When a Pastor Misplaces His Priorities

When a man is “called” into the ministry should things really change?  Now don’t get me wrong, it is obvious that when a man enters the pastorate there are clearly unique duties and purposes, but should the overall purpose or duties of his life change that drastically?

First, the Bible is clear that EVERY man is to take care of his family ahead of his other duties.  This care includes provisions for their daily needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, educations and so on.  1 Timothy 5:8 makes it crystal clear that God expects men to care for their family’s needs, but surely those needs go beyond just physical needs.  God requires EVERY man to care for his wife and children spiritually and emotionally as well.  Yet, many pastors misplace their priorities and ignore the needs of their wife and children,  For instance, it is often expected that the pastor’s wife, regardless of the home situation, be very involved in the leadership of certain aspects of the church, such as heading up ladies’ meetings, organizing the nursery, playing the piano, and so on.  Yet NOWHERE in the Bible does God ever, by mandate or example, show that the church gets a “two for one” when it comes to hiring the pastor and his family.  Name one pastor's wife in the Bible?  You cannot as NONE as listed.  Should a pastor’s wife minister in the church? Absolutely, yes!  But not because she is the pastor’s wife, but because she is a member of the church and all members should be serving their local body!  A pastor ought NEVER to require his wife to do more than the women of the church are willing to do themselves.

Second, pastors often ignore their own spiritual growth and development in exchange for prepping messages for their people.  Be honest, pastors, when was the last time you found some great truth in devotional time and built a sermon around it?  Don’t misunderstand, we should share what God has shared with us, but we should also enjoy what God shares with us personally as if it was something just for us sometimes too.  Let me give an illustration - if a man found a great fishing spot that no one knew about, would he share it with everyone? NO!  Because it is his special place!  Again, let me be clear, God’s truths are meant to be shared, but sometimes we pastors need to have a precious devotional time with our Lord and our first thought ought not to be how to share it with our church.  Brethren, these things ought so to be as God wants us to have some things special with Him.  Look at the fourth commandment this way - God wants us to set aside a day so that we can be in fellowship with Him without the distractions of the rest of the week. Sunday is our special day with God and devotions should be our special time with God just the same and not the foundation for sermons.

Third, telling people you cannot help them when they are looking to you instead of God.  This is, to me, the hardest one to write about, because I truly love people and want to help them.  But the problem is that helping them sometimes means telling them you cannot meet with them or help them until they “help themselves” in their walk with God.  So many pastors drop everything, including their family’s needs, to go “minister” to someone who is desperate and that person has no intention of actually reprioritizing their life and we pastors know it.  Yet we drop our family, our personal needs, and off we go out of duty to the call.  Again, it needs to be understood that we are called to serve and sometimes that means placing church families ahead of your own plans.  But there are people who are “high maintenance” and they will never grow until they make serving the Lord THEIR priority.  Pastors, you cannot make people put God first in their lives by putting your family and your personal spiritual development last!  Make sure that you, pastor, and your family are where they need to be and God will bless your ministry in a greater way.

Remember that Jesus told His disciples that a person must care for their own issues before they can care for the issues of others.  Matthew 7:5 “…first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”

Can You Celebrate Christmas Without Being Paganistic?

Today there are many who feel that the celebration of non-biblical holidays is, well, unbiblical.  They often point to the foundational events which brought such holidays into existence.  Examples could include the supposed druid origins of Halloween, the potential beginning of Valentine’s Day from Roman idolatry, or, worst of all to some, the pagan rituals that underlie the celebration of the biblical coming of Jesus Christ at “Christmas.”  To some, every event at Christmas has a sinister beginning from the date being selected to cover the winter solstice to the Christmas tree showing idolatry based upon Jeremiah 10:1-3.  But can a Christian biblically celebrate Christmas without being paganistic?  The answer depends upon the person doing the celebration.

First, there is no doubt that certain details about some holidays have aspects that are not directly based on God’s Word.  To say otherwise is to be dishonest at worst and disingenuous at best.  Yes, December 25 once was a pagan holiday, but pagans have 11 “special days” in January and February, 7 in March, 9 in April, 5 in May, and so on.  In addition, every full moon is honored as a “holy” day by pagans.  Add to this that pagans honor certain tree types as sacred, such as the oak, which many Christians have furniture out of that for their homes.  So where does this line end?  Does one group's failure to worship God properly make all current usage of these aspects ungodly because they might have had a less than godly beginning? 

Second, do unbiblical origins always negate Christian applications?  How far do we take this concept?  For instance, is it wrong for Americans to celebrate July 4th because some of the founding fathers were not Christians?  Should we acknowledge birthdays because some use that day as an excuse to get drunk or be morally devoid? Plus, nowhere in Scripture are birthdays even mentioned as a day of celebration.  Or do we go back to the Old Testament and honor ONLY the Jewish holidays as they were the ONLY holidays even mentioned in the Bible as given by God?  Remember that the early churches did meet on Sunday to honor the Lord's defeat of death, but there is no mention of a once-a-year remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection.  Thus is celebrating the resurrection of the Lord wrong because it MIGHT be seen as pagan at the Spring Equinox?

Third, because some people use the symbols of a holiday wrongly, does that mean they are wrong for all people in all places in all ages?  Or instance, Jeremiah 10 is used to assault Christmas trees because they are cut, decorated, and placed,  but no one questions the trees, artificial flowers, and general decorations placed in nearly every church in the USA the rest of the year?  Remember, in Jeremiah 10, they were worshipping idols honored by the cut tree decorated with silver and gold, because they were so lazy that they did not want to go to pagan groves and worship there.  Besides, to be a bit facetious, my family uses an artificial tree, therefore we have not cut down any trees to bring into our home!

To be honest, there is a great deal of commercialism at Christmas, but so too at Easter, and Thanksgiving, and just about any event that stores can sell merchandise.  Yes, Santa Claus was not a real person and no he cannot see you when you're sleeping!  But, the person who was the foundation for that legend was a real person named Nicholaus, who was NOT Catholic since he was born before 280 AD and the “catholic” church did not start until over 100 years after his death.  He was a pastor of a church, preached the Gospel, and gave to the needy. What is wrong with that since God commanded those things in His Word? 

The best Bible truth we must accept about any holiday is found in Paul’s writings regarding the very issue we are discussing here - the division between what is and is not a “holy” day.  The church at Rome was divided between the Jews and Gentiles over the Law and its place in the life of Christians.  The Jews were clearly trying to get the Gentiles to live under Old Testament dietary restraints and scheduled “holidays” when Paul makes it clear in Romans 14:5-13: 

“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.  He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”

If you choose to celebrate Christmas’ trappings (tree, presents, etc), do not berate your brothers and sisters in Christ who do not because they feel it is their duty to refrain from what they consider a wrong testimonial image.  If you choose not to celebrate Christmas’ trappings, do not say your brothers and sisters are being pagan, especially since they are celebrating the birth of their Savior Jesus Christ.  Live in Christian liberty and allow others to do the same.

What Really is Heresy?

What Really is Heresy?

Lately, I have noticed that many are using the word heresy to describe a variety of doctrinal positions.  For instance, I recently saw someone state that the “Baptist Bride” position as heresy, while another stated that “requiring repentance at salvation” is heresy, and still another stated that the “prosperity Gospel is a damning heresy that paves the road to hell.”  Yet the Catholic church seems to teach that the only people who actually go directly to hell are those who are “heretics.”  So I began to wonder what actually is “heresy” and what is not?  

So let’s start this discussion with a definition.  Simple right?  Well, not really as simple as it sounds.  The Merriam Webster dictionary defines heresy as “adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma.”  However, one Christian definition is that heresy is simply “a departure from the truth.”  While the so-called KJV 1611 Dictionary defines heresy as “fundamental error in religion, or an error of opinion respecting some fundamental doctrine of religion.”  Simply stated, the definition of heresy is obviously not universally the same.

So let’s start the study where every study should begin on biblical issues - the Word of God!  There are nine times in the Bible where the word heresy and its various forms are found.  To start with, I found it interesting that the word heresy is actually a transliteration of the Greek word, “hairesis,” rather than a translation into English.  Thus, our English word “heresy” does not define the meaning but is simply a new word-based upon what the Greek language says is heresy.  

Of the nine times in the New Testament, five were translated “sect,” one was translated “heresy," and the remaining three is the plural form “heresies.”  So what is heresy in the Bible?

1. Heresy happens sometimes among Christians.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:17-19 mentions that divisions and heresies among the church members of Corinth appeared to be almost common, and, actually seem to be what demonstrates the difference between certain mature and immature believers.  Later in this passage, 1 Corinthians 11:21-34, Paul goes on to state that the Lord’s Supper being eaten unworthily and improperly is an example of these divisions and heresies.  This would clearly indicate that saved church members can commit “heresies.”
2. Heresy is a work of the flesh according to Galatians 5:19-21.  The list in this passage includes terrible sins such as adultery, idolatry, witchcraft, murders, and heresies.  Here Paul makes it clear that “heresies” are one of the fleshly works that are hindering people from being saved.  Thus “heresies” can be committed by unsaved people.
3. Heresy can be intentionally committed by professing Christians who seek to lead others away from certain truths.  in 2 Peter 2:1-3, the Apostle writes that false prophets bring in “damnable heresies,” even to the point of “denying the Lord that bought them.”  Clearly, these prophets were bought, thus they were saved yet able to commit heresies.  Therefore “heresies” can be committed by Christian leaders.
4. Heresy can also be a “sect” rather than a simple doctrine.  For example, the Sadducees in Acts 5:17 were called a sect (“hairesis”) and so were the Pharisees in Acts 15:5.  Paul was accused of “heresy” by being a member of the “sect” of the Nazarenes in Acts 24:5.  But one of the most telling usages of the word is found in Acts 28:22, where Paul himself, in the retelling of his arrest and the accusations against him, states that the Christian belief structure is seen as a “sect” (hairesis = heresy). 

When one looks at the various usages of the word “heresy” in the Scripture, it can be concluded that “heresy” is less about a damnable error and more about a diversity of views.  It could be damning if the view is rejecting Jesus as God or refusing to accept that salvation is by grace through faith alone, but it also could be a division seen from another interpretation of Scripture.  Yes, “heresy” seems to be always seen as negative in nature, but only damnable some of the time.

Blurred Gender Lines Part 4

But of all the gender definitions that seem to pervade our culture today, dress is often the most glaring.  Remember that with Adam and Eve there was no specific type of dress to define their gender identities as they were created without the sin based shame of needing to wear clothing as we have today.  While it is true that clothing does become a gender defining element (Deuteronomy 22:5) it must be accepted that the style of gender defining clothing is often generational or cultural.  For example, in Bible days both genders wore robes with varying gender identity lengths and layers, yet somewhere in the 5th century AD members of both genders began wearing trousers, but only on horseback for obvious comfort reasons.  Ironically during this same era, Alexander the Great refused to allow his troops to wear trousers because he saw them as effeminate.  Later in 8th century Asia, tunics over trousers began to worn by both genders, which, in turn, lead to trousers being the only clothing worn by men by the 12th century in most of the world outside of the Middle East.  The trend of trousers began to shift again as women in the 1880’s Old West, who had for the most part always worn dresses or other distinctively “feminine” clothing in most cultures, began wearing male similar trousers due to the harsh working environment of southwestern US.  But women in pants was not accepted as normal in American culture until World War II when the men went to war and the women went to work in the factories.  It is stated by a few that when the women began wearing pants that gender lines became blurred, but, according to Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11, gender blurring behavior was occurring in Corinth and thus it is not just since World War II.  I share these thoughts not to debate the men/women pant issue, but to show that gender defining clothing is ever changing and often cultural instead of simply biblical.  

Let me interject that dress is really more a matter of submission than gender identity.  Every Christian must accept that authorities have certain privileges to establish certain dress criteria for those whom they lead.  Biblically we should see this when Jesus told His disciples what to carry with them and even how to wear their clothes on a preaching journey in Mark 6:8.  Today, most business organizations have dress codes for their employees.  Don’t tan bottoms and blue tops at Walmart or red shirts at Chick-fil-a sound familiar?  Simply stated, don’t let dress standards destroy your Christian testimony or joy just because the authority over you asks you to dress a certain way.  Learn to lovingly submit to the authority and when you are in charge establish standards of dress based upon sound biblical foundations.

With gender defining clothing, God did say that there were clothes that identified the genders (Deuteronomy 22:5), but along with that, we must realize that each generation and culture sees their gender clothing demarkation differently than those around them. Whereas, Adam and Eve had no such trouble since they, as the definition of masculine and feminine, did not have to define their gender by their style of clothing as we do today.  So how do we define masculine and feminine if not by that which we can see? 

Blurred Gender Lines Part 3

When God created two genders through Adam and Eve, there is no exact description of what the physical appearance of these first two individuals looked like.   No one can say whether they were fair skinned or dark, blue eyed or brown, or even what was the color of their hair.  Its is only known that God created them as two distinct genders with all the distinct physical attributes that still define those two genders today.  That being said, there are a few things which can be assumed about these two people that have little to do with their gender identities.  For instance they would have been physically fit as they were created perfect.  They would have had no physical deformities or scars because sin had not influenced their bodies in anyway at Creation.  They would have been mentally and morally ignorant of all the current gender confusion, because, in their world, there was only one man and one woman and they were literally the definition of the two distinctive genders and satisfied with those limitations.  Thus when it comes to their gender identities we simply know that they were given the physical attributes that define male and female gender identities.

However, when it comes to the farther reaching qualities of masculinity and femininity, no one can really say much about Adam and Eve regarding these terms.  It is known that Adam was obviously created the definition of masculine as Eve was of the feminine, but, it is not clear what those roles actually looked like.  This is partially because our current culture usually define masculine and feminine based upon personal and cultural perceptions and not solely upon the biblical definitions and examples.  In the Roman world, athletics were solely male participant events and thus in the Roman mind true masculinity was defined by male prowess in those events.  While it is safe to assume that Adam was “athletic,” because he was created physically perfect, it is also safe to assume that Eve, based upon her created perfection, was also “athletic” as well.  Thus defining the masculinity and femininity of the genders cannot be based solely upon those type of physical capabilities.

Conversely, emotions are seen as being feminine or masculine.  Crying, for instance, is often classified as a feminine emotion and because of this there are some who seek to train their sons to withhold their tears because, “real men don’t cry.”  Yet one need only look as far as the pages of Scripture to find the Lord Jesus Christ sharing His broken heart in John 11:35 as he literally wept over the circumstances of Lazarus’ death.  Peter, God’s preacher on the day of Pentecost, wept bitterly in conviction upon seeing his failure of denying Jesus in Matthew 26:75.  In Revelation 5:4 John’s heart is emotionally broken when he thinks no one is worthy to open the book before him and thus he “wept much.”   These examples show that one cannot define masculine or feminine based solely upon culturally defined emotional definitions as all emotions were created by God for both genders.  One must realize that God is the Author of all emotions and can find Him showing every emotion humankind can display, especially since humanity is created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).

Blurred Gender Lines Part 2

Genders are not simply the basis for identity but also the basis for dating, marriage, the home, and thus to understand how God views the genders and their roles in His Creation, helps one understand dating, marriage, and the home.  With this as the backdrop, it is this author’s desire to present seven truths given to us by God about genders.

1. No one gender is practically more important than the other.  There are some in the world who perceive that God, and Christianity by default, see the masculine gender as more important than the feminine.  But this view is often based on three faulty perceptions;  first, God using men in the majority of Bible events makes them more important.  Second, since men have been commanded by God to lead their homes (Ephesians 5) and the local churches (1 Timothy 3), they are greater in God’s sight.  Third, because it is erroneously presented by some that women are the only ones commanded to be submission, thus allowing some men to become near dictators and wives to be little more than slaves.  First, God placed women in positions of biblical greatness just as He did men.  Examples of this include;  Zipporah, Deborah, Hannah, Esther, Ruth, Mary, and my favorite - Abigail.  Further, without women to give birth, there would have been no men for God to use.  Second, though the secular world often perceives it differently, church and family leadership does not make one great in God’s mind.  God’s method of leadership is servant hood not power or position (Mark 10:42-45), thus leading the home or church is not a sign of importance but of service.  Third, submission is a command to all Christians not just women (Ephesians 5:21).  In general God shows through 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 that each gender requires the other and that no gender is more important than the other.

2. No gender is spiritually more important than the other. Galatians 3:26-28 shows that in God’s kingdom genders are unimportant.  Here on earth there can be godly women and ungodly men and vice versa.  In the Bible, gender does not define a person’s spirituality as their faith, walk with with God, and spiritual condition marks the level of spiritual development.  In must be understood that God’s grace saves sinners regardless of gender and faithfully walking in God’s path is available to anyone.  In 1 Peter 3:1-4 God clearly states that an ungodly man can have a godly wife, thus making her spirituality based on something besides her husband and therefore her spiritual identity is tied to God not her husband.  Every person can walk with God to the same level as any person, regardless of their gender. 

3. Each gender has been given by God their own unique duties within marriage and the home.  However, some perceive these biblical marriage roles as gender inequality, whereas, God meant them as gender identity.  While it is true Genesis 3:16-19 shows the various parts of these gender duties within marriage, it is also true that those roles are to help mankind and womankind fulfill God’s overall purposes for their existence and not to create an inequality within the spiritual world.  For example, while men are to lead and provide for their marriages, there would be no marriage without a woman fulfilling her gender specific role within that marriage.  God’s gender roles in marriage help define not destroy.

4. Each gender has unique duties within the local church.  But once again this is not inequality but identity.  Even in the triune God, we are shown God the Father, as the lead authority of this unity, is not diminished in the equality of the other two parts of the Trinity.   As an example, Jesus at the time of His death (Luke 22:42) submitted to the will of the Father however this did not make Him less God, but, it showed that God is about order and design.  As a matter of fact through Jesus’ submission to the Father’s will, Jesus is exalted for that submission (Philippians 2:5-11).  While it is true that 1 Timothy 3 shows men are to be the leaders of the churches, it must further be clarified that Titus 2:1-5 and 1 Peter 3:1-5 show that women can be living examples for others to follow both in the church and home.  Men may be responsible for the preaching of the Word (1 Corinthians 14:34-35) but women are privileged to help fulfill the emotional and physical needs within the church body (Acts 9:36-43).  These roles are gender different but not gender unequal.

5. No gender is given greater abilities, but gender different duties are given based upon God’s purpose for that gender within the culture.  Having a baby is not for everyone, especially men, either physically and emotionally.  Any man who has seen his wife go through the birth of children would agree that they are anything but weak and, in most cases, are far more strong at that moment of time than any man.  That is not a shame as it is what defines her as better than the man at giving birth.  But as far as being a father, however, God gave men the physical and emotional tools to lead the home as the father.  Again, that does not make them better, just capable of doing what they have been called to do.  That does not mean woman cannot ever lead, but that God has given men the duty, and, through His Spirit, the abilities to be the head of the home, if men will take it.  In Genesis 3:16-17, God shares His plan for the genders when it comes to marriage, husbands are to lead their homes and wives are to allow their husbands to lead.  We must further accept that just because one assumes a particular task it is often seen as gender based and that may not be biblically based as gender specific.  For instance, some men can cook just as well as women, thus that is not a gender role, and, since God has not given Bible limitations for “women only cooking” then men should be able to help with this task and not feel less manly.  In simple terms cooking is not a Bible gender ability, even if some want to make it such.  It should be added that much of the gender roles of the Bible are within marriage and not within other relationships.  For instance, young ladies have no Bible obligation to be submissive to their boyfriends, and, young men have no right to demand the sole leadership in a dating relationship.  Marriage, however, does define their roles based upon God’s gender identity.

6. Many gender roles are generated by culture and situations not necessarily by God’s Word.  In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is speaking about prayer and submission and using the length of men’s hair and women’s head coverings to teach about these two subjects.  But as he concludes the discussion in verse 16, he makes this statement, “But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.”  In other words, this is not about what God demands for all churches but about what the culture defines for some.  This does not give liberty for men to have whatever length of hair they want, but that godly men should be desirous to outwardly show the manhood distinctive that God created in him and conversely the woman should desire God’s plan for submission as a sign of her femininity.  There are many countries where a gender role is defined by the culture apart from God’s biblical definition, therefore one must grasp the God created genders, and accept that He did not create all the gender roles seen today in our world.  For example, a wife walking several steps behind her husband may show respect in some cultures, but in America it is a sign of something far less positive.  One must understand what is biblical and what is cultural regarding gender identity.

7. No gender will ever be complete without the One True Completer - Jesus Christ.  The gender identity crisis today is, in this author’s opinion, not about actual gender or even about cultural acceptance, but about the emptiness within the souls of people.   People are looking for someone or something to complete them.  Some would say that we, because of mankind’s created purpose and sin’s impact, have a God shaped void in their being.  Even those who are living properly within the bounds of their God given gender identity can still feel empty and totally incomplete.  Yet the Bible makes it clear that God’s desire is to make all complete in Christ (Colossians 2:8-10).  He is the Completer.  Marriage does not complete anyone - only Jesus can do that.  Christ does what no other relationship can do - make people complete!

Blurred Gender Lines Part 1

     

(This is Part 1 of 4 in a Series Regarding Gender Blurring in Today's World)

Though there is currently much debate regarding a variety of genders and gender identity, God’s Word is clear that He created two genders (Genesis 2:22, 5:2, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:6), and those genders are physically formed in the womb, and mankind comes into the world as either male or female (Leviticus 12:7, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 2:23).  Genders are not based upon personal perception or emotional state of mind as modern psychology seems to present.  God’s Word has presented with clarity that there are two genders, and there is nothing which effectively refutes this, especially since it requires two distinct genders to procreate which was one of God’s main purposes for two genders (Genesis 1:28). 

To understand God’s view of genders, one must accept that the two genders are equal in God’s sight, but unique based upon physical attributes as well as gender defined positional fulfillment, such as husbands and wives within the home and various leadership positions within the local church. (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1-2).  There are other human compartmentalizations divided by physical attributes, such as skin color and other genetic based similarities, but genders is one divide that transcends all these people groups.  These other divisions are often referred to as the various “races” of mankind, such as is found the children’s song “Jesus Loves The Little Children," where children are seen as red, yellow, black, and white.  However, the Bible makes no such distinction based solely upon these physical attributes (races) because God did not create various races but made all mankind through a single woman, Eve (Genesis 3:20), and only divided mankind by nations, languages, kindreds, and peoples (Revelation 5:9, 14:6) after their desire to reject His plan and purposes at the tower of Babel (Genesis 10 -11).  The establishment of races appear to have developed from genetics due to the separation after the Tower of Babel.  It must be noted that the greatest demarcation of divisions within mankind is not found in either gender or race but in being saved or lost (1 Corinthians 15:45).

In his original condition, mankind, as all creation, was not influenced by sin as mankind was sinless and physically complete (Genesis 1:31).  Mankind willingly rejected God’s perfect creation and simple command of obedience, which led to God’s judgment on all creation and sin’s impact upon man’s spiritual and physical conditions as well as creation’s continual dissolution and ultimate destruction (Genesis 6:5, 8:31, Psalm 14, Romans 3:10-12, 5:12-19, I Timothy 2:14).

Presently there is great confusion and division over the issue of how are genders defined and how many genders are there within humanity.  In 2017, National Geographic Magazine published an article entitled “Gender Revolution” where a nine-year proudly stated, “The best thing about being a girl is, now I don’t have to pretend to be a boy.”  The article further alludes that the cultural acceptance of far more than two genders, and even the acceptance of people who choose to reject all gender identity.  Yet, God is the Creator of genders.  One cannot read the first chapter of the Bible without seeing this truth and understanding that God created two genders physically - male and female.  But today many have chosen to reject how they were physically made in exchange for how they emotionally feel.  They are rejecting that which is visually clear for that which is emotionally arbitrary.  This gender identity confusion has become the basis for the current gender identity crisis in our world.  Public organizations have begun to allow multiple gender identities, as examples, the city of New York, as of early 2018, to accept over 30 gender options in their paperwork for city employee positions and even internet social media site Facebook to list over 70 gender choices when one registers for their site. 

Though it may be true that many of those rejecting the two gender choices are doing such simply to reject God, there are those who are genuinely confused by their feelings and their bodies and so it is still an issue that the current generation needs to have biblical truth to stand upon and a biblical truth to share.  One must realize that the gender identity crisis in the world today goes far beyond, as some attest, just the food we eat or the secular culture which propagates itself upon us.  It is because the world needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel changes people within, even those who are rebelling against their God given gender.  But let it be clear, though there is a very small percentage of people born with genetic abnormalities known as intersex physical traits (both male and female body parts), God in His perfect Creation made just two genders by His love and for His ordained purposes. 

Nine Reasons I Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

There are many who teach that the Rapture is not imminent but that Christians must go through the first part of the Tribulation Period.  However, this view is usually based upon two things, first, a misunderstanding of biblical judgment as every event in the Bible shows God protecting His faithful followers BEFORE His judgment falls, such as Noah on the ark and Rahab in Jericho.  Second, they tend to blend biblical events together, such as the Rapture and Second Coming.  Here are 9 Bible-based reasons that the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation even begins:

1. Though it is true that Christians can suffer persecution at the hands of other men (John 16:33, Philippians 1:27, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 1 Peter 4:12-13), there is no indication that Christians will ever suffer the wrath of God.  Several passages give a clear indication that born again Christians are not reserved for God’s judgment (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9, Romans 5:9, Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:4).  According to the Word of God, our sins were judged in Christ (Romans 8:2, 10, John 16:8).
2. In Revelation 2-3, God gives a glimpse into three possible applications, one primary, and two secondary but easily plausible.  The main application is that there were literally seven actual churches in Asia Minor, who received direct communication from God by the pen of the Apostle John.  The secondary applications are that they are types of churches that exist at any given time.  Along with this second application of church types, it appears that they also indicate seven church ages beginning with the first churches following Pentecost and ending with the last church age before the Tribulation period which begins in Revelation 5, with chapter 4 serving as a bridge between the two.   If this last application is true, then the “come up hither” of Revelation 4:1, immediately following the church ages, is a clear picture of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.  The clarity of this begins in Revelation 3:10, where Jesus promises those of the final church age, Philadelphia age, that they would be kept “from the hour of temptation.” 
3. Jesus “appears” without warning for the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18; Titus 2:13, 1 John 2:28, 3:2-3), whereas the Second Coming, which is not for Christians, has clear preceding events, such as the anti-Christ arrival (Revelation 12:13-17), the temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2), and many the plagues on earth (Revelation 6-18).  Jesus’ coming to take His children is a matter of suddenness not signs.
4. Israel is the focus of God's Tribulation work, not the local church.  As a matter of fact, the local church is never mentioned in Tribulation (Jeremiah 30:7-11, Deuteronomy 30:1-3, Isaiah 61:2-3, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 54:7-17).  This means the believers in local churches either have been killed, which is not stated in Scripture, or they have been removed, which is stated (1 Thessalonians 4:12).
5. The Rapture and Second Coming are not the same event, which would have to be the case for a post Tribulation Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Ezekiel 37:11-14).
6. The earthly signs given for the Lord's Return precede the Second Coming not the Rapture (Matthew 24:29-31, Luke 21:25-28, Acts 2:19-21, Revelation 6-19).  However, there are no signs which precede the Rapture.  If the Rapture occurs either mid-Tribulation or Post Tribulation there would be signs preceding it.
7. If the coming of Christ for his Church is placed on a timetable of events, it loses its imminence. He then cannot come until certain things happen, especially the Great Tribulation and this would contradict 1 Thessalonians 4:12 and all other Rapture passages.
8. The churches of Revelation are all Jewish in nature and characteristics, including those claiming to be Jews who are not (Revelation 2:9, 3:9).  This would indicate that Gentile Christians are not included in the focus of the Tribulation, whereas today most Christians are Gentiles, not Jews.  This would seem to indicate a Pre-Tribulation removal of  Gentile Christians since they are not mentioned in Revelation at all.
9. Part of the Tribulation includes a period known as “the wrath,” i.e., the wrath of God (Romans 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9) and specifically says that Christians are delivered from the “coming wrath.”