Should Christians Embrace the Use of Preferred Pronouns?

Thanks for supporting a great first year of core Christianity live this week were featuring our best shows of the year.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas and that you will experience the peace of Christ in the new year. Should Christians use so-called preferred pronouns. That is one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity will hi there, and happy Friday. This is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Israel Sanchez.

This is a radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We'd love to hear from you and no questions are off-limits to pastor a drill. You can call us with a Bible question something about theology or doctrine. Even something happening in our culture.

Here's the phone number is 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts. You can watch a drill right now live on YouTube and message us through our YouTube channel course you can always email us your question at questions at core, Christianity.com first up today let's go to Brenda Lewin calling from Meridian, Idaho, Brendel, and what your question for Pastor Israel earlier and I are talking about Jehovah's Witnesses and you said that you can't be saved if you don't understand who Jesus and make his purpose and so I come from a Mormon background and the Mormons. I now know they believe in a different Jesus meant is in the Bible you can elaborate on your comment but it can be saved if you don't understand Jesus likability this man if there's any biblical evidence for that and what is the like seriousness and being in a false religion, will thank you for that question and for an opportunity to follow-up on yesterday's program we answer the question about Jehovah's Witnesses and what they believe about Jesus. So a couple of passages of Scripture that I would want to point to first it that the Bible is really clear that one of Satan's primary tactics in the world today. Brendel and the main thing he wants to do is confuse us about who Jesus is the most important question that any of us can ever answer is, who do you say Jesus is in fact when when Jesus was talking to Peter. He asked him that very question.

Who do people say that I am in the nieces would you say that I am in Peter's response was you were the Christ the son of the living God and Jesus said blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.

There's no more important question then who is Jesus and I mentioned that the evil one Satan he wants to confuse people today about the identity of Christ.

That's what John says in first John chapter 4, who said beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, from many false prophets have gone out into the world by this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already institute things there right word were thinking, John is thinking there about the identity of Christ. He's the Messiah that the God man and also what he did of the language of him coming has come in the flesh is not just the fact that he came was truly incarnate, but also what he accomplished by his by his death on the cross to his resurrection, and so the identity and the work of Jesus Christ is central to the gospel and that's where that the Christian church differs from Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons in the fact of the matter is, the New Testament suggests to us that there are going to be other quote unquote Gospels that are preached other Christ warrant the real deal, but but that's this deception.

The other passage of Scripture that I was was thinking of is in second Corinthians chapter 11 listen what the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians in verse three.

I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning. Your thoughts will be led astray from the sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough as it was a ball as they look.

There are going to be people come who preach other Christ not in line with the one that you heard the apostolic message of the gospel that was proclaimed. Answer two passages of Scripture, then, that I would save you meditate on Brendel and art that text in second Corinthians 11 and in the beginning of first John chapter 4 that I have had many Mormon friends, some of whom I've been able to talk about the gospel with her for a long period of time you had conversations and many of them will use very Christian terminology of the talk about grace still talk about Jesus. Oftentimes what at what I found is the challenge. Here Brendel and maybe you've seen this as well is the Mormon church will define things differently than than we do.

So Christ in terms of his identity who he is, is different in Mormon theology and Mormon dogma if you will then then what the church is historically confessed. Same thing with with Leo grace salvation. The gospel will use that same terminology, but oftentimes they mean something totally different and I think that's where where the deception comes in and I think one praying for your friends and family members who are still piano entrenched in Mormonism that that God by his Spirit would open their eyes to see is you say that the Jesus of the Bible and then clearly communicating from the text of Scripture. Here's who the Bible says Jesus is.

He's not the note spirit brother with with Satan he he you know wasn't conceived in the way in which the Mormon church talks about.

He is the eternal son of the father, the second person of the holy Trinity equal in power and glory with the father and he came to earth to forgive our sins. That's the gospel. The gospel is what Jesus did for us on the cross. And that's good news and and I think that's another another area where Mormon doctrine justice is wrong where they where they get this wrong. They get the gospel wrong and so Brendel and it sounds to me like a guy does SU question we raised in the Mormon church and then you.

You've since come out of the Mormon church and you're going to a Bible teaching church okay let me just say this as well. We are no one is saved by our perfect understanding of how salvation works are there, but can there be people in these different traditions even in these colts who are confused, who long to know who Jesus is and who confess Christ and yet there entrenched in this system, is it possible that the spirit of God can work in them that they can be saved. Despite the fact that they have some some ghetto bad theology and some of theirs, but that there their claim to the grace of God. I'm not that I had a friend who first for me. I was brought up in the in the Mormon church and we talk about the gospel he said, I believe that a dry really believe that and I would challenge you minutes it will if you if you are genuinely Mormon in you believe what the Mormon church believes you have to say we believe differently, and he knew what he didn't want to. You do want to do that. I don't know if you really believe the gospel.

He said that he did. I do know that if he embraced really what Mormonism teaches, then he didn't really believe the gospel, but can there be inconsistencies. Yeah, perhaps, but but I think the goal should be helping people come into a deeper understanding of who Jesus is, through the word, and ultimately that's that's the work of the Holy Spirit. So that's why encouraged you to pray and I want to pray for you as well, sister and I will want to pray for your friends and family members that that the spirit of God would be at work in their lives and so father thank you for for this question. Thank you for this sister. Thank you Lord God that you've drawn her to yourself through your son Jesus and that she wants to know you and she wants to walk with you, according to your word and I pray for her Lord God that you would cause her to to continue growing it and a deeper understanding of your word of who you are, gracious father and your son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, that you would be at work in her giving her that deeper understanding through your word and that you would also give her wisdom as she has conversations with friends and family members who she loves. Would you God open their hearts would you be at work in their lives, and through your word, through the power of your gospel illuminate their minds so that they might see the differences between Mormonism Mormon theology and what your word says with with the church historically for the last 2000 years has embraced so please be at work in the situation got a pretty would encourage our sister and be with her and bless her in Jesus name, amen. I meant Brendel and thank you so much for giving us a call you and you know what rental were to send you a complementary copy of Dr. Michael Horton's book, core, Christianity, and that may help you in some of these discussions with your Mormon friends and family members. So just hang on the line for second and will get some information from you and send that off to you.

Okay, thanks Brendel, we appreciate you taking the time to call in today.

This is core Christianity with pastor this April Sanchez boy that you know that's and it's interesting how God has brought some different individuals into your life as a pastor, Israel, especially several Mormons and you have been able to have these conversations and menus you don't want to judge people you don't want to go blast them, but by the same token, as you pointed out very clearly Satan deceives and he uses these false doctrines to try to lead people down the wrong path and I mean this is so important right because as I said, there's no more important question that we can answer than who is Jesus do I know Jesus, to have personal relationship with Christ, not not the Christ that was invented by some people, or even in my own imagination, but God is he's revealed himself to us in holy Scripture and I am grieved by me know you the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses leadership there that we don't oftentimes it's Nino hi, family values, the date that they talk about and being good to one another and and read a lot of extra really wonderful things, but they don't teach and preach the gospel, the Christ of Scripture, and that that is devastating. There a lot of people who are drawn to Mormonism because of the of those family values adjustable how it seemed so nice. Look out for help put together everything is, but that's not the core of the Christian faith. That's not core Christianity is not moralism. It's the gospel. It's Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I know that I could tell just you know from from Brendel's question, she is yeah a heart for this and so really wanting to love, and minister to our friends with the truth of God's word clean to the gospel and praying that the Lord would be at work in their lives so that is keep brothers and sisters keep Brendel and and her family in your prayers will at some get to another one of our questions and this one is a Facebook post from John and here's what he asks how should a Christian think about and respond to preferred pronouns. Yeah, this is a super big question right in our in our culture today. While look I II think one we have to be careful that we don't just sort of concede to the cultures definition of identity and sexuality right like it better to say what what harm does it do if you just call someone by their quote unquote preferred pronoun date they might be biologically male.

But if they feel like a woman, and they want to be called. She will what's the big deal. Why can't you just like you just call this person her. She well will part of it is is way you know that the Christian worldview have a totally different understanding of identity and and and when we would see identity and even you know sex is as being something that we don't just sort of decide it's not something that I did I choose for myself per se. It is a part of who we are biologically how God made us male and female me that you see in the early chapters of Genesis and so I I don't think that we should just sort of concede and say yeah you know let's let's just use this kind of language because this is not in line with the biblical worldview and and frankly it's it's a really new way of thinking of me that this is this is sort of a recent development in in history in terms of just thinking about sex and gender in. In this way, as I think there are reasons to call into question now this is a complex issue. I'm not saying that we should just sort of bring Nino bring it down like a hammer and I just did oak go against people, and in a way that would come off is as rude or no overly polemical.

We want to be sensitive to the fact that there actually I think art are some serious illness is involved with.

If you think of leaving genuine gender dysmorphia and I think that needs to be factored in as well. But in terms of the way in which we talk about these things. I think we have to stick to essential we have in Scripture and and the way in which the Bible talks about identity.

The way in which the Bible talks about sexuality and gender. As these things that come to us from the outside, you will. God creates us in in a particular way.

I know that there are other complexities to this issue, but that's that's how the Scripture speak and so I think that that's how we should also speak in in this discussion while exercising wisdom and also sensitivity to the people who are around us. I think sensitivity doesn't just mean wholesale embracing this view of gender and sexuality and Bill. I know that your counselor and you've worked with people who struggle with with these kinds of things out. If you have anything anything else to add their I really appreciate what you said Israel in that we don't choose God makes that choice for us. That's the way he designed us, we always have to look at God's intent and his design which we can discover in his general creation as we observe know the way biologically. You know you look at of the brain of an infant, a male or female infant that brain is different. Structurally, it's different. Functionally, it lights up differently under stimulation right from the get go right come out of the womb and that's I think very powerful evidence God designed us male and female, and so even though some of the immuno psychological psychiatric organizations I think have moved to embrace this movement that's a small minority of those individuals in those organizations that make those determinations is not the rank-and-file psychologist or psychiatrist in America to make those decisions. I think the average person doesn't realize that so I love your advice and yes, be sensitive and and be kind, be gracious, but also don't just, you know, go with what the cultures is telling us that the time you are listening to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez and we know it can be difficult to begin reading the Bible for the very first time, and some Bible reading plans can be somewhat complex and daunting. So we are excited to offer you a special Bible reading plan from core Christianity. That's right bill for the reasons you mentioned at core Christianity. We wanted to create a Bible reading plan that would do two things. One help someone new to the Bible cultivated joy for reading Scripture and to help someone who may have lost that joy to find it again. The core Christianity Bible reading plan is a free resource and only take you about 10 minutes per day to complete at last through the whole year.

This plan won't take you through the entire Bible in a year, but it will introduce you to the big narrative and grand themes of the Bible.

This plan is designed to help you develop the habit of reading without requiring a large time commitment in our prayers at this new habit would carry on through the years. Over time, helping you to continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus and his word to download the core Christianity Bible reading plan just head over to core Christianity.com/reading plan. Again, that's core Christianity.com/reading plan was get back to the phones and we have Courtney on the line from Gilbert Arizona Courtney, what's your question for pastor Pedro a friend who she is a believer and is trying to figure out how to navigate a situation that she and her house. She has a teenage centering to and has his girlfriend living with them because she comes from a and her household distant and a very healthy one and so she let girlfriend live with Dan even though she is pretty sure that there fornicating data stand on her part. Who yeah well that the me that that P's. There does complicate things to know it would necessarily be a sin for for her to want to take in this girlfriend she's got a difficult family situation in home and and they're able to to help me. I think hospitality is is key in the Christian life I came to faith in Jesus Christ and and began to grow in my relationship with the Lord while I was in high school largely in part because of the, the, the hospitality of of another family that would invite me to their home and and share the love of Christ with me, but if she knows this friend knows that essentially what's happening is there's fornication taking place and and there is no intention to stop all that I think that that that really is an issue in an frankly maybe there's a better place for the. The girlfriend is that enough that they could set up something else. But I think she also wants to to make sure that she's protecting the couple in in their own purity and and making sure that you know they're not in a situation where they are just giving themselves to the sin and so it sounds to me like this is an issue of wisdom and may be the wisest thing in this situation would be not to have the girlfriend there because of what's taking place if if things were different. I might say well know that sounds like things are working out okay in there able to be separate and this is really helping the girlfriend out and putting her in a in a better situation and maybe even helping that the two of them to grow in their relationship with the Lord that be wonderful, but it sounds like it's it's having the opposite effect. And so it really should be. Maybe something that they reconsider. Thanks, Courtney appreciate your call and your concern for this family you're listening to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez.

Let's get to David from Kansas City, Missouri David, what's your question, I know how to how to be not fatal part of the there is a great question. I miss her like a question of how do I know you know but I find a good church. We have resources here at core Christianity on that very topic.

Something I'm passionate about. As a pastor, as I guess the first thing I would say it would Revelation chapter 17 talks about the harlot is a sort of government system that is calling his people to to come out of is this this this beast that essentially persecutes the church, but he does earlier when Jesus speaking to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and three.

Some of the churches were associated with this kind of harlotry and Christ is calling them to repentance to purity to walk in the light. Now how do we how do we know to avoid this particular church.

What what what we oftentimes point to David are the marks of the true church, and what are the marks of the true church. It's the faithful preaching of the word of God us is the gospel being faithfully taught in this church is the Bible something that's valued or do they value personality and you know maybe some of these other things but they're not really preaching the Scriptures. If that's the case, well then there's a huge problem because the word of God is shaped by created by the that the church of God is created by shape by the word of God is of the word is not been preached. I don't really have a church so the right preaching the word right worship, right administration of those ordinances that Jesus gave to the church baptism and the Lord supper and discipline so that when there is sin, immorality, or any just the list goes on and on.

You think about the different kinds of sins. It churches have been engaged in everything from lack of care for the poor, racism, sexual immorality, abuse those kind of thing when when those things are happening, there's discipline. The sin gets called out, it gets repented of no church is perfect, but this is in a church that is embracing these sinful practices in SAR there there okay know they're addressing them and repenting of them and that's with Jesus calls each of us individually to do and that's what he calls the church to do as well and so I would say being a part of a church that is committed to faithfully teaching the word of God that is committed to worshiping Jesus in line with how he said he wanted to be worshiped in his word, those ordinances that Jesus gave to the disciples and is committed to growing in holiness and discipline in the Christian life caring for one another. The author to the Hebrews said in Hebrews chapter 3 exhort one another, day by day. While it is called today less were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. If you don't have those things. If you have the faithful preaching of the word of God. If if worship is to say whatever. You know whatever we want to go goes, there is no discipline there is there's people living in open sin, but is not addressed by the leadership of the church by the pastors. Well that's that's a recipe for disaster. And in those situations, especially the word of God is not been faithfully taught. I think were called to find faithful churches, and so thank you so much for that question, but built a lot of questions today about just the true church and we had to be a part of the faithful churches and in line with that who Jesus is and his identity and that walking with the Christ of Scripture are not the Christ that we invented that you know in our own imagination or or need of some other spirit right you know, in today's culture. There is such a tendency to kind of want to invent our own God in our own sense of beliefs and that a lot of people you could talk to you not just on the street who would say well I do know have my own version of God. Or here's what I believe about him. Or here's what I believe he asked me to do and man talk about you know the importance of getting back to his word on a daily basis. Yeah, but we we each want to make God in our own image will here's the good news that would be a very great God. With that, but God of the Bible is and he reveals himself throughout the page. The Scripture get to know him. Thanks for listening to today's episode of core Christianity a drill and I will love our audience and we'd love to take your questions, give us a call Monday through Friday at 11:30 AM Pacific time at 833-843-2673. That's 833. The core thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us at core, Christianity.com and click on offers in the menu or call us at 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833 when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time. As we explore the truth of God's word together