First of all, we should entertain the question, “Is the act of one becoming a transgender a sin?” I answered a question dealing with this issue back in September of 2015. The question then was, “Can someone who is transgender enter into heaven? If not, why did God create them?” This question puzzled me for in the first half of the inquirer’s question the implication was that a transgender is indeed committing sin, yet the second half lays the blame for this at the feet of God by assuming that “God created them that way.” The conclusion, in this person’s mind, was that “God is the author of sin.” Let me say emphatically and unequivocally that “God is NOT the author of sin.” I believe that every person that is born is either MALE or FEMALE and that’s the gender God intended for them. Genesis 1:27 declares, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; MALE and FEMALE He created them” (NKJV). Of course, this refers to Adam and Eve. After this God told them, “Be fruitful and multiply” (verse 28) and thus “procreation” was the means of God creating more males and females. One of the most important passages of all on this subject is Psalm 139:13-16 where both procreation and God’s creation are brought together. I will quote that passage from the NASB:

“For You FORMED MY INWARD PARTS; You WOVE ME in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and SKILLFULLY WROUGHT in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and Your in book were all written for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

The premise behind transgenderism is that “God made a mistake when He created me, for I was born with the wrong body.” Anyone who bows to the authority of Scripture would reject that premise, for as you study this passage, you will see that God knew EXACTLY what He was doing. I CAPITALIZED the key words which clearly teach us that God FORMED every part according to His good and perfect will. Every human being is SKILLFULLY WROUGHT by the Master Architect, the Creator of all things! To reject this wonderful truth is to blaspheme God by declaring He was in error. This accusation against God is indeed a SIN AGAINST GOD. Their willful act of “changing their gender” is also a sin against God according to the following passage of Scripture, “Do ye not know that UNRIGHTEOUS PERSONS shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor THOSE WHO MAKE WOMEN OF THEMSELVES….shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1^st Corinthians 6:9-10…DARBY version). I believe “those who make women of themselves” could be applied to “a man who becomes a woman”; in other words, to a transgender. Obviously the same holds true for “a woman who becomes a man.”

You rightfully ask, “What shall I do?” If you agree with the scriptures cited above and that the transgender is an “unrighteous person” who is sinning against their Creator, there is no alternative but to end a personal relationship with them. In 2^nd Corinthians 6:14 we read, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” This may seem harsh, but when we consider the blasphemy that is being committed by them (by rejecting God’s creation and saying “He made a mistake”), then in love for God we must obey His holy Word and refuse to have fellowship with them.

I must add that we should still LOVE THE SINNER no matter what their sin is. In love we should reach out to them with the gospel of Christ with hopes of winning them to Christ. If, by the grace of God, they turn in true repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, they will become a “new creation in Christ” (see 2^nd Corinthians 5:17).  This is borne out in the passage alluded to earlier, for the Apostle Paul went on to say to the saints at Corinth, “And such WERE SOME OF YOU, but you were WASHED, but you were SANCTIFIED, but you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1^st Corinthians 6:11). What was formerly true of the saints at Corinth was NO MORE, for God’s grace had put them in an altogether new position before God (Washed in, sanctified through, and justified by the blood of Christ) and their lives were now characterized by holiness.

May the Lord give you wisdom and grace in your dealing with this person.  You must NOT come across as “I am holier than thou,” for always remember that you too were once a rebellious sinner committing grievous sins against God. You must humbly present the truth of man’s sin and rebellion against God (see Romans 3:9-20) and then present the gospel of the grace of God (Romans 3:21-24) to them. Pray earnestly that the Word will be received in their heart (1^st Thessalonians 2:13) and that they will believe (in their heart) on Christ as their Savior and confess Him among men (Romans 10:9-10).  (373.5)  (DO)