On homosexual relationships
and same-sex marriage
Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, December 2011, p.2
RAMPANT AS lT is nowadays, homosexuality can
be palpably observed in almost all cultures. Consequentially, we
once in a while meet and become acquainted with men and women who
are called gays and lesbians. I, for one, personally know of people
who are romantically involved with members of the same sex and are
even planning to get married. When questions of morals and religion
are brought out in discussions, they just.‘ brush aside the issues
by saying that the Bible has no clear prohibition against homosexual
unions. l am not well-versed in biblical teachings, so may I ask
you, doesn't the Bible prohibit homosexuality? Biblically speaking,
can people get into homosexual relationships and same-sex marriage
without committing sin? "Roger Frost
Ontario, Canada
Editor's reply:
The first book of the Holy Scriptures,
Genesis, definitely teaches that in the beginning, God instituted
marriage for the union of a man and a woman—and not for two
individuals who belong to the same sex. Adam and Eve-—the first man
and woman—were the first couple united by God through marriage (Gen.
1:26-28; 2:21-24).
26 Then God said,
“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air,
and over the cattle, over all[b]
the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created
man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He
created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said
to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:26-
28, NKJV)
28, NKJV)
21 And the
Lord
God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took
one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 Then the rib
which the
Lord
God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to
the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This
is now bone of
my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because
she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become
one flesh. (Gen. 2:21-24, NKJV).
That a man and a woman need each other according
to God's design is reiterated in the New Testament (l Cor. 11:11).
11 But in the Lord
the woman needs the man, and the man needs the woman.
ERV
Apostle Paul said that every man should have his
own wife and every woman should have her own husband:
"But because there is so much immorality,
every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her
own husband.” (l Cor. 7:2, Today’s English Version)
26 For this reason God gave them over
and
abandoned them to vile affections
and degrading passions. For their women
exchanged their natural function for an unnatural
and abnormal
one,
27 And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
28 And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, (Rom. 1:26-28, Amplified Bible)
27 And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
28 And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, (Rom. 1:26-28, Amplified Bible)
Homosexuality is such an
abomination before God that no less than death was the penalty
imposed upon offenders during Moses’ time (Lev. 2O:13).
13 If a man lies with a male as he lies
with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall
surely be put to death. Their blood
shall be upon
them. (Lev. 2O:13, NKJV)
In the Christian Era, God has
decreed that those who engage in such abominable sexual relations
will not inherit His kingdom:
”Do you not know that
the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any
share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither
the impure and
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,
will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.” (l Cor. 6:9-10, AB)
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,
will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.” (l Cor. 6:9-10, AB)
lf these were not clear
prohibitions against homosexual unions, what are?
___________________
Note: Some cited verses are
printed in full to facilitate study.
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind. For the latest Worship Service Directory of
Iglesia ni Cristo Locales and Congregations outside the Philippines,
please visit www.iglesianicristoworshipservice.com.
Visit: www.studyiglesianicristo.com
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