Homosexuality in the Bible by Fitz Houston
This week we welcome our good friend Minister Fitz Houston
. Fitz is a man of many talents.
In addition to over a decade of ministry, he is a talented actor and musician, having appeared on such programming as 90210, According to Jim and Seinfeld. He is also a gifted writer, producer and director of independent film.
We hope you enjoy his take on this controversial subject.
Homosexuality in the Bible
The Truth Can Set You Free
In January 2012, the Lord put this bible study in my spirit. It was overwhelming at first because of the controversial topic. The more I thought it was someone else job to put this study together, the louder the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I am the one to do it. Then I thought about it, Jesus was controversial – controversial because He was all about the truth – painfully truthful. And the truth he spoke was controversial because many couldn’t handle the truth. It’s the same today. So out of obedience, I deliver this bible study to you.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 [MSG]
Matthew 19:4-6 [MSG]
1-3 One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.
—Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.
4-5 Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-5 [MSG]
First of all, before I begin, let me make it perfectly clear that this bible study is not a debate but a detailed lesson on what the Bible states about homosexuality, so that by the end of this lesson, you will truly understand how God looks at the homosexual life-style. That’s the most important thing. Some lawmakers are working around the clock to pass one proposition after another in the attempt to support and justify homosexuality as an acceptable alternative behavior. Books explaining homosexual relationships have been on the library shelves in our elementary schools since the early 1990’s. And now, at the time of the taping of this lesson 20 years later, several school districts are in the process of having this homosexuality added to their health subject curriculum and expecting the teachers to teach the kids that homosexual behavior is an acceptable alternative, whether they believe it or not.
As you can see from my text, homosexuality is listed as just one of many sins. What makes it such a big deal with Christians is that, unlike all of the other sins listed, the gay community is lobbying to make this sin an acceptable practice. We don’t see mass murderers lobbying to pass a law that they have a right to kill whomever they wish, so what makes homosexuality different? Homosexuals hold powerful positions in almost every arena which turns into influential power and political power. This makes Christians defensive and feel like we are being forced to accept homosexuality as a “normal” lifestyle. And that is indeed what is happening if the laws of the land eventually pass more and more laws supporting same sex marriages and other homosexual practices. That would put Christians in the same situation as Lot living in Sodom (Genesis 19:1-27), surrounded by sexual perversions all around. Yet he and his family were spared when God came and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their perverted practices.
Now with all that said, Christians should not judge homosexuals but instead pray that homosexuals will see the light (the truth) and turn from their sinful ways. It is not our job to judge. And that is what this bible study is about, the truth.
Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”
John 8:31-32 [MSG]
Jesus also made it clear that since no one is perfect, no one has a right to judge anyone else.
But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:21-24 [MSG]
Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?
James 4:11-12 [MSG]
God Is Kind, but Not Soft
1-2 Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.
3-4 You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.
Romans 2:1-4 [MSG]
A New Testament example of how man is not to be the one to judge, one which you may be very familiar with, is in the following passage of scripture:
To Throw the Stone
1-2 Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them. 3-6The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
6-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.
9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”
11 “No one, Master.”
—-“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”
John 8:1-11 [MSG]
Here Jesus made two distinct points. Yes, He recognized that she is a sinner because he said, “Go and sin no more.” But at the same time, He made it clear that the accusers had no right to judge because there is no one who is without sin (as mentioned in Romans3:23).
It is our job as Christians to share what the Word of God says about the homosexual lifestyle and then pray that they will come to understand that Word and then seek to get their life back in line with God. As far as the Bible is concerned, as mentioned in my text, homosexuality is a sin which was seen in the Old Testament as leading to severe consequences. Likewise, a strong warning is also issued in the New Testament.
The example the consequence of homosexuality in the Old Testament is the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gamorrah. These cities were destroyed on account of their unrepented homosexuality.
1-2 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the city gate. He saw them and got up to welcome them, bowing before them and said, “Please, my friends, come to my house and stay the night. Wash up. You can rise early and be on your way refreshed.”
They said, “No, we’ll sleep in the street.”
3 But he insisted, wouldn’t take no for an answer; and they relented and went home with him. Lot fixed a hot meal for them and they ate.
4-5 Before they went to bed men from all over the city of Sodom, young and old, descended on the house from all sides and boxed them in. They yelled to Lot, “Where are the men who are staying with you for the night? Bring them out so we can have our sport with them!”
6-8 Lot went out, barring the door behind him, and said, “Brothers, please, don’t be vile! Look, I have two daughters, virgins; let me bring them out; you can take your pleasure with them, but don’t touch these men—they’re my guests.”
9 They said, “Get lost! You drop in from nowhere and now you’re going to tell us how to run our lives. We’ll treat you worse than them!” And they charged past Lot to break down the door.
10-11 But the two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door. Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark.
12-13 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other family here? Sons, daughters—anybody in the city? Get them out of here, and now! We’re going to destroy this place. The outcries of victims here to God are deafening; we’ve been sent to blast this place into oblivion.”
Genesis 19:1-13 [MSG]
The example of Sodom and Gamorrah is given as a warning for people of all ages. God holds homosexuals fully accountable for their sin just as He does all the other sins listed in the Bible.
Now remember, even though this bible study is about homosexuality in the Bible, God hates all sin. In this lesson, I am focusing on those scriptures that deal with sexual sins because many have been brainwashed into thinking that homosexual behavior is acceptable because we are all God’s children. NOT! That is one of the most misquoted statements that can land you in the pit of hell. Correction – We are all God’s creation but only those who are following Jesus and living according to God’s will can be called God’s children.
So you see, one of the biggest misunderstandings through misrepresentation and miscommunication is there is no such thing as a gay Christian or a gay Christian pastor. If the term Christian means “followers of Christ”, those who follow His will and His way, how can you be a gay Christian or gay Christian pastor if you are not following Christ and have chosen to live a live-style that the New and Old testament call abomination, a sin? God hates ALL sin.
The world is so quick to justify the sin of homosexuality as a trait at birth that a person cannot change, that it makes the problem worse. I personally know of two people with two different scenarios who were raised by all women and had no male presence the first several years of their life. All they knew and saw daily were women. And you wonder why they had feminine traits. A boy doesn’t know to be manly unless he’s around a manly man. But in these cases, instead of finding manly men, secure with their sexuality, in the family or acquaintances, to put in the young man’s presence, the conclusion was quickly made that he must have been born a homosexual. Other environmental settings have also been known to push a young person towards homosexuality are, painful physical and/or emotional experiences with the opposite sex, incest, growing up in a homosexual household, child abuse from perverted adults seeking to twist and confuse a young mind and peer pressure from other young homosexuals, just to name a few.
In the secular world, the debate as to whether homosexuality is a learned behavior or a a gene you are born with, is a debate that will go on and on. However, I’m not here to debate. The purpose of this bible study is not to ignite a debate, but rather to inform all who are interested exactly what the Bible teaches about homosexuality.
Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”
John 8:31-32 [MSG]
Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral
18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
24-25 So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!
26-27 Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.
28-32 Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!
Romans 1:18-32 [MSG]
3-4 You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.
5-8 You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
9-11 If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.
Romans 2:3-11 [MSG]
14-16 When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.
Romans 2:14-16 [MSG]
Hope for Homosexuals and All Other Sinners
So you see, regardless of what sin you’ve committed or what kind of sinful lifestyle you’ve lived in the past, when you accept Jesus Christ and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior, and sincerely mean it, you are forgiven, your slate is wiped clean. Don’t let the devil try to convince you that it is too late for you to be saved because of the sinful life you’ve lived. Once you have accepted Him, you are covered by the blood of Jesus and become a recipient of all the rewards Jesus won by enduring death on the cross.
Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom. A number of you know from experience what I’m talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 [MSG]
When Death Becomes Life
1-3 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!
3-5 That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.
6-11 Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.
Romans 6:1-11 [MSG]
Nobody said it’s going to be easy. The longer you have lived in sin, the stronger the temptation to return to that life-style. But the Word of God has the answer for that.
12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.
Romans 6:12-14 [MSG]
So now you know the truth on what the Word says about homosexuality. Some of you may have learned from this Bible Study and want to get into God’s will. Some will be convicted and seek God immediately. Still others will half listen, deny all that was shared and go on sinning. But in all cases, the truth was heard.
If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.
Hebrews 10:26-31 [MSG]
If you are a homosexual who is reading this and think everything I just said is a bunch of bologna, at least you now know exactly how you stand with God as you continue down the path of spiritual destruction. I will continue to pray for all who live by their sinful nature, that you will see the truth and repent before its too late. If you are a homosexual who is reading this and feel a spiritual battle going on inside, that is your spirit fighting your sinful nature wanting to do the right thing. You can act right now. Don’t delay! Don’t be an enemy to God! It’s not too late to turn you life around right at this very moment. Whether you read, watched or listened to this Bible Study, you can accept Christ right now, right where you are.
The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it’s not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?
—The word that saves is right here,
——as near as the tongue in your mouth,
——as close as the heart in your chest.
It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—”Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”
Romans 10:4-10 [MSG]
If you don’t know how to pray, here is a prayer for salvation you might wish to offer up to God (believe it in your heart, then confess it out loud to God):
Father God, I come to you right now with a humble heart. Forgive me for the wrong I’ve done in my life. I believe that Jesus is Lord. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead for me and my sins. And I ask the Lord Jesus Christ into my life to be my Lord and Savior. And from this day forward, I will not do a single thing in life or make a single decision in life with asking Him for guidance first. Amen!
Now after saying this prayer of salvation, with sincerity, you are taking the first step toward victory towards a new life. The Holy Spirit will help you become stronger and stronger in the battle against lust feed by you old sinful ways. What you have control of is changing the friends, environments, events and thoughts that were a part of your sinful past and replace them with new surroundings that support and nurture your new life walking with Christ. Such surroundings include attending church regularly, bible studies, small groups, reading the Word regularly, Christian counseling, fellowshipping with other Christians who support your new life and pray for you . The more you do these activities the stronger God’s light in you will become until you are walking victoriously in your deliverance over your former life-style. “With God all things are possible.”
So now you know the truth, and the truth can set you free – IF YOU BELIEVE!
