Home Page | Site Map | Contact Us | Site Search | Search the New Testament
	Church of Christ 100 Rena Road Van Buren Arkansas 72956

What does the Bible say about homosexuality?

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “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 extortionist 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.” (1Corinthians 6:9-11). The New Testament does condemn homosexuality, and lumps it in with a number of other sins (Romans 1:18-32; 1Corinthians 6:9-10). There can be no question that homosexuality, in God’s eyes, is unnatural, and it is a sin. It is, however, no more of a sin than any other sins. Those guilty of committing the sin of homosexuality need to seek God’s forgiveness for that sin, as well as for all of the other sins of which they are guilty. God does not want anyone to be eternally lost. He wants everyone to come to repentance (2Peter 3:9). Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved, whoever does not believe shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). On the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). God established the church to be a calling together of forgiven sinners. No matter what you’ve done, God wants you to be saved, but we must comply with His will.

God has purposely narrowed a specific context for sexual fulfillment. God created us so that the desire for sexual fulfillment would be strong, but He confined the proper context to a man and a woman who are married to each other. A husband is to fulfill the desires of his wife and vice versa. They are not to seek sexual pleasure outside of that context so as to keep the marriage relationship pure. God’s purpose in creating things this way was to teach man to maintain disciplined faithfulness in a proper context. For this reason, the apostle Paul compared the relationship between a husband and wife to the church’s relationship to God (Ephesians 5:22-33). Since this is the proper context for sexual fulfillment, any fulfillment outside of this context is sexual immorality (i.e. fornication).

It would be easy for me to say that homosexual desires are evil and that anyone who has them should purge them from their conscience, immediately. We all know, however, that it is never easy to change deep-seated feelings. The best advice that I can give is that if you feel that you must get married, find you a good Christian woman that you love, marry her and be faithful to her and her only, ‘til death do you part. Marry a woman who will fulfill your desires and then you fulfill her desires. Marry a woman who will help you get to heaven. If, however, you decide not to marry, seek your devotion in working with the church. The apostle Paul was never married. He referred to it as a gift that some men have and others do not (1Corinthians 7:7). He wrote, “I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1Corinthians 7:8-9; see also verses 32-35).

Remember, all of us struggle with things in our lives that are temptations to us. None of us is immune and we all fail sometimes, but we cannot stop trying, and we cannot allow Satan to invade our lives and control us. This life is short compared to eternity (James 4:14). We must use this life to make our way to heaven. Paul described it this way, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2Timothy 4:6-8).
 

Written by David Banks