Life is lived in one direction: forward. With each rotation and revolution of the earth, humanity is catapulted through days and years. Each person grows as a baby in the womb and quickly progresses from childhood to adulthood, only to be replaced by those that come after. The passing of time, and the natural processes that mark it, are predetermined by God and cannot be altered. However, God within that unchangeable framework God has given humans dominion over the earth. We are the ones with the responsibility to build families, (eventually) churches, and civil societies.
Before God gave humans dominion, He had crafted the world with certain laws, according to His wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-36). One of these natural parameters is that there are limited outcomes. In other words, that certain actions produce certain kinds of results. Nations, churches, and families grow, diminish, thrive, or die as part of the natural consequences of our choices. Walking in God’s wisdom creates success; rebelling against God’s wisdom creates chaos and destruction. Those with their head on straight recognize this; insane people do not, for, as the saying goes, they do the same thing expecting different results the next time. Unfortunately, American culture has taken the path of insanity rather than sanity, but we have not yet experienced all the consequences of our insane choices. We are currently living in the period after our nation began to set out on the rebellious path but before we experience the full consequences of that choice.
Before judgment happens, rebellious men & women steering their nation down the path of destruction assume that their own opinions and ways are justified. However, Proverbs repeatedly commands us not to depend on our own wisdom. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD and depart from evil” (3:5-7). “Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom” (23:4). “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (28:26).
It is easy to look at transgenderism, which is the one of the most recent expressions of madness, and see that it is the product of people promoting their sin into social acceptance. God’s judgment concerning this absurdity is easy to understand. A short study of Genesis 1:27-28 is sufficient to answer the alphabet soup promoters as they undermine America’s historically Christian culture. However, the “leaning on our own understanding” problem is present not only in the latest LGBTQ controversies, but in other sins where the problem is less obvious.
Let’s take transgenderism again. Faithful Christians are not persuaded by the arguments of pop trans advocates who claim they simply don’t feel like their birth gender. They argue that, if a man can’t shake the feeling of being a woman, though he is “trapped” in a male body, he should be able to present himself as a female. But, we respond, Genesis 1:27-28 tells us that God (first) made humans male and female so (second) they could be fruitful and multiply. Regardless of how he feels, a man can’t fulfill both of those design features in the female role even if he tries his hardest to look and act like a woman. However, the principle is also true for a man who leaves his family to come out of the closet; though he may insist that he’s “always been attracted to other men,” he is not permitted to use that feeling to override Genesis 1:27-28. Whether his desires seem subjectively to be in his control or not, God’s original command stands, and His design remains unaltered.
God’s Word also overrides the desires of a man wanting to dress like a woman, a man who wants to use pornography, a man who wants to leave his wife, or a man who wants to remarry instead of work to restore his marriage (even if the separation isn’t his fault). How he feels does not change the objective sinfulness of any of those things. Of course, these biblical conclusions also apply for women in all the same ways.
Much of life is indeed beyond our control. The behavior of others is often beyond our control. Circumstances make life complicated. Sinful tendencies tug on our mind, will, and emotions against the influence new man. None of these very real influences are Biblically acceptable justifications to disobey God. When we excuse our sin by asserting that the circumstances were “beyond our control,” we have replaced the authority of God’s Word with the authority of our own understanding and feelings. Transgender surgery is simply farther down the destructive path of replacing God’s authority with our feelings than other, more culturally acceptable sins. Excusing transgenderism seems completely unreasonable not because the justification for it is a new idea; rather, it is because transgenderism is a more open expression of man’s desires rebelling against God’s Word. The only true authority for human behavior is the Word of God. Neither individuals nor nations can permanently delay the consequences of following their desires instead of acknowledging the Lord. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7-9).
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant of NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
Every Tuesday, SFL publishes relevant Bible-based content. Check back next Tuesday to read the next SFL article.
More Strength for Life...
Israel has had a special place in God's plan, and will play an important future role. In this sermon, Pastor Johnson explains why Biblical Christians should support God's people.
Comments