A Study in the Word ~ Zephaniah 1: 7-9

The Day of the Lord ...

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. "Then it will come about on the day of the LORD'S sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king's sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. "And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit..."

What are foreign garments? All such as are clothed with strange apparel—the princes or courtiers who attired themselves in costly garments, imported from abroad; partly for the sake of luxury, and partly to ingratiate themselves with foreign great nations whose costume as well as their idolatries they imitated; as in other respects, God would have them to be separate from the nations. And it can be too the "strange apparel" to garments forbidden by God, for example, men's garments worn by women, and vice versa, a heathen usage in the worship of Mars and Venus (De 22:5) ~Commentary by A. R. Faussett

"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" ~ De 22:5.

 Are we judging those who cross dress? Or do we do as Jesus did - enlighten? Jesus reminded us, "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone when I judge; I am with the Father, who sent Me" ~ John 8: 15-16. Or, "stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly." ~ John 7:24. Jesus (recognized in Isaiah 49) said, (John 8:16) "yet if I judge, my judgment is true". 

Though judgment was not the object of His mission, it was, as He had taught in John 3:19 the result of the manifestation of the Light. But, in the cases in which the result followed, the judgment was not according to the flesh, but was in accord with the essential truth - God is the Creator of all things, and we are created in His image - male and female. This promise is in part fulfilled in the calling of the Gentiles. Men perish in darkness. But Christ enlightens men, and so makes them holy and happy. Jesus is the Son of God and acts accordingly; hence His judgment is true because it is in accord with the essential truth of the Father who sent Him.

Many use the argument that God created them male and female as if they are both at the same time. If that were the case, he would never have made a distinction the first place. Some argue still that this means God had to make two distinctions in one being - male and female so that they have two different attributes but are essentially the same thing in one. Well, again that argument does not hold water because if you reason that God had to make two different attributes then they are just that - two different attributes to be recognized as such. By putting on deceiving garments, we cannot recognize those two different attributes any longer... they blur and hide the created being of man in the image of God. So, we must recognize the differences in order to understand our Creator and our purpose as His created being. 

Well, "didn't you just write in the previous post that if a man goes into a ladies room dressed as a lady we wont judge him... because we will see him as a lady?"

Yes, we will not judge him because we cannot in that moment. He is a lady and as far as we know at that moment not a man nor ever was one as far as we know. The Lord will judge his heart. But, if this man insists on publicly proclaiming himself a man dressing as a woman and has a right to do so, then he/we have a problem and right to rebuke him for his/our own good/enlightenment. And, this would apply in the same way to a woman dressing like a man who makes it a public right to be a woman dressing and acting as a man. Both fail to embrace their differences God's 'diversity' created in us ...either male or female in God's hierarchy. In fact, they reject His authority and all His creation by making an open public declaration of their will over His. 

Final comment ~ Again, if God created one being having two attributes: male and female, then why make a fuss over either? If it is to say that there are two distinctions in Man: male and female, then we must recognize these differences in ourselves and within our extended self - society; in order to understand who we are as God's creation. By cross dressing, we cover up, we hide from those differences, and we end up blurring our God given identity and His purpose for us.