We will keep this short and easy, without being superficial or shying away from the tough issues. It will be honest, thorough, frank and utterly biblical. To achieve this (though we will do it in a different order) we will briefly examine what, if anything, distinguishes sins that the Bible labels an abomination. For confirmation, we will look at sins that under Old Testament law incurred the death penalty and see how consistent this is with New Testament revelation. To further ensure that we have found the heart of God on this matter, we will see how these findings gel with biblical revelation about the basic nature of sin and hypocrisy.

The Bible insists that all sex outside of heterosexual marriage is a violation of God’s ways, regardless of whether it involves the opposite sex or the same sex. In fact, the Bible is crystal clear that hate is as bad as murder, and lust is as morally depraved as adultery (1 John 3:15, Matthew 5:28). Even the Ten Commandments group coveting with murder and adultery (Exodus 20:13-17). James stressed breaking any of God’s laws (even showing favoritism, says James) puts us on the same level as someone who breaks every law (James 2:9-10). No one but God is good, declared Jesus (Mark 10:18). Not one of us.

Whether we have missed the last rescue helicopter by ten milliseconds or ten months, we have still missed it. For any of us to feel morally superior to anyone else is like someone who stole $10,000 from a bank feeling superior to someone who stole a dollar from a homeless person, or a cold-blooded murderer looking down on someone who torturers animals, or a rapist despising a pedophile. In the Bible’s chilling words:

Proverbs 30:12 . . . pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth

Proverbs 16:2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

1 Corinthians 4:4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

No wonder Jesus warned against the dreadful spiritual consequences of judging (thinking oneself better than) others (Luke 6:37) and blasted the self-righteous, saying there was more hope even for those they despised than for them (Scriptures).

The Word of God is equally emphatic that the wages of sin – any sin, whether we humans excuse it as minor or label it as horrendous – is death (Romans 6:23) and that without Christ’s forgiveness we are all dead in our sin (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13).

Since we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and it is impossible to get any deader than dead, it is impossible for a homosexual or lesbian offender to be in a more dire spiritual predicament than anyone else. Yes, Scripture calls homosexual acts an abomination (Leviticus 20:13) but in the original language (and in the King James Bible) it also uses this same word for many other sins, including “dishonest scales” (Proverbs 11:1; 20:23), “all the proud of heart” (Proverbs 16:5), “the thoughts of the wicked” (Proverbs 15:26), the prayers of “anyone [who] turns a deaf ear to the law” (Proverbs 28:9), “a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers,” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Comment

Examining sins that incurred the death penalty in the Old Testament drives home the same message because it includes adultery (Leviticus 20:10), sex before marriage (Deuteronomy 22:21), blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16), breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14), a stubborn refusal to obey one’s parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21), putting God to the test (1 Corinthians 10:9) and even grumbling (1 Corinthians 10:10). Remember that God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead for lying about finances (Acts 5:1-10), and similarly for Uzzah, who merely tried to steady the holy ark of the covenant to keep it from crashing to the ground (2 Samuel 6:6-7). And Adam and Eve’s sin was merely to eat some fruit (Genesis 3:6).

Even the above paragraph includes New Testament references. Despite, as briefly explained in Moses & Jesus, Moses, the law-giver, having a quite different mission to Jesus, God’s attitude to sin is confirmed, not contradicted, by the New Testament.

To remove all doubt that despite homosexuality being a serious offence it is no more spiritually horrific than other sins, study this:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (Emphasis mine.)

I had to put reference to homosexual practices in a different font lest you miss it. It is smack in the middle of a long list of sins that exclude one from the kingdom of God. It is not the only offense, nor is it listed first or last. It is simply one in a list and this Scripture indicates that being greedy, or a slanderer or a swindler will keep one out of the God’s kingdom just as effectively. In fact, it is by no means an exhaustive list of sins that, if not repented of, would keep one out of heaven. Elsewhere, for example. the New Testament provides several such lists and the one cited above happens to be the only one that mentions homosexuality. One of the lists of the things that send people to hell begins with “the cowardly, the unbelieving” and ends with “all liars” (Revelation 21:8).

Moreover the Scripture cited above says, “that is what some of you were.” In other words, some of the Christians the apostle was writing to had previously engaged in homosexuality. He then says, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified . . .” This clearly proves that the holy Lord can purify people guilty of homosexual offences or any other sin and that through Christ’s sacrifice for their sins they are cleansed and empowered to enter the kingdom of God and his church.

For more about homosexual sin and heterosexual hypocrisy, see Lesbianism & Homosexuality.

For more about divine forgiveness and how all sins are equally grievous in the holy eyes of God, see Forgiving Yourself: Purity Restored and keep following the first link at the end of the text on each webpage.

If there is the slightest chance that you might have multiple personalities, see Gender Confusion & Dissociative Identity Disorder

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