Jesus and the Homosexual
A brochure on the door of the Episcopal Chaplain’s office at Stanford University reads, “What did Jesus say about homosexuality?” When the brochure is opened the inside is completely blank. Episcopal Chaplain Penelope Duckworth explains, “For we, as Christians, pay particular attention to the words of our savior. Jesus said nothing regarding homosexuality, and in his ministry spoke more about the sins of the spirit than the sins of the body…Our reading of the Bible in its entirety is one of a loving, forgiving and nurturing God who wants us to help create a world that accepts and empowers us all.” (Letter to the Editor, by Rev. Penelope Duckworth, Elizabeth Cook and Cynthia Stotts Howard, the Stanford Daily March 1990).
Jesus and Forgiveness of Sin
It is true that nothing specific is recorded about homosexuality in the four gospels. However to assume that Jesus was neutral on this issue might be to ignore a great deal of indirect evidence to the contrary. Perhaps Ms. Duckworth and friends seek to assure gay men and women at Stanford that they are the objects of God’s love and grace—which is certainly Biblically sound. The gospels contain many examples of the forgiveness and mercy Jesus extended to men and women from all backgrounds and circumstances in life. One clear example of the forgiveness and mercy of Jesus is given in John Chapter 8:
Early in the morning Jesus came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?’ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.’ (John 8:1-11)
In extending forgiveness to this individual, Jesus certainly did release her from all past and future condemnation at the same time silencing the self-righteous, prudish arrogance of the Pharisees. But his parting remark to this adulterous woman was the firm admonition, “go, and do not sin again.” The gift of wholeness Jesus granted to this previously broken woman required that she mend her ways and lead a different lifestyle thereafter.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:16-19)
Jesus on Divorce and the Celibate Life
With regard to divorce, Jesus demonstrated a similar depth of compassion, but He firmly endorsed the central importance of marriage in society:
Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; and large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.’ They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery.’
The disciples said to him, ‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.’ But he said to them, ‘Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.’ (Matthew 19:1-12)
Marriage, Jesus implied, was for life. Only under exceptional circumstances, that is in the case of adultery, was divorce permitted. The disciples were evidently startled at the standards Jesus indicated when He quoted Moses as authoritative. They suggested to Jesus that remaining single might be preferable. To this Jesus responded that a celibate, single life, “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” was acceptable. However Jesus made no mention of homosexuality as a third option for those who might have been “born that way,” nor did He suggest that all have a right to choose their own “sexual preference.” He did not give us the slightest reason to suppose every individual has a God-given “right” to his or her body, to do with it as one wills. Evidently He believed that marriage, though at times difficult and demanding, is the only relationship where sexual expression meets with God’s approval. Those who prefer to remain single are to live as “eunuchs,” that is without expressing their sexual desires. This is consistent with the Old Testament norm—for example in Isaiah 56:
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely separate me from his people;’ and let not the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the LORD: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which shall not be cut off. And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.’”
Jewish Culture in The Times of Jesus
Perhaps the reason Jesus said nothing specifically about homosexuality was that “gay lifestyles” were virtually unknown in the Israel of his day. Everyone knew and understood the culturally acceptable standards. Sexual immorality in any form was shameful and not for open public discussion. In fact, even the suggestion of heterosexual activity before marriage was scandalous:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel’ (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:18-25)
Jesus and the Law of Moses
What was the attitude of Jesus towards the Law of Moses? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said the following:
Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:27-30)
It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31-32)
Thus Jesus invariably upheld the authority and applicability of the teachings and Law of Moses. In fact He interpreted Moses in a manner which intensified the demands of the Law. The Law reveals the moral character and the holiness of God which can not change. The purpose of the Law of Moses is not to produce good moral behavior, but to call all of us to understand our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness:
…a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
Jerusalem And Sodom Compared
Actually, Jews in the times of Jesus who knew their own history would have been familiar with Abraham and Lot and the destruction of the Canaanite cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, recorded in Genesis Chapter 19. Some have suggested that these cities were destroyed because of their in-hospitality, because of a passage in Ezekiel:
As I live, says the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it. (Ezekiel 16:48-50)
In this figurative passage the Lord likens Jerusalem in her apostasy to a grossly unfaithful wife. Jerusalem’s spiritual adultery was more serious, in comparison, than the sins of “her sister Sodom.” While God was unhappy at Sodom’s love of pleasure and lack of concern for the poor, she also “did abominable things” before God. This passage shows us that sin becomes more serious in proportion to the light that is rejected, and that spiritual sins are indeed more grievous than sins of the body. However, the sexual activities of the men who lived in Sodom were still “abominable” in the eyes of God. Jude and Peter in the New Testament confirm that these cities of the Dead Sea plain were in fact destroyed because of their homosexual immoralities, not merely because they failed to show proper hospitality towards strangers.
Jesus and the Wellsprings of the Heart
Concerned as He was with the motivations of the individual’s heart rather than mere outward conformity to accepted social norms or the code of the Law, Jesus spoke of sexual sins as originating in the fallen nature of man’s innermost self:
And he called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ He answered, ‘Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Explain the parable to us.’ And he said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries (moicheia), fornications (porneiai), thefts, false-witnessing, blasphemies. These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.’ (Matthew 15:1-20)
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness (aselgeia), envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man. (Mark 7:21-23)
In this passage adultery and fornication are both mentioned. Adultery of course refers to sexual infidelity when one is married. Fornication is usually taken to mean heterosexual intercourse before marriage. However the Greek word translated “fornication,” (porneia, from whence our word “pornography”), is actually a broad word used in the Bible “to denote any form of sexual behavior which is not in accord with Old Testament regulations and the teaching of the apostles…” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1982). Homosexual behavior is without doubt included in the meaning of this word.
In offering forgiveness and mercy to many individuals during His three year ministry, Jesus gave these individuals a new, cleansed, purified heart—not only forgiving their previous sins, but making it possible for them to live afterwards on the basis of new and right motivations. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the gospels to suggest that Jesus “wants us to help create a world that accepts and empowers us all.” Putting to death an entire old way of life, and a dying to one’s own selfish desire is indicated for all the followers of Jesus. Christians constitute a minority of a few percent in most parts of the world and can not expect to have their beliefs held in popular approval by those who have not yet come to know their Lord personally.
Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)
Actually, what Jesus was interested in above all else was love. Love seeks the best interests of the beloved. Love gives unselfishly rather than taking. Koine Greek has several words for love: affection, brotherly love, and agape. There are also numerous words for lust, and lust frequently disguises itself as love in our society. Jesus never argues that two men or two women should not love each other, in fact the opposite is true, “The whole Law is fulfilled in this one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Homosexuality is not merely an issue of genital sexual conduct—it has to do with distortions of what the Bible means by real love. Here is where so much confusion lies in modern society. This confusion is across the board: having lost touch with the living God, all men are confused and lost and subject to the passions of a fallen race. God wants from us more love for one another, not less. In this lies the cure
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13)
Conclusion From The Gospels
Although the four Gospels contain no specific statement by Jesus against homosexual behavior, nor any examples of His meeting and dealing with a homosexual person, there is more than enough evidence from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John alone to conclude that the only form of sexual behavior Jesus endorsed was limited to the married state.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament gives this summary of both Old Testament and New Testament norms regarding marriage and various possible types of human sexual behavior:
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; but God will judge fornicators and adulterers. (Hebrews 13:4)
What Does The Law Of Moses Really Say About Sexual Conduct?
Specifics concerning sexual conduct under the Law of Moses are found in the book of Leviticus. These are (briefly) as follows:
1. Adultery is sexual activity between a married person and another person who is not one’s spouse: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is the Seventh Commandment in the Law of Moses. Leviticus 18:20 says, “You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her.” Leviticus 20:10 states, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”
2. Homosexuality is sexual activity between members of the same sex. Leviticus 18:22 states, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman, it is an abomination.” (The Hebrew word “abomination” means loathsome, repugnant, abhorrent to God). Leviticus 20:13 prescribes the death penalty for homosexual acts also, “If a male lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.”
3. Bestiality is sexual activity involving an animal. “If a man lies with a beast, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the beast. If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.” (Leviticus 20:16) This law is also stated in Leviticus 18:23.
4. Harlotry and Fornication refer to sexual intercourse with a male or female prostitute, and to sexual activity between unmarried persons, respectively. Leviticus 19:29 says, “Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry and the land become full of wickedness.” This Scripture, and other passages in the Old Testament, connect sexual immorality and other human evil with a defilement of the land, not only of the individuals involved. That is, sexual license in a society leads invariably to child abuse, rape, and other forms of violence that affect the entire culture harmfully. Sexual morality thus becomes a matter of public and governmental concern, not just a private matter.
Deuteronomy 22:23-29 makes provision for marriage rather than death in certain situations involving sexual involvement before marriage, and provides for release of a woman who is raped and can not get help:
If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you. But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But to the young woman you shall do nothing; in the young woman there is no offense punishable by death, for this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor; because he came upon her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her. If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lays with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her; he may not put her away all his days.
5. Incest is sexual involvement with a member of one’s own immediate family and is discussed thoroughly in Leviticus 18:6-18. The Bible specifically mentions as forbidden any and all sexual involvement with one’s father, mother, sisters, step-sisters, granddaughters, aunts, and daughters-in-law. The death penalty for incest is specified in Leviticus 20:11-21.
6. Related Areas: Abortion is usually considered murder according to the standards of Scripture and is equivalent to the offering of children to the cruel God Molech of the Old Testament.
Say to the people of Israel, any man of the people of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who gives any of his children to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in playing the harlot after Molech. (Leviticus 20:2-5)
The Authority Of Jesus In The Life Of A Christian
One distinguishing mark of the true Christian is his or her commitment to the lordship and authority of Jesus over life. This right of Jesus to rule from within one’s heart having been established, the Christian recognizes that Jesus Himself invariably followed the Old Testament as His standard and guide. He never taught or said anything that was inconsistent with any part of the Old Testament. Individual believers have no right, therefore, to choose to follow Jesus on some points and ignore Him on other issues. Neither are we free to edit the Word of God selectively, discarding some portions as irrelevant today, wrongly supposing that the Bible no longer addresses common issues in our world today. According to the Bible fallen human nature has not changed since the fall, and neither has the character of God.
The Christian and the Apostles’ Authority
A follower of Jesus Christ in our period of history (the past 2000 years) also recognizes that he or she has been reborn spiritually, adopted into God’s family, and, at the same time has been placed into the body of Christ, the true church. This true church of Jesus Christ is built on foundations laid by the apostles. The apostles (and Old Testament writers also) have authority over those who accept the authority of Jesus in their lives
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
A good portion of the New Testament was written by the Apostle Paul. Paul says about His basis of authority and source of information concerning God:
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:8-11)
The New Testament does not single out homosexual behavior as worse than heterosexual immorality. Romans 1 depicts homosexuality in a culture as one of a chain of many consequences of widespread rejection of God by a society. This passage does not explain why individual men and women become gay—Romans One is intended to show what happens in a culture when God loosens His restraints against the latent evil in the hearts of all men. Jesus is “a friend of sinners” and all are welcome in his church and in his family. When a man or woman becomes a Christian, lifestyle changes are essential—regardless of a person’s previous “orientation” or lifestyle. 1 Corinthians 6:11 indicates that all true Christians no longer are what they once were in the core of their being:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral (fornicators), nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals [two different Greek words are used here denoting the different roles of the active partner and the passive partner in homosexual behavior], nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers 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 in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
The Apostle Paul gives detailed guidelines about marriage, the single Christian life, marriage divorce, and Biblical norms for sexual behavior in 1 Corinthians Chapters 5-7. The above quotation falls in the middle of his long and thorough discussion of all these topics.
In his epistle to the church at Ephesus Paul similarly writes concerning purity of heart and integrity of conduct expected among Christians. He reminds us that sins related to sexual immorality are the cause of God’s continuing wrath upon the world at large,
But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be joint-partakers with them, for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:3-10)
The Bible does not teach that homosexual desires, or other forms of erotic desire, lust, envy, greed, covetousness (and so on) are in themselves sin though they may reflect a the universal diseased condition called sin. Temptation not acted on or responded to causes an individual to become stronger and does not incur moral guilt before the Lord. What God disapproves of is certain forms of behavior or conduct, and these certainly include homosexual acts. Heterosexual premarital activity seems to be equally weighted with homosexual acts in Scripture—both are sinful and worthy of death.
Homosexuals are, it is true, socially ostracized and looked down upon by many in society. In most cases these persons do not feel they have become gay by a set of deliberate choices. It is heritage or fate that has made them the way they are as far as they know. The Biblical view is that all of us are fallen and depraved–yet we are each the objects of God’s enduring loyal-love. If all are lost, and if Christ died for all and God does not wish anyone to perish, then sufficient grace is available for any sinner to live a life pleasing to God. This may lead to a successful heterosexual marriage, to a less-than-perfect marriage, or to a dedicated single life of celibacy and service. The Apostle Paul (himself single) said, “If for this life only we have hoped, we are of all men most miserable.”
Actually the Bible also does not suggest that some individuals are “born” gay, though the fall of Adam has left all of mankind in a state of total depravity according to Romans Chapters 1-3. The breakdown of family life and general morality in a society does result in more individuals becoming vulnerable to seduction into the gay lifestyle. Such persons are often victims of prevailing cultural decadence. However God’s grace is always adequate to allow such individuals to embark on a liberating path leading to wholeness and ultimate fulfillment—whether they go on to marry or are called to a single life of celibacy and service. The general deterioration of a culture (because of its abandonment of God) is outlined in the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome:
…the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all (kinds of) unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, backbiters, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, implacable, unmerciful. Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32)
What the New Testament emphasizes–in agreement with the Law of Moses–is that those persons who refuse the grace of God and by their own choice continue in a gay lifestyle, or in heterosexual promiscuity, or in adultery, etc., risk not being true Christians at all, have quite possibly deceived themselves. Such individuals will not be received into the kingdom of heaven unless their life style changes and genuine repentance is demonstrated. This is confirmed in the last chapter of the Bible,
Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood. (Revelation 22:12-15)
Severe though God’s final division between right and wrong may seem, the mercy and daily help of Jesus become all the more valuable to each one of us who elects to follow Him. By His death Jesus accomplished not only the forgiveness of our sins, but also made possible a whole new life for any sinner willing to be healed. God “does not desire that any one should perish,” indeed “He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” By His life Jesus saves his followers daily. He said,
I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:9,10)
Paul wrote,
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
John the beloved Apostle says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:6-10)
A Great Quote from C.S. Lewis
I take it for certain that the physical satisfaction of homosexual desires is sin. This leaves the [homosexual] no worse off than any normal person who is, for whatever reason, prevented from marrying…Our speculations on the cause of the abnormality are not what matters and we must be content with ignorance. The disciples were not told why (in terms of efficient cause) the man was born blind (John 9:1-3): only the final cause, that the works of God [should] be made manifest in him. This suggests that in homosexuality, as in every other tribulation, those works can be made manifest i.e. that every disability conceals a vocation, if only we can find it –C. S. LEWIS, IN A LETTER TO SHELDON VANAUKEN
Biblical Standards Are not for the World
Today the issues of homosexuality and abortion and women’s rights have been so highly politicized it is almost impossible to bring the discussion back to individuals. God loves people as they are, it is wrong for Christians to stereotype any person so that he or she can be treated as a statistic and dismissed. Biblically speaking, God does not ask non-Christians to do what they lack the power to do, namely, to live a godly life.
From the above discussion of the Law it should be clear that God’s standards of conduct in this life apply directly only to those who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ as Lord. Other persons lack the understanding, power and motivation to align themselves into harmony with their Creator.
Yet, the gospel message is an appeal to every individual to accept God’s gift of forgiveness, wholeness and eternal life. Because all men will one day give account of themselves to God, and because God desires that all men come to know Him out of their own free will choices, behavior that is grossly out of harmony with Biblical standards should be strongly discouraged in a pagan society such as ours. Actually God commands all men to reconsider and change their minds about Who He is and what He desires for the peoples of the earth whom He has made in His own image and likeness:
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And he made from one (man) every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being;’ as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:24-31)
The good news given us by means of the life and teachings of Jesus—and affirmed also by the Apostles—is that God receives sinners regardless of their family background, previous track record or actual current moral condition. Jesus also sees to it that all who come to Him for help are changed and made new so as to be fully qualified to enter into eternal life:
For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds…For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another; but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. (Titus 2:11-3:7)
Notes on The Experiential Side of Homosexuality
The average heterosexual male can not readily understand the subjective world gay men find themselves in, usually from their early childhood. Pre-adolescent heterosexual boys may hang out with the rest of the guys and shun close friendships with girls in grade school, but at puberty social, emotional ,and physical attraction to the opposite sex usually set in. This may or may not mean early sexual intercourse, but the path of courtship and marriage usually follows in a straightforward manner in what many would call a normal and natural way.
Men who later “discover” that they are gay will say that they felt “different” from earliest childhood. At puberty ordinary same-sex friendships tend to become eroticised and there may be little or no attraction for the opposite sex. If and when they meet an openly gay older man, or experience sex with another boy they then attach the label “homosexual” to themselves—and assume they were born that way.
Sexual desire and sexual attraction to all sorts of love-objects—male, female, or inanimate—is a great mystery. It is in part driven by hormones, inherited temperament, and predisposing psychological factors. The stage for growing up gay is apparently set in earliest childhood—most gay men do not feel they have a choice in the matter. They believe that they are not free to change even if they wanted to. Gay men often express a tragic sense of being born into a socially disliked or unacceptable minority group, and to compensate for this. To preserve some sense of self-worth they hang together and form organizations that especially promote Gay Pride and Rights. Everyone wants to belong and there is always comfort to be gained (at least temporarily) by hanging out with persons of like mind and sensibilities.
Many gay men have felt intense rejection by peers, by family members, by colleagues at work, in the military, and especially maltreatment by their own church. Quite a few gay men keep quiet about their sexual “preferences” and live double lives in the closet, or suffer silently believing nothing can be done to make them any different. The church’s position usually shouts condemnation at all such persons–whether they are closeted or not. Gays may as well be lepers as far as many churches are concerned–except that for this form of leprosy there is no cure.
According to modern psychology, sexual object-choices range over wide extremes. Freud believed all men were “polymorphous perverse”—he believed that if the restraints and taboos of society were removed most men would be perfectly willing to try any and all kinds of sexual behavior. There is a very wide range of masculinity and femininity in society, and few men are either 100% gay or 100% straight. Those men who crusade against homosexuality and shout the loudest about their own heterosexual normalcy are often deceiving themselves about their own secret but forbidden proclivities.So the entire subject is complex and the last thing gay men and women need is to be labeled, branded, and stereotyped.
Research in the past 50 years has shown that homosexual desires and attractions are not much affected by hormones, but could be partly due to genetic predispositions in certain individuals. The important research of Elizabeth Moberly, Leanne Payne, Joseph Nicolosi, Jeffrey Satinover, and others has shown quite conclusively that virtually all male homosexuals testify to having had poor relationships with their fathers.
Growing up to be a man is not as easy for boys and womanhood is for girls. All of us spend nine months in the womb of our mothers and we arrive into the world bonded strongly to our mothers. A girl need not experience a major sexual identity crisis in transitioning from girlhood to womanhood—but for a boy it is different. At a very early age (3-5 years of age probably), a normal boy looks around him and sees that there exist differences between mom and dad, between boys and girls. Most of the time the male child identifies strongly enough with his father, an uncle, older brother or other male. Thus a new same-sex bond takes place, and mother gradually begins to take second place.
In some (but not all) instances where there is an absent father, or perhaps a sensitive boy and a cold, indifferent father, taken together with a protective or possessive mother there can be a thwarting of this normal transfer of identity bonding from mother to a suitable male role model.
What does it feel like to be the kind of boy in which this when this same-sex bonding fails to occur? All sorts of books have been written about the “sissy-boy syndrome” or about boys who are non-competitive and/or disinterested in sports. Some boys even display markedly effeminate traits that go beyond the usual range of masculinity-femininity balances found in all men.
Boys who fail to identify with and bond with a father-figure feel uncertain of what it means to me a man–from a very early age. They often inferior to, and alienated from, other boys their own age. Accompanying this is a strong sense of envy: “I wish I were as handsome and well built as so-and-so.” Crushes with other guys may develop signaling that a deep unmet need exists in the boy who has never felt really loved and affirmed by a father. It is as if a deficiency existed in the boy’s reservoir of masculine self-esteem and he is forever seeking the lost part of himself in other males. Of course dating girls doesn’t help any since uncertainty about one’s own sexuality and lack of self-confidence and hormonally-driven aggressiveness tends to make such dates awkward and unsatisfactory. It is wrong at this stage to label such boys as gay. They are predisposed towards becoming homosexuals, but they aren’t there yet.
Since the basic problem–the inner most need–is for affirmation from members of the same sex–for “same-sex bonding”–the situation can be radically changed by special attention from an uncle, a scout leader, school teacher, youth leader or caring male friend. Or better still, if the father who was never really “there” for his son takes radical steps to build a strong friendship with an alienated son, healing can begin.
When puberty strikes the situation often rapidly changes. What was at first a need for affection, for affirmation from a loving member of the same sex, now becomes easily mixed in with the newly awakened sexual urges. Emotional needs are now eroticised. It is in their teen-age years that many vulnerable, lonely young men reach out for a close relationship with a male friend, or an older man and find themselves deeply responding erotically to that person. A boy’s first sexual experiences with another person now begin to strongly influence the young man’s life style. Soon our vulnerable youth thinks of himself as gay, identifies with other gay males, and usually comes under the influence of the more active and outspoken members of the gay community. By definition he has become a homosexual because he is now living either a secret or an open homosexual life-style with regular sexual liaisons.
Gay young men who are handsome and virile and new to the gay scene are immediate stars. Attention is lavished upon them and their season in the sun is filled with friends and travel and discovery as one exciting relationship after another begins to fill their lives. Never mind that the purpose of meeting other guys and making new friends is really conquest and sex, not love! It is when we are young that most of us feel that we are immortal and that sowing wild oats is what everyone does and gets away with. Besides all this, “I was born this way. Everyone knows sexual preferences can’t be changed. I deserve happiness just as much as the next guy who is sleeping with his girlfriend all the time.”
It is possible to be sexually intimate with someone, but not to know them as a person. If this is true in the heterosexual world it is more true in the gay community. God has intended sexual union to be incorporated into a complete, full-orbed commitment of a man and a woman in heterosexual marriage. Illicit sex and promiscuity harden the heart, cheapens the meaning of sex, and degrades the integrity of the persons involved. One’s capacity for real love is diminished and there are always scars and consequences when we ignore God’s laws. In gay sexual relationships the sought-after same-sex affirmation does not occur–both parties are left feeling emptier afterwards and both often feel cheated or betrayed when their real needs are not met. This does not mean gay men can not be friends or enjoy real affection for one another. But ironically the closest friendships in the gay community are often between men who have never been sexually involved with each other.
Our world is full of sinners, and we don’t get to make up the rules about what is right and wrong. The living God, our Creator, has said, “You must be holy for I am holy.” (Lev. 11:45, 1 Peter 1:16). Translated into modern terms this could be read, “You must become whole persons, for I, your God, am a Whole Person.”
Whole means balanced, well-rounded, and complete. Broken people become whole by establishing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ the Savior. When given permission to do so, God radically changes the innermost nature of all his children! So it is that, in regard to homosexuality, the Bible says or certain persons in the church in Corinth,
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers 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 in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:9-11)
The Biblical standards are clear: all sexual expression outside of marriage damages and thwarts wholeness. It is not a question of straight or gay. Two men who really love each other are called “Christians.” There is no way two men or two women or a man and a woman to give themselves to each other in a sexual way that promotes wholeness and the ultimate well-being of the persons involved. Only with God’s blessing and the special bonds of heterosexual marriage does sexual expression work together in a redemptive, healing manner.
The cure for homosexuality is not merely abstinence from sexual activity that displeases God. Becoming whole means being loved and filled with Jesus the Lord as one’s true and faithful Lover. Anything short of this is spiritual–if not literal–adultery and infidelity. So Paul the Apostle goes on to say
The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two shall become one flesh.” But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor. 6:13-20)
The path to healing and wholeness for men or women who were once gay is often not easy. Many such persons marry and raise children and move quietly into normal heterosexual family life in the community. Others may choose a path of Christian service as abstinent men and women, serving by serving His extended family. The gate is narrow and the way difficult for all who would follow Christ. Gays are not in a special category in this regard.
Paul the apostle wrote to young Timothy, his adopted son in the faith,
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners. (1 Tim. 1:15).
The important thing is to come to Christ with a whole heart, trusting Him fully, honestly sharing the past, the desires, one’s feelings with the One who loves you more than any other ever can or will. Jesus the Lord has never failed yet, down through history, to save the the uttermost all who place their faith in Him.
Dolphin, L. (1 June 2007). Jesus and the Homosexual., from http://www.ldolphin.org/Homo.shtml
