What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
Let me say this before I begin: it is hard to write about such a subject. It is a very sensitive topic, and many people can be offended, not just those who practice homosexuality. But I believe that as Christians, we ought to point out what is wrong - NOT to condemn, but simply point out - in accordance with Bible precepts, and let people make informed decisions, once they’ve heard both sides of the story. I realize this article is one-sided, and I invite you, the reader, to obtain the other side, then make up your mind about what you will believe for yourself.
I can say this: some of the nicest people I’ve known were homosexuals, and then again, some of the meanest people I’ve known were also homosexuals. I think it’s important to drop the label of homosexuality, and simply call them people. We are all people, and we are all sinners.
Now, let me get started… The practice (or lifestyle, if you like) of homosexuality is nowadays more mainstream than ever. Whereas it was hidden in the past, it is now pushed out into the open, sometimes to the point of saturation. I found myself many a time exasperated with the numerous homosexual innuendoes or outright references in the media, and just wished people kept it more to themselves if they decided to engage in that sort of behavior.
I’ve observed a recent trend: the practice of legitimizing homosexuality within religion. There are churches that will admit openly homosexual members and what’s more, tell them that God still loves them even if they remain homosexual. Yes, God loves everyone, that is true. But what these churches do is to encourage people to continue in their sinful lifestyle, and that’s just not Biblical. Since there is no evidence in the Bible to support the claim of these churches that practicing homosexuals can expect God to accept their behavior, one has to wonder what these churches hope to accomplish by misleading people.
In the hope of shedding some Bible truth on this subject, what I thought I’d do is to go through the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and present every verse that talks about the subject of homosexuality. Please understand that I am simply going to cite these verses, lay them before you with little explanation, and let you draw your own conclusion. Before I begin, I must make it clear that my purpose is NOT to condemn or judge homosexuals. As a mere human being, I cannot do that. But as a Christian, I must point out the wrong; it is my duty as outlined in the Bible. I may not condemn - only God may do that. We must remember that we are sinners too - all of us, each in our own way.
Genesis
The introduction to homosexuality occurs in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis Chapter 18. The Lord is talking to Abraham just after He promised him a son. “And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20,21) It’s a bit of a rude awakening, don’t you think? The Lord Himself was so outraged with the lifestyles of these people that he descended from heaven to see the situation first-person. I think we all are acquainted with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, so I am not going to review it now; I am just going to stick to presenting those verses that refer to homosexuality.
Let’s look in Chapter 19 and see just what these people were guilty of: “But before they lay down [to eat], the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know [have sex with] them.” (Genesis 19:4, 5) If you are confused about the meaning of the verb “know” in the Bible context, look at other translations or look it up in a Bible Concordance and it will be made clearer to you.
Lot, knowing full well that the men in his house were the angels of God and he couldn’t allow them to be desecrated, even went out and tried to offer his own daughters to the mob in order to appease them: “And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly, Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” (Genesis 19:6-8) You can read for yourselves in order to find out the details of the story, but in the end, God’s judgment was clear: “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” (Genesis 19:24, 25) Please don’t misunderstand these verses to mean that these people were only guilty of homosexuality. They were engaging in plenty of other behaviors that God deemed punishable. What is interesting though, is that the practice of homosexuality was the most evident just before God’s punishment fell on the cities.
Leviticus
“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22) And lest you think it is simply condemned and not punished, read on: “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you. And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” (Leviticus 18:24, 25) God is making it very clear here. The nations that God destroyed to make way for Israel in the land of Canaan were guilty of these practices. Because of their sins, the land itself was contaminated, and it needed to be purified.
The same is stated further in the chapter: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” (Leviticus 20:13)
Romans
Paul writes here about the continued rejection of God’s will: “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” (Romans 1:26-28) Here we see what happens when people reject the law of God and the Word of God. They are left to their own devices, and without delay they turn to sinful practices. We are sinners by nature, born unto sin. The devil tempts us every moment, and some of us fall prey to temptations such as homosexuality. The key is not to give into them, but to ask for God’s help in overcoming such sins.
Corinthians
The apostle Paul is very direct in this book. He writes: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Corinthians 6:9) And then he clarifies just what an unrighteous person is: “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind [homosexuals], nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) Notice how homosexuality is bunched in with other mainstream sins such as idolatry, fornication and drunkenness. Beware, fellow Christians, lest you are found guilty of one of these other sins while you think yourself righteous because you aren’t a homosexual!
Timothy
Here we all are given hope. We are all sinners, and that is why we have been given the law of God. What we choose to do with it is what will save or damn us. Paul writes: “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind [homosexuals], for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” (1 Timothy 1:8-10)
Jude
In his one chapter epistle, Jude writes to a church where certain sinful members had been admitted. The verses that mention homosexuality read as follows: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” (Jude 7, 8)
Conclusion
The Bible is clear on the subject of homosexuality. The law is laid down in the Old Testament, and is renewed in the New Testament. There is no doubt in the Word of God that the practice of homosexuality is not to be condoned for those who would consider themselves Christians.
But there is hope, and the apostle Paul writes about this in Corinthians, in verse 11: “And such were some of you [homosexuals, etc.]: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
In other words, there is no such thing as being stuck in the practice for a lifetime because “one can’t help it”, or “it’s genetic”. The Corinthians obviously stopped such practices, or Paul wouldn’t have said that they were “washed, sanctified and justified”. A homosexual who would continue to practice the sin cannot be justified in the eyes of the Lord. These churches that are deceiving their homosexual members into believing that God will accept their continued practice of such a lifestyle are mistaken. Let me make it clear by the Word of God Himself that anyone who would fool themselves and others through such false hopes is quickly paving a path to perdition for all involved.
It therefore stands to concrete reason that if a homosexual would want to be sanctified, justified and thus saved, he or she must abandon such practices and become a true Christian who abides by all of God’s commandments. The hope is there, it can be done, and it was done even in antiquity. But like all other things in life, it can only be done through God.
February 20th, 2007 at 8:52 am
i am very interested in the topic of the lesson. i , both of my sibblings are gay and it really hurts me and i am very confused by the whole thing why would they go that way because they will tell you that they know that it is against God band that they want to get out of it but that they are struggling but my definition of a struggle is when you are putting forth all of the strength and ability that you have to break free like struggling to get free from a person that is doing you harm there is one i was tricked into going to dinner with them and their lovers last night they told me that their lovers would not be going but they did infact go i will never go again i was so unconfortable not from embarassment but from the Holy Spirit litarally tring to pull me up out of the seat where i sat thank you for your biblical insight on homosexuality
November 30th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Okay, I am not offended. I accept what you are saying.
I’m also a devout christian.
But there are some things I would like to ask, and point out.
Firstly, does the Bible ever actually say what is WRONG with homosexuality? Most of God’s commandments are justified, and we are given reasons for them. Others are common sense.
If the Bible told you that all males were evil, and should get a sex change - would you do it? I don’t think it’s reasonable to accept anything we are told without challenging it. I’m not disputing God’s word, I’m saying He gave us opinions, and brains to think with for a reason, maybe we should use them?
Secondly, although Jesus makes no actual mention of homosexual people, he rectifies the problems with other discriminated against groups in society. Jesus went against many things the Old Testament said, one of His key teachings being that everyone should be heard, included and loved. He befriended lepers, whom people regarded as disgusting. He showed us this was not so. He befriended women, whom people classed as inferior, and sinners that no one else would talk to.
If Jesus were to return in a modern day setting, surely one of the first issues He would want to set right (shown by the way he went about things in his own time) would not to be praise all those worthy Christians. He did not praise all those “respectable” pharisees, who worshiped god day and night. He befriended those who society condemned, and in today’s day and age, homosexuals would definitely be in this category.
:)
February 7th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
The fact of whether you like it or not Amanda, the bible is clear on the stance of homosexuality. It is without dispute that we listen to what GOD says, remember JESUS is who he is, then JESUS is GOD he made that claim. You have to realize that JESUS came to die for all of mankind and be resurrected, but he did not destroy the any commands set forth. He was against those that judged and never offered any means out of that life by being hypocritical. You’re going on the fact that you say GOD didn’t give specific reasons. That’s right he didn’t, by how you’re saying it is the excuse everybody else uses. “Well technically the bible didn’t specifically, say not too,” or “Show me the exact verse”. Those are all reasons to look around the obvious, GOD doesn’t want robots I agree but somethings he says goes without exception.
Men and women are GOD’s creation, men and women joined under marriage in the sexual and emotional and spiritual is his creation. Homosexuality is anti-creation, and JESUS did not befriend those people, he forgave and set those people free before they became a friends of GOD. GOD don’t use you in your sin, GOD uses you when you repent are baptized in JESUS name and receive his spirit (HOLY GHOST) inside of you.
I’m not against a person who is homosexual wanting the rights to an extent, but I am when they want the equal rights of a real couple, or civil rights. Homosexuals are not a race they are a choice.
I believe through scripture that questioning GOD is ok but that don’t mean he’s gonna change his commands. I don’t think Amanda you’re taking their side, and I’m not trying to be harsh. You just have to be careful where the line of thinking is taking you, it should IRK!! you when someone doesn’t do what GOD’s natural order of nature is. It IRKS!! me when I hear people talk about who they slept with of the opposite sex outside of marriage, murder, rape, homosexuality, molestation all that stuff IRKS!! my spirit. We are through the looking glass now and it’s time to tell the Homosexual repent from that lifestyle, separate yourself and get baptize in JESUS name and receive his HOLY GHOST.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Steven, I don’t normally reply to posts such as yours, but since you seem to be trying to advise someone who doesn’t necessarily think the exact way you do, I feel the need. First off, you said “It is without dispute that ‘we’ listen to what GOD says.” Let me correct you there and say that you should say “I” listen to what GOD says. And to say “it is without dispute” is an untrue statement anyway. Why do you think there are so many different kinds of religion in the first place? To list a few, Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Vodun (VooDoo), Asatru, Druidism, Wicca, Paganism, Caodaism, Damanhur Community, Druze, Eckankar, Gypsies, Hare Krishna, Ifa, Lukumi, Macumba, Romani, Santeria, Satanism, Scientology, Humanism, Deism, Rajneesh, Thelema…and this list goes on and on. Just because you believe what the Bible reads, which was actually written by a human being, doesn’t (not don’t) mean that “we” do. I’m not for or against homosexuals, just like I’m not for or against Christians, Catholics, Buddhist, Jews, Agnostics, Atheists, Pagans, Satanist, or anyone else who has their own belief. I believe what I feel is right for ME and I think that someone’s religious belief or non religious belief is very personal. And I do believe that religion is a choice just like someones sexuality is a choice. That might make it right or wrong for you, but not necessarily right or wrong for someone else. If you read the Bible and you choose to live by what you have interpreted to be right, then that is what you should do. But to advise someone else to do what you have decided is right for YOU, without them asking for your guidance seems to me like going against exactly what you want for yourself…the right to believe what YOU feel is true. If you feel secure in what you believe to be true then that’s great, but if you question it, does that mean you wouldn’t have the right to decide for yourself? You have already decided one way or another. You can’t choose not to make a choice, because that itself is a making a choice. If someone is looking for answers they should ask questions and those questions should be answered with a reasonable explanation, not just “because I said so.” Which by the way, the Bible does give specific answers so maybe you should read it. One last thing I’d like to add…when referring to God; His, He and Him or any other word referring to God would be capitalized.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:29 am
This is a response to Amanda’s comments.
Amanda, the Bible does say what’s wrong with homosexuality. The passages I quoted from Leviticus and Romans make that clear. Read them again to find out. In a more general way, the passages from Corinthians, Timothy and Jude classify homosexuality together with other sins that God will not accept.
Biblically speaking, there is no doubt about it unless you choose to veil your eyes or read with a bias against these certain passages. I know it’s hard to take in today’s society, where people strive to get just about any behavior or belief accepted as normal, but that’s the way the Bible looks at it.
I think where people get confused, and where I used to get confused, is in not being able to realize that what applies in a religious context doesn’t apply in a civic context. As a Christian, you can believe homosexuality is wrong, like the Bible says, but as a citizen of a democratic country, you also have to make sure everyone has equal rights under the law. That means not discriminating against certain groups of people if they obey civic law and are good citizens. It comes back to the principle of separation of church and state.
As for Jesus accepting homosexuality, I look at it in the same way that He looked at the adulterous woman that the Pharisees wanted to stone. He accepted her, saved her from certain death, but told her to sin no more. Have a look at John 8:1-11.
As for homosexuals being one of society’s condemned groups, I disagree with you on that. I think they’re pretty much on equal footing nowadays, and in some aspects, have rights that go beyond those of others. They have a strong lobbying arm and are constantly trying to introduce laws that set them apart as a special group with more rights. From a civic standpoint, that bothers me. It goes without saying that it bothers me from a religious standpoint as well. If you think they’re a condemned group, then go and attend a gay pride parade or some sort of gay event. I think it’ll change your mind. Any people that are allowed to do what they’re doing in public is not a condemned group. Others would be arrested for indecent exposure or worse, and yet they keep on doing it right under the eyes of the police. Makes no logical sense to me.
This is a response to Steven’s comment.
Steven, I’m sorry to say it, but you have a personal, not a religious bias, against homosexuality. As Christians, we should not proscribe, we should ascribe. There’s a big difference. One advantage of ascribing is that our beliefs become more attractive and approachable to a larger group of people. We should point people to salvation, not drive them away. Right?
April 14th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
i am a lesbian and I am hearing different views on “homosexuality”….my though about all this is that if you really are a chrisitan you would love a person no matter who or what they are. I didn’t choose to be this way…I JUST AM. I can’t help it…..i think it has every right to do with genetics. And we need to take in the gay people and put them into the sam category as heteorsexual people…..gay people need the other sexuality. be a chrsitian and dont oppose…..pretty soon society is going to be split up….homosexual people and heteorsexual people…we don’t want that…..be a chrisitan.
June 7th, 2008 at 8:22 am
I speak this not to any one person but I say this as God is leading me to say it. I am a “former” lesbian. I lived that life for about 8 years. I was with a partner and we even bought a home together. On the other hand, at age 10, I gave my life to Jesus and served Him for about 20 years before I gave in to that lifestyle. While in that lifestyle, I believe I was deceived from the enemy and blinded into thinking it was okay with God but in reality I would justify homosexuality (knowing indeed what the Bible says about it) because I was practicing it. The enemy presented me with a “counterfeit” love. During that period of 8 years of my life, I still sought God. I went to gay churches but was never really satisfied as far as being spiritually fed from those churches. I met some of the nicest people in those churches who would do anything for you…they probably gave more money to the church than I’ve seen given in straight churches. I got delivered from that lifestyle last year…so what they say about “being stuck with it is not necessarily true”…YOU CAN BE SET FREE FROM IT.
Since then, I’ve faced alot of persecution from my friends who are still practicing it, because my changes were rather drastic and radical. I’m now engage to a Godly man, who loves Jesus. He knows about my former lifestyle. My best friend is getting “married” to another woman in the fall and she gives me a hard time because I told her I couldn’t be there. My reasons are simple…if I went, it would be as if I’m supporting it and I don’t want that blood on my hands when I stand before Jesus one day. I love her dearly and I’m praying for her deliverance also.
I don’t argue this subject because to me, God can defend Himself. I just know that we have an enemy out there who wants to kill, steal and destroy us and prevent us from serving God. Sin is sin…homosexuality, murder, stealing….the Bible (not me) plainly states that they will NOT be in heaven.
To those who may still be living this lifestyle, just as I was….I want to tell you that God does love you. He loved you so much that He died for you. I know the inner struggles you may be facing and “confusion”. Just know this…Jesus loves you, He can set you free. Don’t let the enemy (Satan) rob you from going to heaven. Sin cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven…the only man made thing in Heaven are the scars on Jesus hands.
To those who have never lived that lifestyle, I say to you to not judge those who are but rather pray for them. YOU can’t change them…but God can. That doesn’t mean to compromise with them, just take it up in prayer. It’s NOT our argument to battle. God loves the sinner just NOT the sin.
Lastly, for those who may want to “persecute” me by being bold enough to write this…I say to you…I LOVE YOU AND GOD DOES TOO. I don’t see it as you attacking me, but the God in me.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:00 am
What the Bible Says - And Doesn’t Say - About Homosexuality
by Rev. Mel White, co-founder of Soulforce
http://www.soulforce.org/article/homosexuality-bible-gay-christian
Sorry somehow the period got in there and the link wasn’t working.