Does the Bible Really Condemn Homosexuality?

Does the Bible really condemn homosexuality? A lot of people, even people who claim to be Christians, not only argue that homosexuality is right, but that the Bible doesn't really forbid it. The rest of this post is a research paper I wrote in seminary on this issue and I pray it will be helpful for you. For other sources on this issue, you can see the bibliography at the bottom of the post or follow any of these links here:

• https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-does-jesus-think-about-homosexuality/

• https://www.crossway.org/articles/5-questions-about-homosexuality/

• https://equip.sbts.edu/press/homosexuality-and-the-bible/

• https://albertmohler.com/2014/11/13/sexual-orientation-and-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ/

• https://equip.sbts.edu/video/show-compassion-homosexuals/

Homosexuality and the Bible

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt 19:6b, ESV. cf. Matt 19:1-12 / Mark 10:1-12). Jesus taught that marriage is sacred and that a married couple should not be separated, except in cases of sexual immorality. Yet many people in Western culture have done the very thing Jesus so strongly prohibited in recent decades by separating lifelong covenant from marriage, sex from committed love between spouses, the goal of creating a family from romantic aspirations, and even a one-man, one-woman union from marriage and sexuality. The Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in the United States placed the legitimacy of homosexuality in the forefront of the mind of the American church. Now, evangelicals wonder, more than ever, if homosexuality is biblically acceptable, and if it is not, how respond to this issue in truth and love. A thoughtful reading of Scripture should lead one to conclude that the only God-glorifying romantic relationship is between one man and one woman, and therefore, homosexuality is a sin. For brevity’s sake, arguments will be made primarily from four passages, Genesis 1–2, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, and Romans 1, but other relevant passages will also be discussed.

Argument in Favor of Homosexuality Being Acceptable

Some argue that the Bible teaches that monogamous, committed homosexual relationships is acceptable to God. These arguments are based on reading the texts that mention homosexuality only to prohibit certain acts, not homosexuality itself.

Genesis 1–2

Genesis 1–2 shows the first marriage as being between one man and one woman:

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Gen 2:18-23; all subsequent quotes from the ESV)

This account, however, can be read to teach that not all relationships should be heterosexual. The narrator contrasted Adam from the animals, for none of them were fit to be his helper. He rejoices when Eve is made because she is a human, like him. The two share a loving, committed relationship. All of these factors would be involved in a committed homosexual relationship.[1] McNeil thus concluded that Genesis 2 highlights the importance of “mutual love and fulfillment” in marriage.

Genesis 19

Genesis 19 describes what all interpreters acknowledge is some sort of sin involving the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. The passage reads, in part:

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly… But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. (verses 4-6, 9-11)

Some read this passage as showing the sin of Sodom to be homosexuality, but others read this text as exposing and commending other sins, not homosexuality itself. Various alternate interpretations for the sin in Sodom have been proposed. The men of the town could have sought to “know” the visitors not in a sexual way, but simply to find out who it is that is visiting the city, since the Hebrew word for “know” is rarely used to describe sex.[2] Another possibility, as presented by Vines, is that the problem was not homosexuality, but rape: “the sin of Sodom had far more to do with a lack of hospitality and a bent toward violence than with any sexual designs the men had on Lot’s visitors”… “it was gang rape.”[3] The rest of the Old Testament identifies sins associated with Sodom, but homosexuality is not listed.[4] Instead, at least part of Sodom’s sin seems to be poor hospitality to strangers, whether by treating them as unwelcome and dangerous or by seeking to rape them. Jesus even mentioned the story of Sodom when telling his disciples to leave cities that did not welcome them, suggesting that Sodom indeed was judged for poor hospitality.[5]

Leviticus 18 and 20

Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 appear to speak clearly on the immortality of homosexuality, saying, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” and “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them,” respectively. However, these verses do not have a reason for the prohibition listed alongside them. Interpreters who believe homosexuality is not sinful suggest that this may be related to idolatrous practices of the cultures around Israel. [6] Another possible interpretation is that since homosexual relationships could not produce natural-born children, Israelites would have avoided it for the betterment of the nation as a whole.[7] Thus, these commands in Leviticus can be understood culturally bound and now irrelevant to the practice of modern homosexuality.

Romans 1

Paul indeed indicts some who practice homosexuality in Romans 1, but supporters of homosexuality propose alternate readings to a blanket condemnation of homosexuality. Jones argued that the homosexuality in Romans 1 is only mentioned after a mention of idolatry:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:21-25, italics added.)

Thus, the issue of homosexuality Paul dealt with is related to idol worship, not homosexuality by itself.[8] Additionally, Jones argued, “the ‘passions’ described are those of men who ‘gave up their natural relations with women’ (verse 27). They are not the passions of inverts who have never been attracted to women.”[9]

            Alternatively, Vines focused his arguments on the homosexual acts themselves. As Paul described them,

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Rom 1:26-27)

Vines argued the problem Paul described was not the homosexual acts themselves, but an excess of passion. He said, “Paul’s description of same-sex behavior in this passage is indisputably negative. But he also explicitly described the behavior he condemned as lustful. He made no mention of love, fidelity, monogamy, or commitment…. Paul wasn’t condemning the expression of a same-sex orientation as opposed to the expression of an opposite-sex orientation. He was condemning excess as opposed to moderation… Same-sex behavior condemned as excess doesn’t translate to homosexuality condemned as an orientation — or as a loving expression of that orientation.”[10] Therefore, if one buys either of these interpretations, he can still support monogamous, committed homosexual romantic relationships.

Other Relevant Passages

Only two other passages in the Bible directly mentions homosexuality, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10. However, Paul did not explain what he meant by homosexuality in either passage. Some interpreters believe that Paul actually referred to acts other than committed homosexual relationships in these passages. McNeil argued that the word translated as homosexuality in 1 Corinthians more likely refers to a kind of softness or moral looseness. In the same vein, he argued that in 1 Timothy, the word likely refers to excessive sexual behavior or male prostitution.[11]

Argument in Against Homosexuality Being Acceptable

The biblical arguments against the legitimacy of homosexuality start with the very creation of man and woman and extend all the way through the New Testament. This has been the consistent and seemingly universal teaching of the Christian church until very recent discussions on the issue of homosexuality and a careful study of the Bible shows why the Church had held such a firm consensus on this issue.[12]

Genesis 1–2, and On

As DeYoung noted, Genesis 1–2 seem to set a pattern for the world in which romantic love should exist between a man and a woman.[13] Not only was the woman given to the man as a partner and helper, she is presented as both like the man, being of the same bones and flesh, and unlike the man, in that she is not a man, but a woman.[14] Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”, follows the preceding verses that describe how the woman was formed from the man. Grudem and DeYoung argued this demonstrates that a man and woman can become one flesh because they are both similar and different, hence verse 24 starting with “Therefore.”[15] By being both alike, as the same kind of created being, and different, a man and a woman can serve as partners both in life and in procreation, being “one flesh” in the way they are compatible sexually and in their complementary differences.[16] Thus, only a heterosexual couple can be truly “one flesh.”

Homosexual relationships also appear to be illegitimate because, unlike opposite-sex relationships, same-sex relationships have no natural way to produce children. The pattern of created creatures in the opening chapters of Genesis is that they reproduce “according to their kind” (Gen 1:11-12, 21, 24, 25, cf. Gen 6:19-20, 7:2-3, 7:7-9, 7:14-16).[17] While some couples may not be able to have children, the biblical expectation for marriage is to have children and thus fulfill humanity’s mandate to multiply and fill the earth (Gen 1:28).

Additionally, “one flesh” union cannot happen between same-sex partners in the same way it happens with opposite-sex partners. A homosexual couple cannot serve either in a procreational way or in being complements to each other; they are simply too alike. This “one flesh” union is not tertiary to marriage and romantic love, it is a vital component. The biblical authors often include the term “one flesh” in discussions of marriage and sexuality (Matt 19:5-6, Mark 10:7-9, 1 Cor 6:15-16, Eph 5:28-31, cf. Mal 2:15), showing it to be an inseparable part of marriage. Jesus himself directly quoted Genesis 2:24 while discussing marriage and divorce, reinforcing that marriage is between one man and one woman.[18] Jim Hamilton thus rightly argued that “The interpretation of Genesis 1–2 provided by Jesus is the one that binds the conscience of Christians.”[19]

Homosexual couples cannot be truly “one flesh” and thus homosexual relationships are not biblically acceptable. Monogamous, heterosexual marriage is only pattern taught as legitimate in the Bible, as Genesis 1–2 and other passages show.[20]

Genesis 19

Aside from an implied illegitimacy of homosexuality from the Bible’s teaching on a “one flesh” union, the Scriptures have explicit examples of condemning homosexuality. The first of these is in Genesis 19.

While advocates of homosexuality deny that Genesis 19 shows that consensual, monogamous homosexual relationships are wrong, the plain reading of the Scriptures simply refute this assertation. The Hebrew word for “know” can have various meanings, but as Feinberg and Feinberg observed. meanings are based on context. The context suggests the behavior of the townsfolk is homosexual because Lot offers the men “two daughters who have not known any man” and he said they could “do to them as you please.” This is clearly sexual, suggesting the use of the same word for “know” a few sentences earlier in the passage is also sexual.[21]

While other passages in the Old Testament mention Sodom and Gomorrah without mentioning homosexuality, Grudem pointed out that “most of them do not mention any specific sins of Sodom at all, but simply say that God will judge other groups of people like he did Sodom.”[22] These passages include Zephaniah 2:9, Isaiah 1:4, 1:10 and 13:19, Lamentations 4:6, and Amos 4:1-11.[23] Jeremiah 23:14 mentions sins other than homosexuality (adultery, lying, and supporting evil doers), but Grudem argued this was likely because the prophets mentioned in the passages did not practice homosexuality. Thus, God mentioned the sins the propjets did commit.[24] Similarly, Ezekiel 16:49-50 highlights sins other than homosexuality, but it also includes the word “abomination,” the same word used for homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.[25] Additionally, Jude 7 identifies Sodom’s sin as homosexuality.[26] The Old Testament allusions to Sodom show they committed many sins, but homosexuality was certainly one of them given a plain reading of the text.[27]

Leviticus 18 and 20

The Law of the Old Testament also speaks to the issue of homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, part of the “Holiness Code.” Feinberg and Feinberg summarized that “both participants in the homosexual act (active and passive) are to be executed for their part in the deed. Moreover, both passages call the homosexual act an abomination” and these commands prohibit “the grossest offenses.”[28] While homosexuality was part of some cultures surrounding Israel, sometimes (but not always) as part of cultic worship, neither 18:22 or 20:13 give a specific reason as to why homosexuality is prohibited.[29] Therefore, one cannot conclude from the text that homosexuality was barred only because of how other cultures practiced it. Instead, one must interpret the text within the context of the Bible. That context, Hamilton noted, shows that “the commands against same-sex relations in Leviticus 18 and 20 mesh perfectly with the moral order of creation presented in Genesis 1–2, correctly interpreted by Jesus in Matthew 19:4–5. This indicates that Moses meant for the intentions of the men of Sodom to be viewed as flagrant violations of God’s created order, as can be seen from the way later biblical authors interpret Genesis 19.”[30]

Given that other acts prohibited in the Holiness Code are clearly always wrong, such as bestiality and incest, and that the rest of the Bible appears to condemn homosexuality, the simplest and most likely conclusion to reach is that homosexuality is always wrong.

Romans 1

Romans 1 is grossly misinterpreted by those who believe homosexuality is not sinful. In contrast to their claims, Paul taught that homosexual attraction itself is wrong, not just excessive homosexual practice. Berk succinctly argued,

To be sure, Paul says that homosexual behavior is sinful. But he also says that the desires/attractions themselves are equally morally blameworthy and stand as evidence of God’s wrath against sin: “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions … and [they] burned in their desire toward one another” (Rom 1:26-27). Sexual desire that fixates on the same sex is sinful, and that is why God’s judgment rightly falls on both desires and actions. Again, the issue Paul addresses is not merely sexual behavior but also same-sex attraction.[31]

Paul argued homosexuality is against nature, meaning the way God designed the world and humanity in Genesis 1–2.[32] Further, as Grudem argued, Paul specifically mentioned that “women exchanged” and “men likewise gave up” heterosexual sex for homosexual sex. He did not merely prohibit some types of homosexual activity, such as pedophilia or prostitution, because these practices were not associated with women in the ancient world. [33] The men “likewise” turned to homosexuality, meaning their sin was the same as the women who turned to homosexuality. Thus, Paul posited that all homosexual activity, whether involving men or women, with or without other sins involved, is wrong.[34]

Other Relevant Passages

Paul mentions homosexuality two other times in the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10. Grudem acknowledged that one of the words in 1 Corinthians 6:9 means “soft,” but as he noted, together with another word in the passage, it should be translated “men who have intercourse with men.”[35] In 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul was making an argument from the Law, which had already prohibited homosexuality.[36]

Conclusion: The Christian Response to Homosexuality

As an examination of relevant Scriptures has shown, homosexuality is not biblically warranted. Instead, it is a sin. God made romance, sex, and marriage to exist between a man and a woman, leading to a one-flesh union and, in most cases, children. Jesus himself affirmed this teaching. The city of Sodom was punished harshly in part for its practice of homosexuality. The Law prohibited homosexuality, as Paul reinforced in 1 Timothy. The apostle also mentioned homosexuality as a serious sin in Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6.

As Christians think through the issue of homosexuality, a further look at 1 Corinthians 6 is especially helpful. Verses 9 and 10 contain a list of sins that will send people to Hell: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Verse 11, however, shows hope for every sinner who finds his place in that list and every sinner who sins in other ways. Paul gloriously stated, “And such were some of you. 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.” Homosexuals, like all sinners, do not have to stay in their sin. Instead, salvation through Jesus Christ is offered as a free gift to all who would receive it (Rom. 3:24, John 1:12). Denying one’s sexual attractions is difficult, but a life with God is far better than a life with any person or persons and the Holy Spirit will help believers resist sin. As Jesus and Paul both taught, some believers may be called to singleness (Matt 19:10, 1 Cor 7:7, cf. 1 Cor 7:17, 27-35). All believers must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. The glory that awaits is far greater than the chains of sin that will ultimately bring destruction. He who has ears, let him hear.

Bibliography

DeYoung, Kevin. What Does the Bible Teach about Homosexuality? Wheaton: Crossway, 2015.

Feinberg, John S. and Paul D. Feinberg. Ethics for a Brave New World, 2nd ed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010.

Grudem, Wayne. Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning. Wheaton: Crossway, 2018.

Jones, Kimball J. Toward a Christian Understanding of the Homosexual. New York: Association Press, 1966.

McNeil, John J. The Church and the Homosexual, 4th ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993.

Mohler, R. Albert, Jr., editor. God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines. Louisville, KY: SBTS Press, 2014.

Mohler, R. Albert, Jr. We Cannot be Silent: Speaking Truth to a Culture Redefining Sex, Marriage & the Very Meaning of Right and Wrong. Nashville: Nelson Books, 2015.

Stott, John. Same Sex Relationships. UK: The Good Book Company, 2017.

Vines, Matthew. God and the Gay Christian. New York: Convergent Books: 2014.

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[1] Matthew, Vines, God and the Gay Christian (New York: Convergent Books: 2014), 18, 29.

[2] H. Kimball Jones, Toward a Christian Understanding of the Homosexual (New York: Association Press, 1966), 78-68 and McNeil, 42-3.

[3] Vines, 65, quoted in Grudem, 848.

[4] John J. McNeil, The Church and the Homosexual, 4th ed. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), 43.

[5] McNeil, 43-5.

[6] Jones, 69 and McNeil, 56-57.

[7] McNeil, 62-3.

[8] Jones, 70.

[9] Jones, 70. McNeil, 55 made the same argument.

[10] Vines, 99, and Vines 105-6.

[11] McNeil, 52-53. See also Vines, 130.

[12] Wayne Grudem, Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), 843-44 and Kevin DeYoung, What Does the Bible Teach about Homosexuality? (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), 26.

[13] DeYoung, 25-26.

[14] DeYoung, 27.

[15] Grudem, 846 and DeYoung, 26-31.

[16] John Stott, Same Sex Relationships (UK: The Good Book Company, 2017), 36-8 and DeYoung, 28; cf. R. Albert Mohler Jr., We Cannot be Silent: Speaking Truth to a Culture Redefining Sex, Marriage & the Very Meaning of Right and Wrong (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2015), 126-7.

[17] DeYoung, 28-29.

[18] Matt 19:1-12 and Mark 10:1-12.

[19] James Hamilton Jr., “How to Condone What the Bible Condemns: Matthew Vines Takes on the Old Testament,” in God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines, ed. R. Albert Mohler Jr., 25-41 (Louisville, KY: SBTS, 2014), 32.

[20] Mohler, 132.

[21] John S. Feinberg and Paul D. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World, 2nd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 314.

[22] Grudem, 849.

[23] Grudem, 849.

[24] Grudem, 849.

[25] Grudem, 849-50 and Hamilton, 35.

[26] Grudem, 849-50.

[27] Feinberg and Feinberg, 312-7.

[28] Feinberg and Feinberg, 325.

[29] Feinberg and Feinberg, 325-32.

[30] Hamilton, 34.

[31] Deny Burk, “Suppressing the Truth in Unrighteousness: Matthew Vines Takes on the New Testament,” in God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines, ed. R. Albert Mohler Jr., 42-57 (Louisville, KY: SBTS Press, 2014), 48.

[32] Burk, 48-49.

[33] Grudem, 853-6. Mohler, 143, noted that Romans 1 is one of the very few passages from the ancient world that mention lesbianism.

[34] Grudem, 853-6.

[35] Grudem, 846.

[36] Grudem, 857-8.