Bible stance on homosexuality
Gen 19:1 - 38
The two
angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city’s
gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face
toward the ground. 2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your
servant’s house. Stay the night and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way
early in the morning.” “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town
square.” 3 But he urged them persistently, so they turned aside with him
and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked
without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they could lie down to sleep, all
the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded
the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you
tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” 6 Lot went
outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 7 He said, “No, my
brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 8 Look, I have two daughters who have
never had sexual relations with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you
can do to them whatever you please. Only don’t do anything to these men, for
they have come under the protection of my roof.” 9 “Out of our way!”
they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, and now he dares to
judge us! We’ll do more harm to you than to them!” They kept pressing in on Lot
until they were close enough to break down the door. 10 So the men
inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house as they shut the door. 11
Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest
to the oldest, with blindness. The men outside wore themselves out trying to
find the door. 12 Then the two visitors said to Lot, “Who else do you
have here? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in
the city? Get them out of this place 13 because we are about to destroy
it. The outcry against this place is so great before the Lord that he has sent
us to destroy it.” 14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who
were going to marry his daughters. He said, “Quick, get out of this place
because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he
was ridiculing them. 15 At dawn the angels hurried Lot along, saying,
“Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you
will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 16 When Lot hesitated, the
men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the
Lord had compassion on them. They led them away and placed them outside the
city. 24 Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and
Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 25 So he overthrew
those cities and all that region, including all the inhabitants of the cities
and the vegetation that grew from the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife looked
back longingly and was turned into a pillar of salt. 27 Abraham got up
early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28
He looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. As he
did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace….. 29
So when God destroyed the cities of the region, God honored Abraham’s request.
He removed Lot from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed the cities
Lot had lived in.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Leviticus 18:21-22
21"'Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for
you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 22"'Do not lie with a man as one lies with
a woman; that is detestable.
Leviticus 20:13
13"'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them
have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on
their own heads.
Deut 23:17
There
must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred
male prostitute among the young men of Israel.
Judges 19:22
22While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city
surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who
owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have
sex with him."
1 Kings 14:23-24
23They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah
poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24There were even male shrine prostitutes in
the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the
LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
Mark
7:20-23
20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21
For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual
immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice,
deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All
these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Romans 1:18 - 32
18 The wrath of
God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of
people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to
them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible
qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks
to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became
fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and
reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful
desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies
with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a
lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is
forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave
them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for
unnatural ones. 27 In
the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men,
and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge
of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought
not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of
wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no
fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve
death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those
who practice them.
1
Corinthians 6: 9 – 18
9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor
adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11
And that is what some of you were. 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. 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you
say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I
will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the
stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for
sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from
the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are
members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite
them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know
that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is
said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is
united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the
body, but whoever
sins sexually, sins against their own body.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual
immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper
for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there
be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather
thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral,
impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God6 Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are
disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
1 Timothy 1:8-10
8Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9This means understanding that the law is laid
down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless
and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or
mother, for murderers, 10fornicators,
sodomites,
slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound
teaching
2
Tim 3: 1-3
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to
their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3
without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers
of the good, 4
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but
denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
Jude 7
7 In a similar
way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual
immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the
punishment of eternal fire.
Seven
Things I Wish
Pro-Gay People Would Admit
by Bob Davies
1. I wish
they would admit that many people are not happy with their homosexuality or
lesbianism, and that this conflict is internal, based on legitimate,
intelligent religious and moral convictions--not just the result of a so-called
"homophobic" society which is forcing guilt upon people who don't
conform to a heterosexual ethic.
Stop throwing out the cheap, inaccurate labels like
"internalized homophobia" to explain our motivations.
2. I wish
they would acknowledge that homosexuals and lesbians can experience significant
change in their sexual feelings and desires, even though they may never be
totally heterosexual in their sexual thoughts and feelings.
Be honest enough to admit that such change is
significant and genuine, even if it isn't complete.
3. I wish
they would acknowledge that many former homosexuals and lesbians have found a
greater measure of peace and satisfaction after leaving a gay or lesbian
lifestyle than they ever experienced while embracing homosexuality.
Not all "ex-gays" are miserable, plotting
how to secretly fulfill their homosexual lusts without being caught.
4. I wish
they would acknowledge that many former homosexuals and lesbians have genuine
joy in their marriages.
Most former gays and lesbians don't get married in a
futile attempt to "escape" homosexuality; they marry as a natural
consequence of resolving that issue in their lives.
5. I wish
they would acknowledge that all people have as much right to pursue a
heterosexual lifestyle as they do to pursue homosexuality.
Former homosexuals and lesbians should not be harassed
and castigated by the gay community. But I have never heard any gay or lesbian
leaders speak out against the violence (such as bomb threats and
physical/verbal abuse) which some people perpetuate against Exodus ministries.
6. I wish
they would stop equating our decision to leave homosexuality with
"hatred" and "bigotry" against gays and lesbians.
We don't hate gays; we simply desire to live free of
homosexuality. Don't put nasty labels upon our motives. That's being judgmental
and unfair.
7. I wish
pro-gay religious leaders would admit that their endorsement and promotion of
monogamous homosexual relationships is a facade.
Many--probably most--men and women involved in
long-term partnerships are not sexually monogamous, but gay churches don't
discipline members for committing "adultery" outside their "gay
marriage." Neither do they discipline gays or lesbians who have sex before
entering into a "holy union" with their partner.
Bob Davies is past President of Exodus International
and an ex-gay himself. He has been married for nine years.
(Used by permission of
the Exodus Standard, P.O. Box 77652, Seattle, WA, 98177.) http://www.bible.ca/s-homo=sin.htm
Definitions:
Adultry Deuteronomy
22:22 defines adultery as “…lying with a woman married to an husband…”.
Adultery is an unfaithful act committed against a marriage partner.
Fornication Fornication
comes from a Greek word whose meaning includes: pre-marital sex, adultery,
incest, homosexuality/lesbianism, and bestiality. So, fornication includes sex
before and after marriage.
Sodomy "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an
abomination. Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with
it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It
is perversion." (Leviticus 18:22-23, NKJV throughout)
The above are the Scriptural
imperatives against adultery, homosexuality and lesbianism (which is also
considered homosexual). Now, the question is, how do we deal with this in our
present culture, where pointing out sin and calling specific actions sin is
defined, by the culture, as unloving.
Perhaps a good place to start
is Luke 4:1-5; Matthew 4:1-11. In these passages Jesus is tempted in all ways
just as we are tempted. Only three temptations are listed but He was in the 40
days being tempted. Jesus answered all temptation by referring back to God’s
Word, no opinion or cultural imperatives and changing fads but God’s unchanging
Word.
When we go to the woman taken
in adultery, we see the same. Jesus did not argue, He did not condemn, He
treated everyone involved with truth and love. After the accusers left Jesus
told the woman to go and “sin no more.” He did not excuse her sin, He
acknowledged it. He did ignore her sin or use the excuse being loving meant her
sin was unimportant or did not matter. He recognized her sin for what it was,
sin, forgave her and told her to sin no more.
Jesus had the same problems,
concerns and conflicts we have. The fact it was 2,000+ years ago does not
change people. We see the same issues arising in the Bible that we have. The
specific circumstances and technology may change but the issues, problems,
conflicts, etc. are the same. In the case of the woman taken in adultery the
culture said to condemn, not forgive and stone her. That is the opposite of
saying every act is allowed in love but the basis is the same, do what the
culture says is right. Jesus did not buy into that, He went with the Word of
God with love.
It is very difficult as we
are going through specifics and dealing with them but depending of the Holy
Spirit to lead us in specific circumstances will show us the answers. Matthew
10:16-20 isn’t just for when we are brought before dignitaries but in our every
day lives. Christ made the promise the Holy Spirit would tell us what to say
and the Holy Spirit will.
There are two things we MUST do, pray (a lot) and trust (have faith). Be specific in your prayers. Name the problem, tell God about it, about the conflict and issue(s) we are having knowing how to answer and trust God will send the answer, He will. Having trust and faith is not always easy, perhaps seldom is easy, but is a fundamental building block of listening
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