The Bible’s teaching on issues of sex, putting God first and honouring him, points Christians to a clear understanding of transsexualism, Kevin DeYoung has said.
The influential US pastor made the comments in a blog post for The Gospel Coalition website, in which he tackled the question of whether the Bible had anything to say on the contentious issue.
He made clear that Christians should both love those who have struggles in the area and also be clear in their own thinking.
Glory of God
DeYoung wrote that while the Bible does not “speak in 21st century terms to every 21st century eventuality”, it does show a deep understanding of issues concerning sex and identity.
DeYoung wrote: “In short, the Bible teaches that God made us male or female, and no matter our own feelings or confusion, we should act in accordance with the biological reality of God’s good design.
“Transgenderism falls short of the glory of God and is not the way to walk in obedience to Christ.”
He explained that there were three “big Scriptural building blocks” that led to this conclusion.
God’s design
The first, he said, was that the Bible “operates with the binary categories of men and women” – even if people express their “masculinity and femininity in a wonderful diversity of ways”.
“We know from Genesis 1 and 2 that the categories of male and female are a part of God’s design for humanity”, he noted.
DeYoung then turned to the question of churchgoers who genuinely feel that their biological body does not correspond with how they feel.
He said that for Christians, following Jesus has always meant dying to self and being renewed.
Belong to God
DeYoung said the third point is that any confusion of the realities of sex is displeasing to God.
“We belong to God and should glorify him with our bodies”, he noted.
DeYoung added that the issue of transsexualism touches on numerous issues, all of which require Christian thought.
Grace and truth
“We also need Christians patiently loving, counseling, and befriending those who feel that their psychological identity as male or female contradicts their ‘assigned’ biological sex”, he said.
In concluding, DeYoung expressed the hope that Christians would build a correct foundation on transsexualism, under the goal of God building up his church in both truth and grace.