Throughout the Old and New Testaments, Scripture presents marriage as a covenant union established by God between one man and one woman, intended to be marked by lifelong faithfulness, mutual love, companionship, and sexual intimacy (Genesis 2:18–24; Malachi 2:14). This design is rooted in creation, where God creates humanity as male and female and establishes the pattern of a man leaving his father and mother, being joined to his wife, and the two becoming “one flesh” (Genesis 1:27; 2:18–24). Jesus grounds His own teaching about marriage in this same creation pattern, bringing together God’s creation of humanity as male and female with the one-flesh union of husband and wife (Matthew 19:4–6). Taken together, these passages present the union of a man and a woman as integral to God’s design for marriage, rather than incidental to it. The New Testament continues this pattern, presenting marriage in terms of husband and wife, locating sexual intimacy within that covenant, and describing marriage as a picture of Christ’s faithful love for His church (1 Corinthians 7:2–5; Ephesians 5:31–33; Hebrews 13:4). While Scripture records examples of people departing from God’s design for marriage, those departures do not redefine the pattern established in creation and reaffirmed by Jesus and the New Testament. Marriage is therefore a good gift from God, designed for committed love, faithfulness, intimacy, and, when God provides, the nurturing of the next generation.

From the beginning of creation (Gen. 2:24–25) sex has existed as a good gift from God to be used for his glory and our enjoyment in the context of marriage (Heb. 13:4). While sex and sexuality were created as good gifts, they have been corrupted and twisted by sin. Each person is inherently sexual and has a sexuality, but our sexual desires and sexuality are not always aligned with God’s purpose and design (Rom. 1:26, Col. 3:5). Sexual integrity is honoring God’s design that all sexual activity take place between two consenting members of a heterosexual marriage. Sexual sin is any sexual activity that takes place outside of this context. Adultery, homosexual activity, pornography, swinging, sexual coercion, and any forms of sexual abuse are outside God’s design for sex. While “external” sexual sin is easily identified, “internal” sexual sin (sexualizing others, intentionally lusting, sexual fantasizing, etc.) is equally detrimental to the human heart (Mat. 5:27). Having sexual integrity redeems what sin has distorted by honoring others, God’s design, and our own bodies as God’s temple (1 Cor. 6–7).

From its opening pages, the Bible is clear that God created humanity male and female, and that this was part of his good design; not an accident to be corrected (Genesis 1:27). When Jesus was asked about identity and relationships, he didn’t treat this as outdated, rather he pointed back to it as foundational (Matthew 19:4). Scripture is also consistent in teaching that our bodies matter; they are not shells we simply inhabit but are described as a place where God’s own Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). From Genesis through the New Testament, this is not a passing theme but a consistent thread. God defines each of us as male or female by our bodies, not by our internal sense of identity, and this reflects his intention for our good, not a limitation to escape.

We recognize this isn’t a simple subject for everyone, and we don’t want to treat it as though it were. Many people carry real questions and real pain around their bodies and their sense of identity. Scripture never gives us permission to respond to that with mockery, dismissal, or distance. That pain is real and feeling it is not a failure or a sin. It’s part of what it means to live in a broken world. Every person is made in God’s image and deserves to be known, heard, and loved. Our identity was never meant to rest on gender alone. It rests on being made new in Christ, who meets each of us where we are and offers real belonging (2 Corinthians 5:17).

From the beginning, God designed the family to grow out of a marriage between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; 28:3). That marriage is encouraged to start out of a shared faith and commitment to follow Jesus (2 Corinthians 6:14). Children are a gift from the Lord, entrusted to their parents (Psalm 127:3). Families are never meant to walk alone, but within the broader community of God’s people (1 Corinthians 12).

Parents have the beautiful calling of showing their children what it looks like to follow God in everyday life, through ordinary moments along the way (Deuteronomy 6:7; Proverbs 22:6). A child’s introduction to the love of Jesus comes through the modeling of their parents. Their role is to teach their children from infancy the good news of Jesus, tell the stories of how God has rescued and shaped them, and help their family build healthy rhythms of worship together (Matthew 28:18–20; 2 Timothy 3:14–15).

Scripture is also clear that parents bear the responsibility for training their children (Deut. 6:4–7). The Proverbs contain commands that repeatedly assume that fathers and mothers are training their children (Prov. 1:8, 4:1, 6:20, 13:1, 23:22). Biblically, there is a complete absence of any indication that anyone other than parents has any responsibility for training children or deciding what they should be taught.

The full witness of Scripture affirms that a human being made in the image of God exists from the moment of conception and throughout the pregnancy. David’s declaration that God knit him together in his mother’s womb (Ps. 139), Jeremiah’s commissioning as a prophet before his birth (Jer. 1:4–5), and John the Baptist’s leap within the womb (Lk. 1:41) all point to the unborn baby as a fully alive, inherently valuable image bearer of God. Because of this biblical truth, aborting an unborn baby at any point during pregnancy is outside of God’s design and desire. In horrible cases—including rape and incest—we know that what Satan wants to use for evil God can and will use for the good of those who love him (Gen. 50:20, Rom. 8:28). Where the life of the mother is seriously endangered because of complications surrounding the pregnancy, every effort should be made to preserve the life of the mother. The life of every unborn child should be guarded, advocated, and fought for while the pregnancy of every woman should be covered in prayer, surrounded by love, and supported by the church (Ps. 68:5–6, James 1:27). God’s undeserved grace and mercy are available to all people regardless of their sin (1 Tim. 1:15). Any follower of Jesus carrying the weight of a past abortion can trust the cross of Christ has paid for all their sin and God’s mercies are new every day (Col. 2:13–24). There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.