A great debate and much dissension swirl around the issue of homosexuality and the church. The issue is whether practicing homosexuals can be part of the church and its activities and whether God blesses homosexuals who are in a loving relationship.  All kinds of arguments are made to either condemn or to support the homosexual contingent. Since it is the church that is part of the issue, the scriptures are where we must look for answers to the problem.

The Bible tells us that there are two ways of life, godly and ungodly, with the church being the body of the godly who have obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The body, the church, is the saved that are following the way of God and Christ instead of the wanton path of the world.  Keep in mind that Jesus said that the world was following the wrong path and was condemned before he came to earth. He said, [John 3:17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [John 3:18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [John 3:19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus said that the people were condemned and before the world was created, God made the decision to save them from their sins by hanging Jesus on a cross. He gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to save the life of Jesus by their following his commandments, but they didn’t. Their behavior was and is called sin; that behavior which is disobedience to God and contrary to His godly way.

Homosexuality was part of the Jewish law and the Jews were told to not behave in that manner. The death penalty was warranted for those who so transgressed. It doesn’t appear from a study of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus that homosexuality was a problem amongst the Jews given the severity of the punishment for those who strayed into the forbidden behavior.

Much is made of the fact that Jesus didn’t address homosexuality in his teachings. The Bible gives us insight to the reasons for why he did as he did or didn’t do. First, Jesus was concerned with what the Pharisees were teaching contrary to the law and there isn’t any indication that the Pharisees were teaching that homosexuality was a right behavior. In fact, there isn’t any evidence that they taught anything about it at all, so Jesus wasn’t concerned about the issue as such. Secondly Paul said (in) [Eph 5:12] For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. Whatever was being done in secret Jesus didn’t reveal since it was a shame to do so.

Since the Jews knew the law on homosexuality, the issue now turns to the Gentiles who didn’t have the law, except as Paul said in Romans the rule of the heart for their guide. Conscience then was the general guide for behavior as they understood the way of God in a natural sense of what constituted acceptable human behavior. The conclusion then is that the Jews knew what was not acceptable to God because of the law, and the Gentiles knew good behavior because of the conscience being able to discern right and wrong.

Sin was and is the constant companion of Jew and Gentile alike and no amount of rule keeping can wipe out sins that have been committed. Humans can’t alter the behavioral facts of their past no matter how hard he or she might try. Only the blood of Jesus can wipe away the past from the sight of God and create a pure human from God’s point of view. In other words, Jesus Christ is the only way that forgiveness flows from God to any human. Jesus frees the individual from trying to be saved by law keeping to being saved so that others may be reached with the good news of salvation coming from the grace of God.

Jesus forgave the woman who was brought to him by the Pharisees and told her to go and sin no more (keep this in mind since it will be discussed in the next lesson). Once one has received forgiveness from God through Jesus, then deliberate sin is supposed to be in the past and new behaviors pleasing to God are to be the way of life from that point on. Paul said (in) [Rom 6:4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

© 10-11-05 DEC

Next Lesson Such Were Some of You Part 2, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians