Alexander CekalaWhat The Bible Says About Homosexuality.
July 14th 2009 19:42
I was able to participate in a discussion on another blog that was about the topic of homosexuality. The question that was posed by the author was " Is Homosexuality a Choice?" I thought the question deserved an answer so I posted a reply, and to my surprise a got alot of questions about my post. With that in mind I thought it would be prudent for me to clarify my position and give reference where I can as to why I feel the way that I do about homosexuality. I would like everyone to understand that It is not my intention to offend anyone or to condemn anyone for there beliefs, but to present the information from a Biblical perspective as I understand it to be. I will apologize in advance for any offense real or imagined that is created from this post. Lets Begin
I will give a list of the questions and statements that I received from the other blog all good questions to, I might add.
1. Is Homosexuality a choice?
2. Doesn't God Love all his children? and if so why would he condemn homosexuals to hell?
3. Is homosexuality even a sin? And if so what does the Bible say about it.
4. Why should anyone care about what the Bible has to say anyway? Isn't that a closed minded view of the topic?
5. If homosexuality is a choice, and I now choose to want to repair my relationship with God, What can I do?
Ok so lets get started and see what happens. I will attempt to answer these questions to the best of my ability and support my position as I have committed to do with fact and not opinion. Some will argue that the Bible is the opinion of the Jews as well as the Christians. However it is also the opinion of the Muslims who take from the Bible and recognize some of its writings as there own. I will not try to explain this position from any other source other then the Bible which I believe to be the infallible inspired word of God. However I will present writings from others that support the biblical account.
Question one Is homosexuality a choice?
A. Yes I believe being a homosexual is a choice. The bible from the book of Genesis tells us that choice to obey Gods commandments is up to us. I'm sure we all remember the Garden of Eden Story where Eve deceived by the serpent fell into sin when she partook of the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Gen 3:1-6 In addition we find in the book of Joshua another reference to free will.
Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
God from the very start gave us the ability to choose who we would serve, and when we sin we are in direct opposition to God's laws. So this leads us to the second question Didn't Jesus Christ die for all sins that we might be forgiven and what kind of God would condemn a Homosexual to Hell or for that matter any number of other sinners (murderers, rapist, thieves, etc...)
A. Maybe these questions are out of order but question three helps us have understanding of this one. For if you do not accept and recognize homosexuality as a sin then this won't make much sense from the Biblical perspective, however this does give us some insight into how God feels about all sin not just the sin of Homosexuality.
What God has to say about sin in general. Lets define sin, from the biblical perspective sin is a transgression of Gods Law.
1John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Furthermore if we do something in faith and it is knowingly displeasing to God, then we have committed a sin.
Romans 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
So what Law are we referring to? Most of the Laws are laid out in the Pentateuch the first five books of the Bible.
So what give the right to God to condemn anyone to an eternity in hell Well I got some Good new and some bad news. God clearly states in Romans,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But does God want you to go to Hell? Certainly not here's the passage from Peter
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
So whats the good and bad news. Well this verse has different meanings to various people, however it is my belief that the death referred to here is not a physical death but a more permanent death. It is my firm belief that a just God would not condemn all people to hell for an eternity of suffering and torment, that's not the God I believe in, I do however except that he will permanently destroy at the judgment the sinners soul so that they no longer exist. This can be supported in scripture as well and if asked I will give references.
Now that We have established how God feels and deals with sin. Does he consider Homosexuality a sin?
It is my belief that homosexuality is a sin and is been addressed in the Bible a few times specifically. Lets look at the scriptural basis for this.
Genesis 19:5-11 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Clearly when the angels came to the the house of Lot. The men were attempting to accost them and the Angel struck them with blindness. For those that remember the story The city was utterly destroyed by God because of the wickedness of the inhabitants. In addition,
Philo (20 BC - 50 AD) stated among other things about Sodom that "but also those who were men lusted after one another, doing unseemly things, and not regarding or respecting their common nature, and though eager for children, they were convicted by having only an abortive offspring; but the conviction produced no advantage, since they were overcome by violent desire; and so by degrees, the men became accustomed to be treated like women, and in this way engendered among themselves the disease of females, and intolerable evil; for they not only, as to effeminacy and delicacy, became like women in their persons, but they also made their souls most ignoble, corrupting in this way the whole race of men, as far as depended on them" (133-35; ET Jonge 422-23)."
And
The Jewish historian Josephus (AD 37 – c. 100) used the term “Sodomites” in summarizing the Genesis narrative:
“About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, in so much that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices” "Now when the Sodomites saw the young men to be of beautiful countenances, and this to an extraordinary degree, and that they took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolved themselves to enjoy these beautiful boys by force and violence; and when Lot exhorted them to sobriety, and not to offer any thing immodest to the strangers, but to have regard to their lodging in his house; and promised that if their inclinations could not be governed, he would expose his daughters to their lust, instead of these strangers; neither thus were they made ashamed." (Antiquities 1.11.1,3) [1] — circa A.D. 96)
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
and
Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Seems clear no explanation needed for these verses.
So now we have the question, Why Should I care about the Bible and what it has to say and isn't that a closed minded view of the Topic.
Answer. Well for Christians this is a no brainer, the Bible is the word of God, but for others that may not agree with Christian theology on this subject there are other sources past and present that support the harm that the homosexual lifestyle creates. Remember these are not just Christians views but the views of a number of other religions as well, in addition there are quite a few non religious people who have similar views based on other scientific finding regarding health and disease as well as the psychological effects of the homosexual lifestyle.
So whats the great news. I know there are people out there who are struggling with there faith and there choice of sexuality. I want you to know that God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with him in heaven. As we stated earlier it is not Gods wish that even one should perish but that all be saved. I want you to know that I love you, Which is why I'm willing to put the Bulls eye on my back to witness to you. I have taken a little time to try to research some ministries that specifically deal with this issue. Exodus ministries seems to be a good start in getting some information to help you out. i encourage you to pray and ask the Lord for guidance in whatever decision you make. I will post the link to there ministry below. Just as Moses freed the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt you to can be freed of the bondage that your in. God Bless you.
Exodus International
Wiki Link Refrence
Original Blog post.
All scripture was taken from the KJV Bible
I will give a list of the questions and statements that I received from the other blog all good questions to, I might add.
1. Is Homosexuality a choice?
2. Doesn't God Love all his children? and if so why would he condemn homosexuals to hell?
3. Is homosexuality even a sin? And if so what does the Bible say about it.
4. Why should anyone care about what the Bible has to say anyway? Isn't that a closed minded view of the topic?
5. If homosexuality is a choice, and I now choose to want to repair my relationship with God, What can I do?
Ok so lets get started and see what happens. I will attempt to answer these questions to the best of my ability and support my position as I have committed to do with fact and not opinion. Some will argue that the Bible is the opinion of the Jews as well as the Christians. However it is also the opinion of the Muslims who take from the Bible and recognize some of its writings as there own. I will not try to explain this position from any other source other then the Bible which I believe to be the infallible inspired word of God. However I will present writings from others that support the biblical account.
Question one Is homosexuality a choice?
A. Yes I believe being a homosexual is a choice. The bible from the book of Genesis tells us that choice to obey Gods commandments is up to us. I'm sure we all remember the Garden of Eden Story where Eve deceived by the serpent fell into sin when she partook of the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Gen 3:1-6 In addition we find in the book of Joshua another reference to free will.
Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
God from the very start gave us the ability to choose who we would serve, and when we sin we are in direct opposition to God's laws. So this leads us to the second question Didn't Jesus Christ die for all sins that we might be forgiven and what kind of God would condemn a Homosexual to Hell or for that matter any number of other sinners (murderers, rapist, thieves, etc...)
A. Maybe these questions are out of order but question three helps us have understanding of this one. For if you do not accept and recognize homosexuality as a sin then this won't make much sense from the Biblical perspective, however this does give us some insight into how God feels about all sin not just the sin of Homosexuality.
What God has to say about sin in general. Lets define sin, from the biblical perspective sin is a transgression of Gods Law.
1John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Furthermore if we do something in faith and it is knowingly displeasing to God, then we have committed a sin.
Romans 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
So what Law are we referring to? Most of the Laws are laid out in the Pentateuch the first five books of the Bible.
So what give the right to God to condemn anyone to an eternity in hell Well I got some Good new and some bad news. God clearly states in Romans,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But does God want you to go to Hell? Certainly not here's the passage from Peter
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
So whats the good and bad news. Well this verse has different meanings to various people, however it is my belief that the death referred to here is not a physical death but a more permanent death. It is my firm belief that a just God would not condemn all people to hell for an eternity of suffering and torment, that's not the God I believe in, I do however except that he will permanently destroy at the judgment the sinners soul so that they no longer exist. This can be supported in scripture as well and if asked I will give references.
Now that We have established how God feels and deals with sin. Does he consider Homosexuality a sin?
It is my belief that homosexuality is a sin and is been addressed in the Bible a few times specifically. Lets look at the scriptural basis for this.
Genesis 19:5-11 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Clearly when the angels came to the the house of Lot. The men were attempting to accost them and the Angel struck them with blindness. For those that remember the story The city was utterly destroyed by God because of the wickedness of the inhabitants. In addition,
Philo (20 BC - 50 AD) stated among other things about Sodom that "but also those who were men lusted after one another, doing unseemly things, and not regarding or respecting their common nature, and though eager for children, they were convicted by having only an abortive offspring; but the conviction produced no advantage, since they were overcome by violent desire; and so by degrees, the men became accustomed to be treated like women, and in this way engendered among themselves the disease of females, and intolerable evil; for they not only, as to effeminacy and delicacy, became like women in their persons, but they also made their souls most ignoble, corrupting in this way the whole race of men, as far as depended on them" (133-35; ET Jonge 422-23)."
And
The Jewish historian Josephus (AD 37 – c. 100) used the term “Sodomites” in summarizing the Genesis narrative:
“About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, in so much that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices” "Now when the Sodomites saw the young men to be of beautiful countenances, and this to an extraordinary degree, and that they took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolved themselves to enjoy these beautiful boys by force and violence; and when Lot exhorted them to sobriety, and not to offer any thing immodest to the strangers, but to have regard to their lodging in his house; and promised that if their inclinations could not be governed, he would expose his daughters to their lust, instead of these strangers; neither thus were they made ashamed." (Antiquities 1.11.1,3) [1] — circa A.D. 96)
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
and
Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Seems clear no explanation needed for these verses.
So now we have the question, Why Should I care about the Bible and what it has to say and isn't that a closed minded view of the Topic.
Answer. Well for Christians this is a no brainer, the Bible is the word of God, but for others that may not agree with Christian theology on this subject there are other sources past and present that support the harm that the homosexual lifestyle creates. Remember these are not just Christians views but the views of a number of other religions as well, in addition there are quite a few non religious people who have similar views based on other scientific finding regarding health and disease as well as the psychological effects of the homosexual lifestyle.
So whats the great news. I know there are people out there who are struggling with there faith and there choice of sexuality. I want you to know that God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with him in heaven. As we stated earlier it is not Gods wish that even one should perish but that all be saved. I want you to know that I love you, Which is why I'm willing to put the Bulls eye on my back to witness to you. I have taken a little time to try to research some ministries that specifically deal with this issue. Exodus ministries seems to be a good start in getting some information to help you out. i encourage you to pray and ask the Lord for guidance in whatever decision you make. I will post the link to there ministry below. Just as Moses freed the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt you to can be freed of the bondage that your in. God Bless you.
Exodus International
Wiki Link Refrence
Original Blog post.
All scripture was taken from the KJV Bible
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