Pastor Robert Jeffress from the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas has noticed that a lot of Christians do not know how to respond to the ongoing debate concerning the proper use of bathrooms by people who identify themselves as transgenders.
During his sermon on Sunday, he said Christians should always look up to God when dealing with sensitive issues such as this. "It's not that confusing," he said.
"In Matthew 19:4, God's Words are applicable. The Bible says 'God made them from the beginning male and female.' Not male, female and question mark. God has determined how many sexes there are — there are two, not three."
Jeffress went on to say that gender identity confusion is an emotional disorder that must be treated "professionally and compassionately," not supported.
When the Obama administration issued a decree to all public schools last Friday ordering them to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their preferred gender identity, Jefress said this was totally uncalled for.
"Gender identity confusion should not be exploited by social activists like those in the Obama administration who want to deny the God-given distinction between the sexes. This is a rebellion against God's plan," he said.
Meanwhile, Pastor John Piper also weighed in on the transgender bathroom controversy following the action taken by retail giant Target to allow its staff and customers to use the bathrooms corresponding to their personal gender identity.
On his Desiring God podcast, Piper answered his listeners' repeated question: Would you use a Target men's room?
Before answering the question, he referred to what he called "probably the most destructive sentence the [Supreme] Court has ever spoken" when Justice Anthony Kennedy said, 'At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.'"
"For this principle to hold," Piper explained, "liberty is the right to define one's own existence. God must be excluded from the picture, because what it means to be God is that God defines for us the nature of our existence."
In other words, he said living your life based on your "gender identity" rather than the gender God gave you means pushing God aside.
Piper then answered the question: "If I were there and if I had to, I would — just like I would stop on the highway if I had to."
However, he added, "I wouldn't if I didn't have to. And the reason I wouldn't is because I want there to be a small act of protest and life consistency that may have no impact at all on the powers that make such decisions, but that keep my conscience clear and acknowledge God in practical affairs and give a consistency to my life that does help overall in showing the way of Christ to the world."
