A Biblical View of Gender Identity

Introduction: Clarity in a Confusing Time

Good evening. Welcome to The Well Community Church. I am so thankful you’ve carved out time to be here tonight, whether you are joining us in person or online, for the second session of our Biblical Sexuality series. My name is Brad Bell, and I’ve been the lead pastor here for a little over twenty years. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to open God’s Word and understand more of His design.

As we begin, I want to start with an acknowledgment. There has been some serious pushback to this gathering. To be candid, I was a little surprised by the amount of online friction and even the protesters out front. However, I am thankful for the opportunity to learn together. While not everything on the internet is true, I want to remind us of who we are. We are a church. We believe in God, and we believe He has revealed Himself in His Scriptures. We believe the faithful thing for a follower of Jesus to do is to live in light of that Word.

We understand that not everyone agrees with that. We aren’t here to dictate what people who don’t know God do in their private lives or to manage the moral lives of those outside the faith. We are trying to create clarity for those who are followers of Jesus. We are inviting believers to be faithful Christians. Not everything in Scripture is easy—if your life is like mine, you can’t turn a page without experiencing conviction. The Bible reveals sin in all of us. Our aim is to communicate God’s design and invite us to live according to it, putting the Gospel on display for a community that is looking to see what it actually means to follow Jesus.

Some have suggested our aim is to disparage the LGBTQIA+ community or communicate hate. That is not our intent. That is not the heart of God, and it is not the heart of this church. Let’s start on common ground and seek a better picture of God’s design than what is found in the comment sections online.

The Rise of Expressive Individualism

On Thursday, we looked at a concept from Carl Trueman’s work, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. He highlights a movement called “expressive individualism.” This is the belief that each person has a unique core of feelings and intuition that must be expressed for individuality to be realized. Simply put, it’s the idea that a person’s inner felt needs must be explored, pursued, and put on display. In this worldview, any opposition to that expression is seen as an assault on the person—it’s viewed as invalidating, harmful, or even violent.

Tonight, we are turning the corner from worldview to the text of the Bible. I hope you have your Bibles ready, because we are going to need them.

Standing in a State of Confession

I want to introduce our speaker, Dr. Denny Burke. He is a professor of biblical studies at Boyce College and a pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church. He has dedicated his academic life to sexual ethics and the Bible. Before he dives into the text, I want to read a passage that sets the stage for our discussion.

Colossians 2:8-10 (NASB)

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

What we are talking about this weekend is where we find our completeness. The world seeks to take us captive through empty deception, offering a message about gender identity that is at odds with God’s revelation. But Paul says it is in Christ that we are made complete.

Throughout church history, the deepest commitments of the faith have often been clarified during crises. When the faith is assaulted, the church responds with creeds and confessions. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once declared a state of status confessionus—a “state of confessing”—for the church in Nazi Germany. It was a dire situation where the church had to stand up for the integrity of the Gospel and the authority of God.

While we aren’t facing the violence of the 1940s, we are facing a real challenge to the church’s integrity. Even within evangelicalism, there is confusion. Books are being published suggesting that sex-change surgery or cross-dressing might be the “remedy” for gender-confused children. If Christians cannot discern that destroying healthy organs is out of step with the Gospel, we are in a status confessionus. We must clarify what the ancient faith has always taught.

The Biological Distinction

To understand gender identity, we must first define our terms. “Transgender” is a catch-all term for when a person’s perceived gender identity is out of sync with their biological sex. In 2013, the diagnostic manual changed “gender identity disorder” to “gender dysphoria” to remove the stigma. The focus shifted from the misalignment being the problem to the distress being the problem. But we must look at what God says.

I want to summarize the Bible’s teaching under three headings: The distinction between male and female is biological, it is social, and it is good. Let’s look at the first chapter of the Bible.

Genesis 1:26-27 (NASB)

Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Notice that verse 26 highlights what we have in common: both men and women are equally created in God’s image. We are His vice-regents, ruling over creation. But verse 27 highlights the difference: He created them male and female. Today, the controversy isn’t that a difference exists, but how we define it. Is it biological, or is it a self-concept?

I once received a letter from parents who supported their son’s transition to a female identity. They argued that “brain sex” trumps biological sex. They believed their son was simply born with the wrong genitals and that the Bible is silent on prioritizing anatomy over brain structure. But look at the very next verse.

Genesis 1:28 (NASB)

God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’

God tells the male and female to be fruitful and multiply. We don’t procreate with our brains. Male and female designations refer to the body’s organization for reproduction. In a fallen world, our minds can be mistaken, but our bodies reveal God’s design. If the body says male and the brain says female, the brain is mistaken. We must conform our confused minds to our healthy bodies, not the other way around.

The Social and Complementary Design

When we move to Genesis 2, we see the distinction is also social. God makes the man first, then the woman.

Genesis 2:18 (NASB)

Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’

Eve is a “helper fit for him.” This implies a social role inextricably linked to her biological sex. This isn’t just a social construct; it’s a creational reality.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NASB)

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:8-9 (NASB)

For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.

Paul links these social roles back to creation. While headship and helpership apply specifically to marriage, they are rooted in the physical differences of our bodies. A woman’s body is designed for nurturing and sustaining life; a man’s body, typically having more muscle mass and bone density, is designed for protection and provision. These physical realities have social consequences.

There is a normative connection between biological sex and gender identity. When someone embraces an identity at odds with their body, they are tearing asunder what God joined together. In the new creation, there won’t be transgender identities. When the dead in Christ rise, our bodies will rise as male and female.

The Goodness of the Creator’s Design

Finally, the distinction between male and female is good. Paul reflects on this in his letter to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 (NASB)

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

Paul warns against false teachers who forbid marriage. He responds by saying everything God created is good. God’s design may be marred by the fall, but it is not erased. If God says the distinction is physical and good, we must say the same.

Our counsel to those struggling must be for their flourishing. We want people to be happy and whole, but that only happens when we align with God’s design. I read a medical review of a 17-year-old undergoing “gender-affirming” surgery. Because the child had been on puberty blockers, he didn’t have enough skin for the procedure, so doctors had to use a section of his intestine. This is the spirit of Moloch. We are seeing the amputation of healthy body parts in service of a foreign ideology.

If you love someone, you rejoice in the truth. We weep with those in distress, but we point them to the Gospel and a path to wholeness that affirms God’s design. We cannot ignore these differences without hurting ourselves. If you look at the “detransitioners” on YouTube, you see the refugees of the sexual revolution. They wish someone had told them the truth. If we won’t speak up, who will?

Q&A: Navigating the Practical Realities

Brad Bell: Why are you so passionate about this?

Denny Burke: Because lives are at stake. I have a burden for those dealing with gender identity conflicts, especially children. We’ve seen a 5,000% increase in adolescent girls identifying as transgender in some clinics. This is a social contagion, often driven by social media and a lack of affirmation elsewhere.

Brad Bell: What about the workplace? How do we handle pronouns and names?

Denny Burke: We have two guideposts. Ephesians 4:15 says to speak the truth in love. We shouldn’t lie or indulge fictions. Romans 12 says, as much as it depends on you, live at peace.

Ephesians 4:15 (NASB)

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ,

Romans 12:18 (NASB)

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

In the workplace, you don’t have to seek out every conflict. You can use “pronoun avoidance.” But we shouldn’t deny our conscience. If a family member is holding the relationship hostage, demanding you affirm something untrue, you may have to let the conflict come. Sometimes faithfulness to Jesus comes before family peace.

Brad Bell: What would you say to a parent whose child is struggling?

Denny Burke: Don’t kick them out. Your presence is a sanctifying influence.

1 Corinthians 7:14 (NASB)

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

1 Corinthians 7:16 (NASB)

For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

Stay in the relationship as long as you can to stand between your child and the destructive messages they are hearing. You are the one who can bring the Gospel into their life.

Closing: A Place for Sinners

Some argue that calling homosexuality or transgenderism “sin” is unloving. But love cannot be defined as unconditional affirmation. Love rejoices in the truth. We believe Jesus is the King, and He owns this world. We take our cues from His Word.

However, we want everyone to know: God loves sinners. We are all sinners. There is not a person in this church who is free of sin. Whether your struggle is same-sex attraction, pride, greed, or anger, we are all in the same boat. We all need the Gospel. We invite you here—not because we are perfect, but because we are walking out this messy process of life with God together.

Genesis 2:24 (NASB)

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Lord, we thank You for Your mercy. Help us to live in the tension of grace and truth. Protect our children, and make this church a place of healing for all. Amen.