Speaking The Truth in Love To My Transgender Relative
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
- Would you like to hear sermons that will help guide your thoughts and conversations regarding transgenderism, gender identity, and gender expression? Consider listening to the sermons linked below as Dr. Caldwell teaches and exposits the Word of God:
God's Authority Over Us: • God’s Authority Over U...
Back To The Beginning: • Back To The Beginning ...
Driven To Paradise: • Driven to Paradise
Convictions That Fuel Gospel Courage: • Convictions That Fuel ...
What The Gospel Reveals: • What the Gospel Reveals
The Need For Grace: • The Need for Grace
Without Excuse: • Without Excuse
Such Were Some Of You: • Such Were Some Of You ...
How should we think about someone who has adopted the lifestyle of transgenderism? How should we interact with someone who believes they are not whom God has made them? What is the most loving thing we can do for someone confused about their identity as a male or a female?
This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, host Dr. Josh Philpot asks Dr. Richard Caldwell to help us think biblically about people who are transgendered. How can we as believers navigate conversations with family, friends, and co-workers caught up in the confusion of gender identity? What should we do, how should we act, and what should we say? How can we relate to them?
Dr. Caldwell begins by saying that what we do is deal with every person with the knowledge of who they are: a fellow human being made in the image of God. Just because someone is confused, deceived, and enslaved at the moment by sin doesn’t mean that they are any different than we are from the standpoint of humanity. We care about them as a person, recognizing that their soul has equal worth as ours. That is how we think about them, talk to them, and relate to them.
We need to remember that they are a fellow human being, someone made in the image of God, someone who is going to spend eternity in heaven or hell. We want to love these individuals and care about them, but never by compromising our loyalty to God. Therefore, we want to bring that to bear in our relationship with them. The most loving thing we will do them, for any human being, no matter what sin we are talking about, is to tell them God’s truth in an attitude that reflects the God whose truth it is. We want them to know that God cares for them and He is willing to save and change their lives. We want this to come through in every conversation we have with them.
Dr. Caldwell tells us it isn’t loving towards anyone to affirm them in things that will destroy them. It isn’t loving to stand idly by watching as someone runs towards a cliff where they will plummet to their death. We cannot say we love others and not do everything we can to hold them back. We need to do what we can to rescue them from the pit of the fiery flames of hell. That means we cannot participate in the dysphoria and the deception. We cannot refer to them by pronouns or names that do not represent reality. As believers, we have to think about how to handle this most graciously, not looking to be necessarily offensive or just out to make a point. We want to be compassionate, caring, and wise as we go about this. But we cannot and must not act as if something is real when it isn’t. The need is for the gospel, salvation, and transformation.
Dr. Caldwell shares that when we converse with those that are experiencing this dysphoria, we can assure them that whatever they are feeling, no matter how strongly they feel about whatever it is they feel, we believe them because sin is a strong force. Sin impacts our minds, our emotions, and everything else. When it comes to the spiritual aspect, we can feel right-side-up when we are actually upside down. We can tell them we are sure they feel this way, in no way denying they have these feelings. But we must also share that our feelings can’t be trusted. We want them to know that we have a very real enemy, the devil, who seeks to consume and devour us. Their confusion represents spiritual lies and the work of our spiritual enemy. We want them to know that the true and living God has an answer for the way they are feeling. That answer is to be reoriented according to His Word. We can share what the Bible tells us about creation, what it tells us about maleness and femaleness, what it says about sin, and how it affects us. We must share with them how to be saved from sin and how it is overcome through sanctification.
These are the things that can be talked about in conversations with those caught up in the deception of God’s design as we try to help them with the truth of God’s Word. These are the same conversations we must have with all those we love, wanting them to understand that we cannot pretend that their confusion represents reality. We must be loving, compassionate, but straightforward and truthful.
Such a Grace-filled answer! If Christ didn’t hate the Roman Soldiers that scourged and crucified Him, then I had better show some love towards other people. I must love them to Christ and Christ alone. Jesus Christ is our only hope! What a wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord 🎶
Homosexuality was/is an abomination according to God. People were killed for it. Jesus wasnt NEVER talking to no homosexuals. How can anyone equalize a Roman Soldier and an abominable being?
So beautiful & timely. Sent this to 2 friends this morning. Raised in godly homes yet turned this way
Home couldnt have been all that godly!
@@meraribenlevi6245That’s not true. The enemy can find ways to corrupt people and sometimes people fall into corruption all on their own if they stray. The parents can do an amazing job but once the kids flee the nest, anything can happen.
I’m so confused on what to do when it comes to my relative who has transgendered. They were raised in a dysfunctional Christian home so this person knows the Bible inside and out but it wasn’t lived out the way God intended to be. I love this person so much and was very close to them growing up. I go back and fourth so much on what God says about loving others. We are all sinners saved by grace, shouldn’t I love this person because I too am a sinner? How am I any different. I’m the only believer in our family that has any contact with this person, what’s that say about who we are in Christ? When I try to get counsel from church they just say “love them” love them how they need to be loved, super confusing!!
I struggle with this too as this is a matter very close to home. I totally agree that in Gods eye sin is sin and their sin is no different than me lying, stealing…… all sin separates us from God. I think the difference is when I sin I repent and try to turn from that sin to draw closer to Him. Many in the lgbtq community do not see their actions as sinful and quite the opposite, they have a lot of pride in it.
I 100% agree that we have to love them, as Christ does. He loves us in the midst of sun, long before we come to Him. His love for us is not different than how he loves them. In my personal life I have told the people I know that are dealing with this that I love them… nothing they can ever do or say will stop me from loving them… and likewise nothing they can ever do will stop God from loving them either. I don’t have to agree with their life choices to love them. I can still be apart of their life. I’m clear that I don’t agree with their choices and I always take it back to the word. I tell them that sin separates us from God.. my sin does just as much as their sin does. I tell the ones struggling with being transgender that I believe it to be a body dysmorphia. I 100% believe that feel that way, just like someone with anorexia believes they are fat when their body is wasting away. I believe their brain is lying to them. I tell them that I will be there to love and support them but I won’t call them by a different name, encourage the delusion, provide financial support for them to live in their sin…. I will stand beside them, loving them and doing my best to point them towards Jesus in every way possible..
God does not make mistakes.
This is good. If anyone can respond to my situation, I would really love to hear from you. We are facing this very problem but with our 14yr old grandson. He is declaring himself non binary and saying he is not a boy. He is on the autism spectrum and has been having a really hard time not attending school since covid. Our daughter and the family are in crisis and we have found an alternative school near our home 1.5 hrs away from where they live. He is coming to live with us in the week on school days and will go home at weekends. We see this as a God breakthrough as we have been praying for them for some time. We had a massive showdown in the spirit a few weeks ago with his parents insisting that we MUST use they/them pronouns or he cannot come to stay with us. We reluctantly agreed even though we offered a different solution just referring to him by name when speaking about him. I do not feel right about it but my daughter who was brought up in a christian home has bought into the transgender lie completely. He is coming this weekend to start school on Monday and it feels too late to rack back on agreeing to this nonsense. I would like to hear from other christian parents/grandparents who are/have faced this and who can help and advise.
I can't really help I guess. But my sister has decided she is now a man. I'm the only Christian in my family and I feel forced to go along with a lie, I don't, but I feel forced. I keep calling her "she" and by her girl name, even tho the others in my family LIE.
I got saved 5 years ago, and my sister turned trans like 2 years ago. She can't stand me, and refuse to hear about my belief. So I guess we have taken the "same" stance.
Because of my faith, I will not join the lie and madness just to make her feel good. There is a saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" , I will not take her hand and help her go there, I will make it hard, because I love her and want to see her in Heaven, but also because it is my faith. I also don't think I help her by going alog with it.
I rather stand on a sure foundation than the shifting sand of the world.
She may one day wake up and see only one person stood up in her life against the madness, even tho she hate me now, she may one day see me as a unshakeable pillar that told her the truth in this madness.
Who respect people who abandon their own belief just to please others anyway?!
She won't respect me any more if I abandon my faith just to please her, she would respect me less, so would anybody watching me (the rest of my family) wondering what I will say or do as a Christian.
The world always watch what we do, and they lose respect every time Christians give in to their way.
Just like a child lose respect for their parents if they don't stand their ground. People respect people who stand their ground and stay true to their belief.
If we compromise with them, we lose integrity in their eyes even if they want us to join them. Stand your ground, lovingly. Not to cause trouble, but to stand your ground, standing firm on your belief, not beding to other peoples belief. They will not give up their belief, why should you give up your belief?
It is important that we value the acceptance by God more than the acceptance by our loved ones, for their sake also.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. Just knowing that others are experiencing this painful situation is a comfort in this situation.@@adriel6421 .
I agree speaking the truth is the way of loving other human beings. But if this transgender person is not a believer in Christ...he isn't going to be separated from God b/c he is "transgender". It will be b/c he has an unrepentant sin nature. Christians would do well to quit focusing on the whole LBGTQ issue. If they want to focus on sexual sin and perversion....let them focus on heterosexual sin...such as adultery, divorce and pre-marital sin. Maybe start with Christians first.
Amen!
What your feeling is the work of an evil spirit but Christ is also an spirit repent and seek Jesus help.
Why do people say they are still created in Gods image? We are trying to attain back to His image... God is not a sinner. We are. We are not in the image of God.
They were still created in his image. They just aren't bearing that image in the fullest.
this does not sound loving at all, more like "I am right, if you do not agree, you are going to hell".
No one can speak for God Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Who is anyone on earth to speak on their behalf or the Bible? Secondly i am Of what you speak of and behind every answer i hear judgement and fear…and the truth is we all as humans are sinners period! And we live by God’s grace alone. We all should release our pride and ego and remember every creation has a purpose…and we should never lean on our own understanding when it comes to the Bible or make statements about who goes to heaven or hell. Jesus is our Judge not you.
Yet the Bible says how God created man and women with specific roles, and very intentionally. Who are we to change that or tell God we are something other than what he created us?
I feel like a pizza 🍕