Biblical View of homosexuality

Before stepping into this sticky issue, by no means is this an attack on homosexuals or their behaviors, it is my personal belief that the Holy Bible is the sole Book written by God-inspired men who leave behind God's Words for us to know Him, believe in His only Son who died for our sins so that we may live eternally with Him and live a life on earth that glorifies, honours and pleases Him. As such, I would be placing the priority of what the Bible says on this issue over anything else.

Homosexuality is against the creation of God and a sin.

Leviticus 18:22
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

When we say a man 'lies down' with another man, it is inconcievable to think anything other that being sleeping and having sexual relations with the other man. The latter half of the verse affirms this since a man who sleeps with the woman is considered normal, not an abomination, a term directed towards a man sleeping with another man.

Minority views on this verse:
Some believe that this was in application only to the israel people of those days to command them not to follow the homosexual behavior present at pagan temples in Egypt and those who occupy the land of Canaan.

Leviticus 18

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.
3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

So was homosexuality prohibited just only because it was what non-israelities were doing? Do we conclude then that homosexuality is actually ok? Looking back at Genesis 2:23-24, we see that God created a woman, Eve, for the first man, Adam. Just as it is consistent that there is only One way to God through Jesus, it is just as similar that there is only one way for a relationship, that being a man and a woman instead of man and man or woman and woman. Even Jesus made a reference to this in matt. 19:4-5. In the whole context of creation, man and woman was the system set down by God Himself and thus, this is why a man sleeping with another man is considered an abomination.

The OT was a demonstration of the laws as set down by God and the consequences of not following the laws, homosexuality has its punishment as well and it is lumped together in the chapter Leviticus 20:10~20 that consists of clear sexual immorality such as adultery and bestiality.

Leviticus 20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

In the OT, the punishment is the same as that of all other sexual immorality, it is by the grace of God and death of Jesus on the cross for our sins that the judgement of God does not fall upon us during our life on earth but only after our earthly death.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Romans 1
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith

The Book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul whose mission in life was to preach the gospel, we see this desire in romans 1:15 to go to rome which is representative of the whole world at that time, which is why the Book of Acts ended when Apostle Paul reached rome to show that the gospel has spread to the whole world, the context of the whole world being Rome at that time, and this fulfilled what Jesus said about the gospel reaching the ends of the earth before he ascended in Acts 1:8 .

In the Book of Romans, he specifically touch on the topic of salvation and this inevidently went into the topic of sin as we can see from Romans 1:18~32.

Romans 1
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 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.
26 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:
27 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.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Romans 1:18~23 is Apostle Paul's implicit reference to the OT whereby not only the Israelities but for eg, the city of Sodom, clearly repeatedly sinned and got punished by God over and over again. Men knew God, one famous example in OT being that of King Jeroboam, first ruler of North Israel who worship false gods, he recognised God but not of his,

1 Kings 13
6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me...

King Jeroboam heart was darkened, he chose to erect two calves of gold (1 kings 12) and worshipped them instead. This was what romans 1:23 refers to, the exchange of the worship of the immortal God for images resembling man and animals.

What was the overall net result of all that sinning in the OT?

Romans 1:24,26,28, God gave them up to to their own desires, namely the lusts of their hearts (24), dishonourable passions (26) one of which is homosexuality, and a debased mind to do what ought not to be done (28) which emcompasses all sinful behavior and practices.

By faith we Believe and justified by grace.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law (that being the sacrificial death of Jesus for our sins), (Romans 3:21), by faith we believe, there is no distinction for all have sinned and falled short of the glory of God and through this belief, we are justified by his grace as a gift.

Romans 3:31
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

What does this mean? It meant that by the grace of God, all the punishments for the laws we had broken/will break has been cast upon Jesus. This needs to be done as this would be consistent with demonstrating the Just of God for He had punished all who broke the laws in OT though by the mercy of God, He did gave chances for those who sinned to turn over a new leaf in the OT. So since the laws are not voided, they should still be uphold through grace, one of many which is homosexuality is a sin.

The urges of homosexuality is our sinful nature desiring to be unleashed.

Research had shown that most teenagers while going through their sexuality development phase undergo a same-gender attraction. For some it may not occur, for some a fleeting moment but for some, it may last a lifetime. What does the Bible say then?

Romans 6
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Let not sin reign in us and obey the lusts thereof, adultery, homosexual desires and other sins. We may not be under the law but under grace, shall we sin against the laws as written because of this grace? Once again, God through Apostle Paul says 'God forbid'.


Final Conclusion:

We are sinners, we fall in and out of sin but by the power of the grace of God, the frequency should ideally be lesser and lesser, to wish for immediate total withdrawal from any kind of sin is wishful thinking for there is no perfect man, only imperfect sinful man.

The only way to be one with God is to leave sin far behind for sin separates man from God and to understand what is sin would be to constantly look to God's Words to learn of His Will for us. Ignorance is not an excuse to sin for the Bible is available to all to read(Romans 2:14-16 By God's mercy, gentiles who did not have God's Word had their own conscience to follow and they would be judged according to their gentile laws and conscience). If after studying the Word of God and identifying what are those that are considered as sin by God, a repeated self-denial of any particular sin would then be considered as selective obedience which is disobedience. May God have mercy on all of us and open our eyes to what He sees as sinful.