I wanted to offer my thoughts here on a topic that has become of great public scrutiny and debate in America in recent years. It is one that (pun intended) engenders strong emotions on either side of things. As always, I hope to be gracious in talking about sensitive matters and always remember that there are always sinners behind the sin and I am just as sinful and in need of grace as anyone else. I also want to be very clear about what I am discussing here and what I am not saying here. I want to talk about the subject of transgenderism and a Christian response to it, particularly in regards to bathroom usage. One of the clearest verses in The Bible about this issue is found in Deuteronomy 22:5, wherein The Lord forbids men from wearing women's clothing and women from wearing men's clothing. I think any Christian struggling with these sexual identity questions must consider this verse, along with Jesus' words in Matthew 19, wherein He reiterates Genesis 1:26-27, wherein God made people male and female. God has put His design in place and I don't think it is our place to tamper with it.
Also, regarding bathroom usage, I generally feel that those who have a penis should use the men's room and those who have a vagina should use the women's room. However, this still poses a question for those who feel they should have either a penis or vagina. I tend to think that, while it would be preferable for them to have had the surgery performed before they entered the restroom that corresponds to their intended genitalia, they should probably use the restroom they identify with best, provided they clearly present themselves as that gender.
A similar solution would be in place for intersex people since most identify as one or the other gender.
It would probably also be helpful to have more family bathrooms established to eliminate this issue if possible.
And of course, no one should perform acts of rape, sexual abuse, assault and/or invasion of privacy, particularly as aided by the usage of cameras and surveillance devices in any bathroom.
This debate is a thorny issue to be sure, but one that I feel society will continue to address and one that I think Christians should be prepared to speak the truth to in love. God loves everyone and made everyone. I think that, as Romans 3:9-26 talks about, everyone has become corrupt with a sin nature because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (as Genesis 3 talks about.) This fall not only separated people from God spiritually (and brought about spiritual death just as God said it would) but that sin also corrupted the entire planet- thorns and thistles grew out of the earth to torment Adam in his work and pain in childbearing grew to torture Eve- both man and woman suffered pain because of sin.
It also caused an imbalance in relations between men and women, as Genesis 3:16 says that the woman's desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her. I believe this set in motion the battle of the sexes that we still see fought to this day. (Note the contrast that we have when we are restored from the corruption through Christ in Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.)
I think this corruption is also why we have people born with deformities and diseases. I think it's why some people are born with tendencies to particular sins, as we are all born with tendencies to sin in general, due to our sin nature. For some though, it's heightened in particular areas, whether it's alcoholism (as evidenced by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), stealing (as evidenced by kleptomania), lying (as evidenced by habitual liars), homosexuality (as evidenced by same sex attractions) or rebellion against God's design (as evidenced by transgender attractions).
The tendencies in themselves can be regarded as temptations; I do not believe they in themselves are sin. However, the reactions to them certainly can be sin. No matter how much a person may struggle with alcoholism, they always make the choice to pick up the bottle, imbibe and get drunk. The same follows for kleptomaniacs and habitual liars, etc. Yes, it does feel near impossible for some with these struggles to resist and with good reason- it is impossible to resist these temptations without the intervention and power of The Holy Spirit, who helps us say "No" to these temptations and choose to follow God instead. That is what the power of Jesus Christ can do. It doesn't mean He will necessarily take away the temptations (though He can do so if He chooses, perhaps in miraculous fashion), but He does promise to not give us more than we can bear and provide the way out so we can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
I sometimes hear people make the argument that God made them in a particular way to be of a particular sexual orientation outside of the boundaries He has established (male and female sexual relationships held only within the bonds of holy matrimony and that only between one man and one woman for life- see Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19). However, God is not a cruel and vindictive God to where He would make someone helpless to keep from sin and then turn around and condemn them for it. That is to say- I don't believe He made anyone to be a murderer and thus give them an excuse for murdering. Someone on death row may well argue that God created them as a murderer and thus they had to satisfy the need to take other peoples' lives, but they would be dead wrong (pun intended). God condemns and punishes that person rightfully for their sin; it is the same with any other sin. It is not that He made us to be sinners- it is that we chose to be sinners and we must face the consequence of that choice. I think too many people confuse the consequences of the freedom of choice that come with our free will that God gave us (see Genesis 1-2) with God's active will. God has both an active and permissive will. God creating the universe was born out of His active will. His permissive will is for us to suffer the consequences of our sin. He certainly didn't create Adam and Eve with the intention of having them choose to sin by taking of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil- He wanted them to do right and obey Him and enjoy eternal fellowship with Him. But He also wanted them to do that willingly and not because He forced them to do so. Thus, He gave human beings free will- and we've willfully chosen to free ourselves from God with it by choosing sin. Death- eternal separation- is the consequence, the wages of sin.
But thanks be to God! He loves us all so much that He didn't let that be the ending point. He demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8)
The power of the cross frees us from the penalty of sin! (see Romans 6:7-11) And because Jesus rose, we who put our faith and trust in Him for salvation shall rise with Him too. Our faith must be demonstrated by works though, as Jesus makes clear in Matthew 7 and James 2. Jesus Himself said that if we love Him, we will obey Him. The one who obeys Him (not perfectly, as we all still sin and mess up- but Jesus has grace that never ends! And His grace is still greater than all our sins- see 1 John 1:7)- he is the one who truly is Jesus' disciple. (Basically just read John 13-17. But specifically John 15:7-17 for sure.) And to be Jesus' disciple, we must take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) We are no longer identified by our sinful natures (Romans 6:14-23) but we are now identified by Christ in us (Colossians 3:1-3). And we must walk accordingly to our new nature. (Romans 8:1-11, Ephesians 5:8-9, Galatians 5:16-26)
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