Bible verses addressing homosexuality
The Bible and same sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller,
Vines, Matthew, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books,
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media,
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the fall of last year I wrote a review of books by Wesley Hill and Sam Allberry that take the historic Christian view, in Hill’s words: “that homosexuality was not God’s original imaginative intention for humanity and therefore that homosexual exercise goes against God’s show will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that grab the opposite view, namely that the Bible either allows for or supports same sex relationships. Over the last year or so I (and other pastors at Redeemer) possess been regularly asked for responses to their arguments. The two most browse volumes taking this position seem to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these two books will be longer than usual because the topic is so contested today and, while I object wi
What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume May-June
Mainline Christian denominations in this nation are bitterly divided over the question of homosexuality. For this reason it is important to demand what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently take for granted that the New Testament expresses strong opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, manage to the conclusion that the New Testament does not provide any lead guidance for understanding and making judgments about homosexuality in the modern society.
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 Unused Testament writers. The synonyms “homosexuality” came into exploit only in the latter part of the ni
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 Vintage and New Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught up in the sin of homosexualitythrough the redeeming authority 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 convert (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” (Romans ), a “shameful act,” an abandonment of “natural relations” (Romans ), a “wrongdoing” (1 Corinthi
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I dial the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, block wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to hear to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules favor the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Senior Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to serve 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 hold 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 love mom’s handholding rule. The reason they forbade the Israelites from using certain fabrics or foods, or interacting with bodily flui
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