After years of national psychological manipulation and social engineering, President Trump’s executive order on the biological realities of the two sexes was a welcome change of direction. To say it simply reversed federal policy is an understatement. It was a culturally clarifying moment that had been long overdue. Signed on the first day of his 2nd term, the title of the executive order said it all – “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The language in the text was simple, courageous, and crystal clear. “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” This bold action reflects the President’s commitment to biological truthfulness as a fundamental tenet of his administration. Both in his inaugural address and in this executive order, President Trump not only reversed federal policy but exposed the “ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex.”
For those under the umbrella of this executive action, the thunderstorms of political correctness may have passed. However, for those who oppose the tyranny of transgender ideology outside the federal government, the tempests of social and economic jeopardy remain. It’s in times like these that Christians need to speak with clarity and courage. Thankfully, some are already doing that.
According to Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a fifth-grade teacher was placed on administrative leave after speaking against his school district’s policy on transgenderism. For 25 years Ray Shelton taught fifth grade at Mark Keppel Elementary School in Glendale, California and was named “Teacher of the Year” two times. Despite winning the PTA’s Golden Oak Award earlier this year, he was pulled from his class the morning after he voiced his concerns over proposed policies at a 2023 school board meeting. These policies would affirm the secret transitioning of children without parental knowledge. His constitutional rights to free speech are now being defended in court.
In a similar case, Valerie Kloosterman was fired from the University of Michigan Health system for seeking religious accommodation from using “biology-obscuring pronouns” and referring patients for “gender reassignment” drugs and surgeries. Because she dared to speak out after a mandatory “diversity and inclusion” training session, she was referred to as “evil” by a Michigan health diversity representative and denied the freedom of taking her Bible to work. She is now being represented by First Liberty Institute, where her case is ongoing.
Dr. Robert Gagnon, a New Testament scholar and world-renowned expert on the Bible's view of homosexual practice, risked his own academic career to defend the biblical standards of sexuality. In a recent interview on The Stand Radio, he told me, “A big part of the Christian faith right from its inception - right from the early church on - has always been boldness of speech. The Greek term is “Parresia”, which literally means “all speech.”
This word is used throughout the New Testament and defines speech that is bold, open, and confident. For example, when the early believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). In another place, it was the defining characteristic of Peter and John as they spoke in the temple. Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus (Acts 4:31).
Every one of us is born with a natural fear of man, but through Christ we can speak as we should when confronted with dangerous ideologies such as transgenderism. The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted (Proverbs 29:25).
Notice also that in the book of Acts, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is at the forefront. There was nothing natural in the disciples that enabled them to speak like that, apart from the indwelling Spirit of God given upon saving faith in Jesus Christ. It’s an empowerment that doesn’t eradicate fear but places it in the right object – God.
As he reflected on the impact of President Trump’s executive order and the dangers still facing believers in the culture at large, Dr. Gagnon gave some good advice.
“What did Jesus tell us? Don't fear human beings who can only kill the body. Fear God, who can send body and soul to hell. This is a good reminder for all of us - not to be enslaved by the culture but rather to be slaves of our Lord Jesus Christ and sons and daughters of our Lord Jesus Christ. And fear no human being. Things are changing, everybody. Be bold, bold in your speech, bold in your convictions. And don't let anybody enslave you to fleshly, sinful human ideations.”
