The Sin of Homosexuality
Gen 19:1-25; 1 Kgs 15:12; Lev 18:22; Rom 1:23-27; 1 Cor 6:9-11; 1 Tim 1:9-11
As you know, the United States government calls the month of June “pride month.” In 1999, President Bill Clinton made this an official declaration. The purpose of this observance is to celebrate and raise awareness of people who choose LGBTQ+ lifestyles.
Throughout this month, supporters will hold parades and rallies, news media will run thematic content, politicians will make public statements of support, search engines and social media will give increased attention to the topic, and libraries will promote LGBTQ+-themed books and resources to children.
As we face pressure to support to this agenda, how are we who are followers of Christ supposed to respond? Social pressure will urge us to affirm and celebrate this theme and its variations. Some of us who are more compassionate by nature will be inclined to respond in an acceptant or conciliatory way, while others of us who are more dogmatic by nature will be inclined to respond in a hateful or mean way.
Thankfully, we have God’s Word to guide us, to show us God’s divine and definitive view of homosexuality and to help us know how we should respond. We can benefit from this divine perspective because we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, the mind and will of God revealed to us, from his heart to ours. So, what does the Bible actually say about homosexuality and our response to it? Let’s take a look.
God condemns homosexuality.
For whatever reason, it’s common for people, including Christians, to think that in the OT, God had some harsh but obsolete, ancient, and outdated things to say about homosexuality, but in the NT, God takes a more tolerant, up to date, in-touch approach. Said another way, some think that the in the OT, through the Law of Moses, God presents a harsh view towards homosexuality, but in the NT, through the grace of Christ, God presents a more tolerant view. But this assessment is mistaken and wrong.
To begin with, we should note that God presents the same view of homosexuality from the beginning of time as he does throughout history. His view does not change from one era to another. It is not God who must update his views of our human perspective but we, who are humans, who must continually adjust our perspective to his unchanging view. Let’s survey some key things that God says about this topic from both the OT and NT.
Before the Law of Moses.
Statements from God about homosexual behavior are not limited to the Law of Moses. They occur before the Law, which demonstrates that God’s view of homosexuality existed in a consistent way in history before the Law of Moses was given. The same timeless consistency from God applies to other moral matters, too, such as the sinfulness of adultery, murder, violence, idol worship, etc. As the NT writer of Hebrews says, “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8).
First, we should know that God established gender roles and marriage in the beginning. In Gen 1:27, we see that he created and established two distinct genders:
God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
It was not, nor will ever be, his intention for people to identify themselves by any other gender than the ones that they are born with in their DNA, or for people to behave in ways that are intended for the opposite gender.
Then in Gen 2:24, he established that men marry women and women marry men. It was not God’s intention or design for men to marry men or women to marry women.
A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Some centuries later, we learn that homosexual behavior was occurring in two cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. These were cities with a reputation not only for horrible immorality but for esp. for homosexuality. When a man named Lot, who was nephew to Abraham, hosted two men in his house for the night, local people surrounded his house and urged him to send out his guests into the streets for unspeakable reasons (Gen 19:5):
They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”
It is for normalized behavior like this that God told Abraham (Gen 18:20):
The Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave.
And then not long after, God destroyed those cities because of their sin (Gen 19:24):
The LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
The OT prophets continued to point back to this incident of God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah as a clear judgment by God due to this very type of sin, doing so at least 8 times (Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; 13:19; Jer 49:18; 50:40; Lam 4:6; Ezk 16:46-56; Zeph 2:9).
From this we see that God created two genders, intended for a unique and special relationship to occur between men and women in marriage, and that he viewed men treating men as women in those ways (and vis versa) as a very horrible sin. This much is already clear from the beginning of time and the opening pages of Scripture. So, for God to call homosexual activity sin is not a unique feature exclusive to the Law of Moses.
Within the Law of Moses.
To be sure, the Law of Moses does provide a clear perspective from God on homosexuality, as God not only gave laws against homosexual activity but assigned the death penalty for such activity, too. As he established the nation of Israel, he gave them laws for life and conduct as a nation which was supposed to be a witness for God to the world. In one place, God said this in the Law of Moses (Lev 18:22):
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
At least one other time in the Law, God says similar things. In the next verse (Lev 18:23), God calls this behavior a “perversion,” which means it is something God views as an especially horrible, disgraceful, shameful activity, a behavior that is confusing, contaminating, polluting, and unnatural. In the same passage, he calls this behavior “abominable,” which means detestable, abhorrent, and disgusting. He says this behavior is so bad that people who did such things were to be given the death penalty (Lev 18:29):
Whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
In addition, we read about an Israelite king named Asa whose commendable character and faith in God as a king was supported, in part, by the fact that he banished from the nation people who practiced homosexuality (1 Kgs 15:9):
He banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Such behavior is called sinful at least two other times in the Book of Kings, behavior which should not be tolerated in the nation of Israel. So, from these OT statements, we see that God has a strong view of homosexuality and that strong view is a negative one, to say the least. In other words, God views homosexuality as a horrible sin, one which should not be accepted by society. According to the OT, God views homosexual behavior as being just as bad as prostitution, incest, rape, and child sacrifice, and so on.
But what about the NT? Does God take the same view in the NT or a more lenient one?
In the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Following OT, we see that Christ affirmed what God said and did about homosexual activity in the OT. This means that Christ did not somehow teach a more acceptant or tolerant view of this behavior, nor did he change what God had said about it.
When speaking to his closest disciples, he said this about people who refused to hear their teaching about salvation through Jesus Christ (Matt 10:15):
Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
So, here Christ affirms the legitimacy of God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah and the sinfulness of the behavior that had brought God’s judgment upon those cities. He did not diminish or alter that view in any way, to any degree. In doing so, he echoes the consistent message of the OT prophets about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior.
In addition, though, he also taught that God will judge more severely any religious people who refuse to believe on Christ as God and Savior. So, all other things being equal, from Christ’s standpoint – and he himself will be the final judge of all people – people who practice homosexuality will receive a lighter, less severe eternal punishment than religious people who – though they did not practice homosexuality – refused to believe on Christ.
This view does not lower or weaken God’s view of homosexuality, but rather it heightens the seriousness of the awful it is to reject Jesus Christ as your Savior.
In the teaching of the Apostle Paul.
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul spoke clearly in multiple places about God’s view of homosexual behavior. It is here that we should acknowledge that the strongest, clearest statements against homosexual behavior occur not in the OT but in the NT. I say this because some Bible commentators point out that OT statements against homosexual activity may be interpreted in a way that emphasizes the wrongfulness of either (1) excessive versions of this (such as molestation and rape) and doing these things (2) in the context of temple and religious worship.
To be clear, this view seems to exaggerate or miss the point. But, for sake of argument, if we accept these views as valid, then we can also point out that the NT actually speaks more broadly, and clearly about this subject, since Paul’s statements about homosexual lifestyles are universal. What he says about God’s view of homosexuality is not more tolerant than the OT but more clear in calling it sin, instead.
God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, … For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Rom 1:23-27)
This passage, in particular, acknowledges that homosexual behavior is what occurs when people reject God’s truth in creation and give way to the sinful desires of their hearts. This “lusts of their hearts” acknowledges actual, real internal desires and temptations to do these things. But though such strong desires exist within some people, we should not legitimize or normalize these desires as appropriate and wholesome any more than we should legitimize other people’s desires to steal things or to kill someone in anger.
Furthermore, this passage acknowledges that homosexuality is not only something that men do with men, but that women do with women, also. And this passage also acknowledges that doing this is supposed to be shameful, not normal. And it acknowledges “in themselves the penalty of their error which was due,” which seems to be a reference to STDs, the physical illnesses and disorders that often occur to people who participate in homosexual behavior.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor 6:9-11)
In this passage, Paul lists out multiple sinful behaviors, including adultery, theft, and extortion – all of which we still view as sin today in our American culture (at least usually). Paul calls these sins “unrighteousness” and urges us not to be deceived. How can we be deceived? By thinking that it’s possible to be a genuine follower of Christ while regularly practicing these sins as a lifestyle, too. Believers don’t live this way and people who live this way “will not enter God’s kingdom in eternity.” Said another way, people who consistently live in a homosexual manner are not and cannot be genuine followers of Christ and children of God.
Among these sins, Paul refers to both “homosexuals” and “sodomites.” These words both refer to homosexual behavior, but to different roles and behaviors within that lifestyle. For the sake of being careful, I won’t explain this any further here. But we should note that Paul is being specific and universal in his claim. He teaches that all forms and expressions of homosexual behavior are sinful in God’s sight, as sinful as adultery, theft, and extortion (which is “ripping people.off” in a business deal or transaction).
Finally, Paul names “sodomy” (or homosexuality) as a serious sin that is “contrary to sound doctrine” and “contrary to the glorious gospel of God.”
… for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
In addition to Paul, we know that the Apostle Jude also speaks about the sinfulness of homosexuality.
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)
And the Apostle Peter said something similar:
and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (2 Pet 2:6)
From these statements by Jude and Peter, just as the statement by Christ himself, we see that even the later NT letters for churches and believers today still hold up God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, from before the Law of Moses was given, as timeless examples of what God says about homosexual behavior. When Jude says “sexual immorality” and esp. “going after strange flesh,” he is referring specifically to homosexual behavior, and both Jude and Peter say that this judgment is an example for us today.
From this survey of Scripture about homosexuality, we see that God presents a consistent view of homosexual behavior from the beginning to now, that such behavior is horribly wrong and inappropriate, that it violates God’s design and purpose for mankind, and that it is contrary to sound doctrine, or the healthy, accurate teaching of God’s Word. Knowing this, what are we to do as followers of Christ today as our culture is promoting this behavior and normalizing this kind of lifestyle in our nation?
God delivers from homosexuality.
As I mentioned earlier in the introduction to this message, as we face pressure to support to this agenda, how are we who are followers of Christ supposed to respond? Social pressure will urge us to affirm and celebrate this theme and its variations. Some of us who are more compassionate by nature will be inclined to respond in an acceptant or conciliatory way, while others of us who are more dogmatic by nature will be inclined to respond in a hateful or mean way.
But neither way is the right way to respond. Because God makes it extremely clear throughout history and Scripture that homosexual behavior is a grave and serious sin, then we cannot dismiss, minimize, accept, or normalize it – and we certainly cannot and must not celebrate it. Yet, because God is loving and “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), we cannot respond in a hateful or mean way, either.
God not only condemns homosexuality, but he offers hope and salvation from this sin as he does for any other sin. He does not condemn sin without also offering hope for deliverance, forgiveness, freedom, and salvation. As Rom 6:23 plainly states, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Knowing this, I will finish this message today with four important observations and applications.
The gospel is for every person.
What is the gospel? It is the wonderful, life-changing good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again three days later so that anyone who will acknowledge their sin and turn to trust in Christ alone as God and Savior will become a forgiven child of God forever. Consider once again what Paul said, about how unrighteous people cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor 6:9-11)
We must not view homosexuality as an irredeemable, unforgiveable, unpardonable sin. It is a serious, horrible sin, and a shameful sin for sure. But like any other sin, the blood of Christ and love of God is fully able to forgive that sin for Christ died for that sin upon the cross and he broke the power of that sin through the resurrection. “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Believers must express genuine love.
Since the gospel can rescue a person from the sin of a homosexual lifestyle, we must express genuine, appropriate love to people who are in need of such salvation. These are people, like so many others, who need to be rescued rather than rejected. Loved rather than hated.
We should be friendly to such people as we meet them in the course of our lives – at work, next door, at school, and so on. We should treat them with dignity and respect, converse with them as we should with any other person, extend to such people all the same common, human courtesies that we should give to any other human being, and we should do all of these things because we genuinely, truly appreciate and value them as people like ourselves – people who are made in God’s image, captive to sin, and in need of God’s salvation.
You may have noticed that I have mostly referred to homosexuality in this message as homosexual activity or behavior rather than just homosexuality. I am doing this because any actual expression or act of homosexuality is sin. To do homosexual things is always sinful in the sight of God.
What we need to understand, though, is that people do experience actual, real homosexual desires and temptations. When this happens, they have not necessarily sinned until they have chosen to meditate, fantasize, or act out on those desires. I say this because it helps us to have sympathy and love for people who struggle with this temptation, and there are people who wrestle against this temptation and win.
Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (Jam 1:14-15)
This does not mean it is ever appropriate to entertain such thoughts in our minds, for as Christ himself has taught us, God considers it adultery if a man merely looks at a woman lustfully in his heart (Mt 5:27-28). So, to dwell upon, long for, fantasize about, and so forth any aspect of homosexual behavior is itself a sinful act in the sight of God, whether you act out on those things or not.
Also, you may recall what Paul said about how when people do such things, they are giving way to the lusts of their hearts (Rom 1:23). This reveals that people do indeed have very strong, inner desires and urges to these sorts of things. So, we should sympathize with how difficult it is overcome and resist such desires, but we should not normalize or condone people identifying with such desires or giving in to such desires as though doing so is okay or should be affirmed and celebrated.
Though such strong sinful desires are real, they are not good and should not be encouraged or accepted as okay. Such people need us to treat them with genuine sympathy and love, but not to affirm or celebrate their sinful desires and behavior.
Believers must speak the truth.
Expressing sympathy and love for people who struggle with this temptation must not cause us to refuse to tell them the truth. Paul teaches us to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and Peter teaches us to “speak with grace and salt” (Col 4:6). As Paul teaches elsewhere, speaking the truth in love does not always guarantee positive or pleasant results and reception (Gal 4:15). But doing so is the only way to represent Christ well and to have a chance at presenting the truth to people who need it most.
As God gives you opportunities to get to know people who struggle with this sin, and even those who are ardent supporters of this lifestyle, treating them in love may open opportunities to speak to them about the gospel and to let them know not only that (1) you love them and God loves them but (2) their choice to identify and live this way is sinful to God. This can be said lovingly, gently, and thoughtfully, without hate, meanness, or arrogance. And this is entirely possible for us to do if we will first know what God teaches about this issue, then love people who struggle with it.
Believers must guard against sin.
Finally, as we are exposed to this lifestyle and behavior and interact with people who live this way and promote it, we must be careful to guard our hearts from being drawn into such sin ourselves.
You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (2 Pet 3:17-18)
There is also Lot himself, nephew to Abraham, who chose to live in Sodom and Gomorrah, whom Peter tells us permitted his soul to become worn down spiritually from the immorality that surrounded him:
[God] delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) (2 Pet 2:7-8)
We can experience the same downward spiritual depression if we allow the influences of homosexuality to overwhelm us and chip away at our consciences and minds if we do not regularly read and meditate on the truth of God’s Word, surround ourselves with godly, Christian friends, and depend upon the Holy Spirit for strength and perseverance. Though we should seek to befriend people who struggle with this sin so that we can lead them to Christ, we should guard our hearts closely to be sure that we do not become drawn into or tempted by this sin ourselves.
As we hold closely to God’s clear truth, let’s not be ashamed to believe that homosexuality, like any sin, is not only contrary to God’s good design and purpose for our lives, but that it also brings sorrow, destruction, anxiety, and death into the lives of those who live this way. But God’s grace can rescue anyone who turns to Christ for forgiveness and freedom. As your pastor, I ask you to stand firm, not giving in to what the world says and also not acting with hate but showing real love while speaking honestly. Let’s share the good news of forgiveness through Christ and keep our hearts close to him, so we can live faithfully and help others come into a close and everlasting relationship with him – not only this month but always.
Discussion Questions
As you know, the United States government calls the month of June “pride month.” In 1999, President Bill Clinton made this an official declaration. The purpose of this observance is to celebrate and raise awareness of people who choose LGBTQ+ lifestyles.
Throughout this month, supporters will hold parades and rallies, news media will run thematic content, politicians will make public statements of support, search engines and social media will give increased attention to the topic, and libraries will promote LGBTQ+-themed books and resources to children.
As we face pressure to support to this agenda, how are we who are followers of Christ supposed to respond? Social pressure will urge us to affirm and celebrate this theme and its variations. Some of us who are more compassionate by nature will be inclined to respond in an acceptant or conciliatory way, while others of us who are more dogmatic by nature will be inclined to respond in a hateful or mean way.
Thankfully, we have God’s Word to guide us, to show us God’s divine and definitive view of homosexuality and to help us know how we should respond. We can benefit from this divine perspective because we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, the mind and will of God revealed to us, from his heart to ours. So, what does the Bible actually say about homosexuality and our response to it? Let’s take a look.
God condemns homosexuality.
For whatever reason, it’s common for people, including Christians, to think that in the OT, God had some harsh but obsolete, ancient, and outdated things to say about homosexuality, but in the NT, God takes a more tolerant, up to date, in-touch approach. Said another way, some think that the in the OT, through the Law of Moses, God presents a harsh view towards homosexuality, but in the NT, through the grace of Christ, God presents a more tolerant view. But this assessment is mistaken and wrong.
To begin with, we should note that God presents the same view of homosexuality from the beginning of time as he does throughout history. His view does not change from one era to another. It is not God who must update his views of our human perspective but we, who are humans, who must continually adjust our perspective to his unchanging view. Let’s survey some key things that God says about this topic from both the OT and NT.
Before the Law of Moses.
Statements from God about homosexual behavior are not limited to the Law of Moses. They occur before the Law, which demonstrates that God’s view of homosexuality existed in a consistent way in history before the Law of Moses was given. The same timeless consistency from God applies to other moral matters, too, such as the sinfulness of adultery, murder, violence, idol worship, etc. As the NT writer of Hebrews says, “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8).
First, we should know that God established gender roles and marriage in the beginning. In Gen 1:27, we see that he created and established two distinct genders:
God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
It was not, nor will ever be, his intention for people to identify themselves by any other gender than the ones that they are born with in their DNA, or for people to behave in ways that are intended for the opposite gender.
Then in Gen 2:24, he established that men marry women and women marry men. It was not God’s intention or design for men to marry men or women to marry women.
A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Some centuries later, we learn that homosexual behavior was occurring in two cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. These were cities with a reputation not only for horrible immorality but for esp. for homosexuality. When a man named Lot, who was nephew to Abraham, hosted two men in his house for the night, local people surrounded his house and urged him to send out his guests into the streets for unspeakable reasons (Gen 19:5):
They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”
It is for normalized behavior like this that God told Abraham (Gen 18:20):
The Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave.
And then not long after, God destroyed those cities because of their sin (Gen 19:24):
The LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
The OT prophets continued to point back to this incident of God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah as a clear judgment by God due to this very type of sin, doing so at least 8 times (Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; 13:19; Jer 49:18; 50:40; Lam 4:6; Ezk 16:46-56; Zeph 2:9).
From this we see that God created two genders, intended for a unique and special relationship to occur between men and women in marriage, and that he viewed men treating men as women in those ways (and vis versa) as a very horrible sin. This much is already clear from the beginning of time and the opening pages of Scripture. So, for God to call homosexual activity sin is not a unique feature exclusive to the Law of Moses.
Within the Law of Moses.
To be sure, the Law of Moses does provide a clear perspective from God on homosexuality, as God not only gave laws against homosexual activity but assigned the death penalty for such activity, too. As he established the nation of Israel, he gave them laws for life and conduct as a nation which was supposed to be a witness for God to the world. In one place, God said this in the Law of Moses (Lev 18:22):
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
At least one other time in the Law, God says similar things. In the next verse (Lev 18:23), God calls this behavior a “perversion,” which means it is something God views as an especially horrible, disgraceful, shameful activity, a behavior that is confusing, contaminating, polluting, and unnatural. In the same passage, he calls this behavior “abominable,” which means detestable, abhorrent, and disgusting. He says this behavior is so bad that people who did such things were to be given the death penalty (Lev 18:29):
Whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
In addition, we read about an Israelite king named Asa whose commendable character and faith in God as a king was supported, in part, by the fact that he banished from the nation people who practiced homosexuality (1 Kgs 15:9):
He banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Such behavior is called sinful at least two other times in the Book of Kings, behavior which should not be tolerated in the nation of Israel. So, from these OT statements, we see that God has a strong view of homosexuality and that strong view is a negative one, to say the least. In other words, God views homosexuality as a horrible sin, one which should not be accepted by society. According to the OT, God views homosexual behavior as being just as bad as prostitution, incest, rape, and child sacrifice, and so on.
But what about the NT? Does God take the same view in the NT or a more lenient one?
In the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Following OT, we see that Christ affirmed what God said and did about homosexual activity in the OT. This means that Christ did not somehow teach a more acceptant or tolerant view of this behavior, nor did he change what God had said about it.
When speaking to his closest disciples, he said this about people who refused to hear their teaching about salvation through Jesus Christ (Matt 10:15):
Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
So, here Christ affirms the legitimacy of God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah and the sinfulness of the behavior that had brought God’s judgment upon those cities. He did not diminish or alter that view in any way, to any degree. In doing so, he echoes the consistent message of the OT prophets about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior.
In addition, though, he also taught that God will judge more severely any religious people who refuse to believe on Christ as God and Savior. So, all other things being equal, from Christ’s standpoint – and he himself will be the final judge of all people – people who practice homosexuality will receive a lighter, less severe eternal punishment than religious people who – though they did not practice homosexuality – refused to believe on Christ.
This view does not lower or weaken God’s view of homosexuality, but rather it heightens the seriousness of the awful it is to reject Jesus Christ as your Savior.
In the teaching of the Apostle Paul.
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul spoke clearly in multiple places about God’s view of homosexual behavior. It is here that we should acknowledge that the strongest, clearest statements against homosexual behavior occur not in the OT but in the NT. I say this because some Bible commentators point out that OT statements against homosexual activity may be interpreted in a way that emphasizes the wrongfulness of either (1) excessive versions of this (such as molestation and rape) and doing these things (2) in the context of temple and religious worship.
To be clear, this view seems to exaggerate or miss the point. But, for sake of argument, if we accept these views as valid, then we can also point out that the NT actually speaks more broadly, and clearly about this subject, since Paul’s statements about homosexual lifestyles are universal. What he says about God’s view of homosexuality is not more tolerant than the OT but more clear in calling it sin, instead.
God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, … For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Rom 1:23-27)
This passage, in particular, acknowledges that homosexual behavior is what occurs when people reject God’s truth in creation and give way to the sinful desires of their hearts. This “lusts of their hearts” acknowledges actual, real internal desires and temptations to do these things. But though such strong desires exist within some people, we should not legitimize or normalize these desires as appropriate and wholesome any more than we should legitimize other people’s desires to steal things or to kill someone in anger.
Furthermore, this passage acknowledges that homosexuality is not only something that men do with men, but that women do with women, also. And this passage also acknowledges that doing this is supposed to be shameful, not normal. And it acknowledges “in themselves the penalty of their error which was due,” which seems to be a reference to STDs, the physical illnesses and disorders that often occur to people who participate in homosexual behavior.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor 6:9-11)
In this passage, Paul lists out multiple sinful behaviors, including adultery, theft, and extortion – all of which we still view as sin today in our American culture (at least usually). Paul calls these sins “unrighteousness” and urges us not to be deceived. How can we be deceived? By thinking that it’s possible to be a genuine follower of Christ while regularly practicing these sins as a lifestyle, too. Believers don’t live this way and people who live this way “will not enter God’s kingdom in eternity.” Said another way, people who consistently live in a homosexual manner are not and cannot be genuine followers of Christ and children of God.
Among these sins, Paul refers to both “homosexuals” and “sodomites.” These words both refer to homosexual behavior, but to different roles and behaviors within that lifestyle. For the sake of being careful, I won’t explain this any further here. But we should note that Paul is being specific and universal in his claim. He teaches that all forms and expressions of homosexual behavior are sinful in God’s sight, as sinful as adultery, theft, and extortion (which is “ripping people.off” in a business deal or transaction).
Finally, Paul names “sodomy” (or homosexuality) as a serious sin that is “contrary to sound doctrine” and “contrary to the glorious gospel of God.”
… for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
In addition to Paul, we know that the Apostle Jude also speaks about the sinfulness of homosexuality.
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)
And the Apostle Peter said something similar:
and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (2 Pet 2:6)
From these statements by Jude and Peter, just as the statement by Christ himself, we see that even the later NT letters for churches and believers today still hold up God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, from before the Law of Moses was given, as timeless examples of what God says about homosexual behavior. When Jude says “sexual immorality” and esp. “going after strange flesh,” he is referring specifically to homosexual behavior, and both Jude and Peter say that this judgment is an example for us today.
From this survey of Scripture about homosexuality, we see that God presents a consistent view of homosexual behavior from the beginning to now, that such behavior is horribly wrong and inappropriate, that it violates God’s design and purpose for mankind, and that it is contrary to sound doctrine, or the healthy, accurate teaching of God’s Word. Knowing this, what are we to do as followers of Christ today as our culture is promoting this behavior and normalizing this kind of lifestyle in our nation?
God delivers from homosexuality.
As I mentioned earlier in the introduction to this message, as we face pressure to support to this agenda, how are we who are followers of Christ supposed to respond? Social pressure will urge us to affirm and celebrate this theme and its variations. Some of us who are more compassionate by nature will be inclined to respond in an acceptant or conciliatory way, while others of us who are more dogmatic by nature will be inclined to respond in a hateful or mean way.
But neither way is the right way to respond. Because God makes it extremely clear throughout history and Scripture that homosexual behavior is a grave and serious sin, then we cannot dismiss, minimize, accept, or normalize it – and we certainly cannot and must not celebrate it. Yet, because God is loving and “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), we cannot respond in a hateful or mean way, either.
God not only condemns homosexuality, but he offers hope and salvation from this sin as he does for any other sin. He does not condemn sin without also offering hope for deliverance, forgiveness, freedom, and salvation. As Rom 6:23 plainly states, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Knowing this, I will finish this message today with four important observations and applications.
The gospel is for every person.
What is the gospel? It is the wonderful, life-changing good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again three days later so that anyone who will acknowledge their sin and turn to trust in Christ alone as God and Savior will become a forgiven child of God forever. Consider once again what Paul said, about how unrighteous people cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor 6:9-11)
We must not view homosexuality as an irredeemable, unforgiveable, unpardonable sin. It is a serious, horrible sin, and a shameful sin for sure. But like any other sin, the blood of Christ and love of God is fully able to forgive that sin for Christ died for that sin upon the cross and he broke the power of that sin through the resurrection. “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Believers must express genuine love.
Since the gospel can rescue a person from the sin of a homosexual lifestyle, we must express genuine, appropriate love to people who are in need of such salvation. These are people, like so many others, who need to be rescued rather than rejected. Loved rather than hated.
We should be friendly to such people as we meet them in the course of our lives – at work, next door, at school, and so on. We should treat them with dignity and respect, converse with them as we should with any other person, extend to such people all the same common, human courtesies that we should give to any other human being, and we should do all of these things because we genuinely, truly appreciate and value them as people like ourselves – people who are made in God’s image, captive to sin, and in need of God’s salvation.
You may have noticed that I have mostly referred to homosexuality in this message as homosexual activity or behavior rather than just homosexuality. I am doing this because any actual expression or act of homosexuality is sin. To do homosexual things is always sinful in the sight of God.
What we need to understand, though, is that people do experience actual, real homosexual desires and temptations. When this happens, they have not necessarily sinned until they have chosen to meditate, fantasize, or act out on those desires. I say this because it helps us to have sympathy and love for people who struggle with this temptation, and there are people who wrestle against this temptation and win.
Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (Jam 1:14-15)
This does not mean it is ever appropriate to entertain such thoughts in our minds, for as Christ himself has taught us, God considers it adultery if a man merely looks at a woman lustfully in his heart (Mt 5:27-28). So, to dwell upon, long for, fantasize about, and so forth any aspect of homosexual behavior is itself a sinful act in the sight of God, whether you act out on those things or not.
Also, you may recall what Paul said about how when people do such things, they are giving way to the lusts of their hearts (Rom 1:23). This reveals that people do indeed have very strong, inner desires and urges to these sorts of things. So, we should sympathize with how difficult it is overcome and resist such desires, but we should not normalize or condone people identifying with such desires or giving in to such desires as though doing so is okay or should be affirmed and celebrated.
Though such strong sinful desires are real, they are not good and should not be encouraged or accepted as okay. Such people need us to treat them with genuine sympathy and love, but not to affirm or celebrate their sinful desires and behavior.
Believers must speak the truth.
Expressing sympathy and love for people who struggle with this temptation must not cause us to refuse to tell them the truth. Paul teaches us to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and Peter teaches us to “speak with grace and salt” (Col 4:6). As Paul teaches elsewhere, speaking the truth in love does not always guarantee positive or pleasant results and reception (Gal 4:15). But doing so is the only way to represent Christ well and to have a chance at presenting the truth to people who need it most.
As God gives you opportunities to get to know people who struggle with this sin, and even those who are ardent supporters of this lifestyle, treating them in love may open opportunities to speak to them about the gospel and to let them know not only that (1) you love them and God loves them but (2) their choice to identify and live this way is sinful to God. This can be said lovingly, gently, and thoughtfully, without hate, meanness, or arrogance. And this is entirely possible for us to do if we will first know what God teaches about this issue, then love people who struggle with it.
Believers must guard against sin.
Finally, as we are exposed to this lifestyle and behavior and interact with people who live this way and promote it, we must be careful to guard our hearts from being drawn into such sin ourselves.
You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (2 Pet 3:17-18)
There is also Lot himself, nephew to Abraham, who chose to live in Sodom and Gomorrah, whom Peter tells us permitted his soul to become worn down spiritually from the immorality that surrounded him:
[God] delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) (2 Pet 2:7-8)
We can experience the same downward spiritual depression if we allow the influences of homosexuality to overwhelm us and chip away at our consciences and minds if we do not regularly read and meditate on the truth of God’s Word, surround ourselves with godly, Christian friends, and depend upon the Holy Spirit for strength and perseverance. Though we should seek to befriend people who struggle with this sin so that we can lead them to Christ, we should guard our hearts closely to be sure that we do not become drawn into or tempted by this sin ourselves.
As we hold closely to God’s clear truth, let’s not be ashamed to believe that homosexuality, like any sin, is not only contrary to God’s good design and purpose for our lives, but that it also brings sorrow, destruction, anxiety, and death into the lives of those who live this way. But God’s grace can rescue anyone who turns to Christ for forgiveness and freedom. As your pastor, I ask you to stand firm, not giving in to what the world says and also not acting with hate but showing real love while speaking honestly. Let’s share the good news of forgiveness through Christ and keep our hearts close to him, so we can live faithfully and help others come into a close and everlasting relationship with him – not only this month but always.
Discussion Questions
- How have you faced social pressure regarding your position on the morality of homosexuality? At work? With Family? In other community interactions?
- Please present a Biblical case for why homosexual activity is sinful from the Scriptures as a group. (Hint: You may use the sermon manuscript from our website: brookdale.church.)
- How would you respond to a close friend who says that they are a homosexual Christian, meaning that they are a Christian who affirms a homosexual lifestyle.
- How would you counsel someone if their child claimed to now identify as a homosexual?
- What is challenging for you about the cultural conflict on homosexuality?
- Considering 1 Cor 6:9-11, is it true for a professing follower of Christ to call themselves “gay” because they experience attraction to their own sex? (This person does not condone or participate in homosexual activity.)
- How can we show love to people who struggle with temptation to homosexuality?
Posted in Sunday School
Posted in Truth 4 Today, Homosexuality, Gender, Sexuality, Immorality, Morality
Posted in Truth 4 Today, Homosexuality, Gender, Sexuality, Immorality, Morality
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