Walking in Truth 11: No Association
The Apostle John addresses believers in Christ to purpose against association with evil.
2 John 1:11: “for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”
- Grammatical Usage: “takes part” or in the Greek, “koinóneó” meaning, “to come into communion or fellowship, to become a sharer, be made a partner”; “wicked” or “ponéros” meaning, “evil; hurtful in influence”; “for” or “gar” in the Greek is a causal conjunction tense meaning, “because.”
- Literal Interpretation: “…because the one who greets him shares in his evil works.”
- Contextual/Comparison: God keeps His Word: God continually uses His Word. Association, even casual or, worse, failure to challenge (silence) is, according to John, tacit to sharing in evil. Of all the issues confronted by contemporary Christians, the question of gender proves the most vexing culturally but most clear-cut Biblically:
- Fundamental to our understanding of human sexuality is that God created two (and only two) genders. Currently, the world likes to consider gender (based on a social construct) as having nothing to do with biology (based on physicality), but the Bible makes no such distinctions. The Bible cuts through the world’s confusion simply: “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). All the modern-day speculation about multiple genders—or even a gender “continuum” with unlimited genders—is unbiblical. An individual may claim to be transgender or “gender-fluid,” but that doesn’t nullify God’s design and purpose in creating him or her.
- The Bible says that God pronounced His creation “very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31). God’s plan was perfect, but, as with everything in mankind’s sphere, perfection was corrupted by sin. Sin negatively impacted the entirety of creation, hurting not only humanity’s relationship with God, but with one another, our ability to reason and relate, and marred the rest of the created order. Sin permeates everything: diseases, birth defects, natural disasters, sinful acts and the negative results of others’ sin and our own sin can all be traced back to the fall. Sometimes these negative effects come in the form of naturally occurring anomalies; other times they are more directly traced to specific sin. Could an anomaly sometimes occur in gender, physically or mentally? A person can be born with a combination of male and female organs—although one’s true, biological sex can be determined through medical tests.
- This we know, that we are involved in a spiritual battle for our souls. The world seeks to conform us to its mold, which is why we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1–2). Satan attempts to deceive us and urges us to question God’s plan. One of the devil’s ploys is to make us dissatisfied with how God made us. To some he whispers, “You’re fat and ugly.” To others, “You’re stupid and clumsy.” And to still others, “You look like a boy, but you’re really a girl.” In each case, the underlying message is the same: “God messed up on you.” The whole creation groans for release from the curse and damage of sin (Romans 8:20–22). The ruin wrought by sin is addressed through the redemption of Christ. Through salvation, Jesus Christ grants us forgiveness of sin, reverses the effect of our poor choices, and compensates for our brokenness.
- Children growing up in this confused world are bombarded with messages of confusion. Whatever they ‘feel’ they are is what they are—boy, girl, or a mixture of the two. The world tells them it doesn’t matter. The confusion and ambiguity are reinforced in many ways: gender-neutral days at school, the banning of terms such as boys and girls in the classroom, the proliferation of unisex restrooms, curricula that promotes homosexual marriage, etc. It’s little wonder that some people grow up struggling with their sexual identity. But our Lord warned against leading children astray (Luke 17:1–2).
- If a person feels he or she has been born as the wrong gender, the answer is not gender-reassignment surgery, hormone therapy, cross-dressing, etc. Those are simply worldly ways of acquiescing to the devil’s lies. “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). And God does not make mistakes. The one who feels he or she was born in the wrong body needs, first and foremost, to experience the transformative power of Christ. When we “participate in the divine nature,” we escape “the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4).
- Given enough conditioning, any one of us can be convinced that we identify more as the opposite gender. Too often, certain individuals are labeled as cross-gendered because of natural differences in mannerisms and responses, and those individuals “back-paint” the concept into their understanding of their childhood.
- Each of us faces a different set of battles. Yet Christ sets us on the path to victory (Hebrews 12:1–2). The cross is key: Jesus pioneered our faith, and He will perfect it. His victory will be ours as well.
- Some may battle heterosexual temptation, greed, pride, anger, or any number of sins. Someone else may battle gender confusion. Regardless of the battle with sin and the devil’s lies, the question we must answer is, “Is Christ and His redemptive work sufficient for our battles?” Jesus definitely claims to be sufficient for any and all of our battles, and He desires to sanctify us through His Word of truth (John 17:17).
- As children of God, we should be content in this life (Philippians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 12:10). We realize that we all have limitations: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But through Christ those limitations will not interfere with the plan God has for us to honor Him and to serve Him (Luke 12:32).
- Conclusion: Whom do you honor and serve? If not Christ, you are incomplete.
