WHY THE GOSPEL COMPLETELY REVOLUTIONIZES THE TRANSGENDER DEBATE

Why The Gospel Completely Revolutionizes The Transgender Debate

HELLO CHRISTIAN

The Transgender debate has been raging for some time now. But many Christians are inquisitive as to how the gospel can shape this issue. Do believers really have anything to say on the subject? 

Yes. And it matters, a lot. "Our cultural conversations about transgenderism, gender dysphoria, and sexual identity matter not ultimately because of social or political implications, but because of what these issues mean for how we understand ourselves and each other as human beings," writes Samuel James at The Gospel Coalition.

"If Christians are to offer both clarity and compassion to those struggling with these issues, we must first recognize that what is really at stake is not a “culture war” or political clout, but real people. 

That means it won’t be enough to merely knock down a rival worldview; we must show, in word and deed, that the gospel really is good news—even better than the promises of the Sexual Revolution."

British minister Vaughan Roberts has written a book entitled 'Transgender' which seeks to help us understand the issue, and how the Christian narrative can invade such a sensitive topic. 

There’s a deeply rooted conviction that everyone is free to define themselves as they wish, and no one has the right to question the self-definition. That explains why our culture’s knee jerk reaction to those identifying as transgender as changed from an unquestioning “Yuk!” to an unquestioning “Yes!”" writes Roberts.

We must be careful not to judge those struggling with transgenderism, nor should we isolate them from the Church. 

"As Christians, the first thing we ought to affirm in talking about gender identity is that all people, regardless of how they identify, are created in the image of God," urges James. "Because all human beings are made in the image of an infinitely valuable God, each of us carry intrinsic worth and dignity. No sin or confusion can erase a human person’s value."

So what can the gospel really offer in this debate?

Well, everything. "The gospel rescues us, body and soul, through the perfect righteousness and perfectly authentic humanity of Christ Jesus," highlights James. "Those who are in Christ, Roberts writes, aren’t promised an end to all their struggles. Gender dysphoria is a real effect of the Fall and will not be totally ended until Christ returns to finalize the new creation."

Roberts highlights that what will ultimately matter is not wrapped up in our feelings, but in who we are in Christ. 

We "have been promised the presence of the Holy Spirit, who assures them of their new identity as God’s children, and gives them a new longing to please him," he writes. 

"That will involve recognizing that what ultimately matters is not what my feelings may say about myself, but who God made me to be, which is who I will be in the resurrection. My origin and destiny in Christ should therefore affect how I love now. And that origin and destiny includes my body."

"Our deepest desires and our most fundamental notions of self-identity don’t need blanket affirmation; they need resurrection."

Only Christ can make us whole. Our true identity can only be found in Him. We are all lost until we find our home and our rest in him.