LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 173

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IV. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

intention for sexual activity—that male and female by becoming “one flesh” might end their
aloneness in lifelong unity with one another and, according to God’s blessing, in the procreation
of children (Gen 1:26-28; Gen 2:18-24). Homosexual or bisexual desire and activity is therefore
viewed as aberrant (see Gen 19:4-11; Lev 18:22; 20:13; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9; and 1 Tim
1:10), because it contradicts the meaning and purpose of one’s embodiment as male or female.
This biblical view is not unrealistic about human nature in a fallen world. It is true that one result
of sin is that desires and behavior become disordered. Husbands and wives inevitably experience
(and too frequently act out) sexual desire for men and women other than their spouses. In other
cases, men and women experience (and frequently act out) desire for individuals of their same
sex.
The very same line of thought would apply to one who is embodied as a man but feels persistent
discomfort with his maleness or for a person with a female body who believes she is male. From
the standpoint of our bodies—which is the only objective means of determining who is male or
female—we have a God-given identity that is either masculine or feminine. One is a man or a
woman because that is what the body given by God indicates.16
Christian theology has consistently sought to distinguish desires and feelings from behavior.
Greed, rage, jealousy, resentment, arrogance, depression, and the many shapes that lust can take
are but a few examples of feelings or desires that every human experiences to various degrees
and at various times. Such desires are part of fallen human nature itself (e.g., Gal 5:17 or 1 John
2:16), but they are to be opposed and curbed, rather than to be given free reign (Rom 13:14). The
Christian theological tradition has therefore sought always to distinguish between desires and
acting out on desires, and between specific behavioral sins and the sinner. It recognizes that in
our fallen humanity, behavior can be disciplined to some degree, while inner feelings are far less
subject to human control.
Christianity understands homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgendered identity and desire within
such an overall moral framework. It seeks to follow natural law (the objective truth of our
bodies) and the revealed truth of Holy Scriptures, even if the truth these sources convey conflicts
with societal or professional opinions, such as that of psychology or psychiatry.
One response to such reflection is that, while there is scriptural direction which clearly forbids
homosexual activity, there is no explicit scriptural reference to transgendered individuals. There
are only references that hint at implications for the individual who feels discomfort with his or
her identity as male or female.17

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Jesus, however, grounds sexual morality not only in revelatory truth, but also in our created
nature (see Matt 19:1-9). When he condemns divorce, he does so because, from the very
beginning, “the Creator” (NIV; “he who created them” NAS ESV NRSV) has made us male and
female (Matt 19:4). Jesus points to our creation as male and female and therefore endorses the
conclusion that “a man shall leave his father and mother, be united to his wife, and the two
become one flesh,” quoting Genesis 2:24. As one flesh, the man and woman have been joined by
God and should not separate.
Paul speaks within the same context of male and female and the same foundational passage from
Genesis in his teaching on marriage (Eph 5:22-33). And as he further discusses sexual morality
in marital and unmarried life (cf. 1 Cor 6:12-7:40), he does so from within a perspective that
acknowledges our created embodiment as male and female (“glorify God in your body,” 1 Cor
6:20), the expectation of sexual self-control whether married or unmarried (1 Cor 6:18; 7:5, 9),
the call to live the life we have been given (vocation, 1 Cor 7:17, 24), and the priority of serving
God in our daily lives (1 Cor 7:32).
The reasoning of Scripture regarding our sexual nature is therefore inarguable. In addition to the
previous passages, Paul’s discussion of homosexuality in Romans 1 is important. He considers
homosexual acts in the context of one particular trait of human sin: the suppression of the truth
(Rom 1:18). He gives two examples of suppressing truth. The first is our refusal to acknowledge
the divine power and nature which alone could bring about the created world, which results in
humans worshiping creatures instead of the Creator (Rom 1:19-23, also v. 25). Paul’s second
example results from the first: because we worship the creation and not the Creator, we are also
given to dishonoring our bodies rather than seeking the will of the Creator for their proper use.
This, Paul says, is the reason humanity is even willing to ignore the obvious intention of our
creation as male and female and exchange “natural relations for those that are contrary to nature”
as women engage in sexual relations with other women and men engage in sexual relations with
other men (Rom 1:24-27). Paul’s understanding of the immorality of homosexual activity is
grounded in our created nature as sexual beings, our embodiment as man or woman, and is not
understood as an arbitrary moral rule revealed by God.
Moreover, within the Lutheran theological tradition, one may note the relevance of the
explanation of the first article of the Creed by Martin Luther. Having confessed, “I believe in
God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth,” Luther’s answer to the question, “What
does this mean?” is directly applicable to this discussion: “I believe that God has made me and
all creatures, that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members….”18

16
This does not deny the reality of situations in which there is sexual ambiguity that is physical or biological in
nature. See the excursus on Intersex below for further consideration of biological sexual ambiguity.
17
There is, indeed, no explicit mention, much less extended discussion per se in the Bible, of transsexual or
transgendered persons or persons experiencing distress over their physical sexual embodiment. Deuteronomy 22:5
is, however, a strong condemnation of wearing the garments of the opposite sex. Some argue that such an Old
Testament reference has no applicability to Christians. A more classical Christian interpretation is that this verse
represents an example of “moral law” with continuing applicability. Moreover, St. Paul’s reference to “effeminates”
in 1 Cor 6:9 (New American Standard and King James Version; the New International Version translates the term as

“male prostitutes”) is a likely reference to individual men who “cultivate feminine features.” Cf. Robert A. J.
Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), 307-308.
18
Emphasis added. The translation of the Small Catechism is from Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation
(Saint Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 1998, 2005), 15. Cp. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds., The
Book of Concord: Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 354, which
reads “all limbs” rather than members, in translating the German Glieder. The term Glied, however, is used to refer
to all body parts. Moreover, the Latin version of the Small Catechism reads “omnia membra” for the text in
question.

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To declare faith in the work of God’s creation in our lives is to confess that our bodies, with all
their parts—including our sexual organs19—are given to us by God our heavenly Father. The
parts of the body are arranged and appointed “each one of them, as he chose” (1 Cor 12:18). It is
from this consideration of the creation of the human body with all its members that the inspired
apostle then develops the rich and beautiful image of the church as the body of Christ with all its
members.

scriptural position. The fundamental Christian perspective would be to encourage treatment of
the condition in a way that allows the greatest possible fullness of service to Christ and others by
the individual. This may well entail hormonal or surgical options that enable the person to deal
most effectively with the biological sexual ambiguity which is present.

A biblical approach to sexual morality, therefore, is not simply grounded in specific Bible
passages alone. It is grounded, first, in the truth of our nature as created beings (“natural law”) as
that is understood in Scripture. From this standpoint, the Christian understanding of confused
sexual identity is clear. Because Christianity takes our created bodies seriously, it is compelled to
view it as a disorder of creation if a man or woman feels discomfort with his or her body and
desires either to dress and act in the manner of the opposite sex or to “change” his or her sex by
means of hormones or surgery. Ultimately, such feelings or actions are fruitless violations of our
nature. Such surgery, for example, will not change the individual’s chromosomal makeup, but
will only mutilate the body God has given.

Pastoral Care for Gender Identity Confusion

Excursus: Intersex Condition as an Area of Special Concern

The pastor will understand that the person who is struggling with sexual identity is indeed
dealing with a grave disorder, but he will also understand that the deepest need of such a man or
woman—as it is for every person—is to know that he or she is beloved by God. Christ’s love and
forgiveness are in this case as always one’s greatest needs. Sorrow, confusion, frustration,
shame, and despair are likely present in any individual dealing with gender dysphoria or
struggling with questions about his or her identity as male or female. If such an individual has
not already sought psychotherapeutic care, the pastor should seek to encourage and, to whatever
degree possible, facilitate the individual in securing competent therapy that is not hostile to the
Christian faith.21

One special area of concern must be discussed in this context. DSM-IV criteria (above) explicitly
excluded from the diagnosis of sexual identity disorder individuals with “intersex” condition, but
such persons should not be forgotten in a Christian moral and pastoral discussion of gender
dysphoria. An intersex condition in humans can take two forms, one in which both male and
female gonads are present at birth and the individual has both male (XY) and female (XX)
chromosomes. The second form involves the chromosomes and gonads of one sex but the
physical appearance of the opposite sex.20 As noted above, DSM-5 maintains a distinction
between intersexuality and sexual dysphoria.
All creation displays the results of sin and death, even though God created the world to be a
place of goodness and life. Such is the sobering assessment of Christian reflection on the fall into
sin. Congenital disorders and other examples of nature in rebellion against humanity, of which an
intersex condition would be an example, are understood from a Christian theological perspective
as examples of creation in “bondage to corruption” as a result of the corrupting force of the fall
into sin (see Gen 3:16-19; Rom 8:20-23).
While an individual with hermaphroditic features may not fit the concept of gender identity
disorder (by DSM-IV’s standard) or the concept of being transgendered, such a person will likely
know some measure of distress or dysphoria and might well seek pastoral guidance and
direction. Here the guidance would be more dependent upon medical advice than any particular
19
Perhaps Paul’s reference to our “unpresentable parts” in 1 Corinthians 12:23 is worth mentioning. The context of
1 Corinthians 12 is one in which he affirms the richness of the body of Christ by means of analogy to the human
body, the parts of which, are all afforded high regard and worth. That includes the sexual “members” of the body
which, while treated with modesty, are nonetheless worthy of equal regard to eyes, ears, noses, hands, and feet
which are ever active and noticeable. See Gregory J. Lockwood, 1 Corinthians (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 2000), 446-447, for a discussion of the “inferior” members of the body.
20
"hermaphroditism." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed 29 Oct. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/263151/hermaphroditism>.

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A pastoral response to individuals with any form of gender dysphoria requires a clear grounding
in a biblically based understanding of natural law and our creation by God as male and female.
A biblical understanding of both the gravity of sin’s effects and the Gospel of redemption from
sin by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is also necessary. But such doctrinal awareness is not
the sum of pastoral care. The church’s ministry is instead always anchored in the responsibility
to proclaim, reflect, and enact the love of God in Christ Jesus—his love for a fallen world—in
the lives of specific individuals.

While it is unlikely that the pastor is trained or equipped to serve as a therapist for this condition,
the value of pastoral care and counsel should not be minimized. The pastor has the opportunity to
provide compassionate care anchored in the Word of God—care that recognizes both the power
of sin and the even stronger, gracious acceptance of our Lord Jesus for humanity despite our sins
and weaknesses (Mark 9:17-27; Luke 19:10).
Pastoral care for such a person struggling with sexual identity does not begin with debates about
what is or is not moral. Certainly, the Christian pastor is called to help an individual struggling
with sexual identity to understand the biblical view of human sexuality and to distinguish
between his or her feelings and actions based on those feelings. The rightfully persistent idea of
loving the sinner even as one discourages specific sins is vital here as it is in every situation of
pastoral care and moral guidance.

21

It would be good for every pastor to know of therapists who are clinically competent to provide therapy to
individuals in need. That may not always be easily accomplished. It is true that there are some therapists who are
suspicious of or even hostile to the Christian faith and biblical teaching, particularly with respect to sexual morality.
A pastor may wish to consult with the American Association of Christian Counselors
(http://www.aacc.net/resources/find-a-counselor/).21

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2016 Convention Workbook