Is Homosexuality genetic or sin?_________________________________

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them “Be fruitful and multiply… (Genesis 1:27-28). Then the Lord God said (of Adam), “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). And the Lord fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man and brought her to the man…For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:22, 24).

If there is a man who lies with a man as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed detestable act; they shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:13). Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I shall drive out before you, for they did all these things (adultery 10, incest 11-12, bestiality 15-16) and therefore I have abhorred (detest, repugnant) them (Leviticus 20:23).

…God gave them over to degrading passions for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error…that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:26-27, 32).

Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God

(1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire (Jude 7; cp. Genesis 19:1-29; 2 Peter 2:7-10).

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Observation, Interpretation and application of these passages about homosexuality:

1. Who is marriage designed for?

Interpretation: Marriage is designed for males and females. It is Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. God places boundaries around human relationships with no compromise even if love is present with a desire to cross that boundary. It is heterosexual not homosexual. God wants marriage partners to complement not mirror each other.

Application: Therefore, I should maintain the sexually relational boundaries God instituted by desiring someone of the opposite sex as my life partner.

2. How does God describe homosexuality?

Interpretation: It is something God calls a detestable act (something vile, abominable, hated) and was the reason He wanted the Canaanites exterminated—He abhorred (repugnant, despise, loathe) them. Notice God not only hated the sin He despised the sinner. You cannot separate them. Some would say that God is condemning a certain kind of homosexuality only—that associated with Canaanite Temple prostitution—however, homosexuality is listed with other things God calls perversions and there is nothing about Temple prostitution in the context.

Application: Therefore, I should never accept homosexuality as an option and help those practicing it to change their ways because God hates them for what they are doing.

3. Is homosexuality a natural expression of sexuality?

Interpretation: Homosexual behavior is unnatural no matter who commits it. It is never observed in any animal society either. It is unnatural both for the male and the female. It is not a sexual orientation issue, it is a biological issue. It is also not a straight person experimenting being gay that is then problem here—they burned in their desire—as some would teach. There is no distinction being made between a ‘true’ homosexual and a ‘false’ one. The outcome of this unnatural behavior has within it’s practice, it’s own seeds of punishment. All homosexual relations are subject to God’s judgment. Since they did not honor God as God by rejecting a creationist world-view, with God out of the equation, they were free to pursue their sin.

Application: Therefore, I should not tolerate homosexuality as something natural but as something unnatural that will bring it’s own kind of punishment to those who participate in it.

4. Does God accept homosexuals?

Interpretation: It is possible that a believer can take on the appearance of an unbeliever by his sinful lifestyle and behavior. That includes the list of people and behaviors given in this passage. Two of these are the effeminate (passive) and homosexual (active) sexual deviants. People practicing these will not inherit the kingdom of God. This being the case, it is unacceptable for a believer to behave like this. When you do, you behave as your former self—before you were saved. You are not saved for this but from this. Understand, that God will hold you to account for this.

Application: Therefore, I should not practice homosexuality because I have been delivered from this kind of sin which has nothing to do with life in God’s kingdom.

5. How does God deal with homosexuality?

Interpretation: homosexuality is something God always punishes. The fate of the homosexuals in Sodom and Gomorrah—they were completely annihilated with fire along with all the inhabitants of these cities—foreshadows the fate of those who deny God’s truth and ignore His warnings. The punishment by fire on the perverse inhabitants of Sodom illustrates the eternal fire of hell, which will be the lot of false teachers. This is not a ‘perverted’ type of homosexuality but the ‘perversion’ of homosexuality that is wrong and is punished.

Application: Therefore, I should condemn homosexuality in the strongest terms possible, deserving of the strictest type of judgment God gives.

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Summary Statements:

A. Homosexuality is a part of a downward spiral described in Romans 1:

v They did not honor God as God vs 21

v They exchanged the truth of God for a lie vs 25

v They do not…acknowledge God vs 28

v They give hearty approval to those who practice them vs 32

Therefore, God gives them over to degrading passions and a depraved mind vs 24, 26, 28. These verses do not just condemn bad forms of homosexuality, as is claimed by the “Christian” homosexuals. The context and the words used here constitute a condemnation of the harshest kind of homosexuality itself.

B. Jesus, Himself, says ‘go and sin no more’—not to go and create a sub-culture of like-minded sinners

who can then support beach other and encourage each other to express themselves.

C. Pro gay Christian movement wants to overcome objective truth with subjective experience. This is one of the things 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns us about—For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate teachers to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

D. The plain, ordinary reading of the Bible (like you read a newspaper) indicates clearly that homosexuality is a sin—an abomination to God, hated by Him and judged as sin. For an unbeliever, we must focus on the gospel—their need to trust Christ as their Savior. They need to be saved first, then we work with them on their lifestyle. For a believers involved in homosexuality, it must never be tolerated or accepted or approved. He must repent of the sin or be excommunicated from relationship until he does.

E. Homosexuality, like most traits, may or may not be rooted in our genetic structure. If it is, that does not make it acceptable. The same might be said for rapists, serial killers, mass murderers, tyrants and pedophiles.

F. Our genetic code only gives us a possible pre-disposition toward certain acts. Just because I am genetically capable of murder does not mean I must commit murder. It is also like the correlation between height and basketball. If I am seven feet tall, my likelihood of playing basketball increases. But it is also more likely if I live in Chicago than if I live in Gothlab, Greenland.

G. Scientific research can never tell us how things should be. At best, science can only tell us how things are. So a genetic tie to homosexuality is irrelevant with respect to it being right or wrong. The Bible tells us that because of the sin of Adam and Eve, all of creation is perverted. So why would sexuality be an exception? To find evidence of that perversion in genetics should be no surprise if it ever does.