Anthony Bradley’s Jan. 8 article, “Helping Transgendered Christians,” in World Magazine breaks no new ground. Drawing primarily from a friend’s experiences and from Mark Yarhouse’s book Understanding Gender Dysphoria, Bradley’s message can be summarized as follows: Christians need to show compassion to those who suffer with the difficult symptoms of gender dysphoria. Bradley will get no argument from me or from most Christians I know.
Compassion is at the heart of the gospel. Because of His compassion, God sent His Son to save a world full of sinners. Without doubt, the world is a better place when human hearts, like God’s heart, are moved by compassion. But compassion does not—cannot—stand alone. In this fallen world, Bradley referred to, sin has consequences. So while we must treat our fellow sinners with godly compassion, we also must treat sin with godly disdain. Bromide it may be considered, but fundamental truth it is that Christians must love the sinner but hate the sin.
God’s Word simply does not allow for using compassion as an excuse for sin. As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery (along with a sinning man): “Then neither do I condemn you. … Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:10-11).
Jesus’ command to “leave your life of sin,” harsh as it might sound, also flows from His compassion. He knew that if the woman continued in her lifestyle, her sins would continue to damage her and hinder her ability to live a rich, full life. What’s more, her sins would have harmed others. No one sins in a vacuum. I can speak from personal experience about how one person’s ongoing life of sin damaged not only himself but many others around him.
My father chose to indulge his desires at the expense of his wife and children. He violated his marriage vows to my mother and left her nearly penniless in the process. He largely abandoned his duties as a father as he sought to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a woman. He frequently humiliated his family and molested me on several occasions.
Near the end of his life, I often visited my father, still wearing his dresses and smeared with makeup, but also plagued by regrets over such behavior. I forgave him and told him I loved him. That forgiveness released me and gave me new emotional freedom. But it did not—it could not—go back in time and delete all the pain and sorrow this caused him and our family.
In this fallen world Mr. Bradley referred to, each of us is born with a proclivity to sin. When we use that inborn tendency to sin—in whatever form, including effeminacy, as referred to in 1 Corinthians 6:9—as an excuse to continue committing the same sin, then we hurt ourselves and those around us.
Yes, Christians must treat gender dysphoric people with compassion, but excusing and enabling their behavior will help no one. True compassion says not only “Neither do I condemn you,” but also “Go and leave your life of sin.” {eoa}
Denise Shick is the founder and director of Help 4 Families and Board Member of Restored Hope Network, “dedicated to restoring hope to those broken by sexual and relational sin, especially those impacted by homosexuality. We proclaim that Jesus Christ has life-changing power for all who submit to Christ as Lord; we also seek to equip His church to impart that transformation.”
