Is Being Gay a Sin?
Among the many questions that are asked about being a Christian, one of the most common ones is, whether being gay is a sin. Whereas the practice of homosexual activity has become common and normalized with gay marriage being legalized in many countries, the church needs to take stands on the foundation of God’s word.
This article is not to condemn anyone but rather to show the truth of God’s word and to provide a way of repentance for anyone genuinely seeking the Lord. Remember You are God’s beloved for he loved you so much that he gave his life for you. So, I really want to truthfully clear any doubts that you may have concerning this very important question.
First, the Bible says that sin is rebellion against God and His commandments. The Hebrew word for sin, “chata”, literally means “to miss the mark,”. The Greek word “hamartia” carries the same idea of falling short of God's glory and failing to live by His standards. Sin is a deviation from the perfect order and laws of God. It’s sin that makes life ugly. Why? Because God is good, and his ways are perfect in that if there is any act deviation from his laws that lead life to magnificent flourishing, life fails to be good. Which is why the will of God is for us to live a Holy life emulating God for he himself is Holy and Good and in him there is no sin. Sin not only separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) but also leads to spiritual death,
'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Romans 6:23).
Now that we understand what sin is, we also need to understand what being gay is. Being gay means being sexually or romantically attracted to people of one's own sex. The Bible is very clear about God’s design for sexuality: God made man for the woman and the woman for the man. He gave them the gift of sex to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. This is established right from the creation story in Genesis. In Genesis 1:27-28, God creates mankind in His own image, “male and female He created them,” and He blesses them with the command to “be fruitful and multiply.”
In Genesis 2:24, we further see the first institution of marriage:
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
This verse not only establishes the marital relationship between husband and wife but also shows that God made sex to only be between them. Jesus Himself reaffirmed this design in the New Testament when He said in Matthew 19:4-6:
“Haven’t you read... that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 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’?" (Matthew 19:4-6)
Thus, the Bible consistently teaches us that sexual relations are designed to only occur within the marriage covenant between a husband and a wife. Sexual activity outside of this context, whether it is adultery, fornication, pedophilia, incest, bestiality or homosexuality, is considered sinful. Hebrews 13:4 further emphasizes the sanctity of marriage:
“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”(Hebrews 13:4).
Again, in Romans 1:26-27, Paul discusses how humanity turned away from God's truth and pursued unnatural desires:
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual 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 shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” (Romans 1:26-27).
We learn that homosexual behavior is not part of God’s natural design for anyone and God completely disapproves of it.
‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. ' (Leviticus 18:22 ).
In (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), Paul also includes homosexuality among other sins that will prevent people from inheriting the kingdom of God:
“Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
You wouldn't want to miss heaven because of acting on desires that go against the will and the purpose of God.
I now want to focus on what is called in the Bible as the sinful nature or, in other words, 'the flesh' or the fleshly nature that human beings are born with. This nature was inherited from Adam, and all humans are born with it. This nature causes us to naturally be predisposed to rebel against the perfect will and purpose of God for us. Our thoughts, desires, feelings, and actions tend to naturally want to disobey God. We are all born with sinful, crooked, warped desires; sometimes they can be strong, and many yield to them. Sometimes even these desires can be amplified by demonic possession. But just because you have a desire and are tempted to do something against God’s will doesn’t mean you have sinned. Temptation in itself is not a sin, for Jesus was tempted. It’s when we yield to these desires and act upon them, obeying them like a good slave, that it becomes sin. The most beautiful thing that God has done is that he has provided a way to overcome these desires and to live a life that pleases him.
Jesus brings a whole new level of transformation when he redeems sinful people. He first refutes the statement many use to justify their sinful ways, the statement that says, ‘I was born this way” by saying you must be born again (John 3:3). The born again experience is a one time supernatural transformation that changes one from the inside out. The one who brings about this transformation is God through the power of his Holy Spirit. And after that transformation the Spirit of God who abides with the believer forever, helps the believer to continue conquering sin, by defeating their fleshly nature where many of these evil desires arise from. There is no one greater than the Spirit of God. Your flesh will stand no chance but to be put to death as you walk in the Spirit. One MUST Learn to live a life in complete dependence on his power and they will be victorious.
For this reason, the Bible reminds us to live in the Spirit and not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-17) Just like the flesh desires to commit other forms of sexual immorality like fornication, for some people that desire might come in the form of same-sex attraction. This is definitely an attraction to something God has forbidden, and any desire for something sinful always has its roots in sin. Scripture says we are sinners by nature;
(Romans 5:12); ' Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— '.,
(Romans 3: 23); for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
It's also important that we distinguish between having desires or being tempted and acting upon those desires. Temptation is not a sin in itself. Even Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 4:15), but He never gave in to sin. In the same way, being tempted by same-sex desires or other ungodly inclinations is not sinful. What becomes sinful is when we are acting on those desires and living in a manner that contradicts God's will. It’s in living an active homosexual or lesbian lifestyle, actively engaging in that type of sex as well as being married or in a relationship itself that's sin. It’s when one lives a life that is driven by these desires and they obey them that is sin.
We may not always be able to control how or what we feel, but we can control what we do with those feelings. And we all have the responsibility to resist temptation;
('Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...' James 4:7-8.
We are called to obey God in all our temptations. We cannot put our feelings and desires above the will of God. We must all be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
People may struggle with same-sex attraction, but the call is not to act on those desires but to live in obedience to God's Word, by the power of the mighty Holy Spirit. The sin lies not in the temptation but in acting on it or embracing a lifestyle contrary to God’s design. Hebrews 12:4 says;
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood,(Hebrews 12:4).
This shows how seriously God expects us to not let any sin defeat us. But victory over all sin is possible through Christ
1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Again, if you struggle with this sin, it is important to realize how we are all broken and we cannot have fellowship with God who is Holy, in our own way! Paul cries out in Romans 7:24-25;
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
The way to defeat sin is to completely yield to Jesus. Jesus paid the price of our sins, the penalty for the sin of homosexuality, just as he did for pride, rape, adultery, fornication, lying and stealing among others. Living in complete surrender to Jesus, daily dying to self and lifting Jesus above all is the only way we access the grace, to say no to all righteousness. We do not have a high priest who does not sympathize with us, but he himself was tempted in every way, yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Just like when you and I are tempted, Jesus too was tempted but he defeated all temptations.
The hope that we live in today is that the Bible reminds us that we are more than conquerors through Christ, who loves us (Romans 8:37). That we no longer live but Christ lives in us.(Galatians 2:20) Isn't this great news, that the one who is holy and righteous, the one who is defeated all sin lives in us? This is how we know we have victory over all sins and temptations, including the sin of homosexuality.
When we surrender to Christ we automatically start living a life that is honouring God.
'and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, ' (Colossians 3:10).
We become more and more like Christ.
The Bible tell us, in 1 Corinthians 6:19;
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own ( 1 Corinthians 6:19).
When we follow Jesus Christ we need to make it our goal to stay away from sexual practices that the Bible says are sinful. Consider the great mystery of the Christian life: “Christ in you, the hope of glory…” (Colossians 1:27), Christ is not next to you, not over you, but in you if indeed you are born again and are his. That’s one reason why a life of homosexuality cannot be a life in Christ and the same would go for anyone engaged in any sexual sin — just as Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians,
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Certainly not!” (1 Corinthians 6:15).
The Bible calls for repentance and transformation in the life of every human, regardless of the specific sins they struggle with. Jesus’ death on the cross offers forgiveness to all who repent and believe in Him. Acts 3:19 urges us:
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
When we repent, we are not only forgiven but also transformed by the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here”
This transformation is available to everyone, no matter their past or present temptations. Romans 12:2 calls us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
