Old Testament
In this article, I'm
only going to look at the Old Testament commandments regarding homosexuality.
First I'll address Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 together.
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
— Leviticus 18:22
13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of
them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their
blood shall be upon them.
— Leviticus 20:13
To “to lie with” is a
biblical euphemism meaning “to have sex with,” simple as that. These verses
obviously condemn homosexual behavior and don’t give any other qualification.
Now some say that these
verses are part of the holiness code which is part of The Law and since Jesus
fulfilled the Law, we are no longer under any obligation to obey these verses.
This objection reveals a misunderstanding about Jesus’ work on the cross for
one, two, it shows a misunderstanding of The Law itself, and three, it ignores
some very important facts contained within The Law.
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say
unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so,
he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of
heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
— Matthew 5:17-20
Jesus did say that He
came to fulfill the Law, but he also qualified that statement by saying that
complete fulfillment wouldn’t be accomplished until “heaven and earth pass” (Mt
5:18). Obviously Heaven and Earth haven’t passed, so all the Law hasn’t yet
been fulfilled.
The Law actually consists
of three different kinds of law: Civil, Ceremonial, and Moral.
The first kind of Law is
civil law. Much of this is pragmatic, cultural or directed specifically toward
a Jewish audience. Things like dietary restrictions, clothing restrictions and
so forth. A lot of restrictions were put on the Jews so they would be
recognized as different from the countries surrounding them. They weren’t to
blend in and adapt to cultures other than their own. Some of the civil
restrictions had to do with the wanderings in the wilderness like the
commandment not to wear clothes made from two types of fabric since that would
cause the clothes to wear out quicker. When the Jews returned from the
Babylonian captivities at the end of the 6th century BC, many of the
Jews wore all kinds of clothes of all kinds of materials and combinations. The
civil law also deals with penalties for breaking other laws including the Moral
Law.
The second kind of Law
is Ceremonial law and deals with offerings, sacrifices, religious observances
and so forth. The message of the New Testament is that these laws were
fulfilled by Christ on the cross. He is our Passover Lamb, He is our Sabbath,
He has carried our sin away like the scape goat on the Day of Atonement.
The third kind is Moral
Law. The Ten Commandments are the basis for moral law in the Bible. Whenever
the Bible speaks on issues that The Ten Commandments refer to, then that issue
falls under the moral law. On the subject of homosexuality, the Commandment referred
to is the Seventh Commandment.
14 Thou shalt not commit
adultery.
— Exodus 20:14
When you study ancient
rabbinical teaching, you discover that, according to Jewish thought, adultery
in the Seventh Commandment referred to any kind of sexual conduct outside of a
marriage between one man and one woman and not just marital infidelity. In
other words, if you had pre-marital sex, you were also guilty of adultery. So,
whenever you read laws about sexual conduct in The Law contained rest of the
first five books of the Bible (Genesis through Deuteronomy), understand that
you are dealing with Moral Law.
So are we under The Law
or not?
In Acts 10, God reveals
to Peter that believers are no longer required to observe dietary restrictions.
In Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem under the guidance of the Holy Spirit
reveal that men are no longer required to be circumcised. When it comes to
clothes, the New Testament mandate is simply modesty. But in the New Testament,
we find that we are still prohibited from worshipping false gods, committing
theft, murder, sexual sin, lying, and covetousness.
Some of the civil law
also related to practices that were part of paganism like tattoos, piercings or
shaving and braiding beards in different ways. I’m going to tell you right now
that I won’t ever have a gauged ear and I probably won’t have a tattoo, but I won’t
hold it against anyone who does do those things because frankly, in modern
society, none of those things are associated with pagan religious practices
anymore. Not to mention, the reason why beards are frowned upon in many
evangelical churches despite the great hirsute preachers like Spurgeon and
Moody has to do with facial hair being associated with rebellion in the 50s and
60s.
In other words, if you
want to be clean shaven and have tattoos and piercings, knock yourself out.
Because of the general
misunderstanding about how The Law works, Homosexual activists will claim that
Leviticus 18 and 20 are part of the holiness code, so we are not bound by those
laws anymore. The problem with that claim is that Leviticus 18 and 20 also
prohibit incest, pedophilia, group sex, and bestiality. Are those things ok
now? If not, why not? Why is homosexuality ok, but not the others?
Another objection would
be that since Leviticus 20:13 prescribes the death penalty for homosexual
conduct, should Christians advocate for the death penalty for homosexuals? The
simple answer is no.
The longer answer is
that while the Levitical command is to put homosexuals to death, all penalties
under The Law are part of the civil law. Under The Law, the government sets
penalties for breaking its laws. Even when we disagree with the moral aspects
of a government’s laws, we still have a responsibility to obey them to a point.
1Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no
power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that
resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3For rulers are
not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of
the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4for
he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil,
be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God,
a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5Wherefore
ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6For
for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending
continually upon this very thing. 7Render therefore to all
their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom
fear; honour to whom honour.
– Romans 13:1-7
Christ’s kingdom is not
of this world (John 18:36). He did not command us to try to set up His kingdom
in this world. Christ said that when He returned, He would set it up. Until
Christ returns, our Great Commission is to make disciples of all nations. It is
not the job of the Church to try to get the governments of the world to become
Christian theocracies. It is not the job of the Church to try and change
people. Rather, it is the job of the Church to preach the
gospel, encourage people to repent and turn to God in Christ and then He will
change people.
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