Recently, I was watching the United States Senate’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She was asked a very simple but profound question: “Can you provide a definition for the word woman”? I understood Judge Jackson’s reluctance to provide a direct answer, because she would have been walking into a legal and political minefield. Notwithstanding, the question from Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee had tremendous socio-cultural and theological implications.
Because of the existence of a global environment in which many are seeking to impose a radical redefinition of gender, there is a need to provide clarity to this fundamental question. The redefinition of gender is closely aligned to a vigorous movement for the normalization of homosexuality and the promotion of the so-called transgenderism. Every form of media—television, billboards, social media sites, newspaper, and magazine articles--is being marshalled to bring this agenda to full fruition. Daily we are bombarded by millions of subtle and not so subtle signs of this movement.
The reality is that if Christians are not alert and aware, they can find themselves slowly being pulled under the influence of this socio-cultural tide of error concerning sex, gender, homosexuality, and transgenderism. All of which are contrary to biblical teachings and God-given standards. Therefore, the truths concerning these biblical categories of a man-woman need to be vigorously reasserted. God created humans as “male and female” (Genesis 1:27). Then, He connected this design with marriage in Genesis 2:23-24. Jesus reaffirms this truth in Matthew 19:4-6. From these passages alone, the categories of male and female and marriage between a man and woman are clear. Same-sex marriages and homosexual relationships are not supported.
Many people, however, try to do an end-run around these biblical truths by arguing that sex and gender are two separate categories, particularly in their discussion of transgenderism. In their view, sex is a product of biology, but gender is an expression of sociology. In other words, all the roles, behaviors, and norms which are associated with male and female are the result of our socialization. Yet even a cursory look at the Bible reveals that this kind of dichotomy between sex and gender roles were almost non-existent! The socialization that occurred based on sex was in line with the affirmation of biblically-prescribed gender roles.
For example, only men (males) could be husbands and only women (females) could be wives. In both the Old Testament and New Testaments, there was no separation between sex and gender. Furthermore, any expression of sexuality contrary to these two categories of male-female and sex-gender was soundly condemned. Scripturally, both genitals and God defined male-female and man-woman. During modernity, science used genes, gonads, and chromosomes to further affirm what was apparent in ancient days!
Additionally, in the Scriptures, human beings were created by God. As created beings, they were created with limitations on themselves, which included their bodies. These limitations included sex and gender which were unseparated. Furthermore, these limitations imposed by God in His Word were to remain, despite the ability to hormonally manipulate or surgically mutilate our bodies, to redesign the body and bring it in line with a self-declared, contrary assertion or desire! Using any aesthetic capability with makeup and fashions was also rebellion against the design and intent of God. Simply put, sex and gender were not separated from each other, or interchangeable.
