The long-standing homosexual debate has exploded into a global litmus test of loyalties causing more accommodating neutral ground to emerge than any other single issue in world history. As such, it has served to segregate people into more social, religious, professional, emotional, moral & ethical factionalism than anything else in comparison. I find that very intriguing. Why homosexuality? Why human sexual orientation?
I think one reason is because sexuality is a common basic human dynamic inherent with every living man, woman, boy and girl. Sex is not a bad thing, for God created sex (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-24), and God is incapable of creating anything bad. Sexuality then, is a human dynamic that is mysteriously reflective of God’s image (Genesis 1:27), and, therefore, could not have been created for anything but divine goodness & beauty. It cannot be overlooked, however, that God created this good and beautiful dynamic of human nature to be experienced & expressed within the context and confines of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman (an institution God also created). That is God’s design for sex, a Biblical fact that cannot be argued, unless you are one who just doesn’t believe the Bible. When sex is experienced outside the context of a Biblical marriage, it is a clear violation God’s intent.
Satan has always been in the business of doing all he can to distort & destroy God’s beauty, goodness and design. His first argument with mankind in the Garden of Eden was to challenge the credibility of God’s creation and design, and claim God to be a liar (Genesis 3:1-5). What happened consequently proved that Satan was the actual deceiver, and what God said was indeed the absolute truth. Ever since that first act of rebellion against God’s will & ways, another natural dynamic of the human race has emerged – sin. We are all born sinners.
The very first awareness Adam & Eve experienced of their fallen, sinful nature was in the area of their sexuality – they both realized they were nude. Feeling embarrassment and shame for the first time, they covered themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). God’s original design for marital sexuality did not include this kind of guilt and shame (Genesis 2:25). The marital intimacy of husband & wife was always intended by God to be honorable and undefiled in any way (Hebrews 13:4). The effort of Satan to distort God’s beauty & goodness met with certain success, and the forces of evil & darkness have made this arena of human nature a battleground against God and His creation ever since. Do you think it is mere coincidence that a vast majority of divorces, domestic abuse, abortion, rape, crime, job termination, public disgrace, sickness, disease and death involve sexual indulgence? Hell is having a “hay day” with human sexuality!
One of the most popular lines of defense used by the gay community is that persons with homosexual orientation are born that way hence they have no choice but to follow their natural inclination. This is based on recent scientific discovery of a so-called “gay gene” which was first isolated in fruit flies (I won’t even go there)! The claim is virtually flawed because the genetic distinction is not found in large segments of other gay test subjects, and many heterosexual (straight) test subjects have also been discovered to possess the same gene. Nice try, but fail!
So, are people born gay? The answer is a qualified, “yes.” As I stated above, since the first act of rebellion against God’s command in the Garden of Eden by mankind, all of us have been born with the same sin nature. Therefore, we are all born with the capability of being a homosexual, a fornicator, an adulterer, a pedophile, an abuser, a liar, a thief, a murderer, a slanderer – you name it! We are all born with the natural inclination to conduct our lives against God’s perfect design in any deviant way. No one is immune. We are all sinners by nature. We are born with the ability to commit any imaginable sin.
But now I am in the same trouble as Phil Robertson (Duck Dynasty). I am now guilty of “hate language.” I am judging. Since God is the One who created human sexuality, it serves us best to turn to His Word for some authoritative knowledge & insight. What does the Bible say about homosexuality? Here are a few references:
- The first time we are introduced to homosexual behavior in Scripture – Two men (angels) came to visit Lot in Sodom, and the men of the city came to Lot’s house to demand that he bring the men out so that they could engage them in a homosexual gang rape (Genesis 19:1-7). Lot begged them, “do not act wickedly.” (Genesis 19:7). In describing the social & sexual culture of Sodom & Gomorrah (which included homosexuality), God said, “their sin is exceedingly grave.” (Genesis 18:20).
- God commanded in the Levitical Law – “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22)…”If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” (Leviticus 20:13).
- Paul’s letter to the Romans – “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them…God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error…God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” (Romans 1:24-28).
Notice that I have emphasized sixteen (16) adjectives God uses in His inspired Word to describe homosexuality. These Scriptural references leave no room whatsoever in drawing the clear conclusion that homosexuality is sin. It is a deviation and unnatural perversion from that which God created & designed marital, heterosexuality to be. Not only that, God uses strong words such as abomination, detestable, indecent and depraved to describe homosexual orientation and activity. How could anyone conclude anything differently, unless again, you just reject the Bible?
Yet, many in the gay community, especially those who profess to be Christian gay persons, claim that such Bible passages do not apply to them. One gay “religious scholar” issued a long dissertation, for example, claiming that when Paul wrote the Romans 1 passage, he was not referring to committed, monogamous gay lovers. Instead, he was attacking the promiscuous sexual acts of non-committed gay persons. There is absolutely nothing in the context or the original language of Romans 1 that even implies such a distortion. That is a classic example of twisting Scripture to say what you need it to say in order not to condemn your personal intent in conduct & character. That would be like taking the commandment forbidding murder and claiming it doesn’t apply to certain persons committing murder, as long as they had a legitimate reason for killing someone. In Leviticus 20:11-12, God forbids incest, but one could easily say that doesn’t apply to a father and his daughter who truly love each other and mutually desire to be with each other. How absurd! Again, nice try, but fail!
Several Christian music artists (Ray Boltz, Marsha Stevens, Justin Ryan) who are openly gay demand that their sexual orientation be viewed as a gift of God. They claim God created them with the bodily, sexual inclinations they feel & desire, and since that is the way God made them, God blesses them with the right to celebrate, experience & express their homosexuality openly and freely to His glory. In addressing the purpose of the Law, Paul stated to Timothy – “Realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane…and homosexuals…and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.” (I Timothy 1:9-10). As you can see, I have emphasized seven (7) more adjectives to describe homosexual behavior. How is it possible that God would create someone with a sexual orientation that He diametrically opposes and condemns in His Word? God is not inconsistent in His nature and in His Word. Whatever “theology” anyone uses to justify their homosexual orientation and faith, Paul makes clear it is not sound doctrine, i.e., it is doctrine that is contrary to Scripture.
My critics will assert, “You are forcing your beliefs on others.” The only belief we are talking about is my personal belief in the Bible as the true and authoritative Word of God. I did not write these things; God said them. If these words are “hate language,” you’ll have to take that up with God. I’ve just quoted what Scripture clearly states. Don’t attack me or anyone else who quotes the Bible; attack the Bible. Attack God! These are not personal judgments, these are Biblical teachings. The problem with society today is that they don’t see or understand the difference.
So, it comes down to what you personally believe about the Bible. Is it God’s authoritative Word, or not? Do you believe it, or not? You see, the answers to those questions dictate everything else about your life. What you accept and believe about the Bible determines your viewpoints, your opinions, your values & convictions, and ultimately dictates your behavior, choices and decisions about everything else in life. Culture and society may change in their views & values about human sexuality, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His Word stands and never changes (Isaiah 40:8). What He declared through His Word to be sin thousands of years ago, is still sin in the 21st Century, no matter how much culture and society have changed to accept & accommodate alternate lifestyles.
If a person today insists that homosexuality is not a sin, he is in essence declaring that he does not believe the Bible. Sex experienced & expressed in any other relationship other than the marriage relationship between a husband & wife, is sexual sin (I Corinthians 6:15-20). The Bible declares it clearly, and you either believe it or you don’t. People today who believe what the Bible teaches about sexuality are often ostracized for being closed-minded, out of touch with reality and the ways in which the world has changed, or hatefully judgmental & intolerant toward people who are different and have the right to be different. We are criticized for not expressing love and respect for individuals and their rights.
Opponents often site the love, grace, compassion, mercy and kindness of Jesus toward people as the example we should follow. No argument there. We definitely need to emulate the character of Christ. While Jesus often expressed these divine qualities however, He also never backed off from the responsibility to call sin what it was and point it out in those guilty of it. The Gospels tell us that when Jesus discovered merchants in the Temple, that he drove them out, strew their money boxes and overturned their tables, while labeling them thieves (Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17). The Jewish religious leaders who rejected Jesus and ultimately had Him arrested & crucified, were called by Jesus – “You brood of vipers, how can you being evil, speak what is good?” (Matthew 12:34). If Jesus were alive today and spoke this way to certain sinners, He too would be ostracized as intolerant, unloving and an enemy to diversity. No, we are not called to judge, but we are called to warn people of God’s impending judgment on them if they do not repent and come to Christ according to the dictates of God’s Word.
The point is, Jesus loved enough to confront. It is not exactly correct to say Christians should not force their beliefs on others. If that is the case, why do we have a Gospel to preach, and why do we engage a global evangelistic mission enterprise to spread that Gospel? Jesus said that in order to be forgiven of sin and receive the gift of eternal life, you must believe in Him. But, “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). Of course we have to urge, encourage, beg, plead – whatever is necessary to encourage lost persons to come to Christ. Obviously, we cannot force someone to believe, but that doesn’t mean we don’t take the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) seriously and engage it aggressively and assertively.
I fear that someone, sometime, somewhere is going to turn to someone they love (and who supposedly loves them) and ask, “Why didn’t you tell me this was wrong?” “Why did you not love me enough to confront me with the error of my life?” Yes, we should love the lost, but some Christians are going to love the lost right into hell because they fail to confront them at the point of their sin for fear of offending or hurting them emotionally! Through the prophet Ezekiel, God issues a sobering truth – “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.” (Ezekiel 33:8). James reminds us – “he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death” (James 5:20). If we really love and respect the homosexual person (or any sinful person), we will be faithful to warn them in loving ways that God does not accept their lifestyle, and unless they repent, they will suffer the judgment of His wrath (I Corinthians 6:9). That is a harsh truth in today’s world, but it is Biblical truth nonetheless. The modern Christian’s mandate wasn’t to write it, but it is our mandate to faithfully proclaim it, even if it gets us fired, kicked off television shows, ostracized by our family & friends or someday, even land in jail. Like Peter and the apostles, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29). Standing for God often requires the sacrifice and persecution of standing against public opinion, cultural norms and sometimes even legislative laws.
The national and international militant effort to accept & accommodate in every moral & legal way this specific alternative lifestyle is puzzling. Such a campaign is not forced on behalf of pedophiles, although they claim they have a right to their natural sexual orientation & expression. Neither is it forced on behalf of incest proponents who insist they have a right to their sexual orientation. This one sexual orientation has been singled out and forced on the American people in a demand for acceptance and accommodation in every moral, ethical and legal way. Why?
This is hard to write about, folks! You know what needs to be said, but you risk being misunderstood and being unloving & insensitive if you say it. I am not insensitive to the ways this issue has touched the lives of many godly people. I know families who have raised children in a Christian home, faithfully engaged them in the life of the church; where the parents themselves are godly people, actively serving God & His Kingdom. They have helped their children to know God and His Word, and though not perfect, have done all they could be expected to do in providing their family a solid, Biblical foundation for life. Yet, one of their children walks into the room one day and says, “Mom and dad, I have something to tell you.” Out of the closet! These parents are devastated, but this is coming from a child they dearly love. What are they to do? How do they love their child without compromising their faith? How do they love their child without failing to uphold a Biblical standard? It is an enormous challenge! My heart goes out to them.
As this happens more and more across the religious landscape of our land, more churches are being pressured to grow more accepting & accommodating to these lifestyles and choices. The faith of many is being challenged to accommodate more than is Biblically comfortable. In many places, it is deteriorating the foundational values that have sustained our moral principles to now. It is exactly what Satan and the forces of darkness want as they attack and seek to destroy God’s church, the institution of marriage as He designed it, and His people.
I think it is also prophetic in nature as an indication of the last days. As one of the signs of the end of the Church Age, Jesus revealed – “at that time many will fall away…lawlessness will increase, most people’s love will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:10-12). Paul reaffirmed this truth to Timothy – “But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage.” (I Timothy 4:1-3). When Paul referred to “men who forbid marriage,” he was siting those who propose an alternative to God’s original design. Modern alternate lifestyles and changing cultural values & norms need the distortion or rejection of the Biblical standard in order to justify and accommodate them. As a result, the Bible is being abandoned as an outdated book that is mostly flawed in its truth & principles. The modern generation referred to by demographers as the “Millennials” are mass-exiting the church in droves, claiming the church & religion no longer holds any relevance for their lives, despite being raised by godly parents & families who taught them otherwise. What they are really saying is they cannot live their lives the way they want to live them and be constantly confronted with a Biblical standard that challenges & condemns their conduct and character. So, they disconnect from the friction. Unfortunately, many denominations & churches are emerging that attract & welcome these by putting on a show rather than a worship service, and offering a feel-good motivational speech instead of an unadulterated expository proclamation from the Word of God. This “falling away” is one of the most glaring signs that the Rapture of the Church is closer than it has ever been.
Daniel’s prophecy provides a profile of the coming antichrist. Some will criticize me for being a sensationalist in this regard, but one description the prophet gives for the antichrist is, “He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the love of women.” (Daniel 11:37). Many Bible students agree that this can mean he will be so obsessed with power that he will have no passion left for anything or anyone else; or, that he will be an openly homosexual man. If the latter is the case, what would it take for a global acceptance of his leadership if his sexual orientation is not first embraced through widespread moral conditioning? And if this is the situation, how revealing it is that the sexual orientation of the man deemed to be the antichrist (the opposite of Jesus Christ), and the one who is possessed by Satan himself during the Tribulation Period, is homosexual!
I believe that homosexuality, like all sin, is redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus and can be transformed in the life of any person to the likeness of Christ and the design intended by our Creator. As this post has stated, apart from being born with the Adamic sinful nature, no person is born specifically as a homosexual. In the nature of our sexuality, we are born with the goodness and beauty of the way God created sexuality – male & female becoming physically one in the marriage relationship according to God’s design.
The marriage relationship throughout Scripture has often been used to illustrate & reflect the relationship between God and His people and Christ and His Church (His Bride). I may lose a few of you here, but when society perverts & distorts this image with a “same-sex” concept, I think it reverts back to the fundamental motivation of Satan in the Garden – to be “like the Most High God.” (Genesis 3:5, Isaiah 14:14). Satan wanted to act like God, have the same rights as God, and enjoy the same power as God – to usurp God and be God himself (the antichrist will also put himself on the throne in the temple of Jerusalem during the Tribulation Period and proclaim himself to be God). But Satan can never be God. The Church can never be Christ. They are two separates (the Bridegroom and the Bride), divinely unified in a compatible relationship of sacrifice and love, with a divine purpose both now and in eternity. They each have separate but complimentary gender qualities, with differing roles that function according to the design created for them by the Heavenly Father. For Satan to try to be God, or for the church to try to be Christ is an example of the same distortion inherent in a “same-sex marriage” concept and effort. A wife cannot be a husband, nor can a husband be a wife; and a Biblical marriage cannot be a wife and a wife, nor can it be a husband and husband. Same-sex marriage is a satanic distortion of the divine image & design of God built on the evil motivation to be the same as God.
When sexual orientation is distorted & perverted, it can be corrected and healed by the saving and transforming power of Christ like any other human, sinful distortion & perversion. I submit that those who reject that idea have not availed themselves to all the options for discovering otherwise. I believe it is a learned behavior associated with cultural conditions that eventually lead to behavioral choices which solidify strongholds on a person’s physical desires and emotions. Those strongholds convince the person that he is simply that way by birth or nature, and he has no choice but to follow those natural inclinations. In essence, that is the ultimate condition referred to as the “reprobate (depraved) mind” of Romans 1. If that sinful pattern cannot be reversed, then Christ died on the cross in vain; but, it can only be reversed if the person wants it reversed.
That reversal must begin with the person becoming a new life in Christ. Salvation brings about the forgiveness of sin (any sin and all sin, no matter the perversion) and eternal life, but it begins with confession and repentance. Confession means agreeing with God that if His Word deems a lifestyle as sin, it is sin – no arguments, no justifications, no excuses! Repentance means turning away from it (giving it up) and moving in the opposite direction (toward God and His Word, will and ways). In this discussion, that means the person agrees that homosexuality is sin as God clearly declares it to be in His Word; and, makes the willful decision to turn away from homosexuality to heterosexuality in the design for which God created sex & marriage. That’s a difficult choice for many gay persons, but through the compelling power of the Holy Spirit and the love & grace of God, that decision can be made. In fact, it has been made by many formerly gay individuals. Men and women, both believers and non-believers, have gained victory through Christ from sexual failures in their lives. It often takes time, but submitting to the process of the loving discipline of our heavenly Father will allow the repentant person to be reconciled in a proper relationship to God and society without the encumbrance of immoral sin and weakness. In Christ, we can truly be a new creature.
The process may also need the inclusion of professional counselors to help identify the cultural and domestic markers that contributed toward the orientation and the evolution of development that led to distorted choices. Such counselors must be carefully selected, and Scripture admonishes us to choose Christian counselors who espouse Biblical truth and principles for guiding life’s conduct & character. There are many secular humanists in the practice of counseling who will tell a person that it is an emotionally healthy choice to be who you feel you should be, and do whatever feels good. They give ungodly behaviors a professional permission for indulgence without guilt. A responsible Biblical counselor will honestly hold up the standard of Scripture and encourage a person’s submission & compliance to that standard. Most homosexual persons have not given this option their sincere and best effort, I fear.
Families who are touched by this enormous challenge struggle with how to deal with their loved one. No one with the Spirit of Christ and love of the Father would turn a child out of the house and disown him or her in this situation. It is often said of God that He hates sin but loves the sinner. Somehow, family members have to find a way to express the balance of that same sentiment. To do so without compromise and concession in certain ways is most challenging, and must be carried out in the context of an intimate walk with God firmly established on the truth of His Word. The relationship must be guided and guarded by a keen sensitivity to the leadership & power of the Holy Spirit, seasoned in the love & grace of the Father. Constant, fervent prayer is the effectual practice that will accomplish much (James 5:16). As confusing and difficult as it is, our gay family member or friend must feel loved & accepted, while at the same time, understand that his lifestyle choice is a condition condemned in Scripture and unacceptable to the Father. Therefore, it is unacceptable to those who love and represent the Father. I know – much easier said than done. We just must remain faithful and trust the power of God to do that which we cannot do.
I said earlier in this post, these things are hard to write about. No matter how Biblically accurate the words are or how sensitively & lovingly you attempt to say them, they will always stir anger, resentment and rejection by some, obviously today by many. This issue involves people who have feelings and deserve respect. That doesn’t mean they don’t also need and deserve Biblical challenge & direction. Love must sometimes be tough. The world doesn’t understand that. To the world, love must always be accepting, accommodating, and approving. That is why this issue is so explosive and dividing. To anyone who might be offended at my thoughts and expressions, my intent has been not to hurt, but to point to Biblical truth that I am confident applies. I hope my effort is received in that spirit.
In the Spirit of Christ,
Pastor Rick Smith