Homosexual activity is like other sins in that it is disobedience and an affront to God. God forgives homosexual deeds when the sinner repents and relies on Jesus’ death as full payment for them. Even so, homosexual activity is unique. In Romans 1:26-27, Paul indicated homosexuality was “against nature” or “unnatural.” By contrast, heterosexual intercourse outside of marriage, though sinful, is natural. Dr. James Boice says that while we need God’s Word to know that heterosexual sex outside of marriage is wrong, we don’t even need it to know homosexuality is wrong: “A look at one’s sexual apparatus should convince anyone that practices of this kind are not…meant to be.” Yet the Bible still informs us, so we need to heed its warning. Be aware that in Scripture, homosexuality isn’t an identity, but an activity. God freely forgives repentant homosexuals just as He pardons repentant thieves, adulterers, and other sinners.
Romans 1:26-27
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
James Montgomery Boice, Romans: An Expositional Commentary—Volume 1, Justification by Faith, Romans 1–4, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991), 181.
Joe Dallas and Nancy Heche, eds., The Complete Christian Guide to Understanding Homosexuality: A Biblical and Compassionate Response to Same-Sex Attraction, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2010), 99.
Copyright © 2014 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.