Gender Identity

1. To develop some firm Bible-based convictions so that we can continue to stand against the attacks from the culture we live in.

2. To understand what the Bible teaches so that we can obey Jesus' command to be salt here on earth.

As many as 15% of Millennials and Generation Z have indicated they struggle with gender identity.

Let’s define some terms:

“Sex” = biological makeup - either male or female

Although it is common to determine one’s sex based on physical characteristics or chromosomes.

Scientifically sex is determined by gametes, or reproductive cells.

“Gender” = how our biology is expressed in social and cultural roles - either man or woman.

There are two related but distinct aspects of our gender:

“Gender Identity” = how we feel in relation to our sex.

Do I feel masculine or feminine?

“Gender Expression” = the external manifestation of our gender identity.

How we express our gender identity through things like our appearance, clothing,hairstyle and mannerisms.

Dr. Debra Soh in The End of Gender:

Biology, not society, dictates whether we are gender-typical or atypical, the extent to which we identify as the sex we were born as, and the partners we are sexually attracted to. When sperm fertilizes an egg at conception, the baby will be either female or male. This biology will influence hormonal exposure in the womb, as well as the child’s resulting gender identity. At about seven weeks, if the embryo is male, the testes will begin to secrete testosterone, masculinizing the brain. If the embryo is female, this process does not occur.

“Gender Dysphoria” = distress caused by a mismatch between a person’s gender identity and their sex.

“Transgender” = a person who feels that their gender identity is more in alignment with the opposite sex.

In some cases those who consider themselves transgender choose to express their identity through the way they dress, talk, and act and the name they choose. In other cases, they also elect to go through medical treatments that change their bodies to make them more compatible with their gender identity.

With those definitions in mind, let’s spend the rest of our time focusing on.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Only God gets to determine my identity.

To a large degree, our culture has bought into the idea that we all have the right to determine our own identity.

Isaiah 45:9

Isaiah 45:9 (ESV)

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’

or ‘Your work has no handles’?

Romans 9:20–21

Romans 9:20–21 ESV

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

This is the foundation for everything else we’re going to learn

At creation, God established two sexes - male and female.

Genesis 1:27

Genesis 1:27 (ESV)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What this also confirmed is that when God said be fruitful and multiply, it requires both sex.

At creation, God established two genders - man and woman.

Genesis 2:22–23

Genesis 2:22–23 (ESV)

And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Notice that this time, the focus is on gender and the terms man and woman are used rather than male or female.

The Bible teaches that we are created male and female, and we are to fulfill our gender roles according to our bodily sex.

Science actually confirms what the Bible teaches

Similar to sex, gender—both with regard to identity and expression—is biological. It is not a social construct, nor is it divorced from anatomy or sexual orientation. Despite what contemporary scholars may have you believe, all of these things are very much linked. Biology, not society, dictates whether we are gender-typical or atypical...

So why all this confusion in our culture today?

Sin has distorted God’s created order

Romans 1:24–28

Romans 1:24–28 (ESV)

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Instead of submitting to God’s design for marriage and sex, our culture has claimed that they have a right to do as they please and to choose their own identity.

3 Questions to Ask

What is a right?

Where do rights come from?

How do you know?

WHAT IS A RIGHT?

A right is the just power to make a moral claim upon someone.

WHERE DO RIGHTS COME FROM?

Rights come from God.

HOW DO YOU KNOW?

Because the Bible, which is the Word of God, teaches God is the Author of basic human rights.

TWO MAIN CATEGORIES OF RIGHTS

Protections: Things the state or individuals is not permitted to take from me or is duty-bound to protect for me.

Privileges: Things I am free to do without interference.

PROTECTIONS

Tied to Moral Law and God’s Justice

God said “Do not murder” (6th commandment)

You have the God-given right to not be murdered.

PRIVILEGES

Must be within God’s character and what he permits for human lifestyle

Marriage

Opportunity to work

Dominion over creation

1 Corinthians 6:12

1 Corinthians 6:12 (CSB)

12. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

Sexual sin

1 Corinthians 10:23

1 Corinthians 10:23 ESV

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

Eating meat

Conclusion: Morality and Rights

Morality is rooted in God.

Rights are the other side of the coin.

Morality and rights both come from and are rooted in God.

Matthew 28:17-18

Matthew 28:17–18 (ESV)

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

THERE IS HOPE!

One day God will restore His created order.

Jesus offers abundant life right now.

2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

HOW ARE WE TO RESPOND TO THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN THIS AREA?

1. Love

Matthew 22:39

Matthew 22:39 ESV

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

2. Compassion

Matthew 9:36

Matthew 9:36 ESV

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Gender dysphoria are at much greater risk for negative outcomes – including suicide, depression and anxiety disorders. This is true even for those who choose to bodily transition. So they don’t need us to judge them and make them feel even worse than they already do. What they need most is our compassion.

3. Truth

John 8:31–32

John 8:31–32 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Galatians 6:1

Galatians 6:1 CSB

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.

4. Prayer

From time to time, God is likely going to bring people into our lives who are struggling with their gender identity. For some of you, that will be your classmates at school. For others, it will be a co-worker or a neighbor or a family member or a friend. And when that occurs, you need to pray for that person and ask God to reveal the truth to them.

And you also need to pray that God will give you opportunities to share the truth with that person and ask God to give you wisdom as you do that.