Scriptures on homesexuality
What does the Bible teach about same-sex practice?
The Bible defines marriage in Genesis as a union between one male 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 Mark
Further to this, same-sex train 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 exercise are treated as sinful. Further references to the sinfulness of same-sex perform can be seen in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy
The Scriptures are, therefore, consistent in their prohibition of same-sex sexual exercise, across different periods of salvation history and within alternative cultural settings. Although the Scriptures are clear on sexual ethics, they also
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 force of Jesus. It is the same hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to embrace 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 the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume May-June
Mainline Christian denominations in this country are bitterly divided over the question of homosexuality. For this reason it is crucial to ask what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently assume that the New Testament expresses strong conflict to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, lead to the final word that the New Testament does not provide any direct guidance for understanding and making decisions about homosexuality in the contemporary world.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the New Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek pos 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 latest concept that would simply hold been unintelligible to
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I phone the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, cease wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to heed to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules enjoy the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Aged Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction.
I think of 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 possess 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 fancy mom’s handholding rule. The rea