In a recent episode of his podcast, Ask N.T. Wright Anything, Wright was asked by a self-described trans-identified woman—who now lives as a man and has undergone surgeries including a hysterectomy—whether her current lifestyle is sinful, and how the Bible might speak to her situation. According to The Christian Post, Wright responded not with clarity, but with the kind of theological oatmeal that tries to nourish everyone and ends up feeding no one.

Wright affirmed that “God meets us where we are and loves us as we are,” insisted this wasn’t an “anything goes” situation, then promptly refused to say what actually goes. He acknowledged that “females quite clearly have XX chromosomes, males have XY chromosomes,” then immediately backpedaled with “I’m not a scientist.”

Wright then said, “God may want to say to us… now, there are certain ways forward that you now need to travel,” but wouldn’t dare say what direction that road ought to point. He emphasized grace and love and bloviated about complexity. What he didn’t stress—or even remotely mention—was repentance.

And in the words of John MacArthur, N.T. Wright is N.T. Wrong.

What Wright offers here is a case study in academic cowardice. A theologian who has spent his life writing volumes about Paul’s epistles, no matter how off-base they may be, somehow can’t muster the courage to apply them. Romans 1? First Corinthians 6? Galatians 5? No time for that. But there’s always time for vague appeals to “wise pastoral help” and “moving forward” in a direction that remains as undefined as Wright’s commitment to biblical authority.

He acknowledges the existence of chromosomes. Great. That’s the biological equivalent of acknowledging the sky is blue. But then he tries to spin a gospel around feelings, as though inner confusion were somehow more trustworthy than God’s revelation.

Has it really come to this? A theologian of Wright’s stature, one who is bafflingly lauded in Evangelical circles as one of the church’s greatest gifts, after decades of study, now dances around the most basic truths of the faith because someone’s feelings might be hurt?

To be clear, yes, a “transgender” person can be saved. Of course they can. If God can save Saul the persecutor of Christians, or even a once-rebellious fool like me, for that matter, He can save someone struggling with gender confusion. The blood of Christ is sufficient. But here’s the thing—salvation is always accompanied by repentance. Real repentance. Not the PR-version that apologizes to your followers for saying the wrong pronoun, but the blood-bought kind that says, “Lord, not my will, but Yours.”

When God saves someone, He changes them. The Holy Spirit doesn’t enter a heart just to kick back and watch you mutilate your body in peace. He convicts. He sanctifies. And yes, that takes time. Sanctification isn’t instant—I know I still sin, and I know I do. But what defines a Christian is not the absence of struggle. It’s the presence of war. It’s the hatred of sin and the longing to be conformed to Christ, not to carve out a theological loophole for rebellion.

That’s the piece Wright doesn’t just miss—he refuses to touch it. His so-called “pastoral care” is like a doctor who tells a stage-four cancer patient, “You’re fine just the way you are. Let’s just talk about love and see where the tumor leads you.”

And what do we even make of this? Wright says, “God may want to say to us… now, there are certain ways forward…” May want to say? Certain ways? The gospel is not a “choose your own way” adventure.

This isn’t just soft. It’s spineless. It’s not humble. It’s heretical.

The tragic irony is that N.T. Wright has spent years fighting off caricatures of his theology from more conservative critics, insisting that he holds to the core doctrines of the faith. But when the moment comes to draw a line—to stand on truth, to call a man a man and sin a sin—he turns into a theological fog machine, obscuring everything with sentimental platitudes and academic evasion.

This isn’t compassion. It’s spiritual malpractice.

So let me offer what Wright apparently will not…if you’re a confused “transgender” person and you’ve come to Christ, praise God. You are loved beyond measure—but you are also called to repent. You are not called to continue in your delusion with a theological permission slip signed by N.T. Wright. You are called to take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Jesus. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.

If you’re not willing to go to war against your sin, and instead, you’re seeking loopholes, or seeking out theologians who will dance around your sin, you’d better examine yourself to see if you’re truly in the faith. Because the real gospel doesn’t wrap your chains in lace and call it freedom. It breaks them.