What Does The Bible Say About LGBTQIA+?
Caleb Suko
Today we are answering our first question in our series called “What Does the Bible Say About…?” The question of homosexuality and the LGBTQIA+ lifestyles has quickly become relevant in nearly every country around the world. That being said, it seems like Western cultures; Germany, Netherlands, UK, US, and Canada are leading the cultural sexual revolution.
I realize that this topic can produce strong and sometimes even violent reactions on both sides. That is why I want to preface what I’m going to say with a few things.
- My goal here is to see as clearly as possible what God’s Word says about this topic. As a church we believe in the absolute truth of God’s Word and we believe that God’s Word has authority in our lives.
- As Christians we must learn, at times, to put aside our feelings, whether they are positive or negative, about something and allow God’s Word to speak to us. I pray that we will be able to do that today.
- As Christians we must not hold any hate or aggression towards people in the LGBT community. To say that something is a sin is not and should not be hate speech. If I see my son or daughter is about to eat something poisonous I will warn them and do my best to stop them because I know that it will only harm them.
The LGBT Community in Ukraine is growing. If you haven’t come across them, you will. The cultural opinion about LGBT will change quickly.
The sexual revolution in the US started in the 1960’s with the Hippy movement. It took about 30 years for homosexuals to gain general cultural acceptance. According to Gallup polling in 1996 about 68% of Americans disapproved of gay marriage but by 2020 67% of americans approved of gay marriage.
Now their is broad cultural acceptance in the US for homosexuality and the next issue is transexuality, which is quickly gaining acceptance. The sexual revolution in the US is now 60 years in the making. In my experience the changes we see happen over the past 60 years in the US will happen within 15–20 years in Ukraine.
Our churches must be ready to face the challenges of LGBT from within the church as well as from without. Christians need to be ready to give Biblical answers on sexuality and identity. Christians need to be open and ready to build relationships and to serve the members from the LGBT community. Christians need to learn how to effectively share the gospel with LGBT members in the church and outside of the church.
A Biblical Defense of Heterosexuality
Before we talk about how we can share the gospel with members of the LGBT community we must make sure that we have a correct understanding of Biblical sexuality. This is the foundation upon which we stand. That being said, while the sin of homosexuality can stand in the way of the gospel, winning the biblical argument doesn’t mean a person will believe in Jesus.
As we look at the Bible it doesn’t take long to find out that the sexuality of mankind as a central part of creation. If we read through the account of the creation of Adam and Eve it seems that Moses goes out of his way to show the differences between the sexes and that these differences were good and they were determined by God himself.
The Old Testament and New Testament exclusively speak of heterosexual marriage.
God lays the foundation for sexuality and marriage in Gen 1 and 2 when he created man and woman.
Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
God describes marriage as “one flesh” and “man and woman” No other relationship is described this way in the Bible.
Genesis 2:22–25
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
The Old Testament and New Testament exclusively speak of sex within a heterosexual marriage.
- Sex before marriage is condemned 1 Cor 7:8–9
- Sex with some else’s spouse is condemned Exo 20:14, 1 Cor 7:2
- Sex with animals is condemned Exo 22:19
- Sex with close family relations is condemned Deut 27:20–23
- Homosexual sex is condemned Lev 18:22, 20:13, Rom 1:26–27, 1 Cor 6:9, 1 Tim 1:10
Leviticus 18:22 Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
1 Corinthians 6:9 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
There are no positive examples of homosexual lifestyle in the Bible
The primary example of homosexuality is Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 19:5
Genesis 19:5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
We see a similar situation in Judges 19:22
Judges 19:22 While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.”
Both of these examples present homosexuality as a terrible sin that highlights the moral degradation of society. Furthermore, in the New Testament we see that Paul also points to homosexuality as one characteristic of people who have turned their backs on God.
Romans 1:25–27
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 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.
Why didn’t Jesus say anything about homosexuality?
Jesus didn’t say anything specifically for or against homosexuality or other lgbtqia+ identities. However, if we look at Jesus’ teaching we can make several strong conclusions that relate to this issue.
- Jesus clearly believed the Old Testament and support all it’s claims.
Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus quoting from, referring to, and upholding the truth and authority of the Old Testament. About 10% of the Gospels are reference to the Old Testament. Jesus obviously agreed with the Old Testament’s teaching on sexuality.
2. Jesus supported the Old Testament’s teaching on heterosexual marriage
Matthew 19:4–6
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
3. Jesus didn’t need to teach on lgbt issues because there was general agreement with the Old Testament’s teaching within society.
The Jewish people of Jesus’ day were in general agreement about heterosexual marriage and thus Jesus didn’t need to bring up the issue.
What about Eunuchs?
Some claim that Jesus is conforming that some people are born as homosexual, bisexual, transexuals, or some other form of sexuality besides heterosexuality.
Matthew 19:12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others — and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
Greek “eunouchos”
1) a male person lacking the ability to beget children, whether through castration (Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 5.2.28), accident (Leviticus 21:20), or congenital defect (Matthew 19:12) or 2) a male palace official whether castrated (Esther 2:3) or not (Genesis 39:1, 40:2, 7)
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, and Robert McKenzie, A Greek English Lexicon
All eunuchs in the Bible are clearly male. There is not evidence that they had same sex attractions or were in involved in same sex romantic relationships.
The Greek term eunouchos is never used to denote a person with intact sexual organs who is intersex, transgender, or engages in homosexual behavior.
Thus we can say:
- A eunuch was someone who physically couldn’t reproduce or possibly made the choice to not marry and live celibate.
- A eunuch is not a third gender -all eunuchs are male in the Bible
- A eunuch is never spoken of as having same sex attraction
- To be a eunuch was not a sin, just a reality of life
Overview:
- The Bible gives us the foundation for sexual identity and sexual relations: Gen 1–2
- 2 sexes male and female
- Marriage should be between male and female
- Sex is allowed only within the bonds of marriage
- The Bible always refers to homosexulaity as a sin, there are no positive examples
Jesus didn’t touch on the subject of homosexuality because it wasn’t a debated issue at the time. However, Jesus supported the Old Testament teaching on marriage and all that the Old Testament taught. Thus, we can say that Jesus didn’t support homosexuality.
- Eunuchs do not fall under any LGBT category
- They had a clear gender
- They didn’t engage in homosexual behaviors
- They were not same sex attracted
How to talk with LGBT people about the gospel
As we think about sharing the gospel with LGBT people let us remember that they are people too. Every one of us is a sinner and every sinner needs Christ. The biggest need of every homosexual, is Christ. No matter how you share the gospel, do your best to keep the focus on Christ. There will be many distractions and many questions but we must always bring it back to Christ, the truth of who he is, and what he has done for us.
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
We can also say that the most important thing Christ has called us to do is to share the gospel of Christ and the cross. Let’s not make it too complicated, let’s be loving, let’s be clear, and let’s share the gospel.
3. Don’t try to “fix” their sexuality
As a heterosexual Christian it can be easy to lose focus when sharing the gospel with my LGBT friend and think that my main goal is to convert him to heterosexuality. I must realize that God has not called me to “fix” anyone. Whether it’s homosexuality, overeating, or a problem with anger, these are not things you or I can “fix.”
Nowhere in the Bible does God call us to fix people’s problems. God is the only one who can do that! Our job is to share God’s love, to show them where forgiveness is found, and to give them the hope of Jesus. If we can do this, then we can be sure God will do the rest!
Our goal isn’t to turn a homosexual into a heterosexual but rather to turn a sinner to faith and repentance in Christ. By leading someone to faith in Christ we have given them the only means that can truly change their sexual desires and their chosen sexual identity. This means our focus should be faith issues that will lead the person to a real and deep understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done for them.
Luke 24:47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
We must speak with them about sin but not only about the sin of homosexuality. We must help them to understand sin in a deeper way. They need to understand that sin isn’t limited to their sexual identity but rather that their sexuality is just one of many manifestations of their sin nature.
2. Help them to understand their God-given identity
We can look at many different reasons as to why a person chooses an LGTB identity. Often it is the result of abuse in their past but not always. The more common homosexuality becomes the more reasons we will see why people choose that lifestyle. Today social media, youtube, and films play a large role in influencing people towards LGBT. Today we can easily see that many people are searching for their identity and going to all kinds of drastic measures to change their identity in the hope that with a new identity they will finally overcome their feelings of depression, anger, frustration, and lack of self-worth. Some turn to LGBT as a way to find their identity.
What we can say is that homosexuals fail to understand their God-given identity as men and women. Paul points this out in
Romans 1:26 …exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones…
The natural sexual relations are part of our god-given identity. The reason they have lost this natural god-given identity is because they have denied God in whom our identity is found!
Romans 1:21 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.
We must help them come back to a Biblical understanding of their identity and this can only happen when they begin to understand who God truly is.
If a LGBT person is religious or claims to be a Christian then they will often adhere to the following misunderstandings about God and themselves.
- God’s love is emphasized but his judgement is ignored
- They believe they are more or less good
- They believe God wants them to be happy
- If they aren’t happy then it’s the fault of others or it’s because they are not allowed to express their sexual identity
- They believe if they could freely live the LGBT lifestyle they would finally experience happiness
This logical train of thought is the result of not understanding the nature of God’s love in light of his holiness and justice. In other words they have failed to see God’s goodness and wrongly attributed God’s goodness to their own lives! Jesus met a man with this same problem.
Luke 18:18–19
18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone.
One of our greatest challenges with LGBT is to help them understand God’s goodness and their sinfulness. Notice, however, how Jesus did this. He didn’t immediately say, “You terrible sinner, you haven’t kept the law, you are greedy!” No instead he carefully led this young man through questions and a story about the good Samaritan. Jesus, didn’t accuse this man but allowed the young man to see his own sin and accuse himself.
Unfortunately, most people will see themselves as victims instead of sinners.
Genesis 3:11–12 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
This is where we need much wisdom to not excuse those who may have abused this person but also to help this person see their personal sin in light of God’s goodness.
3. Look for their deeper issues
Ultimately homosexuality is not the main problem, it is only a symptom of deeper problems. All unbelievers are seeking some sort of fulfillment, purpose, and satisfaction in life. In addition to this many struggle with issues like depression, anxiety, and anger.
These are the things of the heart! This is where we need to be speaking the truth of the gospel into their lives.
We need to show them that only Jesus can give them the ultimate satisfaction they are looking for. We need to help them understand that Jesus alone is the answer to their depression, anger, and anxiety. We can Let them see the Jesus as a Good Shepherd and the only
4. Love them
We can defeat them in debate about homosexuality but this will not bring them to Christ. Tell them you love them. Help them when there is a need, be kind and compassionate toward them, leave them with no doubt that you genuinely love and care for them as a person. This is often what really brings a person to Christ.
9. Pray for them and with them
Make them regular in your private prayers. When you visit with them, askg them if they have anything you can pray for them about. let them know you are praying for them. Pray for them in person when you have a chance. Praying with them is a powerful testimony of God’s love.
10. Share the gospel repeatedly and in various ways
Remember that the gospel takes many forms and can be communicated in many ways. We all need to hear the gospel message again and again. Find different ways to share the truth of the gospel naturally as it relates to different matters in life.
Don’t forget that it is the job of the Holy Spirit to work in the heart and bring about conviction of sin and faith in Jesus. This is a process that we don’t see, it is a process that may be happening now even though it doesn’t look like it.
