Episode 39: Why Homosexuality is Wrong

Introduction

When I was a teenager, my brothers and I would complain about how disgusting homosexuality was and our grandmother would chastise us. Not, because she thought we shouldn’t find homosexuality disgusting, but because she didn’t want us to bring up the filthy topic. “I go years with ever thinking about homosexuals. Why do you need to talk about it?” she would say. But my grandmother, born in 1925, was from a different generation or era as people like to say today. In her day, one did not discuss sexual perversions around polite company. Most people would wince or blush at the mention of homosexuality. Sure, it existed. But in most groups the topic was avoided. And most homosexuals kept their sexual activities to the privacy of their own bedrooms. There was no seen danger in the redefinition of marriage or of the church changing two thousand years of teaching on sexual morality. It was a topic best not discussed except in the footnotes of the Catechism on the Sixth Commandment unless necessity brought the topic to the foreground. But we weren’t living in the 1950s. The topic had been brought up, and we weren’t the ones bringing it up. We lived in a world where we encountered homosexuality every day. TV shows and movies almost always had a token homosexual character. Some of our classmates in school would openly come out as homosexual and challenge our Christian conviction that it was wrong. And we could see on the horizon that more states would legalize same-sex marriage until it became national law, that we would be pressured to be silent in the public square, and that yes, even among professed Christians, we would become a minority. It used to be that you could simply point out that the ELCA or some other liberal church body accepted homosexuality to convince people that that church body did not take God’s Word seriously and that a Christian should not attend an ELCA church. But now, even members of LCMS congregations question why homosexuality is such a big deal. Gone are the days that sexual perversions are not brought up in polite company. Now, children’s libraries and elementary schools promote stories about so-called LGBT topics. And the western world celebrates June as Pride month, a celebration of the two deadliest of the seven deadly sins: Pride and Lust.

So, I hope this Bible study proves to be an aid to Lutherans who want to know how to defend the church’s position against homosexuality, so that they can prove from the Bible and from logic that homosexuality is a sin. I also hope I get the opportunity to convince some, who think that homosexuality is no big deal. But first, let us pray.

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily magnify Thy holy name; through Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

Content Warning

I will try to keep this topic as clean as possible. But be warned, we’re discussing sexual sin of a perverse nature, so use discretion as to listening to this around little ears.

Because the Bible says so.

• “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Leviticus 18:22
• “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” Leviticus 20:13
• “But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.’ Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, ‘I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.” Gen. 19:4-7. See also Judges 19:22ff.

But isn’t this just the Old Testament?

Three Divisions of the Law

• Moral: Breaking the moral law is always wrong, and cannot be changed. Moral laws command us to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. They forbid idolatry, murder, sexual immorality, theft, and other such sins.
• Ceremonial: Laws governing worship. These include circumcision, sabbaths, clean and unclean foods, sacrifices, festivals, etc. These ceremonial laws pointed to Christ and found their fulfillment in Him. Therefore, we are no longer bound by them.
  • “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17
  • For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
  • And [Jesus] said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”(Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:18-23
  • 9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” Acts 10:9-15
• Civil: Laws which governed the nation of Israel at that time and place. These laws concerned property rights, laws concerning marriage, inheritance, capital punishment, war, etc. These laws certainly do not contradict the moral or ceremonial law, but they are not binding on other nations. It would be a misapplication of God’s Word to say a nation must carry out the laws concerning property rights and inheritance as it was prescribed for Israel. However, Israel’s laws are a good model for nations even today.

How do we know that the Old Testament’s prohibition of homosexual acts is moral law and not simply ceremonial or civil?

• Go back to the source, as Jesus teaches us!
  • ³ And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” ⁴ He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷ They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸ He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Matthew 19:3-9
  • “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Ephesians 5:31
  • 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,

    in the image of God he created him;

    male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

• 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones

    and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

    because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:18-24

• The Pharisees abused the civil law of Moses regarding the legality of divorce to teach the morality of divorce. Jesus refuted their claim of the morality of divorce by going back to the source. Yet, when we go back to the source, we learn that not only is divorce immoral and that marriage is intended as a lifelong union, but marriage is also restricted to between a man and a woman. This also precludes
  • Pedophilia: The Hebrew (and Greek) texts refer to a man (אִישׁ, ἄνθρωπος) and woman (אִשָּׁה, γυναῖκα), not a boy and a girl. Also, the command to be fruitful and multiply precludes the marriage of children.
  • Bestiality: This is forbidden in Leviticus 18:23, immediately after the prohibition of homosexuality. None of the animals were found to be fit for Adam.
  • St. Paul explains that the Law was added because of transgressions (Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions… Galatians 3:19) We would not even need a prohibition against homosexuality unless people were doing it, because the original institution of marriage and sex by God made it clear that it was only between a man and a woman.

Is Homosexuality against nature? Don’t animals do it?

• Christians often use bad arguments to defend true things. One such bad argument is that animals do not practice homosexuality, therefore it is unnatural and wrong. Yet, sodomy has been observed in the animal kingdom. Yet, proponents of the morality of homosexuality make an equally illogical argument when they claim that homosexuality is observed in the animal kingdom, therefore it is natural. They even state that St. Paul made an error when he stated that homosexuality is against nature. Well, let’s look at St. Paul’s words:
  • 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
    26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
    28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. Romans 1:24-28
  • St. Paul says that men and women gave up natural relations (τὴν φυσικήν χρῆσιν) for the opposite sex and exchanged them for those that are contrary to nature (είς τῆν παρὰ φύσιν). The word for nature there does not mean that which is observed in nature. Rather, it refers to the proper purpose of the physical thing or act. Sodomy is against nature, because a person’s anus is not intended to be penetrated, but rather is used to expel waste. And a man’s member is designed for a woman’s corresponding sexual organ, so that she can receive his seed and the two gametes be joined together to form a new life. This is how God has designed man and woman as well as most of the animal kingdom. Sodomy is contrary to nature, because it is using the organs God created contrary to their intended use, whether this is done by humans or animals. Yet, because humans have immortal souls, they are accountable to God for their abuse of His creation. Paul also mentions women doing that which is contrary to nature with each other, to show that any sexual act outside of a man and woman is contrary to God’s design.
  • Saying that animals do something is never a good argument for morality. Animals also commit incest, infanticide, and cannibalism. They frequently kill members of their own species, which is murder among humans. They rape, steal, and behave violently. Because God had given dominion of the whole creation to man, the fall of man has corrupted all creation. This does not mean that animals are morally culpable for killing, raping, and stealing. However, it does mean that nature does act against its intended use. We do not find our morals from animals.
  • Just because you have a natural impulse to do something does not make it right. A frequent argument for homosexuality is that people are born that way. And Christians frequently argue that people are not born homosexuals. If you look at the scientific studies, there is very little evidence that anyone is born homosexual. It appears much more to be a result of one’s environment. However, there is still disagreement among sociologists both for biased and honest reasons. However, whether a person could be born with a propensity toward homosexual desires does not mean that it is moral. People are born with a propensity toward fornication, stealing, and violence. Some people are more likely to become murderers than others. That does not prove that murder is moral. A natural proclivity toward something does not justify that desire, because our human nature has been corrupted, as Jesus says:
    • What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23
  • And St. Paul:
    • Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

Homosexuality is a new word which previously was not found in the Bible. Therefore, the New Testament cannot prohibit homosexuality.

• ESV: 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
• NIV: 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
• KJV: 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,10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
• Greek:οὔτε μαλακοὶ οὔτε ἀρσενοκοῖτα
  • μαλακοὶ: The first and literal use of μαλακος means soft, referring to clothing, such as used in Matthew 11:8 when Jesus asks if John wore soft clothing. However, when referring to persons, the word means soft or effeminate, especially of catamites, men and boys who allow themselves to be used homosexually. This use of the word makes the most sense in context, as we will see with αρσενοκοῖτα. And this use of the word is found both among the church fathers as well as pagans. Those who claim that Paul is here is forbidding luxurious clothing and saying nothing about homosexual acts are either ignorant or lying.
  • Αρσενοκοῖτα: from αρσεν, meaning man (male) and κοίτη, meaning bed or marriage bed, and used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. This word clearly refers to men having sexual relations with men.

But isn’t Love Love?

• This argument is easily refuted. There are different types of love and thus different appropriate expressions of that love. I love my mother and father, sister and brothers, and my children. I love my wife. It is appropriate for a man to have certain relations with the wife he loves, which would be inappropriate and indeed criminal to do with a close relative. Just because someone loves another person, does not mean that he should find sexual gratification in that person.
• Doesn’t consent determine what is right? Is it anyone’s business what two consenting adults do? Consent is not the determining factor of what is and is not moral. We do not ask children their consent if we are to vaccinate them, circumcise baby boys, and otherwise treat their bodies. Yet, it is not immoral when done for their good by their parents. Yet, sexual activity carries with it such moral implications that most people recognize that it is immoral to carry out sexual acts upon children. Consent is not the only or even the main reason for the immorality. Likewise, with animals. We castrate them, butcher them, breed them, take their offspring away from them, and do all sorts of things to them without their consents for our own desire. Yet, it is understood by most that bestiality is depraved. Consent has nothing to do with that moral equation. Likewise, with incest. Incest is still illegal in most places, even among consenting adults. Consent does not determine morality. God does. Nonconsensual sex is always wrong, but consensual sex is not always right.

Why does this matter so much?

• Earthly: Martin Luther states in the Large Catechism on the Sixth Commandment: Marriage should be regarded as it is in God’s Word, where it is adorned and sanctified. It is not only placed on equality with other estates, but it comes first and surpasses them all—emperor, princes, bishops, or whoever they please. For both Church and civil estates must humble themselves and all be found in this estate, as we shall here. Therefore, it is not a peculiar estate, but the most common and noblest estate that runs through all Christendom. Yes, it extends through all the world.”
  • Homosexuality is an attack on marriage. It is a perversion of the sexual act, which turns sex into simply an act of pleasure and self-gratification without any desire for children. This damage is done even without same-sex “marriage.” Same-sex “marriage” makes it even worse. As homosexuals naturally cannot have children, but they desire to mimic the marital estate, they procure children, not simply by adopting orphans, but by purchasing human eggs or semen, thus dehumanizing the “donor” of the human gametes. Then, as is the case with two males, they rent out the womb of a woman, so that she can carry their child. This is not only incredibly dangerous, but it treats a human being as a mere incubator, and then tears a child away from its mother by design. Same-sex adoption and surrogacy harms children by depriving them of a mother or father by design. God designed fathers and mothers differently for the good of children. A child needs and benefits from both a mother and a father. Every estate, both church and state, is dependent on marriage. If marriage is destroyed, then the state will become totalitarian, and the church will dwindle.
• Heavenly: St. Paul says it succinctly. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. When we tell people that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, we are depriving them of a truth that can save their souls. It is like telling someone there is nothing wrong with drinking poison. Those who continue in homosexual lust will be condemned to hell unless they repent, just as Scripture says about adulterers, idolaters, fornicators, drunks, etc.  

What is the real reason Christians do not want to condemn homosexuality?

It is astounding that so many Christians are uncomfortable stating the clear biblical fact that homosexuality is a sin and that homosexuals should repent of this sin. Do we not call all sinners to repentance? Everyone is a sinner, so does that mean that we shouldn’t address sin? No! Everyone is a sinner, so everyone needs to repent. That is why Jesus commanded that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be preached to all nations, beginning with Jerusalem. (Luke 24)

• Fear: They fear people and their judgment rather than God’s judgment.
• Their own unrepentance. People with guilty consciences try to sooth their consciences by not condemning the sins of others. But that is not true absolution. The only true absolution is that which comes from the blood of Christ. When people are accepting of homosexuality, because they don’t want to say that someone else is doing something wrong, then they are uncomfortable saying what they do is wrong. They need to repent and believe in the Gospel.

How should the Church deal with homosexuals?

• Homosexuality is a grievous sin. It destroys families, bodies, and souls. Yet, there is only one solution to sin. That is repentance and forgiveness. People with homosexual desires and who carry out homosexual acts should be called to repentance just as all people should be called to repentance, regardless of their sins. And when they repent, they should be forgiven as Christ commands. Jesus died for homosexuals. He loves them. He wants to set them free from their sins. It is unbelievably cruel to deny this forgiveness and salvation to those who struggle with homosexual desires. A Christian may struggle with homosexual desires his whole life, just as a man may deal with natural lust, or greed, or anger, or laziness, or any other vice. That is why we must drown our old Adam and put on our new self, created after Christ Jesus. Some people’s old Adams have unnatural lusts. That unnatural lust needs to be drowned along with the whole sinful flesh, so that the new man may come forth and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
• So, Christians should speak politely, but firmly and truthfully regarding homosexuality. And we should use proper discretion and prudence to protect our children from this dangerous ideology. Yet, we should also pray for true repentance, just as we do for ourselves, so that those caught in the grasp of this demonic sin may be freed and find cleansing and forgiveness in Jesus, the Savior of sinners.