If we say “sex” in the evangelical community, we become very uncomfortable. We know what we believe about sex and sexual relationships, and we know that we are living in a society that is rapidly moving away from what the Bible teaches about human sexuality.
Over the past 60 years, we have watched our society’s ideas on sexuality changed by the advent of the Pill, the loosening of moral standards in the arts, particularly film, television and music, and we have witnessed the disintegration of the family as divorces have become more accessible and less accountable through “no fault” divorces. The scandal that once surrounded the birth of a child to an unwed mother doesn’t even cause society to bat an eye.
Nowhere does the changing world of sex alarm the church than the idea of homosexuality. People who have come to accept adultery, fornication and divorce still draw the line at homosexuality. It is treated as a sin that is near the top of God’s list of evil.
But is it, really? Is homosexuality really so hated by God that He has set it apart as one that is more heinous in His eyes than any other?
What the Bible Says about Homosexuality
Regardless of where we stand on the matter of whether homosexuality is a choice or genetics, there can be no dispute that whenever the Bible mentions homosexuality, it leaves no doubt that homosexuality is a sin. Leviticus 20:13, the verse says, “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” Leviticus 18:22 simply says it is detestable, but doesn’t add the capital punishment to it. Deuteronomy 23:18 states that God detests both female and male prostitutes.
In the New Testament, Romans 1:21-32 speaks of the immoral people of the world. Verses 26-27 says, “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty of their perversion.” First Corinthians 6:9 includes homosexuals in a list of “the wicked that will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
There is no question, then, that the Bible’s stance on homosexuality is one of sin, and it is not a sin that God is willing to overlook or condone. It seems inconsistent with the Bible, if people are born in any way not heterosexual, that God would condemn the nature of the person instead of the actions and choices of the person. If it could be proven beyond a doubt that homosexuality is predetermined, then the question we would need to be asking is more along the lines of what exactly a non-heterosexual person is doing that creates the sinful action.
But, again, we raise the question, do these verses indicate that homosexuality is the worst sin?
What the Bible Says about Other Sins
A look at the context of the verses in the Old and New Testaments that speak out against homosexuality quickly reveals that God’s condemnation of that particular sin is surrounded by other sins that are equally condemned specifically by God. God is quick to condemn adultery, incest and fornication (which is sex between two unmarried people). He also has no compassion for bestiality.
Then we go to other parts of the Old Testament, and we discover that there are other sins God condemns as harshly as He does homosexuality. In Proverbs 6:16-19, we read, “There are six things the Lord hates; seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” Two things stand out in these verses. One, God calls them “detestable,” just as He does homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Second, in this list of things that God detests, there is no mention of homosexuality. Elsewhere in Proverbs, God says He hates pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech (8:13), the sacrifices of the wicked and the ways of the wicked (15:8-9), and the proud of heart (16:5).
Another passage to consider is Malachi 2:13-16. In that passage, God speaks about divorce, even going so far as to say, “I hate divorce” (v.16a). There really is no way of getting around that declaration from God on a subject of a particular sin.
Turning to the New Testament, the passage in Romans 1:21-32, God doesn’t stop with homosexuals when He speaks of those who He has given over. “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:2228-32). Notice in that list there are things you and I do, and these are grouped in with homosexual practices.
In the list in 1 Corinthians 6:10, the list of those whom God excludes from the kingdom of heaven includes thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers.
In short, there is no question that, while God detests homosexuality, it can more accurately be stated that God detests sin in general, and that there is no one sin that stands above the others. All, that is, but one mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 12:30-32. “He who is not with Me is against Me, and He who does not gather with Me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” While there is debate about when one commits the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, there is general consensus that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to reject the message of the Spirit, which is best summarized in John 3:16—God loved us so much that He sent His Son as an atonement for our sins and redeemer of our souls from the sins we had committed.
So Why Do So Many in the Church Take Such a Hard Stand Against Homosexuality?
This is conjecture on my part, but I think the answer lies in the fact that, relative to other sins committed by Christians, relatively few of us are tempted to engage in homosexual practices. Gluttony is a sin, but our pews and pulpits are filled with obese people, so we don’t preach against gluttony. The love of money is the root of all evil, but there are too many of our churches filled with people flashing their wealth and chasing after money, so we don’t preach against the love of money. We don’t address adultery, again, because there are too many in our pews that are not afraid to look with lust upon members of the opposite sex. The list can go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
When I have preached from Romans 1, I acknowledge to my congregation that the Bible condemns homosexual practices in that passage. I then go on to state that the vast majority in the congregation have no problem with that temptation, but they can relate to the other sins listed in that passage, particularly gossip and disobedience toward our parents.
Another reason is that, to many, homosexuality is so against the grain of the norm that it easy to be repelled by it. Most of us are uncomfortable around two people of the same sex showing affection for one another. It just doesn’t seem right in our eyes, and it’s easier to denounce that which we don’t fully understand than it is to try to come to terms with it.
How Should the Church Deal with Homosexuality?
As our society has changed over the last 50+ years, our churches have had to come to terms with the changes, and we have had to reassess the way we deal with the way we see our world and the sin in it.
It wasn’t too long ago that no self-respecting adulterer would show up at church, and no self-respecting church would tolerate such a person. Now, our churches have numerous people who have practiced adultery or fornication openly and are welcome into our churches, sometimes being given positions of leadership in our churches.
This is just one example of some of the sinful people we have allowed to become integrated into our churches, people we now welcome with open arms. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is better for the church to err on the side of compassion than it is to take up stones to condemn the sinner in our midst. After all, each person who is a member of our churches is a sinner in need of redeeming grace. Even after we come to a saving relationship with God through Christ, we nonetheless find ourselves seeking forgiveness for the sins we still continue to commit. We are aware that there are posts in each of our eyes, and we need to focus on that as opposed to the speck in someone else’s eye.
But there is a danger of going too far in our acceptance of the sinner. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul comes down hard on them for their tolerant nature in a particular matter. “It is reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2).
Here, I think Paul is not condemning welcoming a known sinner into the fellowship—after, Paul wrote to the Romans that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and Paul is keenly aware of the grace of God that brings a disparate group of sinners together into a group that forms the body of Christ on earth. It is therefore probable that Paul is condemning the Corinthians’ willingness to accept this person as a full member of the fellowship while this person openly flaunts his sinfulness before the world and the church itself.
And that raises the issue of what, exactly, does God mean when He condemns the homosexual as detestable. We might say that a person who seeks membership as a homosexual in our church should also have to renounce any further sexual relations and live a celibate life, but we don’t make the same restrictions on re-married divorced people seeking membership in our churches. “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9). Jesus’ words clearly defines marriage after divorce as adulterous in its nature and form.
Conclusion
We are in difficult times as a Church in determining what we will and will not condone, who we will and will not accept as full members of our congregations. And I don’t know if there is a fully correct answer for all congregations. The answer is that each church must seek God’s direct leadership in this matter for that particular congregation. This is an area that requires much prayer and study, with an open heart and an open mind, asking God to overcome our prejudices and our fears, and let His Spirit guide us in a way that is clear and consistent with His will. Only in this way can we stay true to His direction and to our commitment to Him.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty