A friend recently asked me:
Since there are
many Old Testament laws that do not apply to Christians today, how do we know
that Deuteronomy 22:5 still applies?
Deuteronomy
22:5 states:
A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for
the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.
Lots of people are thinking about these types of
questions. The question as asked is complex.
First, let’s notice that this command is written in
such a way that it can be applied to many different cultures and times. God did not say, “A woman shall not wear
pants” or, “A man shall not wear a robe”.
The issue is wearing clothing which is recognizable in a given place and
time as normally worn by the opposite sex.
So I have no problem with women wearing pants or a ladies style
suit. A clear violation of this command
would be a man wearing high heels, a skirt, and women’s makeup and
jewelry. Now, on to the main issue . . .
My friend's question raises two interrelated issues:
1. Is it
wrong for a man to wear women’s clothing, and if so why? (Everything in this
post also applies to women wearing men’s clothing.)
2. In
general, how do we know which commands from the Old Testament still apply to
Christians today, and specifically how do we know if the commands in
Deuteronomy 22:5 apply today?
I’ll look at these two issues and then discuss
briefly some ideas of how we as Christians should respond to people involved in
any type of cross dressing, transgenderism, and/or homosexuality.
Is it Wrong for a Man to Wear Women’s Clothing?
If Deuteronomy 22:5 applies today, that settles
it. Then, it is clearly wrong for a man
to dress like a woman or a woman like a man.
We often think of sin too narrowly.
Our sinful nature means that our desires, thoughts, and feelings are
often damaged by sin and involved in sin, as well as our actions. Likewise, sin has worked its way into human
institutions, activities, and relationships. So, before we consider Deuteronomy
22:5, I want to share why I believe cross dressing is wrong even if Deuteronomy
22:5 was not in the Bible.
1. Sometimes
when a man wears women’s clothing it is related to homosexual desires and
activities. In a
previous blog post, I explained that the Bible clearly teaches that all
homosexual activities are sinful activities and all homosexual desires are
sinful desires. So, whenever cross
dressing is related to homosexual desires, it is sinful.
2. Sometimes
a man wears women’s clothing because doing so is sexually exciting for him. In these cases, wearing the clothes is often
associated with fantasizing and sexual arousal.
Many Christians have studied what the Bible means by “sexual immorality”.
I have come to the same conclusion as
many before me: “sexual immorality”
includes seeking sexual arousal, excitement, or pleasure in any form outside of
a marriage approved by God between one man and one woman. Based on this, I believe that all sexual
fantasizing is sinful. God really does
care about our thoughts (Jeremiah 17:10, Hebrews 4:12-13). This means a man wearing women’s clothing for
the purpose of sexual fantasy and arousal is sinful.
3. God
created human beings as male and female (Genesis 1:27, Mark 10:6). In terms of our need for salvation, God’s
love for us and offer of salvation, and God’s promises of forgiveness and
eternal life for those who accept Christ, there is no difference between men
and women (Galatians 3:28-29). However,
in terms of our roles in families and in the church, there are differences
between men and women. These differences
are commanded, maintained, and approved by God consistently throughout both the
Old and New Testament. Cross dressing is
likely to cause confusion about these God ordained differences. Cross dressing almost always (maybe always)
involves some amount of rebellion against God’s created and commanded
order. Whenever our feelings and desires
do not line up with God’s ways and will, we are called to submit to God’s ways
rather than follow our own feelings and desires.
4. Even if
the individual involved is not homosexual, cross dressing is one form of “transgenderism”
and is part of the broader LGBT movement.
This movement is celebrating and aggressively promoting many sins which
God hates and which bring much suffering to those who commit them as well as
others in society.
5. Sometimes
transgenderism is associated with occult activity. We saw clear examples of this while living in
Indonesia. There was a cult of transvestite
“priests” who functioned like “witch doctors” called BissuPriests. While explicit involvement
in occult activities may rarely be a part of cross dressing in the West, I
would warn that this aspect should not be dismissed or taken lightly. All occult activity (the seeking of help, spiritual
power, or guidance from spiritual sources other than the one true God) are
sinful and strongly forbidden by God throughout the Bible.
6. With the
obvious exception of surgical and medical procedures to alter one’s sexual
appearance, all the types of “LGBT” issues which exist now also existed in
Bible times. These are repeatedly
condemned in the Bible and there is not one single positive example of “LGBT
anything” from Genesis to Revelation.
7. Like all
sin, cross dressing bears bad fruit, including increased anxiety, guilt, shame,
and often temptations to other sin. It
also produces bad fruit in society. The
most recent example is the “bathroom battles”.
While some men who feel and dress like women could use women’s bathrooms
and locker rooms in such a way as to not endanger our wives, daughters, and
children, this is not always the case. It
is practically impossible for a school, store, or any public location to tell
the difference between a man dressed as a woman who is “safe”, and one who
would use the situation to prey on our wives and daughters in places where
women and girls should enjoy privacy and security (you can watch an excellent,
short video on this topic here
– this video is so important, this link to it may be the most important part of
my blog post).
Now, Let’s Consider Deuteronomy 22:5
In light of what we’ve discussed so far, it’s not
surprising that God said:
NIV Deuteronomy 22:5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for
the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.
But, as mentioned, this raises a complex question. How do we know which laws in the Old
Testament apply today?
There are clearly some Old Testament laws which we
are not required to obey today. Here are
two examples from the same chapter in Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 22:
11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven
together.
12 Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you
wear.
On the other hand, there are many commands in the
Old Testament law which clearly apply today:
Deuteronomy 5:
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit
adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
I think that most mature, godly Christians who believe
the Bible is entirely true could probably do a pretty good job picking which
commands apply today just using “Holy Spirit-given common sense”. But, when we are debating issues like men
wearing women’s clothes, we need something more objective to appeal to.
The complicating factor here is that Bible
believing Christians do not all agree about how the Old Testament laws apply
today.
Some Christians see the Old Testament Law divided
into different categories such as “moral laws”, “civil laws”, and “ceremonial
laws”. They say that the civil laws were
only intended for the ancient nation of Israel and the ceremonial laws were
only in force until Christ came and fulfilled the images and symbols in the
ceremonial laws. Thus, the “moral laws”
are the ones that still apply today.
This is a useful system, but it is not easy to apply because the Bible
does not label the laws as “moral”, “civil”, or “ceremonial”, and in some cases
it is debatable which category a law belongs in. For the reasons I gave earlier in this blog
post, I myself believe that Deuteronomy 22:5 should be considered a “moral law”
which continues to be applicable.
Other Christians believe that Christ fulfilled the
Old Testament Law in such a way that the entire law is no longer directly
applicable. Only laws in the New
Testament are binding, but laws in the Old Testament are useful to help us
understand the background and more importantly, the meaning, of New Testament
Laws. All the Ten Commandments except
one are clearly repeated in the New Testament (the exception is the command to
keep the Sabbath). But no one believes
that just because a law is not explicitly repeated means it is automatically ok
to disobey it. Consider these Old
Testament laws which are not repeated in the New Testament:
Leviticus 18
6 "'No one is to approach any close relative to
have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
7 "'Do not dishonor your
father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not
have relations with her.
8 "'Do not have sexual
relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.
23 "'Do not have sexual
relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present
herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
The New Testament does not explicitly prohibit
incest and bestiality. That does not mean those activities are allowed! They are covered by more general commands,
such as:
NIV Ephesians 5:3 But among you
there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity,
or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
Although the case of a man wearing women’s clothing
is not as obvious as something like incest, I am convinced that it also is
covered by general commands in the New Testament against homosexuality and all
kinds of impurity and other commands also.
The two ways of understanding how Old Testament
Laws apply today are not the only two ways.
The important point is that even without Deuteronomy 22:5, we have
plenty of reasons to view a man wearing women’s clothing as sinful. I see
Deuteronomy 22:5 as adding one more piece of evidence to an already convincing
case that cross dressing is sinful.
So What Should We Do?
I don’t want to end this post without giving some
pastoral advice about how to handle difficult situations and disagreements
related to cross dressing and other LGBT issues.
1. If a
friend (whether a believer or not) confides in you that they are struggling
with cross dressing or a related issue, take time to listen to as much of their
story as they are willing to share.
Their story may be filled with pain and struggle. Many people (but not all) who struggle with
LGBT temptations were neglected or even abused as children. This does not justify their actions if they
give in to temptation, but it does help us to feel compassion for them. Remember, Jesus feels compassion for all
types of sinners, including you and me. Also
remember:
NIV Proverbs 18:13 To answer before
listening-- that is folly and shame.
2. Treat
LGBT related temptations and sins like other temptations and sin. They can be forgiven. The shame can be washed away. There may be a long (sometimes, lifelong)
struggle with temptation, but real victory in Christ is available. And the pull of the temptation really can
weaken over time as a person walks with Christ and their minds are transformed
(Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
3. Respond
with both grace and truth. Do not
compromise God’s truth when the pressure is on.
Do not forget to be graceful in the midst of a heated battle.
4. When
confronted with angry people or sinful government laws, be prepared to suffer
for righteousness and for the gospel.
5. If you or
someone you know is struggling with cross dressing or similar issues, get
help. Get help from Christian friends
you trust, from pastors, and from good Christian counselors. Don’t expect the battle to be easy, but also
do not expect the battle to be hopeless.
Jesus is on the side of sinners who are trying their best to get free
from sin. With Jesus on your side, you’ll
turn out alright!
Keep praying.
Keep loving. Keep sharing God’s
truth and love.
