2nd Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
It has been the policy of some in former years not to touch any hot-button issues of the day, for fear of backlash. That’s all well and good, but when we have issues of eternal consequence sitting right at our doorsteps, we are prodded by God, to give the trumpet a certain sound, lest the young and restless be swept into the ranks of the ungodly and thereby be irretrievably lost if they aren’t alerted to the evil.
That is what Paul was saying to young Timothy, who would soon be facing a barrage of oppositions, and suppositions, and who, because of his tender age, might be tempted to mince words, to soothe itching ears. While the truth is to be spoken in love, we are cautioned against watering it down to avoid conflict for by doing so we would do great disservice to the kingdom of God.
This is also an issue for us in our day, where we are observing that a precipitous downward spiral is on the move as far as morality and gender goes, yet it’s almost like if one has to walk on pins and needles to let the truth be known. But for those of us who may be overly concerned about reactions, the word of God has some pertinent advice for us. Let’s read:
Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and you do not give him warning, nor do you speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
The Sunday law will be a hot button issue, when it rears its head nationwide, and if our policy remains avoiding controversial topics, we will sink into what is described as oblivion and irrelevance, at the very time when God will need foot soldiers, to finish up the work of the gospel in all the world.
Very much confusion concerning gender now exists in the world today, much more than in former years and the issue has taken on a life of its own, and has metastasized into philosophies, indoctrinations and teachings that have done, and continue to do great damage to the minds of old and young alike.
Persons are being taught that it’s alright to be in a perpetually fluid state of gender ranging from male to female, and everything else in between, and the philosophy has taken deep root in our educational systems, by precept and example, so that the now generation is faced with a plethora of options that never existed in days of yore.
Added to this, on a national level, the perpetration of erroneous views on gender, is adding fuel to the fire, in so much that we currently have on our hands an epidemic of confusion which threatens the fabric of life, and society. Kids are not sure who they are anymore, and are being taught that the assumption of any designation on gender is theirs for the taking.
It is of particular concern that kids as young as five years old are being targeted with these philosophies for their young minds are like a sponge, and if these errors become etched into their consciences at such a young age, we are looking at a future generation that would make the people of Sodom turn in their graves.
Some time ago, one who identified as “They” was being treated at a hospital, and because of “their” chosen designation, the nurses could have become confused when it was time to bring “them” food. If it’s “They” then that could require the poor nurses to bring at least two lunches at noon.
That is how far we have fallen, where the English language has virtually run out of words to describe the multitude of genders that keep coming our way. One of the most successful devices of devils is to flood the earth with a dizzying number of options in everything from Bibles to gender, so that the people of earth would become utterly confused and totally disoriented.
For instance, there are currently more than 80,000 versions of the Bible available, from the King James version to the Queen James, and everything else in between. Then there are literally a million different tattoos now available, in so much that persons can become very confused as to which one to choose.
The same is true for gender designations, for after it morphed into what was then a four-letter acronym, it has now evolved into any and every variation one can think of, and it is not only limited to humanistic descriptions, because folks can now opt to be called a dog, or a cat or any other deviation that exists, or will come into existence.
“Otherkin” are persons who believe they are not entirely human, and therefore, identify as wolves, dragons or cartoon characters. Such persons are religious in their belief that they are trans-species, and as such can adopt a perpetually fluid state of identification, from one day to the next.
What is even more disturbing is that the philosophy has infiltrated the ranks of the remnant people of God, and pastors, and elders are now being forced to confront an inconvenient truth, that increasing numbers of young and old alike are now subscribing to the tsunami of erroneous views on gender.
Thus, the time has fully come for us to Render Unto Gender Its Due, meaning that the word of God is to be presented as the final authority on the matter so that persons can make informed decisions. It should never be said that we followed the multitude down a rabbit hole, in search of fantasy and delusion, and because of this we must allow the scripture to be its own interpreter.
When God created the human race, there were only two genders, male and female, and thus, from our first parents came all who lived after the fall, which is all of us. This sacred truth is stated unequivocally in the scriptures, so that none may be ignorant on this point.
We will deal with situations that developed later in the human family, after sin entered our world, but we must let the unadulterated truth be known up front. God created Adam and Eve as the progenitors of the human family that was to come and everyone who has ever lived, is and was a result of that stated fact in Genesis.
Like with marriage, diets and foods, the inhabitants of earth have made very difficult, and complicated, that which God has made very plain and simple and by doing so, we will discover that there is no end to the multiple deviations, as it pertains to genders or sexes. Let’s read:
Genesis 1: 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
Genesis 2: 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Thus, God set in motion up front a process whereby the earth was to be populated, and the foundations of all society were laid according to His perfect will. Thus, whatever deviations may have come after the great fact of our creation violence must not be done to that which is written because God will never ever change that which He has spoken.
A male, as defined by the scriptures is one who has been born with reproductive organs pertaining to a man, and typically under normal circumstances, has the ability to fertilize female eggs. Thus, whatsoever a person may, or may not feel, should not alter that basic fact in any way shape or form.
How one feels, even if those feelings may be real or undeniable, should never be permitted to alter the great facts of distinction, given in the Bible. Feelings may be in flux, and erroneous indoctrination might take its toll, but the very least we can and should do is to allow the distinction as given by God to remain intact.
A woman is defined as one who is born with female organs, and the natural capabilities of bearing, and nursing children, under normal circumstances. It is not that complicated as modern philosophies would have us believe. There were times when women of the Bible were barren, and could not produce any children, but that did not change the fact that they were female.
Even in pagan cultures such as ancient Egypt, it was abundantly clear who a male person was, and thus, the process of identifying such was always along the scriptural lines stipulated from the beginning. Even in Sodom and Gomorrah those who had succumbed to their unnatural feelings did not allow their minds to distort in any way the first designations given by God.
When, in the heat of the moment they had banged on Lot’s door, they specifically asked that Lot should bring out the “Men” who had come in to visit. Then, when Lot offered them his daughters as a substitute they refused, but never in their wildest dreams did they mix up the two. They had made their choices, but in their minds, the differentiation was stark and as clear as day. Let’s read:
Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Thus, even those men of Sodom, if they were alive today, would not recognize the plethora of genders and sexes available, and it is quite possible that they would issue a very stern rebuke to those who have interfered with the two designations given by God.
Whatever contrary feelings the men of Sodom may have had, the clear distinction between a male and female was never distorted in their minds and that’s the reason why they blatantly refused Lot’s offer of his daughters, for they had desired men. But as far as the definition and identification goes, they were absolutely not confused on matters of gender and sexes.
Similarly, in the land of Egypt, which was a pagan nation, even pharaoh recognized those distinctions given by God at creation. He may have been quite stubborn, and he may have been cruel, but not for once did he ever mix up the distinctions between a male and a female, as the following verses reveal. Let’s read:
Exodus 1:15 And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
How would the midwives distinguish between a son or a daughter? And how would pharaoh know the difference? It inevitably points us back to creation, when God made such distinctions as plain as day.
However, because of the fall of our first parents, all who have come after are riddled with imperfections both spiritual and physical, and as time went by, the effects of sin in the natural world, caused deviations which God never originally intended.
These imperfections include imperfect feelings and desires, which conflict with God’s stated order, and thus, we must decide whether or not, we will allow imperfection to dictate morality, or whether we will allow the word of God to be our moral compass.
Of grave importance is the fact that persons often state that they were born this or that way, and that may be true, but being born a certain way, with an unnatural tendency, or desire does not mean that we must remain that way, for the grace of God has appeared to all individuals, enabling us all, if we so choose to align ourselves with His will.
What modern philosophy on this issue is attempting to do is to make the issue of gender subservient to feelings, with no regard to the distinctions made at creation. Yes, there are instances, where persons, due to no fault of theirs, are born with tendencies, and physical deviations from the norm, but if we let such instances dictate the issue on the majority of people, we will run into conflict with what’s written.
Furthermore, for institutions of learning to go a step further and write books, and teach their students at a very young age, that the distinctions made by God are irrelevant, or even discriminatory, is to take the scepter of authority out of God’s hands and this will set the stage for the rapid deterioration of society as a whole.
Some persons are born with a natural gravitation to multiple women, but the Bible states that those are contrary feelings, to what God has stipulated. David and Solomon, who couldn’t seem to get enough, fell on that point over and over again for it was a deeply rooted craving which was embedded in their nature to the point where they would do stupid things.
Yet, if they succumbed to the fatal philosophy, that because they were born that way, then they would have to go with their natural flow, then they would by so doing, allow cravings and desires to dictate a morality that will inevitably make the word of God subservient to feeling.
The depth of the problem they suffered with could be observed by what Solomon himself wrote about the issue, and without a doubt, as the king reviewed his own checkered history, he must have included himself in the statement of fact, that showcases the conflicts within, that men must confront. Let’s read:
Proverbs 27: 20 Hell and destruction are never full; so, the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Alexander the great also had a problem with craving for he was an unbridled alcoholic, giving free reign to what he actually craved. But in doing so, he cast the revealed will of God to the wind, and allowed his unnatural desire to dictate what he would do. In fact, like so many others who allowed their feelings to drive their actions, Alexander died prematurely.
So, what does one do when what they feel is real, if the word of God conflicts with their feelings? It is to be often heard that such and such person was born this way, and because of this, they should not be expected to make changes, which the Bible calls for.
If we were to follow that line of reasoning, not one of us would be saved, for the plan of salvation was laid to address all of the imperfections that resulted from Adam’s fall. To put it plainly, the grace of God has been given to correct all imperfections, if we so choose, even if they be deeply rooted and really felt in the real world. Let’s read:
Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men;
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.
One of the issues, current in our day, as it pertains to gender, is that of persons being born a certain way, with physical, and emotional elements which are not according to the script. This issue must be addressed with surgical precision so as to make a clear distinction between what imperfections we were born with, and what can be done about them.
One day, as Jesus was passing by, He came across a man who was born blind, and like any other of the many imperfections, persons are born with, it raised the question in the disciple’s minds as to why such a person was born blind. What Jesus said, and what Jesus did in response must be studied very closely. Let’s read:
John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
We must of necessity pause here for a moment to understand an issue that seems not to be resolved in some minds, as to how and why they were born a certain way. Most persons believe that God made them, but this presents a theological question as to whether or not God directly and deliberately makes imperfection.
Before we delve into this matter, we’ll have to read a few verses of scripture, about what God does and doesn’t do, as it pertains to how we are born. In the beginning God set in motion the processes by which human life was to be perpetuated, and since that time the process has been allowed to run its natural course, even as imperfections multiplied across the entire earth.
The Bible states that God directly formed Adam of the dust of the ground, and then He made Eve from a rib of Adam’s, after which God set into motion the rhythm of life, by breathing into both their nostrils, the breath of life, and so they became living souls. It is worthy of note, that after finishing the process He declared that it was very good. Let’s read:
Genesis 2: 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Deuteronomy 32: 3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Since that time, God has allowed the processes of procreation to continue, with the liabilities and the imperfections that accrue. But, since that first week in Eden God hasn’t as a general rule of thumb made anyone directly, whether they be straight, queer or gay.
God initiated the process of procreation, and God sustains the process, but the direct formation of any person by God is generally a misnomer.
There are very few, and very rare exceptions to the rule, as in the cases of the prophets Jeremiah, John, and Christ; but in the overwhelming majority cases, when persons say that God made me, they must be referring to the process of procreation, and not to any direct intervention by God.
Therefore, before we proceed, we must seek to understand some delicate passages of scripture that may seem to suggest otherwise. Caution: Be very, very, very, very, very careful with the following passages. Let’s read:
Psalms 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knows right well.
Is David suggesting that we are products of God’s direct intervention, as it was in the beginning with Adam and Eve, or is he saying that we are products of the process that was set in motion by God? The following verse from the same chapter gives us the unequivocal answer. Let’s read:
Psalms 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Since David himself was not personally made from dust by God, he could only be referring to himself as being a product of the process of procreation which God set into motion at the beginning.
Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11 And the Lord said unto him, who has made man's mouth? or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
We sincerely hope and pray that no one would even think that this verse suggests that God deliberately makes any person dumb, blind, or deaf, from their mother’s womb. Some persons are born with some disabilities from their mother’s womb, as a result of adverse factors that are beyond their control.
God sustains the process of procreation, with all of its liabilities and imperfections, and as a result of our fallen physical and spiritual natures persons can be born with inherent disability. But for anyone to conclude that God personally makes persons dumb from birth is to do violence to the passage, because Deuteronomy already makes clear that “His work is perfect”.
Similarly, if one is born with a bias that is contrary to their physical characteristics of male or female, that fact should be understood as a product of the process within the context of man’s fallen nature, not as something God deliberately does to anyone personally. Let’s read:
Luke 4: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Matthew 4: 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
This leads us to the latter part of the intervention recorded in the book of John, where Christ dealt with the issue of the man that was born blind. After setting the record straight to His disciples, about no one to be blamed in this instance, Christ then went on to do what God has always done, He fixes the problem with the man’s sight and the rest is history. Let’s read:
John 9:6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Thus, without getting too complicated with science, philosophies, recessive genes, and all of the various adverse factors that may, or may not occur in the human experience, Christ healed the man, and the same is true for any other variant of imperfection that is to be found in humanity.
The current philosophy which teaches us to accept ourselves as we are, without the possibility of any change or intervention by God for the better is one of those teachings that are diabolically opposed to salvation. Salvage and salvation do come from the same root, and thus the very essence of salvation is to produce changes for the better, wherever such changes are warranted.
We should never limit the power of God to heal, fix, restore, or purify, because, just as Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, we too will have our own issues of imperfections to deal with, on one level or another. But the good news is that Jesus could put Humpty, Dumpty back together again because this is the very essence of God’s salvation.
Let us not then limit His power, and ability to heal, and let us never permit our issues to make the clear distinctions on gender blurry to the point where the clarity given in the Bible on the matter will become subservient to our feelings and imperfections.
If men have a problem with adultery, the solution is not to make adultery legal, for legalizing polygamy to fix the sinful desire for multiple women will only sink us lower in the moral scale.
When Alexander the great had an unnatural craving for alcoholic beverages, the solution couldn’t have been to make booze legal, for by doing so he would be making God’s revealed will, subservient to his cravings and desires. In addition, by legalizing booze he would literally be saying to those under him, that this course of action is right.
Similarly, if one has contrary feelings in his or her person, as it pertains to gender and sex issues, the solution is not to make laws that would make such feelings legal.
Doing so would only cement us in a course of action that would make salvation unnecessarily difficult. It is the will of God that any and every deviation, issue and imperfection in ourselves be addressed through the power of the written and Living word, for this is how man is to live, not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
We’ll therefore end with two passages of scripture which confirm to us the sacred truth, that change for the better, is always the foundation and working principle in the salvation wrought out through Jesus Christ, and as such, we are not to grovel in miseries, but rejoice in hope, for with God, nothing shall be impossible. Let’s read:
2nd Peter 1: 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
1st John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
God Bless!