Over the last two decades, I’ve been reading and writing on the topics of biblical manhood, pornography, and purity. During this time, I’ve noticed that often the conversation focuses more on how men and women can overcome enslavement to pornography. Such resources are definitely needed, but the main problem is that by focusing only on overcoming pornography, what is often missed is the teaching on the kind of people God wants us to become—men and women growing in the grace of God (2 Peter 3:18). For this article, we will also broaden our scope to consider sexual sin as a whole, and better understand how men and women are created in the image of God to worship Him alone, not to do whatever we want. Through this, we’ll see that the battle for biblical manhood and womanhood is grounded on the inerrant Word of God.

Biblical Gender Roles and Pursuing Purity

Biblical manhood and womanhood are first and foremost about God. God is the One who created man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26–27). He then took from man’s rib and made Eve to be a helper to Adam (Genesis 2:18–25). Man is to be a leader, both in the home and the church (Genesis 1–2; 1 Timothy 3:5; Ephesians 5). Women are to have a significant ministry to other women; specifically as older women instructing younger women (Titus 2:3–5). Women can also serve (for example) as deaconesses, writers, counselors (to other women and to children), and as a great help and support to their husbands as they preach and teach (if their husband is a pastor or an elder) in the local church (Titus 2:3–5).

The proper way to view these roles is through the prism of servanthood (Matthew 23:11; Luke 22:26). Every Christian is a servant of God’s grace (Ephesians 3:7; 1 Peter 4:10). Every Christian has God-given gifts, abilities, and talents (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10). God is not saying, “I gave you this gift, now you can’t use it.” Instead, He says, “I gave you this specific gift to function this specific way, as I’ve designed within My church, just as I created you.” The question is not “Can women serve as a pastor or elder?” but rather “Why shouldn’t they serve as God designed them (Genesis 1:26–27; Titus 2)?”

Biblical gender roles apply to the discussion on sexual immorality (such as pornography and all sex outside of biblical marriage) and purity because they help us make sense of how God views each gender specifically. As men, we are to be the pastor-theologians in our homes (1 Timothy 3:1–5). Men are commanded to love our wives, just as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5:22–33). As Christians, we are to put off the flesh and put on Christ, daily (Colossians 3:7–17). Part of your God-given identity is to take hold of the newness of your new life in Christ (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 6:16; 15:17). Christ has transferred you, dear Christian, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13). You are wholly His and He is yours, and you have union with Christ for communion with Him (John 15:1–10).

By understanding biblical gender roles, we come to understand the aim of our fight against sexual sins of all kinds. We are not just men and women struggling against a particular sin without the hope of the righteousness of God. Instead, we are men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27). Through Christ, we are new creations in Him, and He is making all things new in our lives (2 Corinthians 5:17). As the Holy Spirit puts a spotlight on our sin and convicts us of it, He also points us to Christ’s finished and sufficient work, and then empowers believers to go out and make disciples for His glory (Matthew 28:16–20; John 16:6–8; Luke 19:10).

Many men and women today are failing at their God-given assignment. Instead of being biblical men, many men—even within the church—are apathetic to their God-given responsibilities (Ephesians 5:33); I speak to this as well, because I was once one of those men enslaved to pornography. As I continue working in ministry to men, I am convinced that pride and apathy are killing us. Men need role models like what Paul outlines in the letters to Timothy and Titus; men who take their walks in godliness seriously, coming alongside other men as Paul instructed us to do (1 Timothy 3:1–5; Titus 2:6–8). Likewise, many women are now struggling with pornography and other sexual sin. Whether it’s flirting sexually with someone at the office, indulging in illicit images or videos, or reading romance books that take one into a fantasy world, women are struggling with enslavement to pornography and sexual impurity. Women today need to live out Titus 2 just as much as men; both younger and older women, who can walk alongside those who are struggling and guide them in their growth in grace and spiritual maturity.

The Image of God

At the heart of much of the discussion on gender—whether it’s discussing homosexuality, transgenderism, gender dysphoria, or polyonymy—is a wrong understanding of the image of God in mankind. Much of this discussion is occurring in a secular media that wants to promote “equality and tolerance among all ‘genders.’” Such a view encourages people to believe that there is fundamentally no difference between being a man and being a woman. The biblical evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of a man being a man and a woman being a woman—all based on the creation account in Genesis and references to those passages later in Scripture (Genesis 1:26–28, 2:20–22).

The transgender movement today has further conflated matters about the image of God. The LGBTQ movement has convinced people to such a degree, using primarily cultural/social argumentation, that now people accept homosexuality and transgenderism as a normative state (even within the church). Yet, the truth of the Bible stills stands in opposition to this view, because God had a specific idea in mind when He created man and woman in His image.

Likewise, many people today are convinced that marriage isn’t between one man and one woman, but rather that it can (and even should) be between two men or two women, one man with two women, or any number of other non-biblical configurations. Despite this cultural belief, the Bible says one man and one woman is not only the God-given standard, but the only way to have a marriage that honors God (Genesis 2:20–22). And pornography also degrades women (and men) by giving people permission to see others not as a helpmate to man (Genesis 2:20), or in cases of men being objectified, seeing them not as the true leader of the home, but only as someone to be viewed as an object of someone’s pleasure.

In addition to these challenges to gender roles, evolutionary thinking has led many people to conclude that there is no difference between humans and other organisms. By this, I’m referring to the Theory of Evolution, which suggests that all organisms have come to into existence through a blind, unguided process of random variation, natural selection, and other effects, such as genetic drift. Although there are different versions of evolutionary theory, this one (the Theory of Evolution) is prominent, and it carries serious implications with regards to what it means to be human.

Evolution’s Attempt to Deface Imago Dei

One result of the Theory of Evolution is its promotion (by extension) of the degradation of the moral significance of life. Those that teach this theory as “truth” claim that morality is up to the individual or the culture—therefore, morality is relative. By saying this, they suggest that others should tolerate moral differences in each other, but don’t see where this thought process leads: that moral relativism makes moral progress impossible.

Moral progress, such as proposed by people like Martin Luther King Jr., cannot be obtained when the target by which it is initially judged continues to move (moral relativism). If one person or group thinks, “This is the standard,” and another disagrees, how can such a standard ever be improved upon? And because the Theory of Evolution promotes such moral relativism, due to its lack of moral guides/standards (as provided in Scripture), we will forever have a vague and shifting standard—one in which improvement cannot be achieved.

We face issues on every front regarding biblical morality and sexuality. For example, within a generation, we’ve seen homosexuality accepted culturally, and on the heels of that, the acceptance of transgenderism. A cultural norm is an accepted behavior in our culture, something the majority deems “correct”, or at least “not wrong”. As Christians, we are people of truth, because Jesus says He is the Truth (John 14:6), therefore, we stand fast on the Word and declare it. Such a message is viewed by a secular culture as hostile to its “truth” claims, because they view it as “outdated” and/or “unimportant”. For example, Christians who proclaim that God created mankind in His own image will face resistance on the subject of abortion, because—according to what Scripture teaches—God’s people believe that life begins at conception, and therefore stand for the baby’s right to life as a human being in the womb. Christians are pro-life from the womb to the tomb and everywhere in-between. It’s not only on issues of biblical sexuality that Christians face opposition, it’s also on biblical morality and ethics.

As believers, we have to understand we live in a culture that exemplifies Romans 1, and that people are not just dead in their trespasses and sins, but they are spiritually blinded by Satan (Ephesians 2:1–4; 1 Corinthians 1:18–30). We must not compromise on the ethics, morality, and sexuality as taught in Scripture, but stand fast on the Word (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Christians are to give an answer for a reason for their hope, but do so with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). We are to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). As believers engage others, they are to do so being patient and loving, because every single person is made in the image of God, and thus deserving of dignity, value, and respect (Genesis 1:26–27, 2:20–24; 2 Timothy 2:24–26).

The Image of God Strikes Back

Commenting on the work of J.P. Moreland, who wrote a book called, The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism, Tom Gilson says, “Imago Dei means the “image of God” in Latin. Naturalism is the theory (roughly) that nothing exists but nature—nothing but matter and energy, interacting by natural law and chance.”[i] Naturalism says there is no God, no spiritual reality, and there are no souls, only bodies. He further remarks:

Recalcitrant is the keyword [in Moreland’s title]. It means “obstinately uncooperative.” We use it to describe misbehaving kids or criminals who won’t change, no matter how much correction gets applied to them. Human nature is obstinately resistant to cooperating with what evolutionary theory says we ought to think about ourselves. If unguided evolution is true, we shouldn’t be fooled by these “illusions” of consciousness or free will—but we just can’t help ourselves. We shouldn’t think we’re more significant than any other organism, but we just won’t get with the program![ii]

But there’s a reason for our stubbornness. Tom Gilson explains:

“The fact is we are humans, and no matter how hard someone might try to talk ourselves out of it, we’re always going to be human. [And as such,] we were created in the image of God. That’s who we are, and that’s who we will always be.  Being created in God’s image means that we glorify Him by thinking, feeling, deciding, relating, building, and creating—even in so-called “non-spiritual” realms of life; and these are good things to do. It also means that we have moral significance. It means we can fail morally and turn all of this to bad ends.[iii]

Genesis 1:26–28 explains our existence in these terms:

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

Humanity is the pinnacle of creation. Human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 5:1–2) and the life we have is, therefore, sacred (Genesis 9:6). Human beings are to resemble God in every sphere of life, as we were created to worship Him and enjoy relationships with one another (Hebrews 10:25). Humanity’s calling is, in summary, to be fruitful so that the glory and goodness of God would multiply through us (Genesis 1:28), and to be agents of God’s dominion on earth, so the blessing of fruitfulness would enable us to fill the earth with God’s image-bearers (Genesis 1:26–28, 2:20–24). His rule is extended to every corner of the earth by His direct influence, and by His image-bearers, which we are privileged to be.

Humans failed by their sinfulnes (Genesis 3) to fulfill their image-bearing responsibilities (Genesis 11:1–9; Ps 2:1–2). The Lord renewed the mandate of fruitful multiplication to Noah (Genesis 9:1, 7) and later with Abraham (Genesis 12:2; 17:2, 6, 8). He similarly blessed Israel (Exodus 1:7) and promised to bless the nation of Israelites as they humbly obeyed (Leviticus 26:9). Yet, again and again, the nation of Israel failed.

Jesus Christ, as the second Adam, fulfills God’s image-bearing purposes and enables Christians to do the same. The apostle Paul speaks of “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15). Jesus is the image of God that we were intended to be (Colossians 1:15). Christians are united to Christ by faith, so the Lord now sees the people of God as clothed in the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), to whom we are being conformed (Romans 8:29) in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).

Through Jesus’ perfect life and His suffering—the penalty for our sins as the perfect God-man—He provided for humans to be renewed in the image of God through faith in Him (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:6–7; Colossians 3:10). God’s intended goal of spreading His righteous rule throughout the earth is being realized by the preaching of the gospel in-and-through the local church. The example of Adam and Eve reproducing and multiplying was used in the early church to emphasize the need of Christians to reproduce and multiply disciples of Jesus to the nations (Acts 6:7, 12:24, 19:20; Colossians 1:8–15).

The truths of Genesis 1–2 are coming under increasing attacks from the ideologies of homosexuality, polygamy, pornography, and transgenderism. Such attacks strike at the heart of what it means to be created in the image of God. Christians have good answers to these issues, because the Word of God speaks to them, which is why they need to speak up and proclaim the truth, as provided in the Scriptures.

The Heart of the Matter and What to Do About It

At the heart of current cultural discussions on morality and sexuality is the idea that one can live however they want. Whether this entails having sex outside of marriage, multiple partners/spouses, attempting to “marry” the same-sex, divorce for any reason, or attempting to change one’s gender, we see these lifestyle choices becoming more and more popular, even within the church. The whole idea of living however we want is not new, but rather has been around since the fall.

When Christians speak out against such ideas, they invite ridicule and the accusation of hypocrisy and bigotry. Christians should not be afraid of such criticism but continue to stand fast on the holiness of God revealed in the His Word (1 Peter 1:13–15). Christians are called out of worldliness to a new life in Christ to be new creations who shine His light to a perishing world (Matthew 5:10–12; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21).

At the heart of the argument against “living however we want” is the Lord’s call on our lives; it is He who is the Creator and we are His creation (Psalms 24, 145). People respond to such an argument with, “You can’t judge me for how I live!” Even so, the Lord will judge man because He is the rightful ruler over creation. He who creates has the right to define the terms for how we live (Revelation 1:4).

For example, even in the Christian Church, if a pastor preaches on the holiness of God, or on what God requires of man in light of Christ’s finished and sufficient work, he will get accused of legalism. During World War II, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who ministered in the underground Church in Nazi Germany, wrote the (now classic) book, The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer argued for the concept of costly grace versus cheap grace. Costly grace was what Jesus did on the cross. Cheap grace is living however we want because of the costly grace of God in Christ. I fear that some people think they need to out-nuance the Bible in order to avoid the accusation of legalism, but by doing so they end up compromising the truth of God’s Word. An example that we have in Scripture is where Paul, who, after explaining how man—when left to his own devices—will naturally love more of his sin and not God (Romans 1–3), shows how man can be declared not guilty through Jesus (Romans 4–5).

Romans 6 opens this way after explaining how we can be declared not guilty with this question (vs.1), “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” Such a question is an important one and gets to the heart of our discussion in this article.

God’s grace has made us new creations in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17– 21). Christians do not live however they want, which is Paul’s point in Romans 6:1. Instead, we have a new master in Jesus. We were once dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1–5). We were once held captive to the prince of the “power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). Now, Christ has transferred us to His Kingdom at the moment of our salvation, and declared us children of God bought by grace alone (Colossians 1:13). In light of the grace of God that we’ve received, we are to live a new way because we belong to the King, who tells us to put off the old way and walk in the newness of new life in Him (Colossians 3:1–18). Christians are not to walk in the oldness of life, but walk in a manner worthy of the calling they’ve received (Ephesians 4:1).

When Jesus taught about counting the cost, He had in mind the way the disciples would live (Luke 9:23). Jesus is the rightful ruler and covenant Lord (Revelation 1:4). In the ministry of Jesus, we see Him giving many “hard words”, such as counting the cost and following Him in all of life (Luke 9:23–27). When Jesus gave “hard words”, people abandoned Him, despite the fact that it is He alone who can offer eternal life (John 6:60, 66).

Christians are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–9). It is because of what Christ has done that we do not live how we want, nor by our own rules, but by the revealed Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Creator has the right to dictate to His creation the terms of eternal life, so living however we want as His children cheapens the costly grace of God in Christ. Some Christians think all they have to do is “repent and confess” and all will be well, but the mark of true and genuine repentance is not only sorrow, but turning away from sin and returning to the Lord with all your heart (Joel 2:12; Ezekiel 14:6; Acts 26:20).

In 1 John 1:6, the apostle says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” What John has in mind here are those who say they can live however they want because they belong to the Lord. But these people aren’t “practicing the truth.” In the previous verse (1 John 1:5), John says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” John contrasts those who walk in the light with those who don’t, but claim to be children of light. With this comparison, he says in verse 8: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Then John tells us in verse 9 that we are to confess our sin, which acknowledges our wrongdoing before the holiness of the Lord. Only then will the Lord “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Christians do not cohabit before marriage, nor support/practice the homosexual lifestyle, nor participate in polygamy, pornography, adultery, prostitution, pedophilia, or bestiality, because the Lord created the institution of marriage between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:20–24).

Through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Christians put off the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life by putting on Christ (Colossians 3:1–18; 1 John 2:16). As a result of being transferred from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 1:15), Christians have a new desire for righteousness, and therefore renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, while they await the imminent return of the Lord Jesus (Titus 2:12– 14). Therefore, we live as God requires us: in obedience to the Lord because of the grace we’ve received from Jesus, and increasingly display the fruits of the Spirit in our lives (John 15:9–11; Galatians 5:21–23).

Living however one wants cheapens the costly grace of God in Christ. Paul’s response to this, as described in Romans 8, is that we are to live by the Spirit (Romans 8:5, 13). Paul’s point is that if we desire to live a holy life—a life that pleases and honors God—we will live under the power of the Holy Spirit. This life, however, is possible only because of Christ and the present work of the Holy Spirit.

What should you do in light of this biblical teaching? Understand that you’ve been saved for a purpose. That purpose isn’t just for you, it’s for God’s glory. The life you’ve been called to as a Christian is one of sacrifice. When the first followers of Jesus heard Him say that they were to count the cost and follow Him, many people left His side forever (John 6:60, 66). Those who are Christ’s will obey Him (John 14:15). Those who refuse to obey Him give evidence that they are not His (Matthew 7:20–21).

While all of our obedience to God is only partial in scope, any obedience is better than none. As Christians, we should see evidence, year by year—regardless of how little—that we are growing in grace (2 Peter 3:18).

If there’s no evidence at all in your life that you are being conformed into the image of Christ, you have great reason to be concerned and should examine your salvation (2 Corinthians 13:5). If there is even the tiniest bit of evidence that you’re changing and conforming to the image of Christ, then give glory to God. Such evidence is a means by which God is encouraging you in your faith (2 Peter 1:3–10).

The true Christian goes back to his/her identity in Christ, because that is where he/she finds genuine assurance and confidence before God. The fruit of our lives will testify whether our profession is true. This is why our profession of faith must be matched by His possession of our lives. These two things—profession and possession—work together to give Christians assurance and increasing confidence in Christ. If you lack confidence before God, examine your life in light of Christ. See where you’re lacking, then repent and return to your first love—Jesus Christ. He is ready and waiting for you. His throne of grace bids you come to Him. Your Intercessor and High Priest beckons you to Himself (Hebrews 2:17–28, 4:14–16).

Summary

While proclaiming that marriage is between one man and one woman will only come with increasing persecution from a secular society, Christians must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We must challenge the worldview of those who reject the biblical view of marriage, because such a rejection is not merely a rejection of marriage, but an assault on the God of the Bible, from whom this institution came (Genesis 2:20– 24).

Christian, we must stand firm upon the Scriptures and declare the whole counsel of God (1 Corinthians 15:1–10; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). On topics related to gender issues and marriage, we need to understand that the truth of the Word of God matters for our faith and practice. Since the Bible is sufficient, reliable, authoritative, and trustworthy, Christians believe that God created man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26–27, 2:20–24). Ultimately, how we view the first few chapters of the Bible will have a dramatic and significant implication for how we view the rest of the Bible.

This image was originally found at Imgur.

References:

[i] Tom Gilson, “The Image of God Under Attack,” Thinking Christian, January 28, 2012, https://www.thinkingchristian.net/posts/2012/01/ten- crucial-turning-points-2b-created-in-his-image/.

[ii] Gilson, “The Image of God Under Attack,” January 28, 2012.

[iii] Gilson, “The Image of God Under Attack,” January 28, 2012.