LEARNING DAILY

 

John 15:19, “If you were of this world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Jesus

 

Dr. Ed Newton, Lead Pastor at Community Bible Church, has said often in his series dealing with social issues, “Culture does not define our Bible; our Bible defines our culture.” By definition culture means “the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements, of a nation, people or other social group” (Oxford Dictionary). As Christians we believe God is at the very center of that definition; the world system (unbelievers) believe mankind is the center of these things. Pride would desire people to believe all their achievements, customs, etc., are due to their own abilities and intellect.

 

The unbelieving world prefers selfish, self-centered desires over living the life that walks a narrow way, honoring God. From the sermon Listener Guide, “Our society is considered ever changing and to be shaped by individual experiences, personal choices, and cultural evolution”. Think back to the page of the blog where “isms” were discussed and remember they are constantly changing. Pastor Newton discussed the idea of gender identity in his message. In essence, he stated that “a woman is no longer defined by biology but based on feelings, desires, inclinations, and what feels natural”. He mentioned that today there are 107 gender identities. To give an example of this he told of boys and girls are identifying as dogs and cats and elementary teachers have to place “sandboxes” in their rooms. Are you getting the absurdity of this?

 

Biblical faith is being slandered as evil, hateful, closed-minded and ignorant because Christians are not tolerant of those who do not conform to biblical standards. Christians are called by God to be different from what the world defines as acceptable; Christians are called to live a more honorable life than living in sin. Those living in the world respond to those choosing to honor God in hatred and mockery.

 

Consider the words of Jesus before and after this verse and you will see He was reassuring Christians that being persecuted for walking as He desires – the narrow way – is a sign that we are being associated with Him and is proof that our beliefs are in line with biblical teachings. As Christians we must be careful to not be ignorant of this issue of gender identification; “we must always walk in truth, absolute truth determined by God and accountable to Him” (Listener Guide). “Transgenderism, for example, is a sin. But it is not greater than any other sin. Sin is sin.” (Pastor Newton) Pastor Newton referred to Psalm 139:14 where the psalmist wrote that we are, “fearfully and wonderfully made”. When we say we are not what God made us, we are saying God made a mistake. I agree with the pastor that as Christians, believing that the Word of God is “breathed by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We love those who do not agree with this biblical worldview and must always be willing and ready to explain the hope we have in Scripture. If you have walked the narrow way for very long, those who know you that believe the world’s view of gender will know your views on this topic. Be ready to share with them when God’s timing happens. Until that time, love them but walk in God’s truth.