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Back to Part 1
What does the Bible say about
Homosexuality? Part Deux
the New Testament
Now look behind the scenes >>
From: Unlike the disciples who had
traveled with Jesus, Paul was an intellectual. He had
been schooled by the rabbis and had also been exposed
to Greek logic. Before his miraculous conversion on the
road to Damascus, Paul (then known as Saul) had been a
persecutor of Christian. However, God revealed His Truth
to Paul radically changing his life and ultimately changing
countless lives as God told him to go witness to the Gentiles
– that means anyone who didn’t identify as
a Jew. In all, Paul wrote 13 books in the New Testament
that became premier documents of Christian theology.
To: Just like the title suggests this
is a letter written to Romans – from Rome, Italy.
Paul had never even seen Rome when he wrote to the several
hundred Christians there. He had met a few of them traveling
through other cities, but he wanted to introduce himself
and his thinking to those who had only heard the gossip
about him. Some of them were Jews who thought of Jesus
as the Jewish Messiah. Many were non-Jews sorting out
what Jesus had to do with them. All debated how a follower
of Jesus ought to live, and they were eager to hear Paul’s
account first hand.
Re: Paul’s mind is so open to
the wonderful plan of God’s salvation for mankind.
Throughout this letter, Paul wrestles with questions about
the role of Jews and Gentiles in the plan of God, the
relationship between grace and the Law, the effects of
Christ's death and resurrection, and even with his own
identity as a Jewish Christian and as God's apostle to
the Gentiles. In his effort to deal with these profound,
thorny issues, Paul crafts a very complex argument and
presents to his readers a foundation on Christian living
and salvation as a gift of God that comes through grace
and through having faith in Jesus Christ.
In verse 24 we see that these people Paul describe have
taken up idol worship once again worshiping created things
instead of the One True God. The specific verses of 26
– 28 tell us that “Refusing to know God”
people became sexually confused and began to abuse one
another and defile each other. They were filled with sinful
lust and they had no love. The passage continues to say
that because of their disobedient hearts toward God, they
turned to murder and all sorts of hurtful things.
Common Misunderstanding: Same gender
sex is a sin.
Truth: Ignoring God leads to a downward
spiral. This passage clearly teaches us that any relationship
outside of God that is full of abuse and no love will
destroy you.
Now look behind the scenes >>
From: This is another one of Paul’s
13 books (letters) found in the New Testament. The more
Paul came to grips with Jesus the more he wanted to take
the Message to the very “pagans” he’d
been raised to avoid. He asked God which parts of the
traditional law that he’d been raised in were moral
absolutes and which ones were cultural preferences that
he could set aside when relating to non-Jews like the
Corinthians.
To: This is a letter to the church
in the port city of Corinth. This city was full of rich
merchants and sailors all looking for a good time. Corinth’s
temple of Aphrodite housed a thousand priestess-prostitutes.
Corinthians had a reputation in the ancient world as an
unruly, hard-drinking, sexually promiscuous bunch of people.
Re: As Paul began to share God’s
truth with them, the people of Corinth found salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ but they still had their
old sinful and idolatrous ways about them. So Paul wrote
this letter challenging their moral standards in hopes
to bring them in line with God’s ways.
Paul seems frustrated at the church for their “higher-than-thou”
attitude toward God’s commandments. In this letter
he included other problems too like their attitudes toward
the apostles (4:1-21), incestuous behavior (5:1-5), and
lawsuits between Christians (6:1-9).
Then Paul deals with other sexual sins (6:9-11). He talks
about the people who ignore God and abuse each other and
how they will not be a part of the kingdom of God. Homosexual
is listed in among adulterers, prostitutes and a few others.
This is the first time we see the actual word "Homosexual."
But if the word “homosexual” was added to
the Bible later – what was the original word used?
There were two Greek words mentioned in this Scripture
malakoi and arsenokoitai. Good luck
pronouncing those – and no one is definite about
their meanings either. There wasn’t a word in their
dialect for homosexuality. They are thought to have meant
effeminate or male prostitutes. Could this again be Paul
referencing the cultic temple or shrine prostitutes he
had seen who had male-male sex for idol worship? It certainly
doesn’t reference a homosexual” who has a
heart for God and follows His teachings.
In verses 16-20 Paul continues teaching on sex telling
us that sex is more than just skin touching skin. He asks
them to consider the concept of the “two becoming
one” and how sex is a spiritual mystery. He tells
us “to not pursue any kind of sex that avoids commitment
and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever –
that kind of sex can never ‘become one’.”
This book also contains the “love chapter”
(13) that explains what love should look like and how
we should love one another.
Common Misunderstanding: The Scripture
uses the label “homosexual” condemning anyone
engaged in same-gender sex.
Truth: We must not misuse our liberties
in Christ. This passage clearly teaches us that sex is
a beautiful intimate mystery designed by God and meant
to be shared in a loving, committed relationship. Other
Scriptures tell us that sex should be only shared in marriage.
Now look behind the scenes >>
From: Paul’s ministry was a team
sport, not a solo performance. He joined with Barnabas
on his first missionary trip and later took on other such
as Silas and Luke. Timothy and Titus helped train new
believers and carried letters back and forth between Paul,
who was imprisoned several times, and the churches his
team had planted. Paul loved these guys like they were
his own sons.
To: This letter however was written
to Timothy. Timothy was raised with his Jewish mother’s
religion, but not circumcised in deference to his Greek
father. An outsider among both Jews and Greeks in his
Galatian town, the teenage Timothy embraced Paul’s
news of Jesus, left home to travel with Paul, and even
endured circumcision to become fully Jewish. Ouch!
Re: Paul had charged Timothy to stay
in a city called Ephesus and become the leader of the
church there. In this letter we see Paul encouraging and
guiding the development of just such leadership. What
he had learned so thoroughly himself, he was now passing
on, and showing them, in turn, how to develop a similar
leadership in local congregations. His consistent theme
is Godly leadership in the face of internal opposition.
In verses 8 – 10 Paul again addresses that people
are ignoring God and defying His authority. He lists several
things that include murderers, liars, and anyone who perverts
sex. It depends on what translation you read as to whether
or not the word “homosexual” is used but again
the original Greek language doesn’t have a word
for this and the closest we can come to it in our modern
English is “male prostitute.” This would also
be consistent with Paul’s other writings referencing
the temple male prostitutes.
Common Misunderstanding: The Scriptures
use the word “homosexual” here condeming anyone
engaged in same-gender sex.
Truth: Living as a Christian requires
obedience to God in all we do. Leaders especially must
not assume to be above God’s law. This passage clearly
teaches us that we are in need of moral guidance and that
left to our own agenda we quickly get off track.
Conclusion
The Bible is a beautiful, powerful collection of stories,
letters and poetry authored by human hands and inspired
of God. In the Old Testament Moses was used by God to
give us the law that should, as Christians, set our moral
compass. After the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus,
Paul in the New Testament, shows us that we have come
into a “new day.” While we are to hold the
laws as God’s authority, we should now embrace salvation
through faith and grace – not works.
Nowhere in the Bible is a loving, committed same sex
relationship condemned or approved. While the Bible is
silent on sexual orientation (LGBT), it still remains
our authority on sex. The Word of God teaches very directly
about sinful, abusive sex and challenges us to abstain
from those hurtful actions. It teaches us how we are to
love each other and to live our lives to please God.
Ultimately, Jesus longs for a relationship with us. That’s
why we were created. If the Word if God is silent on the
subject of homosexuality, why is the church so loud about
it? Seems just as in the Bible days the church, as a whole,
still has their “higher-than-thou” attitude
and spends too much time in turmoil with each other.
Embracing the label of “Christian” should
move us to be a righteous example of God’s truth
and challenge us all, as believers, to get back to the
basics of loving each other and pursing Christ! We are
surrounded every day with people who will die never knowing
Jesus as their Savior. Our passion should be to live our
lives as a daily example of God’s grace and redeeming
power, growing closer to Him as we follow His ways.
More Helpful
Tips on Studying the Scriptures >>
Resources: The Bible, The Message Bible, www.americanbible.org,
www.biblegateway.com
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