If a person feels he or she has been born as the wrong gender, the answer is not gender-reassignment surgery or hormone therapy. God does not make mistakes. Instead, those who feel they were born into the wrong body needs to be reminded of the transformative power of Jesus Christ.
Finally, we must act to protect our children and grandchildren. We must not allow them to become confused about whether or not they are a boy or girl. Radical leftist teachers and for-profit media companies that place doubts in the minds of these children are engaging in abusive behavior. Christians, even if they have no children of their own must stand up to local school boards and entertainment companies to end these “recruitment” practices. Anything less denies innocent children the ability to grow and mature with confidence in a loving and just God. As Luke wrote…
“17 Now He said to His disciples, It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! 2 It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Luke 17:1-2 NASB)
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