Gay relationship in bible

What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?

What Does The Bible State About Homosexuality?

Introduction

For the last two decades, Pew Analyze Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible utter about attraction to someone of the same sex?”

Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the legal title homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.

Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.

What is the Bible?

For Christians to whom the Bible is God’s very written word, it is widely understood that God produced its content

The Bible on Homosexual Behavior

One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to listen to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).

In other words, if we can disregard rules like the exclude on eating shellfish in Leviticus 11:12, then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Former Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.

Here’s an analogy to help understand this distinction.

I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the avenue and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I acquire to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to guard me. In fact, it would now do me more damage than good.

Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding governance. The reason they forbade the Israelites from using certain fabrics or foods, or interacting with bodily

What does the Fresh Testament say about homosexuality?

Answer



The Bible is consistent through both Old and Recent Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis 19:1–13; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10; Jude 1:7). In this matter, the Fresh Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the Law was given to Moses (Leviticus 20:13). The difference between the Old and Modern Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught up in the sin of homosexualitythrough the redeeming power of Jesus. It is the same hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to accept it (John 1:12; 3:16–18).


God’s standards of holiness did not alter with the coming of Jesus, because God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). The New Testament is a continuing discovery of God’s interaction with humanity. God hated idolatry in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 5:8), and He still hates it in the New (1 John 5:21). What was immoral in the Old Testament is still immoral in the New.

The Recent Testament says that homosexuality is a “shameful lust” (Romans 1:26), a “shameful act,” an abandonment o

What does the Bible teach about same-sex practice?

The Bible defines marriage in Genesis 2:24 as a union between one man and one woman. Jesus Christ upholds this definition of marriage in Matthew 19:5, as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:31. Any and all sexual task which takes place outside of this context is treated as sinful, what Jesus calls ‘sexual immorality’ in Mark 7:21. 

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 18:22 and 20:13. Further references are made in the New Testament. For example, in Romans 1:24-32, amid echoes to the Genesis creation account, both male and female same-sex apply are treated as sinful. Further references to the sinfulness of same-sex perform can be seen in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10. 

The Scriptures are, therefore, consistent in their prohibition of homosexual sexual activity, across other periods of salvation history and within different cultural settings. Although the Scriptures are clear on sexual ethics, they also narrate us that the prospect of forgiveness a