God, Gender, And Pornography Series

Thank you for joining for this important topic: God, Gender, and Pornography. In an interesting twist of God’s rich providence, our teens are looking at this subject with a guest upstairs this evening.

The Problem of Pornography is real. In April 2010, The Atlantic Monthly ran an article entitled: “Did Porn Cause the Financial Crisis?” A senior attorney at the SEC's Washington headquarters spent up to eight hours a day looking at and downloading pornography. When he ran out of hard drive space, he burned the files to CDs or DVDs, which he kept in boxes around his office. In fact, seventeen of the employees were "at a senior level," earning salaries of up to $222,418 who were surfing internet pornography.

About a year ago, I read an article from Ted Cruz who had announced his run for the White House. It an article he penned about his time as a Supreme Court Clerk. “The year I was a clerk for Rehnquist, the Internet was nascent technology. The court was considering one of the first cases challenging the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress to regulate Internet pornography. Most of the justices were in their 60s or older. Few knew much or anything about the Internet. So the librarians of the court designed a tutorial for them. They set up sessions for two justices at a time and their clerks. As it happened, our Rehnquist group was paired with Justice O’Connor’s. In a small room gathered the chief, O’Connor, and their respective law clerks. The librarians’ purpose was to demonstrate to the justices how easy it was to find porn on the Internet.

I remember standing behind the computer, watching the librarian go to a search engine, turn off the filters, and type in [a] word … After she pressed “return,” a slew of hard-core, explicit images showed up on screen.” Here I was, a 26-year-old man looking at explicit porn with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who was standing alongside the colleague (my boss) she had once dated in law school. As we watched these graphic pictures fill our screens, wide-eyed, no one said a word. Except for Justice O’Connor, who lowered her head, squinted slightly, and muttered, “Oh, my.”

Gender Confusion

In April of 2016, Fort Worth ISD signed off on language that guaranteed students access to a restroom where they feel comfortable and safe. On May 13, 2016 schools were directed with the following language in what newspapers were calling “Obama’s Directive” – “A school may provide separate facilities on the basis of sex, but must allow transgender students access to such facilities consistent with their gender identity.” These words in both Fort Worth and across our national set off a political firestorm, to the point where Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick called on the FWISD Superintendent. On July 20, 2016, the FWISD turned away from its previous regulations with revised guidelines that placed a heavy emphasis on parents, students, and teachers to make the right decisions. Things have gotten complicated fast and it is not just in Texas. Recently, 500 people packed a middle school auditorium in Virginia as a local school board voted to approve adding “gender identity” to its non-discrimination policy, despite the vocal opposition of hundreds. And there’s only more confusion coming. Facebook’s diversity team recently found that their 58 gender options weren’t enough for users. Facebook now proudly offers a customized gender option in hopes that individuals will be able to better express their identities on Facebook.

Yes, there is a great deal of confusion concerning gender in our day. In place of biblical roles where men, women, and children find their identity, we have elevated freedom to be whatever you want as the supreme good. In place of the happiness we felt we would achieve by determining our identities and roles within the family, we have tremendous confusion.

How Should we Speak on Gender and Pornography issues?

1) Be Disarming

2) Be Truthful

You always want to speak in the most disarming way, but still be very truthful. Both disarming and truthful. I’m not sure most of us speak in that way—trying to be both. We need to give biblical answers to the culture’s questions. You don’t give them the answers they want, you give them the answers they need. You can’t be a responsible pastor if you don’t.

3) Use Verbal Modesty – It’s important to not to shock people. All of us should use modesty in our words and not speak for shock value.

1. Your Gender, God’s Gift

God created both genders as equal but He gave each distinct gifts and intended them for our good. I am going to say something that you may not feel the full weight of for sometime to come. You are a Christian first and you’re male second. You are a Christian first and you’re female second. The relationship between two Christians outweighs any other relationship you have on the basis of your race, on the basis of your gender, or on the basis of your social status. You are a Christian first and you’re white second. You’re a Christian first and you’re black second. You’re a Christian first and you’re an American second. Again, the relationship between Christians outweighs any other relationship you have on the basis of your race, on the basis of your gender, or on the basis of your social status.