Homosexuality: Is It Really a Sin?

Recently a Christian friend questioned me about my judgmental position on the sinfulness of homosexuality. I told my friend I believed that sex between two men or two women is a sin, because that is the Bible says.

In Romans chapter one Paul writes “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

In Genesis 13:4 we read, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” The whoremongers and adulterers spoke about are those folks who engage in sexuality activity outside of marriage, which includes all homosexual activity.

In Genesis 19 Sodom and Gomorrah is the first time in the bible where men were to be punished for their sexual perversion. There were two angels that visited Lot’s home in Sodom.  The passage says “all the men from every part of Sodom” had Lot’s house surrounded. These men demanded that Lot force his visitors (the two angles) to go outside where the men were “so that we can have sex with them.” Their sin was not simply one of violence (rape) but of sexual immorality (homosexuality).  As further evidence of the sinful nature of homosexuality, Leviticus 18:22, and 20:13 both describe homosexuality as an abomination.

Leviticus 18:22, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”

Leviticus 20:13, “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

The 7^th verse of the Book of Jude, “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”, indicates that Sodom and Gomorrah’s punishment was due to their sexual perversion, which obviously included homosexuality. 

The writer of the Book of Hebrews in chapter 13:4 wrote, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” In other words all sexually activity outside of marriage (which by definition includes homosexuality) will be judged by God.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.” Malakos is the Greek word for effeminate and literally means something soft to the touch, used in a negative context to describe a boy kept or used for homosexual relations with a man. “The abusers of themselves with mankind,” are men who practice unnatural sexual relations with other men – in other words homosexuals.