Section 2: Some Common Arguments in Favour of Homosexuality Discussed.
1. To be opposed to homosexuality is the same as being racist.
Pro-homosexual lobby groups and the media portray those who condemn homosexuality as being similar to racists who discriminate against people on the basis of their ethnicity or colour of skin, But the obvious difference is that racism is discrimination against “who” a person is, whereas being opposed to homosexuality relates to “what” a person is. Racism is wrong because it discriminates against a person because of their ethnic origin or skin colour which is amoral. But to be opposed to homosexuality is to condemn a person for their immoral behaviour regardless of their ethnicity or skin colour.
The homosexual chooses to be a homosexual, whereas one cannot choose one’s ethnic origin or one’s skin colour. You cannot therefore equate racism with being opposed to the sin of homosexuality.
2. People are genetically homosexual and therefore cannot help this tendency.
This kind of reasoning proceeds from evolutionary thinking which denies that man has a soul and that there is such a thing as sin. But if we allow that man is a spiritual being, capable of sin, then we can understand how homosexuality, along with all other sins such as adultery, fornication and theft, ultimately proceeds from the sinful nature of man.
It is true that some may be more prone to this sin than others, just as some men are more prone to anger or dishonesty than others. But this does not make their anger or dishonesty to be any less sin. And as already mentioned, often the sin of homosexuality leads on from a life of prior sin and rejection of God.
Romans 1:26 informed us that the sin of homosexuality was “against nature”: “for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature”. Reason itself shows that homosexuality is sin. Even irreligious men, who have not fallen into this sin themselves, often have an aversion to it, and are repulsed by it as that which is against nature.
3. Homosexuals love one another, so this legitimises their relationship.
The churches which support homosexuality often use the argument of love, as do the sodomites themselves. This makes a new morality where human love supersedes the commandments of God. The moral standard which God has given to man is based on His nature and the declaration of His will; so it is unchangeable. Whatever affection exists between homosexuals does not change the fact that homosexuality is sin in the eyes of God.
The argument based on love can be seen to be fallacious. Suppose a brother says he loves his sister and wants to marry her – would this love make that relationship proper? Or if one who was inclined to another sin such as bestiality or paedophilia claimed love as their warrant, would this make the act lawful?
Love to God is the first part of the moral law, and that duty embraces obedience to His commandments including those which forbid homosexuality.
4. Only the act is sin not the orientation.
It has become increasingly common in some Christian circles to agree with the biblical testimony that homosexual behaviour is wrong, but argue that homosexual orientation is not sinful. This dangerous argument is flatly opposed to the scriptural principle that holiness is required in nature and thought, as well as in practice. We have seen that often homosexuality is placed alongside adultery as a sin in Scripture. The Saviour said of adultery: “I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in her heart” (Mt 5:28). This rule on the spirituality of the law applies surely to homosexuality as well, and therefore the very disposition or orientation toward homosexuality is sin. As mentioned above, Paul in dealing with the sin in Romans 1:26 describes it as a “vile affection” pointing to the inner desires of the soul, not merely the outward behaviour. And in verse 28 of the same chapter, the root of the sin is said to be a reprobate mind: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient”.
Similarly, in James 1:14 we read that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed”. So lust, flowing from the sinful orientation of the heart and mind, is what leads men to commit actual sins. The following verse reads, “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”. Romans 1:27, “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another,” again makes clear that “orientation” is lust and therefore sinful. From this sinful fountain within flows the act of homosexuality, as the same verse goes on to describe: “men with men working that which is unseemly”.
To suggest therefore as some do that someone may be a born-again Christian and yet cherish a homosexual tendency is the same as to say that one may have grace and yet still cherish a murderous or adulterous disposition. Those who have a tendency toward this sin are to seek grace not only to refrain from outward practice of it, but to be delivered from the very tendency itself. And this very grace is promised in Scripture. Romans 6:14 declares, “Sin shall not have dominion over you”, and in 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”. Grace is able to subdue and conquer the sinful orientation toward homosexuality.
5. Homosexuals should be allowed to marry.
Those who contend for homosexual marriage are faced with the Saviour’s positive and clear description of marriage as being only between one man and one woman. In Matthew 19:4,5 we read, “Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?”
Legalising same-sex marriage not only further promotes the sin of homosexuality itself but it serves to undermine the whole scriptural doctrine of marriage as being between one man and one woman. It is therefore yet another attack on the institution of marriage, one of the foundation pillars of society at large.
The propagation of the human race is hindered and reduced in proportion as this sin prevails.
Research carried out in Denmark has shown that, even apart from aids, the life expectancy of a homosexual male is approximately 51 years of age, compared with more than 70 years of age for men in general. Other research by the Family Research Institute, Colorado, USA, came to a similar conclusion.
6. All sin is an infinite evil; therefore why single out homosexuality?
Some, even within the Church, try to tone down the heinousness of the sin of homosexuality by diverting attention to the fact that all sin is abhorrent. Of course this is true, and every sin is an infinite evil in the eyes of God. Nevertheless, as The Larger Catechism states, “All transgressions of the law of God are not equally heinous; but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others”. The example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the express declaration of Scripture that this sin is an “abomination”, even compared to other sins, are sufficient evidences that this sin is especially heinous in the eyes of God.
It is also true that the homosexual agenda has become so prominent and aggressive in our day that it is necessary to respond with a robust defence of the Scriptural grounds for opposing this sin in particular.
This emphasis does not alter the fact that Scripture shows that the sin of unbelief and Christ-rejection is even greater. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgement than for those who had the gospel but who did not receive it, as numerous parts of Scripture show, including Matthew 10:14,15: “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement than for that city”.
Conclusion.
A careful look at the passages of Scripture discussed in this paper shows that homosexuality is a sin that destroys individuals in their bodies and souls as long as it is not repented of.
From the above attempts to claim that homosexuality is not morally evil, it naturally follows that its supporters abhor any call to homosexuals to repent, because such a call of repentance of course infers that homosexuality is sin. It has been shown previously that Scripture calls homosexuality a sin and therefore the duty of all homosexuals is to repent of this and all their sins, turning to God in Christ for pardon and cleansing.
The same love for the truth and for souls, that compels us to draw attention to the biblical view of homosexuality, also prompts us to speak of grace and the gospel. Homosexuality is not an unpardonable sin. It is clear from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, referred to already, that those who were “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind” may repent and be saved: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11). Their former identity was not so much homosexual as sinner; now they had a new and true identity: they had been given a new nature.
This is what we desire for everyone. Salvation is freely offered in the gospel of Christ to sinners, whatever their sins may have been. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Is 55:6-7). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).