I started out this post to address the specific question of what does the Bible say about homosexuality. And I shall answer that. But wrapped up in that topic is all the other sexual sins – adultery, fornication, sodomy, and sexual fantasies. In this post, my goal is to focus on what the Bible says and then offer my thoughts at the end.
Holy Spirit, come and guide our hearts and thoughts as You show us how God created us male and female in the beginning, and how the way God created us relates to the expression of our sexuality and our sexual relationships.
How were we created and how was marriage first established?
Genesis 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…”
Genesis 2:20-25 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. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
What specifically is considered a sexual sin in the Bible?
Leviticus 18:19-23
• You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.
• And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her.
• (You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. (This is not a specifically sexual sin, but it is included in this list of sexual sins.)
• You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
• And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.
Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
Ephesians 5:3-7 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them…
1 Timothy 1:8-11 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
What are the penalties for sexual sin in the Bible?
Leviticus 20:10-16
• If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
• If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
• If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.
• 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.
• If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you.
• If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
• If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Jude 1:7 …just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Genesis 19:1-29 [This is where you can read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and see what type of sexual sins they practiced before God destroyed them.]
Judges 19 [This is another story, very disturbing on many levels. The idea that stands out in here, in light of the focus of this post, is that the host of the man thought it less wicked and vile to see his daughter and female guest raped all night than to let his male guest be raped. You can read in the next chapter how the whole of Israel considered this an evil worthy of swift punishment. They almost wiped out the tribe of Benjamin as a result. Judges is full of disturbing stories like this, almost always beginning with the introduction, “the Sons of Israel did was what evil in the sight of the Lord…”]
Why is sex outside of traditional marriage considered wrong?
Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
What does the Bible say specifically about homosexuality?
Romans 1: 26-28 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. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
One final thought. There are several places where homosexuality and other sexual sins are listed along with other sins that lead to losing entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. Please consider all of these carefully and prayerfully because any one of these could keep you from a true relationship with the Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 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. 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.
Postscript: My Thoughts (and a few more quotes from the Bible)
I have people dear to me who are involved in the LGBTQ movement and its life. I also have friends who are sexually promiscuous. While I love them, I do not want any of them to be ignorant of what the Bible has to say about all sexual sins.
This needs to be said: Homosexuality is a sin. Sex outside of marriage (1 man and 1 woman) is a sin. And according to Jesus in Matthew 5:28, even having sexual fantasies is a sin. People need to know that disregarding God’s Word and instruction about these sins, that continuing in these sins, is not going to be overlooked. They are not bound for heaven as they think.
All of these sins have become common place and are widely accepted in our society. What’s more, they are becoming more accepted in the Church. Several Christian denominations have practicing homosexuals as leaders. Several denominations allow those who continue in sexual sin to lead in local churches. Paul made it quite clear that those who continue to practice such things will NOT “inherit the Kingdom of God.” Shame on the Church for allowing people to think God has turned a blind eye to their sin, or that He winks at them as if they are getting away with something. The Church needs to pluck up its courage and speak the truth. Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord need to do what Paul told the Colossians to do: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (NIV). We need to be having conversations with people, WISE conversations, GRACEFUL conversations, INFORMED conversations. We need to be sharing just how much God hates sexual sin.
But we also need to share the good news that there is forgiveness for sin because Jesus died for our sins. He paid the penalty so we would not have to. We get to wear His righteousness. Does that mean it doesn’t matter if we keep sinning since Jesus paid the price for us already? As Paul said in Romans 6:1-4, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (NLT).
That is great news! Paul goes on to say in Romans 6:22: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” We have been set free from sin and God provides the way for us to leave our sin behind because we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Back to the idea of those who continue in their sexual sins. Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins, but He doesn’t want to leave you in them. As he said to the woman caught in adultery, “Has no one condemned you? … Neither do I. GO AND SIN NO MORE.” Be transformed. And that even goes for those not caught in sexual sin. Be transformed. Don’t just sit quietly, afraid of offending people, fearful of being politically incorrect, letting people go to hell without warning. Speak. Give them the words of life. The verses found here are a good place to start.
[All the Bible references come from the ESV translation except where noted. If you want to read the wider context for each of these verses, clicking on the link will send you to BibleHub.com. Then you can click on the translation you want to see the full context of the chapter. I recommend the NLT or the ESV.]
Faith Gym 