What Does the Bible Say About Gender?

INTRODUCTION TO SERIES Good morning. My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church. Thank you for being here this morning as we begin what is an incredibly important series. Over the next 4 weeks, we’re going to be studying what the Bible teaches about gender & sexuality. (Gender & Sexuality Schedule) Here is where we will be headed over the next four weeks. Today, we’re going to take a detailed look at what the Bible says about Gender and specifically the idea of being Transgender Next week, we’ll dive into the issue of sexuality and same sex attraction. The third week, we’ll look at identity. And finally, we’ll finish with a week on the really hard practical questions that Christians ask about these topics. I’ve spent much of this past year preparing and studying for this series, and there is much I want to share with you. But I can’t cover every issue and question. If you leave today, saying, “yeah, but what about?” I want you to know that in some ways, this is one long message over 4 weeks, so there is a decent chance that I’m coming to it. And we will also be releasing bonus teaching content on each topic in our house groups every week. If you’re not in a house group, now’s a great time to get in one. But I can’t hit everything. And that’s one of the reasons, we’ve developed a resource page for you on our website…the link is on our homepage. (Show scrolling video of Resource Page) On this page, are 13 books and websites that I personally recommend to you for further study on the topics of this series… And so we’re going to dive into this challenging topic over the next 4 weeks. This is not a small thing. (Show Gallup Chart) According to Gallup 7.2% of Americans now identify as LGBTQ+ And you’ll notice that the percentage is increasing over time. In fact, look at the far right red bar. In 2022, 19.7% of Gen Z (which would be 18 26 year olds for this study) identify this way. Some studies done in the last 12 months say, 21% or 23% of Gen Z And if we break down Gen Z by gender, there is a stark difference between men and women. 16% of Gen Z men identify as LGBTQ+ But look at this: (Gen Z Women Chart) 31% of Gen Z women, almost 1 in 3, now identify this way. And so we need to talk about this. This has become such a strong theme in our culture, so it’s important that Christians know what the Bible says. (Series Slide) But as we go through this series, we’re going to seek to balance a teeter totter that so easily gets out of balance. In Ephesians 4:15, the Bible says that mature Christians speak the truth in love. But sometimes on this subject, Christians just speak in love, but push the truth aside. And other times, I hear them bring the hard truth without speaking with any love. But Jesus balanced both. He spoke the truth in love. And that’s what we need to emulate. As we begin to dive into today’s topic of Gender, let me show you the three main questions we’re going to cover: #1: What is happening? #2: What does the Bible say? #3: How do I know what is right? WHAT IS HAPPENING? So let’s start with our first question: #1: What is happening? 20 years ago, or even 10, doing a message like this in church wouldn’t have even crossed most people’s minds because it would have seemed like such a minor topic. But now, questions on gender have become a major part of our culture. And so what is happening? Well, millions of people are experiencing what is called Gender Dysphoria. Gender Dysphoria: a feeling of discomfort or distress when one feels that they are a different gender than their biological sex. And then if someone wants to pursue that different gender, they may take on the label of transgender. Which may or may not include wearing the clothes of the other gender, a name change, cross sex hormones, surgery, or more. Others prefer the identity of nonbinary. Which is a belief that says gender is not a binary (binary means a system with two options), ..but someone who identifies as nonbinary would not identify as exclusively male or female. And we are seeing an exponential rise of people identifying as something different than the sex they were born with. This is in part because our society has shifted its moral foundations to now say that right and wrong can be in the eye of the beholder. And that shift then allowed people to say gender itself is not the same as the biological sex that one was born with, …but that gender can instead be determined by how one feels. And as a result of this new belief in our culture, there has been a massive rise in those identifying as both nonbinary or transgender. For example look at these stats from . . The Main Gender Clinic in the United Kingdom 2009: Treated 51 children & teens (34 males; 17 females) 2016: Treated 1,766 children & teens (557 males; 1,209 females) 2019: Treated 2,364 children & teens (624 males; 1,740 females) That is a 10,000% increase among females in 10 years Or, let’s look at the United States. Pediatric Gender Clinics in America 2007: 0 2024: 100+ And I have no idea how you feel about this personally, but the reality of our culture right now is that the number of people feeling gender dysphoria is growing very quickly But before we go any further into discussing the morality of this, I want to remind you that these aren’t just numbers, we’re talking about people. They are the teens or young adult children of people sitting in this room, or their siblings, or our neighbors, or maybe you. This isn’t just a debate, or a discussion of ethics, this is about people…people whom God loves and wants to walk with Him. So remembering that, let’s move to our second question. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? #1: What is happening? #2: What does the Bible say? Now, before we actually open it up, let me say that much of what we read from Scripture during this series is going to sound foreign to us. And that’s because on these topics, most of us have been instructed and shaped in our thinking by the culture around us, not God’s Word. But as I say to you often, remember that the Bible challenges every culture differently. When I teach the Bible in East Africa in the summers, it’s painful for them to hear passages against corruption (but for you, those same passages don’t frustrate you at all, you fully agree with them) But on the opposite end, in America, when we teach what the Bible says about sex, it’s painful…because it’s so different than our culture) But remember, we each have to be willing to let God challenge our culture. If you never let God challenge your thinking, and you notice that God happens to think 100% like you do, you probably aren’t worshipping the real God. So what does God say? Genesis 1:26 27 PAGE 1 We’re going to look to the very first chapter of the Bible… …when God created our universe, our earth, and humankind. And I want you to notice what God had to say about His creation. (Genesis 1:26 27) – NIV 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them. (Title Slide) And so God creates humans, and one of the key mentions is that He created them as male and female. Sex difference is an important way that God’s image is shown. We’re not just genderless human beings, but we were intentionally, purposefully, created as man and woman. Gender was in God’s good plan when he created humans, and when he created you, and gave you your body. And at the end of chapter 1, when God finishes creation, it says that God saw all that He made it, and it was good. In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus reaffirms this same teaching. While he was being asked about marriage and divorce, he said: (Matthew 19:4 5) – NIV 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? And because God intentionally made us a certain way, He has called us to act and live consistently with the sex that He made us. This is why the Bible warns against even cross dressing in Deuteronomy 22. And it’s why we’re called to honor him with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19 20) – NIV  19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. And part of how we do that is by trusting in His design for our bodies…and not working against the direction of his design Because… God created men and women differently Women can become pregnant. Men cannot. Our bone structure, muscle mass, and hormones are all different. Our chromosomes are different: Females are XX, Males are XY. We are different. HOWEVER, we need to be careful to not go much beyond what the science of biology shows us and what the Bible teaches us. Going beyond that, is in part, why this past decade has been so confusing (Title Slide) If you go back to 1950’s America, gender stereotypes were very strong. They’d tell you: Boys play with guns and don’t cry. Girls wear dresses and don’t play sports And on and on and on. But in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, we started to knock down the walls of stereotypes and more: The ethic was; Just be happy with who you are! We said “If girls want to hunt, great. If boys prefer a pink shirt. Great” “Just love yourself. Love the skin that you’re in” And you can still hear this kind of thinking once in a while… But over the last decade, that morality is now being replaced with yet another new morality (and gender stereotypes are reappearing!) Why? Because people are increasingly told that it’s important to identify their gender (or their pronouns)… …but if the culture says we should no longer define gender by the biology of our bodies, what is the only way left to define, say, what a man is? Gender stereotypes. And so now again we’re saying: Do you like sports, do you not like makeup or long hair or skirts, then you should consider identifying as a man. Or teenage boys are told, “You’re really into art, and you have such deep emotion,” perhaps you should identify as a female. But what is that? Most of these are just cultural stereotypes. Many of them aren’t even true across different generations, or even different cultures on this globe right now. And as Christians, one easy contribution we can make to this subject is to be committed to stop focusing on gender stereotypes. Author Rebecca McLaughlin says it this way: “Jesus was the perfect man, but he was no gender stereotype.  He had the power to silence storms, command angels, and kill death.  And yet, his arms held babies, he cooked for his friends, his hands healed the sick, and his words brought comfort to the weary.   When his friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept.  Like a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings, Jesus longed to gather the children of Jerusalem to himself.  We must affirm the goodness of male and female bodies without clinging to unbiblical gender stereotypes.”  Rebecca McLaughlin And the whole Bible is full of stories that would challenge our American, 21st century stereotypes: David played the harp and wrote poetry, Deborah commanded an army, Jacob didn’t like to hunt, but preferred to stay inside and cook with his mom. You know I remember being a teenager and sometimes thinking, “I don’t feel very manly. I don’t like hunt, zero interest in fishing, my friends liked Nirvana, and I liked Boyz II Men.” But just because I didn’t perfectly fit some cultural stereotype of what masculine was…doesn’t that mean I should I then identify as nonbinary…or begin to pursue becoming a woman No, those things about me (and whatever it is that is unique and different about you) just mean that you don’t follow a stereotype. Stereotype literally means a simplified idea of how things generally are… They don’t describe everyone And God has called you to be the gender that He created you as. Even if your likes and interests look different than others HOW DO I KNOW WHAT’S RIGHT? But maybe you’re still thinking, “Okay, I understand what you’re saying, but at the end of the day, I don’t agree with what the Bible says, because this is WHO I AM” “THIS IS HOW I FEEL!” “So why would I listen to this??” That brings us to our 3rd major question: #1: What is happening? #2: What does the Bible say? #3: How do I know what is right? “The Bible says this, the culture says that, so ‘How do I know what is right?’” Well, you have to ask, “Who has the authority on what is right and wrong?” Is it American society in 2024? Or was it American society in 1950? Or what about other cultures around the world today? Or is right and wrong just up to each individual person? Or what about God? Does He have a right to speak into what is right? He does because we are a part of His creation. Author Andrew T. Walker says it this way: The best way to live is according to the blueprint that God designed. As creatures, we can't rewrite the blueprint of our design out of our own will.  A plane's engine cannot decide to be a wheel because the wheel is defined with a different purpose in mind.  We have neither the authority nor the ability to rewrite or reconfigure how God made His world.  It's His creation.  We're just living in it.  And since our bodies are part of his world, made by Him, His authority extends to us.  This is why ultimately God has authority in the transgender debate.  This is a question of whether a Creator has more knowledge of His creation than a small part of that creation. – Andrew T. Walker And so I trust what God says on this issue because, as Creator, He designed the blueprint for how we are to function. #1: What is happening? #2: What does the Bible say? #3: How do I know what is right? But I think some would respond to that by saying, “I understand the “design argument,” but I feel like His design for me is the gender that I feel. I feel it so strongly.” But think through this with me. In our culture, if someone’s sense of gender in their mind doesn’t match their body, what does our culture tell them to do? We say, “Change your body to match the feelings of your mind.” But why is it okay to drug our bodies, and even carve them up to match our feelings? When we sense dissonance between our feelings and body, why do our feelings always win? Especially knowing that our feelings change…all the time. But your body (that God gave you), is the most reliable marker of His design and plan for you. It’s His blueprint. How He created you. Trust it, even if it feels uncomfortable or awkward. If a child or teenager were to go online and begin googling “Am I transgender” (which many do)… After the questions about your gender stereotypes, they are typically asked (and I’ve read these sites, and don’t recommend you do)… …but they are asked “Do you feel uncomfortable with your body? Your developing breasts? Your genitals? “If so, you may be transgender.” But let me say something to you as a former teenager, every teenager feels uncomfortable with their body. We all do. And even if everything feels awkward or confusing right now, trust the Designer. It’s going to be okay. He has a good plan. But I think where many people still feel stuck is they would say, “Okay, but despite all that, aren’t my feelings the final say that gets to determine who I am and what is right?” In addition to the fact that you’re the creation, not the Creator, I’d also say this: The teaching that we each determine our own right and wrong IS teaching of our current culture, but that kind of thinking, is just the latest philosophy to come on the scene of morality…and I can almost guarantee you, that it won’t be how the culture thinks 30 years from now. But God’s Word never changes. And God’s Word says that we don’t look to our own personal feelings and desires as a source of right and wrong. And that’s because of a really core doctrine of Christianity called, “The Fall” In the Bible, “The Fall” is when Adam & Even fell into sin in the garden of Eden. Before their sin, they were made perfectly by God’s design and living in perfection without sin. But when they fell into sin, it changed the makeup of human beings… …and that change dripped like a curse down through our generations Here’s one of many verses on it in the Bible: (Romans 5:12) NIV 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— So all of us have been affected by Adam’s sin…it changed our nature. As a result of The Fall, what now comes most natural to us, is sin: We have a “sin nature.” And each and every one of us has different sin problems that are a part of our very nature. Some of us are prone to anger, others to jealousy, or addiction, or self hatred. #1: What is happening? #2: What does the Bible say? #3: How do I know what is right? And the teaching of God’s Word is that we don’t say, “I was born feeling that way, so that makes it okay.” No, because of the Fall, what we feel (the Bible says) is not to be trusted; it’s broken. Now don’t hear me wrong, you as a person, have value and worth because you were created as male or female, in God’s image You were born with infinite value, but that doesn’t mean that we were born with perfect feelings or desires No, those things were broken in the Fall, and so we need a redeemer, and we need a True Guide. And so therefore our feelings cannot be a moral compass for us to decide what is right and wrong. it wouldn’t be right for someone to justify their anger against you by saying, “But I’ve always been an angry person” It wouldn’t be right for someone to justify their attraction towards children by saying, “But I’ve always felt that way.” No, you would say, “I don’t care what you feel, that’s wrong.” And so when it comes to figuring out what is right, because we all feel differently and because we’re all fallen people… ….we can’t trust our feelings, but we can trust God’s unchanging Word. And I know many people have been afraid to talk about this these past few years. Even educators or health professionals are often told not to question anything, but only to affirm one’s feelings. But it’s okay to question our feelings and search for the truth together. You should be able to question anything. Some of you have been questioning me this entire message! And that’s okay. I’m okay with that. I always feel we should be nervous about people who don’t let us ask questions. And we should be asking harder and deeper questions about the risks of following our feelings over following God’s design. According to all available studies done on the persistence rates of gender dysphoria and confusion in kids, 61 to 88% of early onset dysphoria cases end up desisting.  That is, the gender dysphoria goes away after puberty. Because as kids get through that questioning phase where culture is throwing all kinds of ideas at them, and they actually get to experience their grown body (not the awkwardness of puberty), … the vast majority of them decide that they want to be the gender they were born with. And so if your family is dealing with this right now, or your child is, I cannot urge you enough: Do not make a life altering decision on what is, according to the best research, most typically a temporary feeling. The stories of detransitioners are growing exponentially over the last 24 months And that is why most of Europe (which is even more secular than the United States) has even banned puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and transition related surgery for minors. Because now that we are a few years into this, too many people (who are now in their early twenties) are saying, “This isn’t actually what I wanted, but now I can’t ever have kids, or I can’t fully go back.” (Title slide) And so I urge you, in the swirling waters of a fast changing culture, to trust in the unchanging wisdom of God’s Word and God’s blueprint. Following after a feeling that is at odds with your Creator’s design cannot bring you the happiness and fulfillment you want. An engine wasn’t meant to be a wheel, and will only experience pain and frustration if it seeks it out. I know the culture disagrees, but think about what it’s saying to you. The culture now tells you that your gender is defined by its latest stereotypes. And that if you don’t fit their limited gender mold, to find satisfaction, you will need to change how you dress; change your name, you’ll need to put drugs into your body, and physically alter who you are. All while trying your hardest to ignore that you’re working against your blueprint design, your chromosomes, your DNA, and all of these things that you simply cannot change. But they tell you that if you change enough, you can be happy. But God tells you that you don’t have to change to be loved. And if you don’t fit the world’s latest gender stereotype, He doesn’t care. In fact, He crafted you with your unique personality and gifts for a reason…and He loves that about you! And you don’t have to take drugs, or change your body, to find life and fulfillment. Because what you’re really searching for is your Creator. And it’s when you walk in the direction of His design, not against it, that you can live more fully. And it’s when you walk with HIM that you can really know life. No matter how hard it is to follow Him, it’s worth it! Because He determined that you were worth it! The Bible says Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to earth on a rescue mission for you He saw that we were broken people, stuck in sin, following the impulses of our desires. And He gave His life on the cross to die in our place because we’re not perfect, and we have all sinned…just the same. There’s not a lower class of sinners struggling with gender ideas. We’re ALL broken, and Jesus came for all of us. And this Jesus who loves you, will empower you to walk in His ways, and He will walk with you. And so will we, the people of the church, His followers. Whatever it is you’re facing or feeling, reach out to us and let us humbly walk with you and help you. Tell your elder at your house group. Reach out and email a staff member And we will walk with you because Jesus walks with you. Let me pray Copyright: David Sorn Renovation Church in Blaine, MN You may use this material all you like! We only ask that you do not charge a fee and that you quote the source and not say it is your own.