New Testament and Homosexuality: 4 Myths

By: Dr. Sean McDonough
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

We live in confusing times. The confusion becomes especially marked when it comes to questions of sexuality. Many people, including those within the church, are being taught that the New Testament does not in fact disapprove of homosexual activity. But is this really the case? Let us examine four statements typically made when the conversation turns to this topic:

1. Jesus didn’t talk about homosexuality, so he must not have cared about it. This is extremely misleading. Jesus did condemn sexual immorality quite often (see, e.g. Matt. 5:32, 15:19). The New Testament uses the Greek word porneia, which would have covered a wide range of unlawful sexual behavior – including homosexual activity. Furthermore, Jesus clearly wanted to strengthen sexual morality as understood by the OT rather than to loosen it up. “I did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it” (Matt. 5:17). Can we really believe that the same Jesus who told people that lustful thoughts were tantamount to adultery would suddenly treat homosexual acts as of no great consequence? This is unthinkable. Why, then, did Jesus not single out homosexual activity as a sin the way Paul did? The answer lies in the context of Jesus’ ministry: in the conservative Jewish circles within which Jesus spent the bulk of his time, no one would have publicly affirmed this sort of behavior. Therefore, there was no need to address it explicitly.

2. Prohibition against homosexuality is just another silly Old Testament law, like not eating pork or cheeseburgers. Remember what Jesus said: he did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. While some of the dietary codes and purity laws which separated Israel from the nations may no longer be binding under the New Covenant, this hardly means that the entirety of the Law was one big mistake, as critics imply. The prohibitions against homosexual behavior in Leviticus 18 and 22 look back to the creation of humanity as male and female in Genesis, and affirm the good order that God has placed in his world. Do we have any clearer guidance in the New Testament that these prohibitions—just like loving your neighbor and not committing murder—are still binding on the New Covenant community? Yes. Besides Jesus’ general condemnation of porneia noted above, Paul specifically prohibits homosexual behavior in 1 Cor. 6. But that brings us to our next myth…

3. Paul wasn’t really against modern homosexual relationships. He was only concerned about “imbalanced” and “unjust” relationships between older men and young boys. It is true that Greek homosexual pairings regularly featured an older man and a younger man or boy. But in 1 Cor. 6, Paul uses two words to condemn homosexual activity: malakoi and arsenokoitai. The first literally means “soft ones” and likely refers to the passive partner in homosexual activity. The second is more interesting. It translates as “men who have sex with men,” and it is clearly derived from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT) of Lev. 18:22: “You shall not sleep (= have sex with) a man like you sleep with a woman.” Since Paul is clearly affirming Leviticus here, he is prohibiting all homosexual behavior in the Christian community, not just pedophilia. The problem is not “injustice,” but a departure from God’s created norms. This theme is also evident in Romans 1, where Paul critiques both female and male homosexual activity.

4. Who cares what the Bible says anyway? This brings us to the heart of the matter: does it really matter what the Bible says? In my experience, would-be advocates for the “biblical” approval of homosexuality eventually concede that it is extremely difficult to argue that Jesus, Paul, or any of the apostles would have condoned homosexual practice. But like the Greek god Proteus, it is necessary to hold them fast with sound arguments before they reveal their true position. Sometimes such activity is sanctioned within a framework of “progressive revelation”—people (including Jesus and Paul) used to think homosexuality was wrong, but now we know better. But how exactly do we know this? Scientific studies? Personal testimonies? It would need to be weighty evidence indeed to completely overthrow the uniform testimony of the word of God. And if the Bible cannot be trusted on such a fundamental matter of human conduct, why would one be inclined to trust it on any other topic? At other times, people will concede that they genuinely do not care about Scripture or God. This admission can be discouraging for Christians to hear, but at least it has become clear where people are standing…or falling.

One final word is in order. One of the presuppositions of modern discussions of this issue is that it is “unloving” to “single out” homosexuality among all the other sins people commit. There is some truth to this. We ought to be just as zealous in our condemnation of greed and sloth and self-righteousness as we are in our condemnation of sexual sins. Furthermore, the New Testament is clear that all of us come to God solely on the basis of his grace and mercy. Precisely because the intellectual climate is so polluted, we need to be particularly careful to minister with grace and sensitivity to those who are struggling with homosexuality.

But I am afraid that “not wanting to be unloving” usually translates into “not wanting to tell the truth.” Whether we like it or not, the issue of homosexuality is out there, and the Church must take a stand. More importantly, there is nothing loving in leading people to believe that their behavior is acceptable when God says otherwise. The medicine of God’s word will no doubt be distasteful to many in our culture, but the consequences of not taking it will be far worse.