“Created By Him, For Him”
A study of what the Bible really says or doesn’t say about homosexuality
I.Introduction
This not just a way to combat those who throw scripture at the LGBT community, but is also a confirmation of who we are, who we were created to be and who we were created for. This study is designed to help the LGBT community recognize their status as God’s sons and daughters and the commitment we have to spread the Good News to others – not just in the LGBT community, but to the world.
Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them.” The word created means to make something out of nothing.
Psalm 139:13-16 – “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, you eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
John 3:16-18 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Ephesians 1:3-8 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”
I Peter 2:9-10 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”
A.Sources
1)The Holy Bible
2)“Homosexuality and the Bible” Study Guide
3)Hate Thy Neighbor by Linda J. Patterson
4)Those 7 References by John F. Dwyer
5)What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.
6)The Bible, Christianity & Homosexuality by Justin R. Cannon
B.God’s Word
1)Inspired – God moved and inspired human authors (II Timothy 3:16-17)
2)Inerrant – God used His divine wisdom, knowledge and truth while still respecting the human author’s humanity, creativity and cultural boundaries – their words became God’s Word
3)Interpretation –
a)Literal interpretation: the text is interpreted simply as it is written
ØPluses = no elaborate guidelines, easier to interpret, keeps the issues simple
ØMinuses = difficult to settle differences of opinion, selective uses of scripture (overlooking one and/or emphasizing another), difficult to address new or current issues (space travel, nuclear energy, technology).
b)Historical-critical interpretation: the text is interpreted based on an understanding of who it was written by, who it was written to and the culture at the time of its writing.
ØPluses = determine meaning objectively with clear guidelines (history, accounts, biographies), keeps text of Bible current proving that God works through history, lessons are not locked into its first century form
ØMinuses = requires long, difficult study; involves technical science, archaeology, history, ancient languages and anthropology; some history or language is missing leaving unexplained texts
c)Proof-texting or exegesis: selected texts are used in and of itself to prove or illustrate a specific point
C.Terminology
1)Homosexual
a)Sexual orientation – a sexual attraction to the same sex
b)The word first appeared in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary as an adjective in 1892; then as a noun in 1902
c)There is no Greek or Hebrew word for homosexual
d)Jesus never mentions homosexuality or any other issue related to sexual orientation
e)The 1946 Revised Standard Version (RSV) was the first translation to use the word homosexual
2)Homogenital acts
a)The engagement in same-sex acts
b)These acts were often common in the ancient world as a part of pagan rituals
II.Personal references
A.What teachings have you encountered on the subject of homosexuality and what were the
sources?
B.How has this affected your views on homosexuality, God, the Bible and Christianity?
C.How are you or have you been treated by the Christian community?
III.Scripture: Genesis 19:1-29
A. Culture
1)Women were the property of their fathers or husbands and were held in low status
2)The value of a woman was determined by the number of sons she could provide her husband
3)Hospitality was a tradition that was offered not only to friends and family, but also to strangers
4)Travelers often stayed with family or friends of family
B.Lot’s behavior and actions
1)Lot took the angels into his household (v.1-3)
2)Lot stood up to the men of the city – called them “friends” (v.4-7)
3)Lot offered his daughters in place of the angels (v.8)
C. The sin of Sodom in Biblical times
1)Verse 5 – “have relations”, “know”, “have our sport with” or “have sex with them”
2)“Forcing sex on men was a way of humiliating them. During war, for example, besides raping women and slaughtering the children, the victors would often also “sodomize” the defeated soldiers. The ideas was to insult men by treating them like women. (What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.; pg. 46)
3)The sin of Sodom was not about the sexual abuse or rape. The sin of Sodom was inhospitality towards the travelers – insulting, abusing, violating, humiliating or any other inappropriate behavior toward another human being.
4)Other references to the sin of Sodom:
a)Ezekiel 16:48-50
b)Matthew 10:1-15
c)Luke 10:8-12
d)II Peter 2:4-7
e)Jude 1:5-8
D.The sin of Sodom today
1)“Homosexual people have been disowned by families, fired from jobs, denied housing, insulted by Christian leaders and other public figures, beaten and even killed – for no other reason than bein attracted to members of the same sex. This is the sort of oppression, lack of hospitality and violence that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah seems to denounce. Those who condemn and persecute homosexual people may well be the real ‘sodomites’.” (Hate Thy Neighbor by Linda J. Patterson)
2)Appropriate behavior:
a)Exodus 22:21
b)Exodus 23:9
c)Leviticus 19:33-34
d)Deuteronomy 10:18-19
e)Deuteronomy 16:14
f)Deuteronomy 26:12
3)“These passages are not about mutual sexual relations, but are about the inappropriate activity on the part of humans in the wrongful taking, rape, of another and focus on power and the abuse of power.” (Those 7 References by John F. Dwyer
IV.Scripture: Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13
A.Book of Leviticus
1)The third book in the “Books of Moses” or “Law of Moses”
2)Main topic of Leviticus is holiness - in relationships with each other, actions, rituals and in relationship to God
a)Chapters 1-7: Sacrifice
b)Chapters 8-10: Appropriate worship rituals
c)Chapters 11-15: Purification and purity codes
d)Chapter 16: Atonement festival
e)Chapters 17-26: Holiness code for the general public
f)Chapter 27: Vows and dedications
3)The Levitical Law was given to set apart God’s people from the other nations of Canaan and from their gods.
4)Chapters 18 and 20 fall into the holiness code (18:1-4), which also includes the following codes:
a)Treating women as property
b)Proper eating of animal sacrifices
c)Wearing garments made from mixed fabrics
d)Eating shellfish
B. Leviticus 18:22
1) “Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (KJV)
2)“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is detestable.” (NIV)
3)“Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin.” (Living Bible)
4)Literal translation from Hebrew: “And with a male you shall not lay lyings of a woman.”
5)“The whole structure of sexuality in the Torah assumes a dominant male and a subordinate female.” (Rabbi Arthur Waskow) Women were considered property of men and were to be obedient to their husbands which included the female being dominated and controlled during sex. The woman did what the man wanted, when the man wanted it and how the man wanted it.
6)For a man to treat a man in this way, one of them would dominate the other and reduce the other to mere “property” status. Within the context of this passage, the understood message is; “you shall not sexually use a man like property. You shall not sexually subjugate a man as one does a woman.” (The Bible, Christianity and Homosexuality, pg. 36)
7)Paul alluded to this law in I Corinthians 6:9. Paul’s translation of this law referred to male temple prostitutes who would have been used by the men who hired them.
C.Leviticus 20:13
1) “If a man also like 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.” (KJV)
2)“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.” (NIV)
3)“If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense” (NLT)
4)Other offenses described as punishable by death:
a) Child cursing their parents
b)Anyone who blasphemes God
c)A man having sex with his father’s wife
d)A woman having sex during her menstral cycle
5)If a man had sexual relations with another man with one of them allowing themselves to be dominated by the other they both violated the codes that were set up to make them “holy”.
6)The majority of the book of Leviticus is to tell the people of Israel how to be “holy” in the sight of God. In order for an Israelite to be “holy” they must accept and practice the codes of behavior set forth in Leviticus. These codes included the areas of human behavior and conduct, religious practices and rituals, civil law, ethical behaviors, sexual behaviors and agricultural practices. (“Those 7 References” pg. 36)
7)Those who use the verses in the Levitcal Code to take a stand against homosexuality do not adhere to the other more than 600 codes. This code was for a particular nation (Israel) at a particular time in their history.
V.Scripture: Romans 1:18-32
A.Terms
1) Natural (physin) – as expected; standard; ordinary; regular
a) Galatians 2:15
b)Romans 2:14
c)Romans 2:27
d)I Corinthians 11:14
e)A Jew who was aware of and practiced the Jewish law was considered to have “natural” characteristics.” (“Homosexuality and the Bible” Study Guide)
2)Unnatural (para physin) – contrary to nature; besides nature; besides what is expected; out of the ordinary
a) Romans 11:24
b)“Paul is actually teaching that same-sex acts are ethically neutral. Like heterosexual acts, homosexual acts are neither right nor wrong in themselves. They can be used for good or evil, but in themselves they are neither.” (“What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality” pg. 77)
c)Unnatural sexual activities for both male and female were acts performed as part of pagan rituals. These acts were against the nature of God and considered by God as adultery and idolatry.
d)Romans 1:24 God “gave them up” or “gave them over” due to the unnatural acts of impurity through violating themselves and each other.
- Verse 18 - 20
1)“Ungodliness, godlessness, wickedness, wrongdoing” Translates from the Greek as “impiety, works of ungodliness, a desire to do ungodly deeds, bold irreverence – refusing to give honor where honor is due”
2)Denying or supressing the truth of God – a refusal to acknowledge Him (John 14:6)
3)Bold irreverence – refusal to give honor to God
4)Ungodliness includes offenses against God and against our neighbors. (Matthew 22:37-40)
5)What did God “make plain” to us? (Psalm 19:1-6; Acts 14:8-18)
6)What can prevent us from seeing what God has made plain? (v. 20)
7)To what does the phrase “no excuse” in verse 20 refer? (Romans 2:1)
- Verses 21-23
1)They (the ungodly and the wicked) knew God – knew of the one, true God
2)They chose not to acknowledge the one true God
3)They were ungrateful for the knowledge He had revealed to them
4)Results:
a)“Futile thinking” – they set up themselves as gods; self-reliance
b)Foolishness – knowledge without wisdom
c)Hearts are darkened (Matthew 15:10-20)
d)False wisdom – wise in their own eyes (Jeremiah 8:4-9; Psalm 14:1)
e)Traded the incorruptible and eternal image of God for their own idols and images – gave God’s glory and honor due to their own idols (Isaiah 40:18-26)
- Verse 24
1)“Wherefore,” “therefore,” – Because of or in light of what Paul had just explained in verses 18-23
a)Turning their backs on God’s truth
b)Continuing in their own wisdom
c)Failure to acknowledge the diety and sovereignty of God
2)“Gave them over,” “abandoned” (vs 24, 26 and 28) - (see Psalm 81:8-16)
a)God would no longer try to restrain them from their own ways
b)God would allow them to do what they wanted to do and would leave them to their own devices
c)God did not give up on them, but rather allowed them to continue in their own foolishness
- Verse 25
1)What is the truth of God? Not the truth of the Gospel but the truth who IS God.
2)They took God out of His rightful place of honor, glory and worship and substituted their own idols in His place; made their own gods equivalent to the true God
3)Who or what is the creature? Who is the Creator?
- Verse 26
1)God again gave them up to their own willfulness
2)“Vile affections, shameful lusts, shameful desires” – impurities, prostitution, rape, lust
3)Women prostituted themselves or gratifying their own lusts
- Verse 27
1)Men also willingly participated in the “sins of Sodom”
2)There was no shame in satifying their desires
3)They not only practiced these degrading sexual acts, but also gloried in doing them
4)Brought on themselves the consequences of their indulgences
a)Diseases
b)Barenness
c)Premature old age
d)Early death
- Verse 28
1)The did not think that it was worthwhile to acknowledge the truth of who God is; regarded God’s knowledge as foolishness – this was the true source of their crimes (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)
2)God gave them over – “A thought is repeated here that has already been hinted, and is often taught in the Scriptures. The man who turns from the truth will be allowed to have his way, will fall deeper and deeper into error, and will reap all the evil consequences of loving darkness rather than light. Those who hate the truth are given over to a reprobate mind.” (People’s New Testament)
3)A depraved, corrupt, perverse or reprobate mind
a)Void of all knowledge and judgment
b)Incapable of approving good or disapproving evil
c)God could not approve of their mindset
- Verse 29-31
1)Paul details out the sins of those who have turned their backs on the true God
2)Verse 29 says they were “full of” or “filled with every kind of wickedness” – they were so concentrated on doing what was evil that all good was pushed aside
3)Paul was speaking to the leaders, professors and instructors – those who used their power to control others and used their knowledge to lead others astray
- Verse 32
1)They knew God’s laws and His judgements
2)They knew the penalty for disobedience
3)They continued in their wickedness – totally disregarding God
4)They took pleasure in their wickedness
5)They took pleasure in others who joined them in their wickedness
- Romans 1:18-32
But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.