Look at Bible’s homosexual references in context

There are those who treat the Bible the way a drunk uses a lamppost – more for support than for illumination. But thoughtful people should approach the Scriptures with humility and openness.

To understand this concern, let’s consider a quick overview of the Bible’s teachings about homosexuality, because that is often the hot-button topic among those who quote the Scriptures out of context.

The story of God’s destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:4-38) – a city whose name has lent us the English word “sodomy” – is frequently cited by those who claim the Bible condemns homosexuality.

But one needs to look at the whole story, beyond its references to homosexual relations. When the men of the town surrounded Lot’s home, apparently seeking to have sex with two visitors (actually angels in disguise), Lot offered up his two daughters to be gang-raped instead. But rape in any form is wrong.

Later, these same daughters got Lot drunk and seduced him. Incest, too, is wrong.

So the story of Sodom offers no good model of sexual morality in any form.

The law of Moses does prescribe the death penalty for homosexual intercourse (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). However, homosexuality is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments. (Adultery, on the other hand, is named and condemned.)

The law of Moses also demands the death penalty for several other sexual offenses. For example, a bride whose hymen does not bleed on her wedding night is be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:20-22).

So, do we execute homosexuals, as demanded by the law of Moses? Or kill brides who cannot prove their virginity?

Careful Bible readers are aware of an extremely important fact: that we who are Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians are exempt from the law of Moses. The law of Moses was given to the Israelites, not to Gentiles. The apostles and elders, meeting in Jerusalem, unanimously declared this exemption in writing (Acts 15:1-29).

Jesus said he came to fulfill the law; however, he modified it and prioritized it. We Gentile Christians are to obey the teachings of Jesus, not the law of Moses.

Jesus named two laws that do apply to all of us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind,” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So what did Jesus himself say specifically about homosexuality?

Nil. Nada. Nothing.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul the Apostle declared that homosexual intercourse, plus a number of other offenses, is the direct result of the worship of idols (Romans 1:18-32), apparently referring to the practices of sacred prostitution at pagan temples.

However, Paul was not denouncing what today is referred to as “homosexual orientation.” Instead, he wrote of men “giving up natural intercourse with women” (emphasis added). Apparently these were not “gays from birth,” but men who chose to abandon their previous natural attraction to women because of idolatry.

Nonetheless, Paul added in the strongest language possible that we are not to judge; if we do, he warns, we will be judged by God (Romans 2:1-3).

Some believers, however, do not hesitate to judge. They repeatedly condemn as sin that which Jesus never mentioned; they disregard the crucial decision of the apostles regarding the law of Moses; and they do not pay close attention to the words Paul actually used.

Worse yet, some go so far as to urge that believers must leave their churches if their leaders do not use the Bible to condemn homosexuality.

We remind them that Paul the Apostle spoke out against those who promote church schism on the basis of the law of Moses. Instead, he spoke of the church as the body of Christ, unified and whole, working together.

Anyone can have an opinion regarding homosexuality. But Christians should never force the Scriptures to reflect their personal opinions or support their own agenda, on this or any other topic.