Theologian John Piper was recently asked on his podcast “Ask Pastor John” by an anonymous church elder whether it is permissible to address someone using pronouns that contradict their biology. Answering the question, Piper explained that engaging in such a semantic practice was blatantly unbiblical.
“The argument is that there are times when, for the sake of evangelism, one may decide to call a person by their chosen gender if such an act removes a possible barrier in sharing the Gospel,” the elder asked the influential pastor. Piper proceeded to outline how so-called “gender hospitality” does not align with the Bible.
“I think, connecting the beautiful biblical word hospitality with the unbiblical concept of gender pronoun is unhelpful and misleading. I know it’s just a catch phrase, but catch phrases reveal things we ought to be hospitable but we ought not to be affirming of pronouns that designate a destructive choice and a false view of reality, it is possible to be hospitable and honest. Third issue, the very use of the word gender is a compromise with sinful views of reality,” Piper said in his answer.
Piper further argued that the word “sex” should be used instead of the term “gender” which he claims doesn’t align with reality. “I think using the word ‘gender’ where the right word is ‘sex’ is like using the word ‘marriage’ for a relationship between two men or two women. It’s not marriage. It is so-called ‘marriage,'” he said.
Furthermore, Piper emphasized that the Bible instructs Christians to be straightforward when sharing the Gospel. “How much of the Gospels implications and purifying power should be shared upfront in evangelism? Peter stated the gospel like this in first, Peter 224, Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. So Peter attaches the substitutionary death of Jesus with the sin conquering effect of that death in one sentence, when the rich young ruler asked how to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, Sell your possessions and give alms to the poor and then follow me, he led with an effect or a fruit of the gospel,” he said.
“Now we don’t always do that, but we might sometimes it would go like this. Perhaps, I know you intend to change your sex, but you are my friend, and I think there’s a better way. Jesus has a better way forward for you. He’s full of grace,” Piper added.
“It defies God, Piper continued, before referencing The Nashville Statement from 2017 which established guidelines about the Bible’s prescriptions for man and woman. “The Nashville statement is right to say, quote, self conception as male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture. Close quote, but calling a man a woman or a woman a man defies that holy purpose of God. It defies God. Number two involves living a lie,” he added.
Featured image credit: Micah Chiang, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photo_of_John_Piper,_Oct_2010.jpg