I was in the midst of a busy afternoon answering correspondence at Love in Action, the ministry to former homosexuals where I work, when the phone rang. It was John. I had known him since we'd served together in short-term missions in Europe.
"Bob," he said, "you won't believe what I just heard on the radio." John had been listening to a talk show that had a guest who was a member of the local pro-homosexual church. "This guy was talking about Genesis 19," John reported. "He said that God didn't destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the people's homosexuality. According to him, they were punished for their inhospitality toward the foreign guests. I couldn't believe it! Have you ever heard of this?"
I told him it was a common explanation by theologians who supported the homosexual lifestyle. As I hung up the phone, I thought back over my own struggles with homosexuality. I knew in my early teen years that I was sexually attracted to other men. During my freshman year at college, I researched the subject and found numerous books that taught homosexual practice was compatible with scriptural teachings.
I had been raised in an evangelical church and wasn't convinced this was true; but I knew of a few, isolated congregations that condoned a homosexual viewpoint.
Today, many denominations have fully embraced homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle. How did this come about? The main reason is a shift, in this century, from reliance on God's word to reliance on the latest scientific findings and personal experiences. Today, some churches have elevated these to a higher place of authority than Scripture, and rely on them to evaluate moral issues. When Scripture is consulted, it is reinterpreted to support a pro-homosexual viewpoint.
This results in churches that tell homosexuals and lesbians who go to them for spiritual counsel, "Don't try to change." "God created you gay; homosexuality is his gift to you!" Even married men and women have been encouraged to divorce their spouses, leave their children, and enter a same-sex partnership. Tragically, some of them have followed this ill-founded advice.
As more and more people are influenced by this kind of thinking, we need to be prepared to dispute it and redirect their thoughts to what the Bible really says about homosexuality.
Male and Female He Created Them
In today's debate within the church, arguments about homosexuality usually center around a few isolated Bible verses. Often overlooked is the foundational teaching on human sexuality as presented in the first chapter of Genesis: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27). Immediately after their creation, God commanded Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and increase in number" by means of sexual procreation (v. 28).
Any alteration of this pattern is a distortion of God's original plan. When sex occurs between men and women without a lifelong commitment (fornication or adultery), or between two men or two women in a lifelong commitment (homosexual 64 marriage"), these acts are outside of God's will.
What about Sodom?
Years ago, when I researched the compatibility of homosexuality with scriptural teachings, one of the first passages I saw reinterpreted was the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). What about the interpretation that Sodom's sin was inhospitality?
To answer this question fairly, I had to be careful not to read my preconceived ideas into this chapter. For example, the Bible never uses the word homosexual to describe the men of Sodom; neither does it say that God judged Sodom for homosexual behavior.
Much of the discussion about this passage revolves around verse 5. The men of Sodom made a request to Lot regarding the male visitors: "Bring them out unto us, that we may know them" (KJV). The original Hebrew word translated "know" is yadha. Although this word occurs over 900 times in the Old Testament and only refers to sex in ten of these cases, the context of this story supports a sexual meaning.
For example, if the townspeople only wanted to "get acquainted with the visitors, why did Lot respond, "Don't do this wicked thing" (v. 7)? And if the men only wanted to extend a warm greeting to the visitors, how can they be charged with inhospitality?
Here's another argument I've heard: "Even if homosexual acts occurred here, we're talking about rape, not consensual sex between two adults who love each other." But God did not destroy Sodom for this one incident. God had already declared the city to be wicked years before this incident (Genesis 13:13, 18:20), and simply sent his divine messengers to confirm the city's decadence. God's judgment brought an end to the rampant evil of every type, including immorality, that was part of Sodom's culture.
Some theologians point out that other passages referring to the sins of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:49, Jeremiah 23:14) do not mention homosexuality. However, 2 Peter 2:7, Jude 7, and Ezekiel 16:50 mention such sins as "filthy lives," "lawlessness," "sexual immorality," and "perversion." Taken together, these verses show us that Sodom and Gomorrah were judged for a wide variety of sins, one of which was homosexuality.
Here's another common argument of those who advocate homosexuality as compatible with Scripture. Pro-homosexual churches say that Christians are no longer under the Law; therefore, we can ignore all Levitical commands, including those that mention homosexuality.
We must carefully distinguish between the dietary or ceremonial laws (abolished in the New Testament—Mark 7:19, Acts 10:14-15), and the moral laws (reinforced in the New Testament and still applicable today—Mark 7:21-23, Matthew 5:27-28). The important distinction between these laws is reflected in the Old Testament penalty for breaking them: Disobedience to the ceremonial laws resulted in uncleanness (Leviticus 11:24); breaching the moral law meant death (Leviticus 20:2 ff.). God left no ambiguity in his description of homosexual acts; they are an "abomination" and "detestable" (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13).
What Jesus Said
The cover of one pro-homosexual tract reads, "What Jesus said about Homosexuality." The inside pages are blank.
Jesus said many things that the Bible doesn't record (John 21:25). He could have spoken of homosexuality, although he probably had no occasion to since it was a capital offense among the Jews of the first century.
There are many other subjects Jesus did not mention (incest, rape, bestiality), but that doesn't mean they are permissible. Besides, Jesus always upheld the Old Testament law (Matthew 5:17-19), which strictly condemned homosexual acts. He spoke of legitimate sexuality only in a heterosexual context, affirming celibacy as the only legitimate alternative to marriage (Matthew 19:12).
Wrong Translation?
First Corinthians 6:9 mentions "homosexual offenders" in a long list of persons who will not inherit the Kingdom of God. This passage seems perfectly clear, yet some disagree on the exact meaning of the original Greek word. Some say that arsenokoitai refers to male prostitution or to lustful, unloving, and uncommitted relationships—not to loving, permanent relationships between two men or two women.
But the literal meaning of this word is "a male who lies [sexually] with a male," showing that Paul is not simply referring to one category of homosexual behavior. There are no qualifications; homosexual behavior is forbidden, no matter what degree of love or absence of lust is involved.
Natural or Unnatural?
Some people say that Paul's statements are "culturally bound," that is, they are addressed to first-century Jews and do not apply to us. On the basis of this logic, we could dismiss the entire Bible, since none of it was written to twentieth-century churchgoers! But God is clear that his moral laws do not change and that his Word "stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).
Romans 1 is usually considered the most thorough and clear condemnation of homosexuality in the Bible (and it contains the only specific reference to lesbianism). What did Paul mean when he said that homosexual acts were "unnatural"? Contrary to what a person feels is natural? Not necessarily. Many homosexuals will say, "I've always felt this way. I remember being attracted to my own sex from the time I was four or five years old." We live in a fallen world where sin has distorted our perception of truth (Romans 1:18). So what someone feels is "natural" can still be wrong.
I believe that Paul was referring to the natural order as God created it. As we saw in Genesis, woman was made for man. So "unnatural" in this passage means contrary to God's original intention for human sexual behavior, plainly visible in the complementary function of the male and female sexual organs.
Degrees of Sin?
Romans 1 also sheds some interesting light on another question: "Is homosexuality worse than other sins?" In one sense, all sins are the same: They separate us from God and grieve his holy nature (Romans 6:23). But other consequences of sin can vary. A lustful thought affects a marriage differently than the physical act of adultery. A hateful word does not have the same legal results as the act of murder.
I don't believe that God hates homosexuality because it is the "worst" sin; rather, he hates it because of the devastation it brings to a person's life. Romans 1:23-26 mentions three kinds of exchanges that illustrate man's pursuit of his fallen nature. First, the worship of God is exchanged for various forms of idolatry (v. 23). Then the truth about God is exchanged for lies (v. 25). Finally, natural sexual relations are abandoned for unnatural ones (vv. 26-27). The result? Those who practice these sins "received in themselves the due penalty of their perversion" (v. 27).
In today's society, homosexuality is reaping a bitter harvest. Homosexual men are six times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexual men. Between 25 and 33 percent of homosexual men and women are alcoholics (the national average is 7 percent). Currently, 70 percent of Americans with AIDS are male homosexuals or bisexuals.
The Way to Freedom
In 1 Corinthians 6:9, the Apostle Paul says that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then he makes a startling statement: "And that is what some of you were. 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" (v. 11).
This verse contains the whole gospel for any man or woman struggling with homosexual issues. "And that is what some of you were." What is Paul saying here? He knew former homosexuals in the church at Corinth! God had delivered Christians from that lifestyle; here is biblical evidence that change is possible.
"You were washed." Homosexuality is not a clean, wholesome lifestyle. It defiles us, but God is able and willing to wash away the stain.
"You were sanctified." To sanctify means to set apart for God's use. Despite the arguments of homosexual theologians, a person is not walking close to the Lord when he or she accepts and pursues homosexuality.
"You were justified." God does not approve of homosexuality, but he is willing to call us righteous if we turn away from that behavior and follow him. Many Christians have left homosexuality; the changes in their lives have been lasting and genuine. This is the good news that men and women in the pro-homosexual movement need to hear.
Today, members of the homosexual community are aggressively pushing for acceptance of their lifestyle. They seek minority status, same-sex marital status, and the right to adopt children. Anyone who opposes their agenda is labeled a "homophobic bigot" or "gay basher." In the face of such organized aggression, it's easy for the church to retreat, ignore the issue, or hope that new laws will control the problem. But the issue is not that easily resolved.
Ultimately, homosexuals and lesbians will be reached, just like anyone else, by a personal confrontation with the claims of Christ. We earn the right to speak that message by extending love to everyone we meet, even those involved in blatant immorality. We can accept them as individuals created in God's image, even while knowing that their sins grieve his heart.
Homosexuality is not just a problem "out there" in society. Many of our fellow church members are struggling with this issue. They need to know that God has an answer for their deepest needs. Will you tell them?
Bob Davies is the executive director of Exodus International, a worldwide network of ministries to former homosexuals, and staff writer and editor at Love in Action, a Christian outreach to homosexuals in San Rafael, California. Reprinted with permission of Discipleship Journal.
This article was published in Good News magazine (September/October 1993).