The Biblical View of Homosexuality - Part I
February 2020 (Originally printed in 2008 and reprinted in 2012) |
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” — ROMANS 1:26-27
After reading a vast variety of emails, articles, news clips, etc., I feel strongly impressed by the Holy Spirit to address the very delicate and controversial issue of homosexuality; not only homosexuality as society knows it to be, but God’s biblical standard concerning it. I do not wish to speak from standards of my own making here, nor the ethical standards of our modern culture, but from the standards of a Holy God who has asked me to reach out to all who will hear Him concerning this very critical issue of our time. I hope to make it clear to you how the Lord feels about homosexuality and, as well, His solution for this terrible sin.
I once heard a wise man say that while God is the greatest embodiment of love that has ever existed, or will ever exist, it is not love that makes Him God. God is God because of His power! He is God because of His authority! He is all-powerful, all mighty, and all knowing. Yes, God is love, but love is not God. The love of God is holy. This presents a problem for a fallen, sinful creation. Mankind cannot receive the love of God without willingly submitting to His order and authority by the way of the cross. The sacrifice of His son, Jesus, for the redemption of our sins was God’s way of showing us that within His great power was also great love. However, the conditions inherent in this way of the cross must be met for a man to receive the love of God on a personal basis — to receive salvation. We must make Jesus both our Saviour and our Lord. Therefore, the way of the cross requires a man to surrender lordship of his own life to God, and he must also agree with God that it is His standards alone that constitute holiness. Therefore, if God deems anything to be sin, man must agree. It is not man’s right to make the distinction between right and wrong; that is His right as Lord. His Spirit is, in fact, speaking continually to the hearts of men saying, “I am the Lord.” We are without excuse. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Ex. 3:14).
The Word Homosexuality
Many today would try to argue that we can’t be sure how the Lord views homosexuality because the specific word homosexuality is not found in Scripture. However, this argument is completely foolish because the Bible does use plenty of other words and phrases that mean precisely the same thing. Besides, the word homosexuality did not even enter the English vocabulary until the early twentieth century. It is, in fact, for this peculiar sin that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, giving the word sodomy its biblical origin. In ecclesiastical Latin, sodomy is translated “pecatum sodomiticum,” or the “sin of Sodom.” “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Gen. 13:13). “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground” (Gen. 19:24-25). “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel” (Deut. 23:17). “And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel” (I Ki. 14:24). “And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD …” (II Ki. 23:7).
The Meaning Of Homosexuality
Also, referring specifically to homosexual acts, Leviticus 18:22 says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 says, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” And perhaps, the most obvious evidence that the Lord opposes homosexuality is that it is simply unnatural. It clearly goes against His intention as creator because it goes against the natural sexual expression of human beings. It also tears down the spiritual type the Lord intended for marriage to display. God created marriage, as a covenant relationship between a man and woman, as a picture of the covenant relationship a believer enters into with the Lord when he is born again. A Christian becomes one with Christ as a husband and wife become one. The family unit then becomes a means of protection, security, and love, which demonstrates the very provision the Lord provides for His children. “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:22-24). I Corinthians 6:9 uses the word effeminate, which is a Greek word specifically meaning “sodomite” or “male homosexual prostitute.” It does not merely refer to a man with feminine qualities as we use it today. I Timothy 1:10 uses the phrase, “…them that defile themselves with mankind …” The Greek word used in this verse is arsenokoitais and means “male homosexuals.” Referring back to I Corinthians 6:9, this same Greek word was also originally used in place of the phrase, “…abusers of themselves with mankind.” Therefore, arsenokoites more specifically refers to “abusers,” or “to be guilty of unnatural offenses; a sodomite; a homosexual; a sex pervert.” The Holy Spirit, here, likens homosexuality to predatorial abuse, even the abuse of oneself.
The Greatest Sin?
Yet, today, in city after city, there are entire areas given over to the homosexual lifestyle. The acceptance of this practice in modern society has been gradually building for sometime now, but in the last several years, we have seen an explosion in its growth as the minds of reprobate men fail to understand its far-reaching consequences. With this delusion has also come the demand for the approval, inclusion, and support of homosexual rights. The demand is harsh and determined, and it is not only coming from homosexuals but from our very own government. They press on, despite the fact that, historically speaking, every time a city was inflicted with this vice and left to run its natural course, the city became so shaken that it crumbled and fell. Homosexual practice is, in fact, widely recognized as one of the causes for the downfall of the Roman Empire. They destroyed themselves by their own perversion, similar to ancient civilizations that literally sacrificed themselves out of existence. This is exactly what we are facing today in the United States! From this point on, every decision we make concerning the issue of homosexuality will have lasting effects on our survival, not only as a nation but as a human race. In times past, it was only particular segments of the world that were permeated with this vile sin and destroyed. Today, because it is embraced worldwide, the entire global community stands to be judged. This is absolutely one of the greatest signs of the times before us! Get ready, saints, for our “redemption draweth nigh!”
Part II of this article will continue in the March issue of The Evangelist.
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