The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joshua E. during the 2007-2008 League.
AML BIBLE STUDY #8: HOMOSEXUALITY
Homosexuality is one of the greatest difficulties facing the Church in our time. It is important because it concerns the very nature of man, with implications for society as a whole. The way in which we proceed will affect legislation concerning homosexual marriage, parenting, and general education.
As far as the Old Testament is concerned, homosexuality is a sin punishable by death. "Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." (Leviticus 18:22) "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." (Leviticus 20:13) These verses make the gravity of the situation clear, at least to the Jews before Christ.
Some would argue that because of Jesus' death, we are freed from the law and that therefore the Leviticus passages against homosexuality no longer apply to Christians. This is, as far as I can tell, a misconception, because Jesus himself said that he did not come to abolish the law: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)
Jesus did not come to do away with the law. However, did he take care of it by fulfilling it? Are we now free from following it? We find our answer in the rest of the Matthew passage: "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:19-20) Unless our righteousness surpasses the religious leaders, we will not be allowed into heaven. This passage concerns the moral law rather than the ceremonial law.
Ceremonial laws no longer apply (such as Old Testament animal sacrifices and not mixing fabrics). This is the law Paul was referring to when he wrote: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2) However, moral laws (such as those laws rooted in God's original plan for human sexuality) are still to be followed by modern-day Christians. In fact, we are called (as exemplified in the rest of Matthew 5) to obey the law not only in behavior, but also in our hearts. This level of obedience is incredibly hard for us to achieve, but as Jesus said on this topic: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)
Even if the laws against homosexuality in the Old Testament did not apply to modern Christians, there are also New Testament passages that refer to it as a sin. 1 Corinthians says: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Nobody actively living in the above sins will inherit God's kingdom - their deeds are considered wicked by God.
The passage goes on: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) We are told to literally flee from sexual immorality and give our lives to God. We are hurting ourselves when we choose to live in sexual sin. Homosexuality is on this list.
1 Timothy 1:10-11 reads, "The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God." This implies that homosexuality contradicts the teachings we have received from God in his word. Romans 1:24-27 discusses sexual degradation throughout history: "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 of 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 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 indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." Bottom line, homosexuality is sin.
In our relations with homosexuals, we must make love our primary concern. The second greatest commandment is to "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39) Homosexuals are our neighbors made in God's image. Our goal should be to show acceptance of the person without approval of his/her behavior; we need to show God's love without diluting his truth. Jesus did this continually, first developing relationships with people and then leading them to the truth.
The primary social issue concerning this topic is same-sex marriage. Though I disagree with the concept of ratifying same-sex unions, I do not think that homosexual marriage as a religious event can be outlawed if the Church does not take a unified stand. Some Christian denominations do allow same-sex marriage, arguing that it is consistent with Biblical principles. Because of this, we cannot argue that homosexuality is unilaterally against our religion. The real problem is not in the civic administration, but in the ecclesiastical administration.
However, ceremonial marriage (the ritual joining of two souls) is a religious institution. Why should there be any legislation regulating it? Regardless of whether homosexual unions are legalized, the Church does not have to sanctify the union in a marriage ceremony. There is a separation between church and state. There may be a flood of lawsuits against pastors unwilling to perform marriage ceremonies for homosexuals, but the Church needs to stand firm in its conviction. In conclusion, the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin and we must keep working within our government as well as within the Church to address it.
