A few years ago, a young man announced to his family, “I’m gay, I’m not broke, so don’t try to fix me.” I replied, “Sir, we’re all broke and we all need to be fixed.” When the Bible tells us of the sexual dysfunction of the heroes of the Faith, there is no effort to normalize, or affirm, their sinfulness. Instead, the sacred text is careful to tell us of the consequences of their disordered behavior.
The testimony of Scripture is clear about the corrupted nature of humanity. The Psalmist confessed, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Building upon the theology of the ancient Hebrew prophets, the Apostle Paul declared, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The depraved depth of human sinfulness finds its ultimate expression in sexual immorality. Again, the Apostle Paul insists,
God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them… God gave them over to degrading passions and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper (Romans 1:24-28).
Paul is clear that to disregard the order and purpose of sex in creation is to disregard the Creator. Furthermore, Paul suggests that fallen humans don’t have the presence of mind to acknowledge their sinfulness. In other words, sin is not simply a choice, it is the condition of human nature – a darkened mind and a hardened heart. When talking about homosexuality or gender dysphoria, we often seek for a scientific explanation. Science may indeed be able to explain the causation of various aspects of human sexuality, but it cannot answer the deeper questions of meaning.
Others opt for a theological explanation and assert, “This is the way God made me.” With this statement they affirm their sexual identity and preferences. But can this theological affirmation be supported by the Christian theological tradition? No! First, God created humanity in perfection in which sexuality is properly expressed as a monogamous heterosexual relationship. Second, only the first humans were directly created by God. All subsequent humans have been procreated through sexual reproduction, a process which has been corrupted by sin and which transmits the corruption of sin. So, even if one is born with homosexual proclivities or gender dysphoria, their condition is the effect of original sin. Lest we become self-righteous, let us remember that original sin also effects heterosexual males and females. The tendency to lust, the desire to view pornography, to engage in pre-marital sex, adultery, and divorce is largely the sinful domain of heterosexuals. The best estimates suggest that less that 5% of the US population identifies as homosexual, and less than .3% are transgender. While it is true that a vocal minority seems to be driving the present public conversation about sex, we must confess that the Christian church suffers from a compromised sexual ethic in which pre-marital sex and serial divorce and remarriage have been ignored or excused, and in some cases, even accepted. So, let’s return to my earlier statement, “We are all broke, we all need to be fixed.” So how can humanity be fixed?
As I pointed out in the previous discussion, many characters in the Old Testament were dishonorable in their sexual behavior, including Abraham, the friend of God, and David, a man after God’s heart. These men modeled the sexual culture of the ancient near east, not the morality of the priestly people of God who are called to express the holiness of God. So, from where does the Biblical sexual ethic come? The Biblical sexual ethic comes to us from the revelation of God’s law. The Apostle Paul tells us that “the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24). The purpose of the law is to teach right worship, right behavior, and expose sinful behavior.
The sexual ethic of God’s holy people is found in the holiness code of Leviticus 18. The priestly people of God demonstrate they loyalty to Yahweh by living according to the Law. God’s people were not to follow the sexual practices of the Egyptians or Canaanites who tolerated forms of incest, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality. Living according to God’s law ensured the prosperity of the people. Disregarding the law ensured God’s judgement. The holiness code prohibits sexual relationships with relatives including siblings, step-siblings, aunts/uncles, parent/step-parent, grandchildren/grandparents, and in-laws. Furthermore, the holiness code forbids polygamy, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality.
We must ask, “Does the ancient holiness code apply to Christians who are “not under law, but under grace”? (Romans 6:14). And, if the holiness code still applies, then shouldn’t the rest of the law still apply? This was the controversy that occasioned the Jerusalem Conference. The conversion of Gentiles to the Christian faith provoked serious questions. Must a Gentile convert be circumcised? Must they follow Jewish dietary laws? Must they observe the Mosaic law? The decision of the apostolic church was “not to trouble” the Gentile converts with the requirements of the law, with two exceptions: all Christians must abstain from idolatry and fornication (Acts 15:20). These were specified because they were the most common offenses among the Gentiles. Jesus and the apostles also reaffirmed other moral requirements of the ancient law, such as prohibitions against murder and stealing. The Greek word translated fornication is porneia and speaks to various types of sexual immorality including pornography, pre-marital sex, incest, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, and bestiality. In other words, the sexual morality established in the holiness code is to be the sexual morality of the Christian faith. Paul declared,
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints… For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph 5:3-5).
