Does God see Gender in people or just hearts/ souls? I thought I had read this in the Bible once but can’t seen to find it. PLEASE help me understand this, as we are talking about it in our group at church. Thank you so much for your time in this matter. Thank you for an awesome place to learn Gods word.
Thank you for our comment on Thy Word Is Truth. I apologize for the delay in answering your question, but, as you might imagine, this is done in spare time and sometimes spare time is sparse. Galatians 3:28 is the passage to which you refer. However, it does not stand for the proposition that God does not recognize gender. It stands for the proposition that there is no limit to those who can become children of God. All are treated alike; they are all saved in the same way; they all belong to the same body having been baptized into Christ.
God does recognize gender and He knows the difference between Jews and Gentiles. He gave the Jews a special relationship under the Law of Moses. He gives spiritual Israel, the church, a special relationship today. In the body of Christ God assigns different duties to different people. Men have their roles; women have their roles. Some say that this is sexism and should not be recognized in the church, that every duty should be available to every person regardless of sex. Such is foolishness for a number of reasons, first and foremost because it is contrary to the teaching of Scripture. See, Class: Questions, Lesson 4. Assigned duties have nothing to do with worth. God gave different spiritual gifts to different people; one was not worth more than the other. God gave qualifications for elders; they lead in the congregation but they have no greater worth in God’s eyes than any other of His children. The truth is that this argument is made only by those who want to change the role that God has given women in the church. They take the passage out of context, apply it in a manner that Paul never did, and then declare the conclusion that they had before they ever started studying the scripture on the issue. They should at least be honest and declare that they are going to do what they want to do in the say that they want to do it in spite of the teaching of scripture.
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)