Answer:
Thanks for the question, and I’m glad you followed up me because it gives me a chance to elaborate on an important point. I can’t agree with your last statement as I must maintain that Scripture does not put homosexual behavior at the front of a graded list of sins. Homosexual behavior is sinful. But I disagree with you that it is “especially offensive” to God. Let me make my case in hopes that I can change your mind about what Scripture teaches on this subject.
First, when the Bible gives us lists of behaviors that are offensive to God, (as it does on numerous occasions), it usually doesn’t even include homosexual acts. Jesus listed off sins when he said:
Mark 7:20-23 "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'" NIV
We would think that if your assumption is true about homosexual acts or even homosexual attraction being especially abhorrent to God, that Jesus would have used this moment to clarify that point. But he doesn’t single out homosexual acts at all. In fact, we should assume that he would have at least MENTIONED it in the list of unclean behaviors which he cites here, but he doesn’t even do that. That doesn’t mean that homosexual behavior isn’t sinful. The list here, is not exhaustive by any means. But if we’re to accept the idea that God encourages special repugnance for homosexual acts, then we should expect Jesus to make that clear when he talks about sin here or elsewhere. But he never does.
Neither does Paul. Here again another listing of sins:
Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. NIV
This list mentions several sexual sins but doesn’t mention homosexual sins once. If they’re WORSE why aren’t they listed here? Again this doesn’t mean that it’s not sinful (see below) but it clearly devastates any case that could be mounted to make homosexuality a cause for special revulsion.
So let’s look at another list of sins where homosexual behavior IS mentioned:
1 Cor 6:9-10 Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.NIV
Here, homosexual behavior IS mentioned in a list of sins which the Corinthians used to engage in. The two words Paul uses in reference to homosexuality are directly translated from the Greek as, “the soft” and “to bed a male”. This is clearly a reference to male homosexual behavior, the former gives himself to be used by the latter. This is sinful behavior, a misuse of sex, along with sexual immorality and adultery, also listed here. But you will notice with me that if Paul wanted to elevate our repugnance of homosexuality he would have put it at the front or the back of the list, or made a case about it’s special dangers. No such case is made. How are we to understand any “peculiar condemnation” from this passage?
Paul refers to homosexual acting out in another list of sins:
1 Tim 1:9-11 They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or other people. These laws are for people who are sexually immoral, for homosexuals and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do anything else that contradicts the right teaching… NLT
Again we have the word “to bed a male” listed here, (Greek: “arsenokoitai”) and again it is found in the middle of the list. No special place is given, no special qualifiers are made, no elaboration on this sin – none whatsoever.
You and I can agree that the creation sexual design is a narrow design: One man, one woman, for life. Where we can also agree, is that God’s Word makes the case against homosexual behavior less by calling it out as sin, and more often by describing and celebrating heterosexual marriage. God’s heterosexual, monogamous model defines the boundaries of moral sexual behavior specifically because we are made to reflect God himself, a unity in diversity, Father Son and Holy Spirit. So two genders are required to have this diversity that comes together into a shared oneness of marriage.
This narrow model then, has all sorts of perversions. I can get parts of that design right and completely miss other parts. While I may suffer less if I get only parts of it wrong, I’m not less sinful. For example, a homosexual couple may get the monogamous part of that design right, and miss out on the heterosexual part. A polygamous family may get the heterosexual part right and miss the monogamous part. The sin and heartache in just David’s household alone because he multiplied his wives in contradiction to the creation design and God’s laws regarding kings (Deut 17:17) shows the deep scars that come from ANY expression of sexuality not in keeping with the creation design.
Romans 1 shows us a downward moral spiral that begins with the suppression of truth of God and seems at first glance to lead directly to homosexuality as the bottom of the spiral (Rom 1:26, 27). But if we stop there to make the “special condemnation” argument, we’re yanking the text out of context. Keep on reading:
“Furthermore,” Paul says in Rom 1:28-31, “he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 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, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”
So if we want to make the case that homosexuality is not like other sexual sins but is in fact worse, this passage is no help to us. By what logic is this passage elevating homosexual behavior OVER other sexual sin (or any sin)? By the fact that it comes directly AFTER the rejection of truth about God? (Rom 1:24) If that’s the logic, then we’ve set up a chronological order of depravity and every step Paul describes after the initial rejection of truth about God is a step down the ladder of evil. Therefore, the LEAST offensive sin to God is idolatry, because it comes first (Rom 1:23), homosexuality is second LEAST offensive because it comes second (Rom 1:26, 27) and (by this logic) the WORST sin in God’s moral order – worse than either of those – is ruthlessness because it comes last. If we reject this ranking of sins, then this passage cannot be said to elevate homosexual sin as the worst sexual sins.
When we turn to the Old Testament, the story is the same. It’s probably true that Lot considered the heterosexual rape of his daughters as being less offensive than the homosexual rape of his angelic guests (Gen 19:8) but there is no commentary on the righteousness of this action. It’s simply stated that he did it. If we go to the sexual laws of Moses we read that homosexual acts are an abomination (Lev 18:22). So that’s bad. But here is a short list of other sins that are said to be abominable: offering a rotting carcass to God, Lev 7:18; eating unclean animals, like pork Lev 11:10ff; incest, Lev 20:12-13; offering an idol to God, Deut 7:25; offering your son or daughter in sacrifice to God, Deut 12:31. There is simply no special place given to homosexual sin in the Bible. It is clearly called sin, but it is never singled out as a special sin. I’m not sure what Bible verse you may be referring to which calls it “the sin of pride”. If you’d like to point out Scripture that I’m missing, I’d be open to feedback.
I would like there to be more agreement between us, but your case for “particular condemnation” is not supported by the Bible’s teaching. My concern with our disagreement is that if you carry this idea into friendships with practicing homosexuals, you might project ‘special condemnation’ on them. And that will only encourage a negative stereotype that Christians don’t even consider homosexuals worth the time of day. Frankly, that’s probably exactly where the question on Sunday came from: someone who has been told that homosexual sin is special sin and therefore they’re skeptical that such sinners could ever experience forgiveness and power from God.
I like the message Paul sent to homosexuals in 1 Cor 6:11 much better – “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.” [Emphasis added] We have a white paper dealing with this and other passages on the subject if you’d like me to send it to you*. Homosexuals can be forgiven, and made new and given power for new life through Christ – as can all liars, adulterers, gossips, alcoholics, power mongers, narcissists, and even someone like me!
