A Sign of the Time We Live In

We live in a day and age when God’s Word is being increasingly rejected as the foundation for our thinking as well as the ultimate authority for our morality. Instead, “everyone does what is right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Few contemporary issues demonstrate this as clearly as the issues of marriage and gender.

Well, recent changes on the social media site Google+ are a great example of the “signs of our times.” According to the tech news site The Verge, last month Google+ unveiled "’infinite’ ways to define gender, letting users describe themselves using whichever terms they feel comfortable with rather than relying on the ternary ‘Male,’ ‘Female,’ or ‘Other’ system.” These new gender options allow users to choose a “custom” gender which lets them describe themselves in whatever way they prefer. Facebook launched* similar custom gender options for US users, and when they choose to write in their own gender, Facebook asks them which gender’s pronoun they prefer on their birthday—female, male, or neutral (“Wish them a happy birthday!”). Facebook even has a new feature that allows a user to designate gender neutral family relationships such as “child-in-law (gender neutral)” or “parent-in-law (gender neutral).”

Of course, Google and Facebook are secular companies, and we do not expect them to uphold the authority of God’s Word. But I want to point out that these changes illustrate how far our culture has drifted from a biblical worldview that once permeated America. As a nation, the USA, it used to, by and large, base its thinking on the Word of God, but now its culture has predominantly based it’s thinking on what feels right. Of course, this is the natural outcome of a nation that has rejected God as Creator. If there is no Creator, then who sets the rules? Who defines morality? Mankind does! So why not just make gender whatever you want it to be? And, if gender can be whatever I want it to be, then so can marriage. But we do have a Creator, and, since He made us, only He has the authority to set the rules. We have a firm foundation for morality because our Creator has revealed it to us in the Bible.

And God not only made the earth and everything in it, He also created gender. Gender is not a social construct that society can arbitrarily define or that can be changed based on our feelings. Gender—male and female—was created by God at the beginning (Genesis 1:27), and this distinction was reaffirmed by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 19:4–5). Although gender (like everything else) is marred by sin because of the Fall, we need to respect the distinction that God created and not seek to redefine it according to our fallible human wisdom and desires. I think of the following verse:

But from the beginning of the creation, God “made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6)

As our Western cultures rapidly slide further and further away from a biblical worldview, I encourage you to be bold in standing for the truth of God’s Word, from the very beginning, and to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all. Sadly, as many Christians have rejected God’s clear words in Genesis, we are seeing more and more Christians compromise on areas related to gender and homosexual behavior. After all, the foundation for marriage and gender is God’s created order in Genesis, so it’s no surprise that many of those who have rejected a literal Genesis have also rejected Scripture’s teaching on marriage and gender.

If we cannot trust the clear words of Scripture in Genesis or God's teaching on marriage and gender throughout the Bible, then why can we trust the Bible about the gospel of Jesus Christ? As Christians, we need to stand on the authority of the Bible in its entirety and point people back to the truth of God’s Word—beginning in Genesis—and encourage them to start their thinking from God’s Word in all areas.

Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:45–47)

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

 

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.

*Post updated on February 26, 2015