God’s design for gender and sexuality is fixed and unchanging. The way he created us is the way he means for us to live. The instruction he provides in the Bible is all we need to understand his purpose and live it out in a way that honors and pleases him. The wisdom he provides in the Word is all we need to understand how he made us and how he intends us to express our sexuality. God has spoken and it falls to us to believe and obey.

A Field Guide on
Gender and Sexuality

Yet the world is confused about these matters and always has been. Such confusion varies from age to age and context to context, but what is universal is that every culture finds different ways to rebel against God and against his good design. Today’s confusion in the Western world—a confusion that inevitably impacts the church—centers around matters of identity. For that reason, matters of sex, gender, and identity are at the heart of a helpful new field guide published by Ligonier Ministries: A Field Guide on Gender and Sexuality.
A field guide is meant to offer a concise introduction and explanation to a topic or area of study, and that is what this one accomplishes. It explains what the Bible teaches about gender, sexuality, and identity, and does so by following a question and answer format. Its 28 questions and answers are divided into four broad categories.
It begins with “Being Human” and answers questions about being made in the image of God, about the purpose of sex, about the right to personalize an identity, and about the number of genders and the distinctions between them. It then advances to “Homosexuality and Transgenderism” where it answers whether same-sex attraction is a sin (or only acting on it), distinguishes between gender dysphoria and transgenderism, considers the term “gay Christian,” and tells whether Christians with same-sex attraction can expect their desires to diminish (or even transform) as they grow in sanctification.
In the third section, the questions turn to matters of “Events and Associations.” Can I attend a gay wedding? Can I attend the wedding of a Christian to a non-Christian? Is it acceptable to use a person’s preferred pronouns? How do we know whether something is a matter of conscience or a clear teaching of Scripture? The final section, “The Gospel and Love” offers hope for sexual sinners of all kinds, explains the nature of true compassion, and tells how to serve fellow Christians who are struggling with same-sex attraction. It covers all this in a concise format and a mere 112 pages.
Because the guide is written from the unified perspective of a particular ministry, it offers a lot of unambiguous and unapologetic “yes” and “no” answers. Yet these are always explained and defended from Scripture. There are areas of any discussion of these matters that begin to move from what the Bible clearly prescribes to matters where Christians may have some disagreements on the basis of conscience, and for this reason, I appreciate the section on conscience and this helpful guidance: “Something is a matter of conscience when it is not forbidden by Scripture explicitly or not forbidden implicitly by good and necessary deductions from Scripture.”
Yet almost by definition, people will disagree about whether a particular issue is forbidden in that way. Thus it would have been helpful to me if there had been a question that asked something like this: How should Christians relate to one another when they disagree about whether a particular issue is a matter of conscience or a biblical decree? At what point do we believe that another person is so wrong that we need to pull back from formal or informal associations? This, I think, is going to be one of the pressing challenges of the next few years. I believe the church will eventually come to be unified on most or all of these matters—our consciences will more and more come into line as we commit ourselves to the Scriptures and the work of the Spirit—but there will first be a time of some uncertainty. I long for us, as a church, to navigate that in-between time well.
Ligonier’s A Field Guide on Gender and Sexuality is a helpful, timely, and valuable resource and one that offers sound answers to urgent questions. It is priced very reasonably which makes it ideal to purchase in bulk and distribute widely. To young and old alike, it will prove a trusted guide to some of today’s most pressing issues.

Westminster Books is offering a discount on a new book for kids that is part of what they say is one of their all-time favorite series. In fact, the whole series is on sale.
Today’s Kindle deals include a couple of interesting titles. And, as always, I will check again first thing in the morning.

Trevin Wax considers the argument for the existence of God that goes like this: “There is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Therefore there must be a God.”

“Let me ask you a question: What do you think God feels about you right now?” Dave Harvey wants you to remember that you live from approval, not for approval.

“If you want to see someone’s spiritual sincerity … don’t mainly watch him in church. Watch him with his children. Watch him at work. Watch him in traffic. Watch him when offended. For you will know him by his neighbor-love.”

Casey borrows the imagery of a trellis and vine and applies it helpfully. “I’m convinced that individual Christians need both trellis and vine work … We need to construct structures in our lives that maximize the potential for spiritual fruit. We need to implement habits and practices in our lives that maximize the potential for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to grow.”

I enjoyed this brief biography of the man who, in his time, was known as the black Spurgeon.

“I often get asked how we are reaching so many people or what we are doing differently at Malvern Hill–especially as it relates to reaching children and teenagers. Interestingly, many people don’t believe my answer. They assume we must have uncovered some secret growth trick, some special program, or a new discipleship method. The truth is simple and difficult.”

The Christian life is a lifelong obedience of replacing ungodly patterns and habits with godly ones. We continually put off the old man and put on the new.

Tears are the safety-valve of grief, and often keep an agonized heart from bursting; let them flow.
—Theodore Cuyler

This week’s giveaway, sponsored by Spurgeon College, is a free copy of No Neutral Words by Sam Bierig, Dean of Spurgeon College.

The first 25 to complete the form below will receive a free copy of the book. Upon completion of the giveaway, the entrants will receive an email to confirm the location and mailing address.

No Neutral Words
The Pastor’s Investment and Stewardship of His Most Precious and Powerful Tool
By: Sam Bierig
What if I told you there’s a budget in your life and ministry other than your finances and time—one that you’re just as accountable for but are likely overlooking?
As a pastor and ministry leader, you no doubt conceptualize your ministry in terms of financial stewardship. You no doubt feel the weight of stewarding and maintaining your church’s financial budget. Further, we could even extend the pastor’s budget concept to also include a “time budget.” I trust you’re comfortable thinking in these terms. We’re all too aware of how easy time can be flitted away. We have no quarrel on the stewardship of either of these points. But what if we sought to steward our talk and our words just as closely as we do our money and time?
The aim of No Neutral Word is to convince you to consider your “word budget” and show you that every single word you speak is an eternal investment in your hearers for either life or death. The life-or-death investments spoken by you into others, pastor, is your move.

Enter Giveaway Here:
Giveaway rules: You may enter the giveaway one time. The recipients will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on Sunday, March 4th at midnight.