#432 - Faith Matters; True Colors Gender Identity

Pastor Bob McCartney gave a sermon series on current social issues this fall highlighting the truth found in the Bible. Here are my notes from this fourth sermon in his series, True Colors.

So how we as a church and Christians speak to these hot button topics? We want to think like God thinks. So are we going to compromise or stand on your conviction? The world is saying you either compromise or we will cancel you and crush you.

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7 NASB1995
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:18-25 NASB1995

Your unique DNA determined your gender.

1. The creator determined my gender at conception.
The two distinct binary genders are God’s design. Sex and gender are not two separate things.

From the moment of conception, your DNA determined your gender.
Every cell of your body has your gender chromosome (XX or XY)
This agenda is a satanic assault to undermine your trust in your creator.
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 NASB1995
God made you and God doesn’t make mistakes!
God made you a boy or a girl. Rejoice in that! You are deeply loved by your creator! Much of the pushback against that very thought is our rebellion against God. You were fashioned by the creator of the universe on purpose for a purpose! He love you and formed you AS YOU ARE.

On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?

Romans 9:20 NASB1995

“Follow the science”

2. The culture that cries “follow the science” denies science when it comes to gender.
How did we get here? For centuries gender has been treated as simple anatomy. The shift in the culture is that gender has moved from biology to psychology in this culture.

Gender is no longer biology, but rather psychology
Gender Dysphoria Disorder was considered a mental illness until 2014. The American Psychiatric Association dropped the “disorder” because it “hurt peoples feelings”. At best, if you were born one gender and think you are another, you are confused. Let’s be compassionate toward those who are confused, because the teenage years were confusing for all of us on some level.

It is a mental illness to believe you are something you are not. We should treat people with mental illness with compassion not ridicule.

During puberty, it’s normal to be confused and that’s when the Devil pounces and draws those away. If they are left to grow through puberty, they will ultimately settle into their own skin. (98% in boys and 88% in girls)

And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

Matthew 19:4 NASB1995
There are only two binary genders; not a wide spectrum.
Genetics can’t be changed but feelings will change. Hormones and surgery may change the outward appearance, but it doesn’t change you at the cellular level.


3. God made each gender distinct, but equal.
God said I will make Adam a ‘helper’. The Hebrew word for helper means to come alongside.

God made Eve from a rib in Adam’s side. She was not made from a bone in his foot so that he would trample over her. She was not made from a bone in his head so that she would be superior to him. She was taken from his side, that she might to walk side by side with him.

~ Anonymous
Even though there are two distinct genders, they are different but equal in value.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 NASB1995

4. Transgender people are not enemies to be destroyed, but people who need love.
Transgender transitioning does not heal the hurt in people’s hearts
We need to respond to transgender people with compassion.
They want to escape pain and hide from the past.
The answer is not surgical it’s a Savior.
They don’t need transition, they need transformation.
Transgender people may be deeply confused, but they are not criminals
Many are stigmatized, people correlate transgender with child molesters. Don’t assume they have committed a crime. As Christians we need to treat people with compassion and dignity.

Are you trying to win the argument or are you trying to win over the person to the truth of God’s love? It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance and just maybe it is our kindness that opens the door for someone else to repent.

Transitioning doesn’t change the person inside. It’s not a journey to a different person, the trauma and hurt don’t leave because you look differently. What we need is not transition but transformation! These are people who desperately need love.

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NASB1995
These are people who do not need a transition of their gender, but a transformation of their soul and the gospel is the answer! The love of God will change everything.