Before I begin the Bible Study I need to clarify a very important point. God does not HATE any people who are in any homosexual relationship, or who have a different sexual or relationship orientation than the one He actually teaches us in the Bible. God does NOT HATE Gays! Period. He loves everyone. All the Bible Studies I write, including this one, I actually do out of love and concern for others regardless of who they are and what they believe. My hope is that they will believe what God plainly says in the Bible and repent of ANY physical behavior, (not orientation), that is not really in alignment with God's WILL. I am actually trying to spare them out of love, not only from the suffering the eternal fires of Hell, but physical and mental pain and suffering while they are still alive here on this earth. All sin is equal in God's eyes, and all sin will rob you of your gift of eternal life with God if you don't repent and accept Jesus as your Savior for your sins.
The overall biblical view on physical acts of passion and sexual intimacy emphasizes traditional relationships between a man and a woman expressed in marriage, as seen in passages like Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:6-9. The Bible consistently portrays homosexuality as contrary to God's design for relationships and physical acts of love between a man and a woman as husband and wife.
Genesis 2:24, "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh".
Notice it plainly says a "man" and his "wife" become "one flesh". It does not say a man is united with a man, or a woman is united with a woman. Mark further clarifies that this is talking about a man, who is male, being united with his wife, who is female.
Mark 10:6, "But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate."
1 Thessalonians shows us exactly what is actually the WILL of God. It is that believers be sanctified, (meaning set apart, made holy), abstaining from immoral physical acts of passion (v.3), that each person should learn to control their own body in holiness and honor (v.4), and that believers should not give in to passionate lust like those who really do not know God (v.5)
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God."
These verses emphasize purity in physical acts of love as an important aspect of living a holy life that pleases God. It contrasts the self-control and honor that should characterize believers, with the uncontrolled lustful Gay passions of those who do not know God.
The Bible consistently portrays homosexuality as contrary to God's design for human expressions of love in traditional relationships between men and women.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, nor are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people, none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God." (NLT)
1 Corinthians 6:18, "Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body." (NLT)
1 Timothy 1:9-10, "For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. 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." (NLT)
Men and women in homosexual relationships are actually nothing new. Mankind has really been dealing with this deviation from what was designed for 6,000 years. We see it mentioned the first time in the Bible with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were important cities in their region. Archaeologists described Sodom as the largest site from the Pre-Hellenistic period in the area. Population estimates of that region are up to about 50,000 people at the time of the destruction.
So why did mankind's very creator destroy a region with such a huge population at that time? What actually happened to anger Him so much? We find the answer in Genesis chapter 19. Read the whole chapter for the full story, but verses 4 and 5 make it very clear what really happened after Lot and the angels, (who had taken the form of men), had finished eating supper in Lot's home.
Genesis 19:4-5, "Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. 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" (NIV)
Here we find the first account of homosexual men trying to forcefully commit homosexual physical acts on other men. It wasn't just a handful of Gay men. It was all the men from all over Sodom, both young and old that were intent on doing this immoral act to the men in Lot's house. This suggest that the homosexual lifestyle was actually the rule in the region, not the exception. Did God understand their human weakness and look the other way? Did He extend grace and mercy to them because they didn't know any better? Did He accept their homosexuality as an OK different kind of normal? No! God was not playing religious games here like some churches do today! He actually destroyed EVERYTHING and EVERYONE, burning the entire region of the country to the bare ground!
Genesis 19:24-25, "Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus, he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities, and also the vegetation in the land".
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a powerful condemnation of the wickedness of homosexual physical acts of intimacy in God's eyes. Thousands of years later in the New Testament of the Bible, we find Sodom and Gomorrah still being referenced as an example of this immoral homosexual behavior.
Jude 1:7, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in homosexuality, and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."
Just to be sure there was no confusion about what God wants, no loop hole exceptions for Gay sexual acts when people of the same gender are in love, He made it very clear when He gave His laws in Leviticus. The prohibitions in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 specifically refer to homosexuality.
Leviticus 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."
Leviticus 20:13, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."
God calls homosexual physical acts of intimacy an abomination, an action He detests that is vile, terrible, and disgusting, a grievous sin that He clearly hates. (While still loving the Gay sinner.) You can't use any stronger language than this! How can any Christian read what God actually says and justify homosexual Acts Of Sexual Intimacy, when God's position is so clear and well defined?
What about women? Does the Bible address lesbian women exchanging natural relations with a man for lesbian sexual intimacy, with another lesbian woman? The most direct reference to where women are participating in this same kind of immoral act of passion as the men, that is contrary to nature, can be found in Romans chapter 1.
Romans 1:26, "That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each othe."
This is very clear! It ties directly to verse 27 where the men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for other men. This is homosexual behavior for both men and women and God HATES it! Gay sex simply can't be justified!
Romans 1:27, "And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved."
So, what is one kind of penalty in modern times that Gay men and women receive in themselves for this lust that is contrary to nature?
DISEASE & DEATH
One of the diseases which was very deadly, that initially hit those the hardest who were in homosexual relationships was AIDS. (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). Other diseases were Syphilis, cancer causing Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Hepatitis A and B, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia. Between 1987-1996, 324,029 men and women, (mostly homosexual), died from AIDS alone in the United States! The rates of death and infection were disproportionately higher for these men and women in homosexual relationships compared to the traditional man/woman relationships at the time. Mental health disorders are also more prevalent among those who are in homosexual relationships with higher rates of depression and anxiety and increased risk of suicide.
As I said in the first paragraph I am trying to spare homosexual people not only from the suffering in the eternal fires of Hell, but physical and mental pain and suffering while they are still alive here on this earth. These diseases really caused (and still do) a LOT of pain, suffering, and death among those who are in homosexual relationships. The latest disease to strongly impact the homosexual community is Monkey Pox, also known as MPOX. The vast majority of reported MPOX cases in 2023 have actually been among men who are homosexuals.
It's not just me trying to save people from physical and eternal suffering. Many Christian churches have refused to cave in to the worldly pressure to embrace same-gender and other non-traditional alternative lifestyles. Many conservative and evangelical denominations such as these below continue to actually stand with God and correctly take a literal view of what He plainly says in biblical passages addressing Gay Acts Of Sexual Intimacy.
Southern Baptist Convention: They view homosexuality as sinful based on clearly stated passages of Scripture. They affirm that marriage is only between one man and one woman.
Roman Catholic Church: They consider homosexuality as "intrinsically disordered" and contrary to natural law, based on biblical passages.
Orthodox Churches: They generally view homosexuality as sinful based on biblical texts.
Seventh-day Adventist Church: They officially oppose homosexuality.
Besides Christianity, the Muslim's Quran and the Jewish Torah contain prohibitions that explicitly condemn homosexuality. They clearly understand how God feels about Gay sex as well.
It's interesting to note that there are no major ancient religious texts anywhere, from any time in history, that explicitly support the rights of those engaged in homosexuality. The exact opposite, traditional physical relationships between men and women, have been the natural norm for the overwhelming majority of people since creation.
There seems to be much confusion in society today concerning positions on alternative sexual relationships, lifestyles, and orientations. There is no confusion in what God actually says in the Bible. His Words are plain and simple, really easy for anyone with an unbiased mind to understand. There are no loopholes. Man's liberal, corrupt human reasoning and erroneous interpretation of God's literal Words really carry no weight in any argument about this subject, even when they play the LOVE card. There simply is no Biblical justification for Gay sexual relationships, even if the people are in love.
It’s important to understand that this isn't about what a person feels. It's not about love. It's about what they physically do! It's about sex! Someone may be attracted to and love another person of the same gender, but same-gender attraction is not the same thing as immoral sexual acts of physical intimacy with that person. The act is the sin, not the attraction, not the love!
Even Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are, when He walked the earth.
Hebrews 4:15 - "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin."
Jesus was actually tempted more powerfully than any other man who has ever lived. Satan really made sure of that. Jesus set us the example we need to follow, and resist the lustful desires of our hearts. Homosexual sex sin is not about love. We need to do the right thing and obey God no matter how we actually feel. Temptation and homosexual attraction are not sins. Acting on them and doing them is!
So if you are currently engaged in a homosexual relationship, you now have the knowledge and the power of God to help you change. No, it won't be easy, Satan will make sure of that, but it can actually be done with the help of God's powerful Holy Spirit, and maybe even appropriate counseling if needed. If you know someone who fits in any of these categories, you now have the knowledge and information from the Bible, to better help them to find the right relationship path.
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