The Bible on Homosexuality
We have all done it: not a Thursday night goes by without Tim or the announcer of the night describing our “Bucks for Benny” effort. We donate change to a little boy in Haiti named Benisson through the World Vision organization, paying for his food and education and so on. Recently, World Vision made a policy change to promote “Christian unity” among its partnering churches. They changed the employee conduct policy to allow Christians in legal, same-sex marriages to work at World Vision. Affirming the statement of faith in Jesus and enforcing abstinence outside of marriage, the CEO sought to lessen Christian division. After positive and negative feedback, World Vision reversed their policy change, saying “[we] failed to be consistent with our Statement of Faith, which says, ‘We believe the bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.’”
The last two weeks, Tim focused on the issue of Homosexuality and what the Bible has to say on the subject. Since we as a group support Benisson through World Vision, this issue effects us in that way, and in others as we encounter this issue throughout our lives. As Christians who believe in Jesus Christ, who follow Him, who seek to follow His commandments, and who treat the scriptures as the only inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God, how are we to interact with those who believe homosexuality is not a sin and/or engage in homosexual relationships?
Arguments for the support of homosexuality are common enough for us to name at least a few off hand; the media is full of stories and studies that seem to support gay marriage and homosexuality and its practice very well. Some even point to the Bible itself, claiming Jesus Himself did not condemn homosexuality or that the close relationship between David and Jonathan in the old testament was in fact a homosexual one. Further debaters on the subject point out that homosexuality is touted as “more sinful” than divorce or other transgressions that don’t get as much publicity or that “true love should not be condemned” if both parties are fully and purely in committed relationship with one another. This is not to say any of these arguments are true, merely that they exist as arguments people might hear.
In the scriptures, God illustrated marriage very early on. Genesis 1:26-28 tells of God creating man and woman in His own image. Their lives were meant to be spent together, fulfilling His mission as male and female and bearing that image in all that they did. As I’m sure we all know, man and woman are different, and God says they are equal, becoming unified in one flesh in marriage. This is another important part of making God visible. Marriage between two men to each other or between two women to each other does not fit the design God had for marriage since the beginning. Jesus, while not expressly saying “Homosexuality is bad,” nevertheless supported God’s design for marriage (See Matthew 19:3-6) which is heterosexual.
The apostle Paul discusses homosexuality, along with other sins in a letter to the Corinthian church. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthian 6:9-11).” Paul identifies homosexuality as one of several sins that can separate us from Christ. Those who persist in those sins or any sin will go to hell. This affirms the consistent Biblical truth that homosexuality is a sin.
In the same breath as naming those sins as leading to hell, Paul points the way toward redemption. In no way is homosexuality an unchangeable identity. Just like any other sin, people can be tempted without actually sinning. Temptation to engage in a homosexual relationship is not a sin; going beyond temptation and actually engaging in a homosexual relationship, or mentally lusting after someone in the same way, is a sin. At times God may work in that person and heal them to the point that they can happily exist in a healthy, heterosexual marriage. Other times, people may remain single their entire lives as a way of submitting themselves to God and following His design for sexuality. Since we’re all different and all equally born into sin, we tend toward different sins based on environment and so on; those born with the inclination towards same-sex attraction are actually born into sin like the rest of us and are tempted towards sin. In addition to that, homosexual practice falls under the same category as sexual immorality. Just as we are not to have premarital sex or commit incest, we are not to practice homosexuality.
What then shall we do? In reaching out to homosexuals, we must pursue and love them as Jesus did with the fishermen and zealots, the tax collectors and prostitutes, and so on. Instead of shaking Zacchaeus out of that tree and making him fall on his head, Jesus asked to come over and have a meal with him. Zacchaeus happily accepted and later repented, following Christ from then on due to His interaction with him. At the same time, Jesus did not approve of what Zacchaeus did as a tax collector who lied and cheated people out of their money, but He did not let that get in the way of letting Zacchaeus know the truth and showing Him love and kindness all at once.