At the time of this writing the (AFA) American Family Association’s boycott pledge stands at over 1 million signers. This means more than a million people, so far, have pledged not to shop at Target until the bathroom policy allowing men in women’s clothing to use the same restroom as women and girls is changed.

I watch this with a bewildered sort of curiosity as self-professing Christians blast other Christians for supporting this boycott. These angry Christians can’t believe anyone would not support the trans-community and show them compassion; you know, like Jesus would. But from where I sit supporting sin is a sin in itself.

At issue are several points that need to be made. First, the transgender bathroom issue is not a solely biblical issue. As a Christian I can make a case for why I think this is a bad idea – and I will. But this is also simply bad policy. The idea that disturbed individuals for perverted reasons will not exploit this policy is absurd. A cursory Internet search will reveal multiple cases already of men taking advantage of such policies to spy on women and children. From a public policy standpoint, this is simply bad policy. AFA made it clear that this is a bad policy by saying:

“This misguided and reckless policy provides a possible gateway for predators who are out there.”

Right. So my next question is how many women and children need to have their privacy invaded or be assaulted before we admit that this is bad policy? To be clear, I’m not saying that this will be done at the hands of transgender people. That seems to be a sticking point right now. Advocates of the transgender bathroom issue claim opponents are bigots and trying to discriminate against transgender people. Not so. I, like most opponents of this policy, recognize a clear and present danger to our wives and children at the hands of disturbed people that will take advantage of this policy. That does not mean they will necessarily be transgender people.

So again I ask: how many women and children will have to be violated before we admit this is bad policy?

From a biblical position this is both sinful and anti-biblical.

I’ve seen many posts on social media from friends and acquaintances asking Christians to be supportive and understanding of the trans community. They implore us to show “the love of Christ” to people by supporting their lifestyle. That is a sinful request. It would be the same as asking Christians to support abortionists, or drug addicts in their “lifestyle.” Christians cannot and must not support any sinful behavior, action, or lifestyle. It is neither compassionate nor loving to support sin. We don’t show Christ to people when we encourage their sin. We show people a false Gospel that is not of Jesus Christ and has no power to save people from their sins. If Christians want to be loving and compassionate then we must proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, which is repentance from sins, with grace and truth as we recognize that we are sinners as well.

Can someone point to a place in Scripture where Jesus supported and accepted someone’s sin? As I recall, each and every time Jesus encountered sin He told the person to “sin no more.” He acknowledged their sin, called out their sin, and told them to repent. That is the model and the example Christians must imitate.

I’m sure someone will call me a bigot for my views. Some well-meaning Christian will say I am being discriminatory to the trans community because I refuse to support their sinful lifestyle. That’s okay. The religious crowd didn’t like Jesus either. But the fact remains that my views aren’t mine, they come from Scripture. This is where many self-professing Christians get it wrong. They assume that they are free to adhere to any view they want. They want to mold and shape the Gospel into their own image rather than allowing the Gospel to change them through the sanctification process. The truth is that we are servants of Jesus Christ and the views we adhere to are those God gave in Scripture. I have no more ability to change my views than I do to create something out of thin air.

So if you think I am a bigot then your fight is with God, not me. I am simply sharing the view taught in Scripture. For example, Jesus said “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” (Matt. 19:4). This is a very clear teaching that people are born either male or female. There is no such thing as a “man trapped in a woman’s body” or vice versa. There is such a thing as sexual confusion, as mental illness, and many other issues that need addressed. But there is no such thing as a transgender person; you are either one gender or another.

The issue here is that of creation, and being the “image bearer” of God. Many Christians do not have a proper theology of Creation and therefore don’t understand the underlying sin of denying the male-female creation as God’s “image-bearer.” To support transgenderism is to deny that God made us male or female. To deny that God made us male or female is to distort our worth as God’s image-bearer. This is a grievous sin.

Let’s do a little exercise to determine whether you have a biblical theology of creation and personhood:

Does God create every single person born?
Does God make any mistakes?
If God creates every person, and He makes no mistakes, is it possible for a person to be “born in the wrong body”?

This may sound like an oversimplification but in reality it is the heart of the issue. The only way a Christian can support the trans-lifestyle is to admit that God has made a mistake that needs corrected by someone else. The conclusion is that since God makes no mistakes, there is only male and female; not “male trapped in female body” or any variation thereof.

I get that many people are simply trying to support people they know. Social media is flooded with people asking for support and compassion for their friends and loved ones regarding this issue. But, as a Christian, even if it is a friend or loved one, supporting sin is wrong. I have friends and loved ones that live in sin. I’ve never supported their sin or refused to tell them what the Bible teaches when the conversation comes up. This doesn’t mean I don’t love them. It means that my views are not mine to create, they come from Scripture and transcend every relationship I have. Notice I didn’t say this was easy. It is nonetheless my duty as a disciple of Christ.

Just because I don’t support someone in their sin doesn’t mean I don’t love them. In fact, just the opposite. I am seeking to love people like Christ loved them. Jesus treated every person with dignity and respect, but He also called out their sin and called them to repentance. Christians need to emulate this by loving people enough to be honest about their sin.

At this point I hope I’ve made clear that Christians must adhere to biblical positions, not cultural opinions. I hope I’ve also made the Biblical theology of male-female creation as God’s image-bearer clear. And hopefully we are clear that Christians cannot support sin but must call people to repent of their sin just as Jesus did. But what about boycotts? Should Christians take part in boycotts?

Sounds like a good topic for another article.