Defined by Design - Distorted by Lies
By Design - Part 4
August 31, 2025
The enemy’s oldest play is identity theft - stealing the truth of who you are and replacing it with a counterfeit. “Did God really say … ?” (Gen. 3:1)
“21For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 24Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.” Romans 1:21-25 (CSB)
Reject the Creator → lose clarity on creation.
Reject the Designer → lose clarity on design.
Reject the truth → get swept up in lies.
Jackie Hill Perry: “Unbelief doesn’t see God as the ultimate good … It instead sees sin as a good thing and thus God’s commands as a stumbling block to joy.”
The 5 D’s of Identity Theft (Gen. 3)
Deception – “Did God really say … ?” (Gen. 3:1) → Doubt God’s Word.
Distortion – “You won’t die.” (Gen. 3:4) → Twist God’s truth.
Delusion – “It looked desirable … ” (Gen. 3:6) → Feelings become identity.
The culture says define yourself, Christ says deny yourself.
“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 (CSB)
“The Bible never points us inward to find truth.” – J.D. Greear
Division – “They hid from the Lord.” (Gen. 3:8) → Sin separates us from God.
Death – “ … to dust you will return.” (Gen. 3:19) → Sin always kills.
“26For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.” Romans 1:26-27 (CSB)
God gets to define your identity because He designed you intimately.
Biblical Clarity on Identity & Sexuality
God made us male and female. Identity begins with the Designer, not self-definition.
“So God created mankind in His image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 (CSB)
Marriage reflects God’s design.
“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 (CSB)
Jesus affirms God’s design for gender and marriage.
“4‘Haven’t you read,’ He replied, ‘that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female, 5and He also said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”? 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.’” Matthew 19:4-6 (CSB)
When we try to define reality, the result is always the same: confusion, chaos, collapse.
The Weight of the Crisis
45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the last year (Trevor Project, 2023).
52% of transgender and nonbinary youth considered suicide in the past year (Trevor Project, 2023).
LGB youth are more than twice as likely to report persistent sadness, hopelessness, or suicide
attempts compared to heterosexual peers (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2021).
81% of transgender adults report lifetime suicidal thoughts; 42% have attempted.
(Williams Institute)
Jesus restores what was stolen.
Delivered – “The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and He clothed them.” (Gen. 3:21) → Foreshadowing Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (CSB)
“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (CSB)
We have all traded God’s truth for our own lies, and that trade left us dead. The good news? Jesus doesn’t just cover death, He crushes it with life.
How Do We Respond?
1. Reconnect with the Designer
“Where are you?” - God is still calling. He hasn’t given up.
2. Replace Lies with Truth
“Who told you…?” - Who’s shaping your view of yourself?
Don’t let culture name you - let Christ claim you.
3. Receive God’s Design
You don’t define your identity, you discover it in the One who designed you.
Living by design isn’t restriction - it’s freedom.
https://thebayouchurch.org/by-design
Mark 10:6-9
Leviticus 18:22
Leviticus 20:13
1 Corinthians 6:9–10
1 Timothy 1:9–10
1 Corinthians 7:2
If you want a more interactive experience on mobile and to save the outline to your files, download our app via the App Store or Google Play.