Tag Archives: hell

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The “Gay Gospel”

Reverend Melvin MillerThe “Gay Gospel”

James R. Aist

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

The word “gospel” means “good news”. The true Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best good news ever for mankind, and it is for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. This is the only real Gospel, and for it to be real and effective in a person’s life, there must be repentance from sins (1 John 3:10; 2 Timothy 2:19). The “gay gospel” holds that one can be a Christian, never turn away from the sin of homosexual behavior, and still enjoy eternity in heaven with Jesus. Now any gospel that is not faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as presented in the Bible is the gospel of “a different Jesus”. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about a “different gospel” and a “different Jesus”: “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4). This is how we can know that Satan is using the “gay gospel” to get Christians who are homosexual to continue to practice homosexuality, feel good about it, and end up in hell, rather than repent of it.

This “gay gospel” is not only a “different gospel”: it is also a heresy called “antinomianism” that can be traced back to the Pauline letters. Antinomianism holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace, moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation. What this heresy has right is that homosexual behavior is sin. However, the denial of the need for repentance of that sin in order to go to heaven flies in the face of the biblical witness. Jesus began his ministry preaching repentance leading to salvation: “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-16). Jesus did not come to save us and our sins, but to save us from our sins. Now, consider these additional Bible passages concerning the requirement for repentance:

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” — Jesus Christ (Mark 8:36).

“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2);

“Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3:31);

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:6);

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3:4-6);

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Does any of that give the impression that anyone can deliberately keep on sinning until they die and still inherit eternal life? Quite the contrary! What it does say is that no one who goes on sinning deliberately has either seen Jesus or known Jesus (i.e., they are not really true believers) and that they can expect only judgment and the fury of a consuming fire when they die (that doesn’t sound like heaven to me!).

And here’s the clincher: “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 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Here, Paul declares, point blank, that people who are living a homosexual lifestyle will not go to heaven. God has not given a special dispensation (to keep on sinning) to homosexual people because they have sexual attractions for members of their own gender or because they don’t want to repent! We are all – regardless of the nature of our sins — subject to the requirement for repentance of sins in order to receive the Good News (salvation)! So here we are, faced with a choice: Do we believe the doctrine of God, or do we believe the doctrine of men? Let’s go with God on this one.

There is only one, true Gospel of Jesus Christ! So if you are a homosexual Christian who is trusting in the “gay gospel” to get you to heaven, you may want to re-think that. I certainly hope you will. Remember the words of Jesus: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Finally, I would guess that very few Christians are aware that the Bible has stern rebukes and dire warnings for those who approve of sin or encourage others to sin, but it does (Leviticus 19:1; Isaiah 5:20; Malachi 2:17; Matthew 5:19-20; Matthew 18:6; Romans 14:22). Thus, anyone, including born-again Christians, who even approves of or encourages the sins of homosexuality will, someday, have to answer to God for it. If that’s you, then now is the time to repent!

Do It Yourself

Here’s how to do a study of the Hebrew and Greek root words used in the Bible to express God’s views on homosexuality, without being a Hebrew or Greek scholar yourself: 1) find online and open “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance” at “Bible Study Tools” (click HERE); 2) follow the instructions given in the introductory pane; 3) check the “Strong’s Numbers” box at the top right of your reading pane to view the Hebrew and Greek lexicons using Strong’s Concordance numbers; 4) enter, in turn, the following Bible verses — Genesis 19:5 with Jude 1:7; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-10; and I Timothy 1:10 — and click on the respective highlighted words (hyperlinks) to access the appropriate lexicon and read the meaning of the Hebrew or Greek words given in English. You can toggle between the King James Version (KJV) and the New American Standard (NAS) version. You will find, as expected, that wherever homosexual behavior is mentioned, it is consistently condemned as sin, abomination, per-version, etc. And understand that later English versions of the Bible, such as the NIV and MEV, consulted the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, rather than relying solely on the KJV. The claim of gay activists – that the Bible does not condemn homosexual behavior – is nothing but pure fantasy and wishful thinking, as you can see for yourself.

(For more articles on HOMOSEXUALITY, click HERE)

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Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

Jesus H. ChristWill the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

by James R. Aist

One day God, seated on his throne in heaven, was looking quite troubled, so his Son, Jesus, who was seated at his right hand, asked him, “What’s wrong, Father?” God replied, “Son, there are so many different ideas among humans about who you are. How can we get it across to everyone who you really are?” Jesus thought for a moment and then said, “Do you remember that popular old TV show “To Tell the Truth”? You know, the one where they assembled a panel of people who all claimed they were a particular person, but they are all impostors except for the real person, who is also on the panel. Then they each gave their own short, verbal account of the real person, after which the MC said “Will the real person please stand up?” “Oh yeah”, said God, “I loved that show, except for the part where most of the panel lied about their true identity.” Jesus said “Great. So let’s arrange for a one-time retro production of that TV show and ask “Will the real Jesus please stand up?” “That way everyone will find out who the real me is.” Well, God liked the idea, so he said “Let there be a retro To Tell the Truth TV show”, and there was.

When the day came for the show to air, the panel was assembled, but God, in his infinite wisdom, decided to have Jesus seated in the studio audience rather than with the panel. He was sure that no one would recognize him there and blow his cover, since so few people seem to recognize the real Jesus any more. Moreover, God had hand-picked the Holy Spirit to be the MC, for the same reason. The Holy Spirit, grudgingly, introduced the entire panel as representing the world-famous Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, and each panel member presented a short, verbal account which they felt summed up what Jesus was all about, hoping that the audience would believe them. Here is a transcript of what followed:

Imposter # 1 – “I am, truly, the savior of the world, and I do mean all of the world, or at least those who profess to believe in some kind of “god”; it really doesn’t matter which one. Everyone who tries to live a good life, whether or not they have heard of me, whether they believe in me or not, whatever religion they belong to — as long as they try to live by whatever light they have — they will be in heaven with me after they die. My only mistake was telling everyone that no one comes to the Father except through me. Fact is, there are many paths to God, not just through me. The Good News of Jesus Christ is inclusive, not exclusive, as others would have you believe. Why would I set the bar so high that only a few could qualify? My purpose in coming into the world was only to provide everyone a perfect example of godly living, so that they could save themselves by trying to live like I did. I don’t know where they got the idea that I died for their sins; only a fool would do such a thing. Moreover, I think you will find that it is much easier to be liked by others if you ascribe to my way of thinking, and so you will feel better about yourself. The fact that millions, perhaps billions, of people from all over the world have seen my light and are following my plan is proof that I am, indeed, Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.”

Imposter # 2 – “It was I who went about doing good, healing the sick, raising the dead and restoring sight to the blind. This is how I proved how much I love everyone and that I am God’s only begotten Son. And because of my great love and compassion for all of mankind, you will never hear me offend anyone by speaking harshly to them, calling them names, calling out their sins, or – heaven forbid – resorting to violence of any kind just because they are trying to make a living in the temple of God by tipping the scales a bit. But I digress. I came into the world to make everyone feel good about themselves the way they are, not to encourage and enable them to change. What a cruel guilt trip that would be! Nevertheless, it is my hope that no one will perish, but that all will, instead, come to repentance.  However, you and I both know that most people are not willing to repent, even though many of them say that they believe in me. I don’t know where they got the idea that not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father. That’s harsh! After all, my love does cover a multitude of sins, doesn’t it? And isn’t it true that the only work that God requires is that you believe in the One whom he sent (that would be me, of course)? Therefore, I have dismissed the requirement for repentance and have established dispensations for anyone who is unwilling to repent and turn away from their sins because, for whatever reason, they simply refuse to change. It’s amazing how many have chosen to take me up on this offer and are expecting to go to heaven without repenting! My salvation is now available to virtually everyone, no matter how they are living. Now that’s what I call a real savior, don’t you agree?”

Imposter # 3 – “Well, you don’t really believe that a loving God would condemn anyone to hell, do you? Where’s the love in that? Isn’t it true that God actually IS love? I don’t know where you got the idea that you have to become the righteousness of God in Christ in order to “qualify” for heaven. If we are all made in God’s image, doesn’t it follow, logically, that he would want us all to enjoy our eternity in heaven with him? So, I am here to save you from the lifetime of anxiety and terror that comes from believing that God would ever harm someone, such as yourself, who represents the very pinnacle of his creative work. Believe me, you need a savior alright, but not one who will save you from your sins. God knew that sin would come into the world when he created mankind, and yet he went ahead with it? So, if anyone is at fault here, it’s God, right? The only way God can resolve this dilemma fairly is to let everyone into heaven. So, you see, I have come to save you from all that unnecessary mental anguish and dread of future damnation that others speak about. Isn’t that the kind of “savior” you would really rather have, one who doesn’t think he has to scare the hell out of you just so you won’t go there when you die? I think you’ll agree that my “salvation” is the easiest, most care-free and most pleasant way to live, in order to spend your eternity with God when you die. After all, can my millions and millions of faithful followers possibly be wrong?”

By this time, the Holy Spirit had heard enough, and since all three panelists had spoken, he declared an end to the process by saying “Now it is time to find out which one of these three men is the real Jesus. So, will the real Jesus please stand up?” After a lengthy pause, during which none of the panelists stood to his feet, everyone was puzzled, because they expected one of the panelists, the real Jesus, to stand up. Then the Holy Spirit again said “Will the real Jesus please stand up?” After a brief pause, a man near the middle of the audience rose slowly to his feet and began to speak with great power and authority, so that those who heard him were in awe:

“Why do you mock and slander me like this, after all I’ve done for you? You pick and choose my attributes, actions, words and accomplishments recorded in the Bible to fit the image of a Jesus who is no more than a figment of your imagination. You have been warned about following after “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4), and still you insult and offend me by creating a counterfeit Jesus to suit your abominable heresies and lifestyles. I am the real Jesus, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 21:6). Before Abraham was born, I am (John 8:58). I am the Word of God (John 1:14); his Word is truth (John 17:17). Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), I came into the world that the world through me might be saved (John 3:16-17). I am the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). I am the one who died for your sins so that you don’t have to pay the penalty for them (Hebrews 9:15). I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to destruction (Proverbs 14:12). God does not will that any man should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). I came preaching “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). I am the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). Unless a man repent, he will perish (Luke 13:1-5). Do not fear men, who can harm your body, but fear the One who can throw both body and soul into hell (Luke 12:5). I am the judge of all mankind (Acts 10:42). Those who believe in me and obey my commands will be made the righteousness of God in Christ and will inherit eternal life with God in heaven, but those who do not will be thrown into the lake of fire with the devil, which is the second death (Revelation 20:14-15), where there will be eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:50). God is love (1 John 4:8), and he is also righteous and just (Psalm 50:6). He will reward the righteous and punish the unjust (Matthew 25:32-46). No one can resist the will of God (Romans 9:19), and there will be no excuse for the unbeliever (Romans 1:20). Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand (Matthew 4:17).

At that, those in both the studio audience and the TV audience to whom God had given eyes to see and ears to hear, recognized and believed in the real Jesus, fell to their knees, repented of their sins and were saved. Most of them, however, put their faith and their eternal destiny in the hands of one or the other of the impostors, thus sealing their ultimate fate with the devil and his angels in the lake of fire. All went to bed that night confident that they had made the right choice.

Now Jesus returned to his seat at the right hand of God his Father in heaven, and, turning to his Father, asked “Well, what do you think, Father? Did it work?” “It worked perfectly, Son,” said his Father. “Everyone will reap what he has sown (Galatians 6:7), and we did everything we could to reach out to them all (Romans 5:8). It breaks my heart to see so many headed in the wrong direction, but my offer was open to everyone who would believe (John 6:40). At least now they know that “the real Jesus” is everything that my Word says you are, and said, and did; not just the “feel good” things that they wanted to believe about you to justify their sinful ways.” “So then”, Jesus asked, “Do you feel better now?” His Father paused for a moment and then replied, “Yes, and no.”

After Words

Unless you believe in both the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah, you don’t believe in the real Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, because the real Jesus is both the Lamb and the Lion. If that’s you, then you are believing in “another Jesus”, which the Bible warns us against (2 Corinthians 11:4). Moreover, if that’s you, then you are believing “another gospel”, against which the Bible also warns us (2 Corinthians 11:4). You need to believe in the real Jesus, because He is the Jesus who died for your sins (the Lamb) and will come again to judge the living and the dead (the Lion)!

(For more articles on BIBLICAL TEACHINGS, click HERE)

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Homosexuality: What Would Jesus Do?

Repent! Jesus is coming soonHomosexuality: What Would Jesus Do?

by James R. Aist

“Surely Jesus would be willing to associate with homosexual people (cf. Matthew 9:10; Luke 7:34) and treat them with kindness and respect, without approving of their homosexual behavior; Jesus came preaching repentance from sin, not acceptance of sin (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 5:32). Jesus did not come to save us and our sins, but to save us from our sins.”

Introduction

How would Jesus relate to homosexual people, were He to visit planet earth today? Of course, we can’t know that for certain, but the Bible provides enough telling evidence to enable us to draw some reasonable conclusions.

Jesus’ Mission

Let’s begin by recalling that the very reason Jesus came to planet earth in the first place was to: 1) live a sinless life (so that his death could pay the penalty for our sins and not his own); and 2) suffer and die to pay the penalty — death (Romans 6:23) — for our sins (so that we would not have to pay that penalty). That’s how serious our “sin problem” is, to God! So, Jesus did not respond to sins by calling “evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20); rather, he willingly paid the ultimate price for sins (Romans 5:8). Jesus came to save the world so that people could go to heaven (John 3:17), not to endorse and approve the very sins that would keep people out of heaven (Corinthians 6:9-10)!

Jesus’ Views on Homosexuality

Some in the modern Christian church claim that Jesus did not condemn homosexual acts as sin, and that, therefore, He must not condemn it. This argument is invalid by its very nature. It is based on the assumption that everything that Jesus said is recorded in the Bible. If this were a valid assumption, then Jesus would also not condemn rape, child sexual abuse and slavery, because the Bible does not record Him specifically speaking out against any of these sins. Since one cannot prove a point by appealing to an assumption, this claim is self-destructive. Now let’s take a look at the root assumption, namely, that the Bible does not record Jesus saying anything about homosexuality, and see if that assumption is actually true.

While the Bible does not record Jesus singling out homosexual acts per se, as  sexual sins, one of His teachings, as recorded by Matthew and Mark, implies that He did consider them to be sin: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:19-20) and “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23).  The Greek word translated “sexual immorality” in both accounts is “porneia”, which, according to Strong’s Concordance, refers to all forms of illicit sexual intercourse, including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality and incest. It would be presumptuous, at best, to conclude that, out of all the sexual sins that this Greek word refers to, Jesus meant to exclude homosexual acts. If He had meant to exclude homosexual acts from the list, He could have said something like “…sexual immorality (“porneia”), except homosexuality (“arsenokoites”),…”, but He didn’t. The implication, from the context, is that He meant to include homosexual acts among the sins to which He was referring. If this implication is not correct, then Jesus — the man who is also the Divine Son of the all-knowing God — did not say what He meant and therefore mislead His hearers! I would suggest that if you believe that about Jesus, then you may just believe in a “different Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4).

The Bible declares that “the wicked”, including unrepentant “homosexual offenders”, “…will not inherit the kingdom of God…” (I Corinthians 6:9-10), and it goes on to say that “the wicked” were all washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 6:11). So think about it: if God really made some people homosexual, approved of homosexual behavior, and wanted them to remain gay, then why did He change them in the name (“name”: literally, power and authority) of the Lord Jesus Christ? I think you and I both know why He changed them. And if Jesus approved of homosexual behavior and wanted them to remain gay, how could they have been changed by His own power and authority? Obviously, Jesus also wanted them to be changed. Why? Because the homosexual offenders were wicked (I Corinthians 6:11). Jesus did not come to save us and our sins, but to save us from our sins.

The argument that Jesus never said anything specifically about homosexual acts, and that therefore He must not condemn it, presumes that the recorded words of Jesus are more authoritative than the words of Scripture elsewhere and that Jesus does not agree with what the other writers of the Bible have to say about homosexuality. But it is the Holy Spirit of God who inspired all of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), including epistles like Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Timothy, where homosexuality is specifically and directly addressed and condemned as sin. Moreover, Jesus and the Holy Spirit co-exist in the Godhead — in fact, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus (Romans 8:9 ) — and have been in perfect and eternal communion and harmony all along. Therefore, we can be confident that Jesus agrees with everything the Holy Spirit revealed in the Bible about moral issues, including homosexuality.

Furthermore, one can deduce that Jesus considered homosexual behavior to be sin, from His stated belief that the Old Testament, which labels it as “detestable” and commands us not to do it, is the infallible and everlasting Word of God (Matthew 5:18; John 10:35).  And, in John 17:17, Jesus, speaking at that time of the Old Testament, declared to God the Father, “…your word is truth.”  This “truth” includes Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.  We can know that Jesus taught that homosexual behavior is sin, because, in referring to the Law and the Prophets (which includes Leviticus), Jesus declared, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same …will certainly not enter the kingdom  of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19-20).  And Jesus confirmed that the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners, including homosexual people, is hell when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus did not come to save us and our sins, but to save us from our sins. In view of the direct command of God to refrain from homosexual behavior (Leviticus 18:22), it is obvious that such behavior violates the explicit will of God and therefore, according to Jesus’ own words, disqualifies unrepentant homosexual people from heaven.

What Jesus Would (probably) Do

So then, what can we expect Jesus would do today, based on the biblical witness? Surely Jesus would be willing to associate with homosexual people (cf. Matthew 9:10; Luke 7:34) and treat them with kindness and respect, without approving of their homosexual behavior; Jesus came preaching repentance from sin, not acceptance of sin (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 5:32), and He was still calling for repentance after his ascension into heaven (Revelation 2, 3). Jesus did not come to save us in our sins, but to save us from our sins. Jesus said to the woman caught in the heterosexual sin called “adultery”, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11). Jesus gave up His own life to pay the price for homosexual sins; that’s how much He hates homosexual sins and loves homosexual people (Romans 5:8).  Jesus would further demonstrate His love for homosexual people by encouraging them to believe in Him and be saved (John 3:16), and to repent of (turn away from) their homosexual sins. Furthermore, He would change them “in the name (literally, the power and authority) of the Lord Jesus Christ”, just as His Corinthian disciples (His representatives) did after Him (I Corinthians 6:11). This is the kind of love Jesus has for homosexual and heterosexual people alike. The Bible also has this to say about love: “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9); and “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6). This, too, is the love of Christ for all of us, including homosexual people. For a more comprehensive and detailed presentation of a Christ-like response to homosexuality, see Dallas and Heche (2010).

Challenge

So, if you are a Christian who believes that Jesus would approve of homosexual acts and not insist that homosexual people forsake their homosexual behavior, then you may want to check out these verses and the links (below) for yourself, mull them over a bit and re-think that.

(For more articles on HOMOSEXUALITY, click HERE)

Reference Cited:

Dallas, J. and N. Heche. 2010. The Complete Christian Guide to Understanding Homosexuality. Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. pp. 461-485.

Recommended links (for further study of this topic):

Did Jesus condemn homosexuality? (click HERE)

Did Jesus ever address homosexuality? (click HERE)

Responding to pro-gay theology. (click HERE)

How should followers of Christ respond to the issues of homosexuality and same-sex marriage? (click HERE)

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Homosexuality: Does God Really Say “Don’t Do It!”?

"Homosexuality & the Bible" bookletHomosexuality: Does God Really Say “Don’t Do It!”?

by James R. Aist

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20)

Introduction

Let me begin this article with a reminder that God does not categorize people as “heterosexuals” or “homosexuals.” He sees all of us as created by Him in His image and dearly loved. Acts 17:28 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’” This is our true identity. What people do sexually is not really who they are, as homosexual activists claim. Although we are all sinners, we are so strongly loved by Him that He offered His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for us, in order to reconcile us to Himself. No one is outside the scope of His love.

Same-sex attraction presents a powerful temptation to sin, but biblically speaking, it is not a sin. To have such attractions is akin to a married heterosexual man having opposite-sex attractions to women other than his wife. These attractions are temptations to sin and nothing more; they are not sin, although they would lead to sin if acted upon (either mentally or physically). Same-sex attractions are apparently not something that most homosexuals choose. Rather, they usually seem to occur in homosexual persons without their volition or intent. This is an important distinction that Christians need to be aware of. The Bible condemns homosexual sex acts, but it does not condemn the experience of being tempted by same-sex attractions. If the Bible did condemn the experience of being tempted, then Jesus would not have been without sin, would He? Heterosexual people also have very strong temptations to commit sexual sins, because of their opposite-sex attractions. Either kind of temptation can lead to sin, if one chooses to act on it. And God’s solution for sin is the same for homosexual people as it is for heterosexual people:  “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) and  “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). Jesus did not come to save us and our sins, but to save us from our sins. There is only one Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is for both homosexual people and heterosexual people alike.

The Biblical Witness: Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexual Acts

The Bible identifies several kinds of sexual sin, including fornication, adultery, incest and homosexuality. Homosexual behavior is unequivocally and consistently portrayed in the Bible as sin (Genesis 19:5 with Jude 1:7; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Judges 19:22-25; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-10; and I Timothy 1:10). The biblical witness on this point could not be any clearer. Most importantly, the Bible declares that “the wicked”, including unrepentant “homosexual offenders”, “…will not inherit the kingdom of God…” (I Corinthians 6:9-10), and it goes on to say that “the wicked” were all washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 6:11). So think about it: if God really made some people homosexual, approved of homosexual behavior, and wanted them to remain gay, then why did He change them in the name (“name”: literally, power and authority) of the Lord Jesus Christ? I think you and I both know why He changed them. And if Jesus approved of homosexual behavior and wanted them to remain gay, how could they have been changed by His own power and authority? Obviously, Jesus himself wanted them to be changed. Why? Because the homosexual offenders were wicked (I Corinthians 6:11). Jesus did not come to save us and our sins, but to save us from our sins. Gay theology would have you believe that these verses really do not apply to the loving, committed and enduring homosexual relationships we hear about today, but those arguments have been thoroughly refuted with sound arguments and biblical scholarship (click HERE).

Some in the modern Christian church claim that Jesus did not condemn homosexual acts as sin. But, wherever the Bible says that the practice of homosexuality is sin, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) & God the Holy Spirit (the one, triune God) are talking. Therefore, Jesus said everything the Bible says about homosexuality. While the Bible does not record Jesus singling out homosexual acts per se, as  sexual sins, one of His teachings, as recorded by Matthew and Mark, implies that He did consider them to be sin: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:19-20) and “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23).  The Greek word translated “sexual immorality” in both accounts is “porneia”, which, according to Strong’s Concordance, refers to all forms of illicit sexual intercourse, including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality and incest. It would be presumptuous, at best, to conclude that, out of all the sexual sins that this Greek word refers to, Jesus meant to exclude homosexual acts. If He had meant to exclude homosexual acts from the list, He could have said something like “…sexual immorality (“porneia”), except homosexuality (“arsenokoites”),…”, but He didn’t. The implication, from the context, is that He meant to include homosexual acts among the sins to which He was referring. If this implication is not correct, then Jesus — the man who is also the Divine Son of the all-knowing God — did not say what He meant and therefore mislead His hearers! I would suggest that if you believe that about Jesus, then you may just believe in a “different Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4).

The argument that Jesus never said anything specifically about homosexual acts, and that therefore He must not condemn it, presumes that the words of Jesus are more authoritative than the words of Scripture elsewhere and that Jesus does not agree with what the other writers of the Bible have to say about homosexuality. But it is the Holy Spirit of God who inspired all of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), including epistles like Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Timothy, where homosexuality is specifically and directly addressed and condemned. Moreover, Jesus and the Holy Spirit co-exist in the Godhead — in fact, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus (Romans 8:9 ) — and have been in perfect and eternal communion and harmony all along. Therefore, we can be confident that Jesus agrees with everything the Holy Spirit revealed in the Bible about moral issues, including homosexuality. In fact, every time God’s Word says homosexuality is a sin, it is the Triune God doing the talking: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Jesus said everything the Bible says about homosexuality.

The Biblical Witness: Indirect Evidence that Homosexual Behavior is Sin

Homosexual behavior is sin because it is contrary to the principles of human sexual behavior that God established in the beginning.  God created mankind “…male and female…” (Genesis 1:27) and said “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…” (Genesis 1:28). Obviously, God’s original, created plan is for heterosexual, not homosexual, relations. Moreover, when God set about to cure Adam’s loneliness and provide a suitable helper for him (Genesis 2:18), “God made a woman…” for Adam (Genesis 2:22), not a man.  God’s plan is that “…a man will…be united to his wife…” (Genesis 2:24), not a man to a man or a woman to a woman. The apostle Paul affirmed heterosexual behavior as “natural” and homosexual behavior as “unnatural” (Romans 1:26-27), in agreement with the Genesis account.

Furthermore, one can deduce that Jesus considered homosexual behavior to be sin, from His stated belief that the Old Testament, which labels it as “detestable” and commands us not to do it, is the infallible and everlasting Word of God (Matthew 5:18; John 10:35).  And, in John 17:17, Jesus, speaking at that time of the Old Testament, declared to God the Father, “…your word is truth.”  This “truth” includes Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.  We can know that Jesus taught that homosexual behavior is sin, because, in referring to the Law and the Prophets (which includes Leviticus), Jesus declared, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same …will certainly not enter the kingdom  of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19-20).  And Jesus confirmed that the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners, including homosexual people, is hell when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus did not come to save us in our sins, but to save us from our sins. In view of the direct command of God to refrain from homosexual behavior (Leviticus 18:22), it is obvious that such behavior violates the explicit will of God and therefore, according to Jesus’ own words, disqualifies unrepentant homosexual people from heaven.

Challenge

If you are a Christian who believes that the Bible, and Jesus, don’t really say that homosexual behavior is sin, then you may want to check out these Bible verses and references and links (below) for yourself and re-think that. And here’s how you can do a study of the Hebrew and Greek root words used in the Bible to express God’s views on homosexuality, without being a Hebrew or Greek scholar: 1) download the free “Online Bible” and save it on your computer; 2) select the “AV” Bible version; 3) select “Strong’s” to add Strong’s concordance directly to the displayed text; 4) look up each of the following Bible passages…Genesis 19:5 with Jude 1:7; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-10; and I Timothy 1:10; 5) hold your cursor over the number for each key word, and the definitions, in English, of each Hebrew or Greek word in the verse will pop up in a small window. You will find, as expected, that wherever homosexual behavior is mentioned, it is consistently condemned as sin, abomination, perversion, etc. And understand that later English versions of the Bible, such as the MEV and the NIV, consulted the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, rather than relying on the AV. The claims of gay activists that the Bible does not condemn homosexual behavior is nothing but pure fantasy and wishful thinking, as you can see for yourself.

The Biblical Witness: Homosexual Orientation Is Not from God!

Some homosexuality advocates claim that homosexual people are not only born gay, but that God created them that way (with same-sex attractions). However, such a claim is diametrically opposed to the biblical witness; there are scriptural proofs that God is not the source of the same-sex attractions and desires that homosexual people experience. Firstly, the Bible clearly and consistently condemns homosexual behavior as sin (Genesis 19:5 with Jude 1:7; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-10; and I Timothy 1:10). Now, if God himself were to instill same-sex attractions and desires into homosexual people, then, by doing so, He would be tempting them to sin sexually. However, the Bible also states, emphatically, that God does not tempt anyone to sin (James 1:13-14). The necessary conclusion is that the God of the Bible would not create anyone homosexual, because to do so would violate His very nature and character, which is to hate sin. And secondly, after God had created Adam and Eve as heterosexual people, the Bible says that “God saw all that he made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “All that He had made” could not have included homosexuality, because the Bible clearly and consistently condemns homosexual behavior as evil, not good. And that — the creation of Adam and Eve –- was “the last of the work of creation that God was doing” (Genesis 2:2). It follows, then, that God not only would not, but also did not, create anyone homosexual. Homosexuality must have first appeared at some later time, after God had finished creating.

Since same-sex attractions and desires do not come from God, where do they come from? The Bible says that sin entered the world through the “original sin” of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-19) after the last of the work of creation that God was doing (Genesis 2:2), and that “each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed” (James 1:14). Thus, same-sex sexual attraction (i.e., homosexuality) is a result of sin entering the world through the disobedience of Adam.

Challenge

If you are a Christian who believes that the God of the Bible must approve of homosexual behavior because He “made them that way”, then you may want to check out these verses for yourself and re-think that.

Biblical Warnings and Rebukes

I would guess that very few Christians are aware that the Bible has stern rebukes and dire warnings for those who approve of sin or encourage others to sin, but it does (Leviticus 19:1; Isaiah 5:20; Malachi 2:17; Matthew 5:19-20; Matthew 18:6; Romans 14:22). Thus, anyone, including born-again Christians, who even approves of or encourages the sins of homosexuality will, someday, have to answer to God for it. If that’s you, then now is the time to repent!

Challenge

If you are a Christian who approves of or encourages homosexual behavior in any way, then you may want to check out these verses for yourself and re-think that…for your own sake.

Do It Yourself

Here’s how to do a study of the Hebrew and Greek root words used in the Bible to express God’s
views on homosexuality, without being a Hebrew or Greek scholar yourself: 1) find online and open “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance” at “Bible Study Tools” (click HERE); 2) follow the instructions given in the introductory pane; 3) check the “Strong’s Numbers” box at the top right of your reading pane to view the Hebrew and Greek lexicons using Strong’s Concordance numbers; 4) enter, in turn, the following Bible verses — Genesis 19:5 with Jude 1:7; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-10; and I Timothy 1:10 — and click on the respective highlighted words (hyperlinks) to access the appropriate lexicon and read the meaning of the Hebrew or Greek words given in English. You can toggle between the King James Version (KJV) and the New American Standard (NAS) version. You will find, as expected, that wherever homosexual behavior is mentioned, it is consistently condemned as sin, abomination, per-version, etc. And understand that later English versions of the Bible, such as the NIV and NAS, consulted the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, rather than relying on the KJV. The claim of gay activists, that the Bible does not condemn homosexual behavior, is nothing but pure fantasy and wishful thinking, as you can see for yourself.

(For more articles on HOMOSEXUALITY, click HERE)

References Cited:

Dallas, J. 1991b. Desires in Conflict. Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. pp. 267-282.

Davies, B. & L. Rentzel. 1993. Coming Out of Homosexuality. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. pp. 183-189.

Recommended links:

Allen, J. 2014. The Apostle Paul and Homosexuality—Answering Homosexual Objections (Part 1) (click HERE)

Allen, J. 2014. The Apostle Paul and Homosexuality—Answering Homosexual Objections (Part 2) (Click HERE)

Gagnon, R. 2003. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: An Overview of Some Issues. (click HERE)

Dallas, J. 1996. Responding to pro-gay theology. (click HERE)

Miller, D. and B. Harrab. An Investigation of the Biblical Evidence Against Homosexuality. (click HERE)