What was your sex assigned at birth? What’s your gender identity? What are your preferred pronouns?
When we hear such questions asked, they may not always seem easy to answer in a world where there has been growing confusion revolving around the concept of gender. However, beginning with some basic definitions will be helpful. Aside from a few rare cases, we receive either XY or XX chromosomes from our moms and dads. Those chromosomes determine not our “sex assigned at birth” but our biological sex. In reality, sex is not assigned; it is acknowledged. Typically, when doctors deliver a baby, they can readily recognize the sex of the child.
Additional questions asked in our contemporary culture are these: With what gender do you identify? What are your preferred pronouns? The world says we define our own gender based on feelings or how we see ourselves. And it may not match our gender on the outside. Accordingly, “preferred pronouns” are words that refer to our self-perception rather than our actual gender. It is difficult to keep up with the lists of multiple pronouns that have been imagined in recent years.
Where do we begin to understand this pronoun issue as Christians? Well, let’s look at God’s list and see how many genders there are. God says this in Genesis 1:27:
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (ESV)
Within the context of a biblical worldview, this is our starting point. Concerning any discussion of gender identity or preferred pronouns, there is one fundamental truth that humanity shares in common—we are created as male or female. All of us are human—that is the foundation of how we ought to see ourselves. Even if some individuals were to identify as an animal or plant, the bottom-line reality is that they are human. God imprinted that knowledge in them.
Since we are all human, that means we are made in God’s image. It also means we were meant to have a relationship with God. To be human includes having a consciousness of right and wrong, and knowledge of right and wrong leads to guilt resulting from wrong behavior. We feel guilty about our conduct because we know there is a God who is going to hold us accountable.
From a biblical perspective, then, our gender is God’s decision. According to the world’s way of thinking, gender ideology is about individuals believing that they can determine their own gender identity, whether or not it matches their biological sex.
How should Christians respond? How should Christians treat our fellow humans? Think about God as our perfect example. Does He treat people any differently based on how they perceive their gender identity or sexual orientation? No, He doesn’t. Even though ultimate accountability to God and facing the prospect of His judgment are future realities, He is patient with humanity in the meantime. As Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9,
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
In addition to being patient, God is love—He loves His creation. God does not have to support people’s behavior or affirm their beliefs to love them. (We could go so far as to say that God is neither supportive nor affirming of behaviors and beliefs when they are contrary to His will.)
This is where the gospel is so critical. The message of the gospel is rooted in truth and expressed in love. “Truth in love” governs the way God would have us interact with others. The truth is we are all human. The truth is that we all are made in the image of God, our Creator. The truth is that God desires to have a relationship with each one of us. But because of sin and guilt, we naturally don’t want the same thing. Consequently, we end up hurt, lonely, depressed, unhappy, and miserable. We’re constantly searching for something or someone to take away the guilt and pain.
That’s where we come in as children of God. We are to be lights that shine bright for Christ. We are to share God’s truth wrapped in love. We need to let the world know there is a way to be truly happy and genuinely loved. But how can we share God’s love if we are not showing it? If we are rude, mean, and disrespectful, how will they see and experience the love of Christ? As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:24-26,
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Before God saved us, we were headed in the same direction as every other sinner—caught in a web of hopelessness. When we are chosen by God, we can rest assured that He loves us—for time and eternity. It is our high calling to share the light of Jesus with people who are trapped in the darkness of gender ideology confusion. When the opportunity presents itself, let’s be ready to share that light with love, gentleness, and with respect.
