by Patrick Sawyer, Missional Living Pastor
As Christians engage transgender ideology, they must be ready and prepared for the battle ahead.
Scripture reveals that Christians must understand the vital battle they are engaged in and be prepared for it (Ephesians 6:12). Even though Christians are in this great battle, there is good news. The good news is that God has given Christians all they need to fight this battle. Paul also reveals in Ephesians 6 that Christians, to fight this battle, must put on the armor of God.
As Christians attempt to engage transgender ideology, they must have love and compassion for the transgender community because they are made in the image of God (Mark 12:31). In order for Christians to engage the transgender community, they must build relationships with them. One of the best way to so this is in Christian homes. As Christians open up their homes, they can love their transgender neighbors by building a relationship and trust with them that allows for honest and deeper conversations, which, in turn, leads to gospel conversations.
As Christians engage transgender ideology, they must be prepared to defend the faith by first understanding the transgender worldview, challenging it, and then building a bridge to the gospel's truth (1 Peter 3:15-16). Francis Schaeffer called this approach “taking the roof off.”[1]
This approach is that every nonbeliever has presuppositions that shape the way they live and to protect or shield these presuppositions from the “point of tension,” they “build a roof over their head.”[2] As Christians engage in one-on-one apologetics, they can find the nonbeliever’s point of tension and then lift their roof off by pushing them toward the lostness and brokenness of his or her non-Christian presuppositions.
Once the roof is off, the goal of the Christian is to reveal the truth of the world and who man is.[3] This will help nonbelievers understand their true need and then this can be followed up with the truth of God’s Word.
As Christians seek to “take the roof off” of transgender ideology, they must focus on the doctrine of creation, especially the imago dei (Genesis 1:26). Transgender ideology argues that gender and sex can be separated because gender is not determined by biology but by social constructs.[4] Transgender ideology also argues that a person determines who he or she is as a person, meaning a man can become a woman or a woman can become a man.[5]
When it comes to the doctrine of creation, the transgender community must understand the truth that a man cannot become a woman or a woman cannot become a man. Despite what their mind tells them, their body does not lie to them or deceive them because their gender was determined by God before birth (Psalm 139:13-14) and was revealed anatomically at birth (Genesis 2:7; 18-23). The Creator determines gender, not the creation.
The transgender community must understand the truth that God values the body. Transgender people feel they are trapped in the wrong body, and to discover who they are as a person, they must be freed from the body.[6] They must understand their body was created as a good gift by God, and to flourish, they must not be freed from the body, but they must learn to love and live in harmony with it.[7]
The transgender community must also understand the truth that God created them as male and female for a specific purpose, and they are to live out that purpose to flourish. God created male and female to complement one another. First, God created both male and female for the purpose of procreation (Genesis 1:28). Second, God created both male and female to complement one another in terms of characteristics that each gender expresses.
As Christians seek to engage transgender ideology, they must next reveal the truth of the fall. The Bible reveals the devastating effects the fall has on all mankind. Not only have our hearts and our minds been corrupted because of sin, but our bodies as well.[8] In Genesis 3, man and woman rebelled against God and brought sin into the world. Because of the fall, we are prone to all types of breakdowns, such as physical, mental and relational. Because of the fall, some people can be born with biological abnormalities and sexual abnormalities, and some can be born with identity issues.[9] The transgender community must understand that their confusion, alienation, and struggles are real, but this is not God’s desire or His design. God is a God of order, not chaos and confusion. The reason they are experiencing their struggles and confusion as to who they are as a person is because of the fall.
Because of the fall, man’s moral compass is suppressed and distorted (Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-18). Transgender ideology states that a person’s biology and gender can be separated. Essentially, one is not born as male or female, but rather each person can determine for themselves which gender they choose to identify with. The truth is that God is the one who determines gender. The truth is that sex and gender cannot be separated because a person’s sex and gender are determined biologically and are not a social construct. These are the truths of God’s Word, but because of the fall, transgender ideology suppresses and denies these truths.
Because of the fall, man’s heart is deceived and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). We cannot trust our feelings or our desires. Transgender ideology says to follow your heart, so if your heart tells you are a woman trapped in a man’s body, then you must follow your heart, but the truth is that our hearts lead us astray.[10]
Because of the fall, our bodies are broken. From the moment Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought sin into the world, they knew something was wrong (Genesis 3:7). The transgender community feels the effects of the fall in that they feel their body is broken. They feel they are separate from their bodies, or they are trapped in the wrong body.[11] The truth is this is not the way God created them, but because of sin, they are born with bodies that are broken.
Because of the fall, man also no longer loves God and no longer desires to live in a way that pleases God and in a way that God desires for his or her life. The problem with a transgender person is that when a biologically born male decides to live his life as a woman, he is no longer living out God’s design and desire for his life, and he is rejecting the life that is the highest good for him. Christians must be truthful with the transgender community in that they are living out their lives outside of God’s design and this is not only sinful and rebellious against their Creator, but it will also lead to a life of destruction.
As Christians engage transgender ideology, they must not only focus on the doctrine of creation and the fall, but they must also focus on the truth of the gospel. Even though someone struggling with transgenderism feels confused, traumatized and isolated, there is the hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul reveals that those who are in Christ are made into a new creation. This does not mean transgender people will be completely healed in this life, but it does mean they can and will experience the promise of a coming day when all of creation will be freed from the curse of sin.
The trauma, alienation and confusion associated with transgenderism is a real effect of the fall. Still, Paul reveals the good news and the hope of the gospel in that this groaning is not eternal. There is the promise and hope that one day, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, we will be set free from sin and corruption. Not only will creation itself be redeemed and set free, but our bodies will be redeemed.
Through the gospel, our minds are transformed (Romans 12:2). God changes the way we think and reason about the world. Transgender people are deceived by their body and mind because they feel they are trapped in the wrong body. They are also deceived by the world in that they are told it is ok and natural for a man to become a woman. Through the gospel and the transforming of their minds, they can have a biblical understanding of sin and their struggles and, through the Spirit, they have the power to battle these deceptions (Colossians 3:1-5).[12]
Through the gospel, we are given a new heart and spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Transgender individuals struggle with the pain and isolation of trying to understand who they are as a person, but through the gospel of Jesus, they can truly understand who they are. Their confusion, struggles and pain are real, but they do not define who they are; the truth is that they are a child of God, which is what defines who they are as a person.[13] God may or may not remove their transgender struggles and temptations, but He will give them a heart and desire to love Him and live for Him more than their desire to live out their transgender struggles and temptations.
Through the gospel, there is a future hope and promise for our bodies. Revelation 21 reveals the promise and hope of a new heaven and a new earth, in which there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain. In the new heavens, there will be no more sin, which means the pain and struggle that a transgender person experiences will be no more. Scripture also reveals that in the new heavens and new earth, all of God’s children will receive new glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-58; Philippians 3:21). Imagine someone who struggles with the pain and confusion and incompleteness of gender dysphoria who longs to be pain-free, no longer confused, and to feel complete. The good news of the gospel is that there will come a day when they will receive a new glorified body and there will no longer be any pain or confusion and they can truly experience wholeness of who they truly are as a person.[14] What a glorious day this will be. This is the hope and the promise the gospel gives to those who struggle with transgenderism who put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ.
[1] Francis Schaeffer, “The God Who is There,” The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, V 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1982), 140.
[2] Bryan A. Follis, Truth with Love: The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 41.
[3] Ibid., 140
[4] Paul Eddy and James Beilby, “Understanding Transgender Experiences and Identities: An Introduction,” Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views, ed. James Beilby and Paul Eddy (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019), 11.
[5] Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2018), 31.
[6] Ibid., 210-211.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Robert Smith, How Should We Think about Gender and Identity? (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022), 38.
[9] Robert Smith, The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2025), 300.
[10] Andrew Walker, God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say about Gender Identity? (Charlotte, NC: The Good Book Company, 2022), 74.
[11] John Kleinig, Wonderfully Made (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 62.
[12] Martin Davie, Transgender Liturgies: Should the Church of England Develop Liturgical Materials to Mark Gender Transition (London: The Latimer Trust, 2017), 79-80.
[13] Samuel Ferguson, Does God Care about Gender Identity? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 43.
[14] Robert Smith, The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2025), 366.