Romans 1

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.  Romans 1:18-32 NIV

This is an uncomfortable and difficult passage to study given the current direction of our modern day culture.  Although homosexuality is not an easy topic to discuss, it is not something that we can just ignore as we study God’s Word.  The Bible’s message must be taken as a whole.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16).  We cannot pick and choose convenient and comfortable passages to live by and then ignore the ones that are hard to deal with or that we don’t like.  This section of Scripture makes it absolutely clear that homosexuality is a result of living in a fallen world.  Sex was created as a gift from God, to be given to married men and women to promote intimacy and the expansion of families.  Using sex for anything other than the purpose for which it was created distorts the natural use of this gift, and is considered a sin.  This includes adultery, homosexuality, pornography and premarital sex.  God is very clear about His stand on homosexuality: “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable” (Leviticus 18:22).  Romans 1:26 specifically refers to Lesbianism: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.  Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.” So what about the argument that homosexuals cannot help being gay because that is how God made them?  The hard truth is that homosexuality is a choice, not something that a person is born with.  While it is absolutely true that some people are born with a tendency towards same sex attraction, it does not mean that they are supposed to give into it just because that is “how they are made.”  Although it may be a life-long struggle, it is never acceptable in God’s eyes to choose sin just because it is too hard to fight the temptation.  The exact same reasoning can be applied to a person who is born with a susceptibility for substance abuse, violence, lying, adultery, etc.  Sin is sin and it has consequences:  “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).  Notice that homosexuality is only one of many sins listed that will keep a person from the Kingdom of God.  The fact is that we are all sinners, which means that we all need God’s grace and mercy.  When we become believers in Christ, however, we are required to repent, which means asking for God’s forgiveness and turning away from past sins.  Only then can we begin a real relationship with Jesus where we are able to receive God’s abundant blessings.  So how should a Christian treat someone who is attracted to members of the same sex?  In John 13:34, Jesus tells us how we are to treat ALL people: “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  Look at the Gospels for numerous examples of how Jesus treated sinners while He was on Earth.  He loved them, cared for them, shared meals with them, taught them, respected them, and ultimately suffered and died for them.  We serve a God “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).  There are no exceptions.  The other important point is that none of us would appreciate being defined by the many sins that we have committed throughout our lives.  If you find out that someone you know is same sex attracted, try looking past that label and focus on who they really are instead.  Make sure to pray for them and be open to talking about your faith in a respectful, non-confrontational way if the opportunity arises.  Lastly, remember that The Bible is not meant for us to use to point out the sins of others.  We need to use it as a mirror, not a magnifying glass.  As you continue studying the Bible, God will be faithful to point out what you need to work on in order to continue maturing and developing into the image of Christ.  The more you read and understand it, the more of God’s wisdom you will be able to obtain and apply to your life.