Where in the bible is gay wrong
What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume May-June
Mainline Christian denominations in this noun are bitterly divided over the question of homosexuality. For this reason it is important to inquire what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently assume that the New Testament expresses strong opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, guide to the conclusion that the New Testament does not provide any direct guidance for understanding and making judgments about homosexuality in the modern world.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the New Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek word or phrase in the entire New Testament that should be translated into English as “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” In fact, the very notion of “homosexuality”—like that of “heterosexuality,” “bisexuality,” and even “sexual orientation”—is essentially a modern concept that would simply have been unintelligible to
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I verb the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, prevent wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to monitor to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules verb the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Adj Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to support understand this distinction.
I recall two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I verb to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now do me more harm than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were enjoy mom’s handholding rule. The rea
What does the New Testament say about homosexuality?
Answer
The Bible is consistent through both Old and New Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ; Jude ). In this matter, the New Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the Law was given to Moses (Leviticus ). The difference between the Former and New Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught up in the sin of homosexualitythrough the redeeming might of Jesus. It is the same hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to acknowledge it (John ; –18).
God’s standards of holiness did not change with the coming of Jesus, because God does not alter (Malachi ; Hebrews ). The New Testament is a continuing revelation of God’s interaction with humanity. God hated idolatry in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy ), and He still hates it in the New (1 John ). What was immoral in the Old Testament is still immoral in the New.
The New Testament says that homosexuality is a “shameful lust” (Rom
What does the Bible teach about same-sex practice?
The Bible defines marriage in Genesis as a union between one man and one gal. Jesus Christ upholds this definition of marriage in Matthew , as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians Any and all sexual activity which takes place outside of this context is treated as sinful, what Jesus calls ‘sexual immorality’ in Highlight
Further to this, same-sex practice is specifically highlighted as sinful a number of times in Scripture. In God’s Law, for example, condemnations of same-sex practice are given in Leviticus and Further references are made in the New Testament. For example, in Romans , amid echoes to the Genesis creation account, both male and female same-sex rehearse are treated as sinful. Further references to the sinfulness of same-sex train can be seen in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy
The Scriptures are, therefore, consistent in their prohibition of same-sex sexual activity, across different periods of salvation history and within different cultural settings. Although the Scriptures are clear on sexual ethics, they also