What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
The Bible speaks directly about sexuality, human relationships, and God’s design for creation. While the term “homosexuality” is modern, the Scriptures address same-sex behavior and place it within the larger framework of holiness, covenant faithfulness, and God’s intention for marriage. This article will explore what the Bible says about homosexuality by focusing on two key areas: the Levitical law of the Old Testament and Paul’s teaching in Romans 1. It will also consider how these passages relate to the Gospel and the call to holiness for all people.
1. Homosexuality in the Levitical Law
The book of Leviticus contains some of the clearest prohibitions against same-sex acts in the Old Testament. Leviticus 18:22 declares, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Again, in Leviticus 20:13, the same command is repeated with even stronger covenantal penalties. These commands are part of Israel’s “holiness code,” which sets God’s people apart from the practices of surrounding nations.
These laws emphasize the distinctiveness of Israel as God’s covenant people.
Same-sex behavior is identified as contrary to God’s created order.
The holiness code ties sexuality directly to worship, showing that sexual immorality and idolatry often go hand in hand.
While the specific punishments belong to Israel’s theocratic system, the moral principle—sexuality designed for male-female marriage—continues to carry weight in the biblical witness.
2. Homosexuality in Romans 1
In Romans 1:26–27, Paul addresses homosexuality as part of his wider argument about humanity’s rebellion against God. He writes that both men and women exchanged natural relations for those that are “contrary to nature.” For Paul, same-sex relations are not just individual sins but evidence of a larger spiritual problem: humanity exchanging the truth of God for a lie and worshiping created things rather than the Creator.
Homosexuality is described as a symptom of idolatry.
Paul’s argument includes both male and female same-sex behavior, showing a universal application.
“Contrary to nature” points back to God’s design in creation (Genesis 1–2), where marriage is established between male and female.
Romans 1 does not single out homosexuality as the only sin but places it within a larger picture of human sinfulness that includes greed, envy, gossip, and disobedience to parents. The issue is not one group of people but the universal corruption of humanity apart from God.
3. Is Homosexuality a Greater Sin?
The Bible does not present homosexuality as a sin above others. In 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, Paul lists same-sex acts alongside idolatry, adultery, greed, and slander. The message is clear: all sin separates people from God, and all require forgiveness and transformation through Christ. The seriousness of sin is universal, but so is the hope offered in the Gospel.
4. The Gospel and Homosexuality
The good news of Jesus Christ speaks to every person, regardless of their struggles. The Bible teaches that forgiveness is available to all who repent and believe. For those struggling with homosexuality, as with any sin, the Gospel is not about behavior modification alone but about a new identity in Christ.
Every person is made in the image of God.
Every person is offered forgiveness through the cross.
Every person is invited into a life of holiness empowered by the Spirit.
The Gospel is not exclusion but invitation—calling all people into a life transformed by grace.
5. How Should Christians Respond?
Christians are called to hold truth and love together. This means affirming what the Bible teaches about sexuality while extending compassion and dignity to every person. The church must not single out homosexuality as uniquely beyond God’s mercy but instead offer the same message to all: come to Christ, find forgiveness, and walk in newness of life.
Conclusion
The Bible’s teaching on homosexuality is clear in both the Old and New Testaments. Leviticus places it within the holiness code, and Romans 1 identifies it as a sign of rejecting God’s design. Yet the Scriptures also remind us that no sin is beyond God’s grace. The Gospel offers forgiveness and transformation to all who turn to Christ. Homosexuality, like every other form of sin, is met not with despair but with the hope of redemption in Jesus.
Bible Verses About Homosexuality
Leviticus 18:22 — “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”
Leviticus 20:13 — “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
Romans 1:26–27 — “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
1 Corinthians 6:9–10 — “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Timothy 1:10–11 — “The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”
Genesis 2:24 — “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Matthew 19:4–6 — “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Jude 7 — “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”
Ezekiel 16:49–50 — “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”
Hebrews 13:4 — “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
