Romans 1:26, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:9 - A Biblical View of Homosexuality
A Heart of Compassion and Truth
Good morning, and welcome to The Well Community Church. To those of you in the live crowd, I want to apologize for the delay. Our first gathering ran a little longer than preferred, and I appreciate your patience as we got kids settled and transitions made. For those I haven’t met, my name is Brad Bell, the lead pastor here. The rhyming name is unfortunate—I acknowledge that—but I’ve had the privilege of being here for over twenty years, and I’m so grateful to spend this time with you.
This week is unique. We are concluding a series on biblical sexuality, and I’ve brought in a dear friend, Dr. Denny Burk. We went to grad school together at Dallas Seminary. Years ago, sitting in a small group, I listened to him handle the biblical text and said, “You do that at a level I don’t. Why don’t I pastor, and you write and become a professor, and I’ll just quote your stuff?” That is exactly what happened, and you are in for a treat today.
Before we begin, I want to start with an acknowledgment. This series has stirred up some dust online. I’ve seen a lot of things said; I think one email I deleted even said, “I hope you eat glass and die.” I found that to be less than helpful. However, I am thankful that not everything on the internet is true.
Our desire is to enter this conversation with a healthy understanding of the hurt in our community. Many in the LGBTQ community have been wounded by professing people of faith who have used the Bible as a cudgel to inflict shame and guilt. I grieve that. I wish I could undo the wounds of the past. That has never been our heart at this church.
As a Christian church, we believe there is a God who has revealed Himself in Scripture, and our responsibility is to submit to that Word. We aren’t trying to twist the Bible to meet our desires. Quite the opposite—we have been crucified with Christ; it’s no longer we who live, but Christ in us. Our intent is twofold: to clearly communicate to the faithful what the Word of God says so we can be obedient, and to put the Gospel on display for the non-believing community.
We aren’t trying to change someone’s sexual proclivities through force, but we are inviting everyone into God’s design. Disagreement is not violence. Our intent is not hateful; it is to show that God’s design for sexuality is where abundant life is found.
John 10:10 (NASB)
’The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have [it] abundantly.
Beyond the False Choice
Dr. Denny Burk joined the stage to share a story from a town near his home in Louisville, Kentucky. It was the story of Billy Lucas, a fifteen-year-old high school student who was openly gay and the target of relentless bullying. One day, a classmate pulled a chair out from under him and told him, “Why don’t you just go home and hang yourself?” That night, Billy did exactly that.
In response to this tragedy, activist Dan Savage launched the “It Gets Better Project,” aimed at telling struggling youth that life improves after high school and that they should embrace their sexual identity. Savage’s motivation was a mixture of compassion for kids like Billy and anger toward Christians, whom he blamed for this kind of despair.
As Christians, how do we love our neighbors in a culture shaped by voices like Dan Savage’s? The world tells us there are only two options: the “Intolerance Option,” where you hate and disrespect people, or the “Tolerance Option,” where you must affirm the lifestyle to show love.
But that is a false choice. There is a third way—the Biblical Option. This is the most loving path because it is defined by God. We are called to grow up into Christ by speaking the truth in love.
Ephesians 4:14-15 (NASB)
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ,
To speak to the “Billy Lucases” of the world, we must anchor ourselves in three specific things: we must speak the truth, speak the Gospel, and speak with humility.
Speak the Truth: Romans 1
First, we speak the truth. Romans 1 is perhaps the most comprehensive text on this issue because it is the only place in the Bible that explicitly refers to female homosexuality alongside male homosexuality.
Romans 1:26-27 (NASB)
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
Paul is clear that these acts are “unnatural.” Today, some reinterpret this to mean Paul only condemned people acting against their own nature—meaning heterosexuals experimenting with same-sex acts. They argue that if someone has a “homosexual orientation,” then the behavior is natural to them.
However, for Paul, “natural” is not defined by personal orientation or feelings. It is defined by God’s intention in creation—the design we see in the Garden of Eden. Anything outside of one man and one woman in a covenanted union is “against nature.”
We must also notice that Paul addresses “passions.” It is not just the behavior, but the direction of the desire that is morally implicated. We do no one any favors by pretending the Bible is unclear. It is not unloving to hold out the grace of the Gospel to a sinner; what is unloving is telling someone they don’t need to repent to follow Jesus. That is leading people away from Christ, not toward Him.
Speak the Gospel: 1 Corinthians 6
Secondly, we speak the Gospel. We have to be clear about who is included in God’s kingdom and how they get there.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB)
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor [the] covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
This list is sobering. It includes fornicators, idolaters, and those who practice homosexuality. On its own, this is a message of exclusion. But then we reach verse eleven, which is one of the most beautiful sentences in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians 6:11 (NASB)
Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Paul looks at a church full of former pagans and says, “Such were some of you.” The Gospel takes those who were excluded and makes them righteous and included. God is in the business of saving sinners—gay people included.
Think of Rosaria Butterfield, once a tenured professor and lesbian activist who hated Christianity. She wasn’t won over by a big program or a clever argument. She was won over by an elderly pastor and his wife who invited her to their kitchen table for dinner week after week for a year. They didn’t stand aloof; they engaged her with the Gospel. Do we believe the Gospel is for all sinners, or do we have a “culture war” for some and the Gospel for others?
Speak Humility: 1 Timothy 1
Thirdly, we speak with humility. In 1 Timothy, Paul lists homosexuality among a group of very “infamous” sins, like kidnappers and murderers.
1 Timothy 1:9-11 (NASB)
realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
But look at how Paul positions himself immediately after this list. He doesn’t stand on a pedestal of moral superiority.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NASB)
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost [of all]. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Paul calls himself the “foremost” of sinners. When we speak to our neighbors, we don’t speak as those without sin. We speak as dying men to dying men, all in need of the same grace. You should remain more amazed that your sin was forgiven than you are shocked by the sin of your neighbor. This humility allows us to move toward people with compassion rather than sneering at them.
Ten Ways to Love Your Neighbor
How do we put this into practice? Here are ten rapid-fire ways to love your gay neighbor:
- Be a friend. A real friend. Don’t make changing them a condition of your friendship.
Proverbs 17:17 (NASB)
A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.
- Listen. Everyone has a story. Listening doesn’t mean you approve; it means you care.
Proverbs 18:13 (NASB)
He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him.
- Feel compassion. Many people struggle with deep distress and isolation. Put on a heart of kindness.
Colossians 3:12 (NASB)
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
- Share the Gospel. It is the only good news that reconciles sinners to God.
- Speak the truth. You can be winsome and humble while remaining firm on what God says.
Ephesians 4:15 (NASB)
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ,
- Be candid about differences. A true friend doesn’t use flattery to avoid the truth.
Proverbs 27:6 (NASB)
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
- Oppose bullying. Christians should stand between the bully and the victim. Never join in the mockery.
Proverbs 1:10-15 (NASB)
My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; We will find all [kinds] of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,’ My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,
- Receive your brothers and sisters. When someone repents and comes to Christ, welcome them with open arms into the family.
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
- Strengthen them. Conversion doesn’t always mean the struggle vanishes. Walk with them in the long process of sanctification.
Hebrews 3:13 (NASB)
But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is [still] called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
- Pray. The devil wants to destroy; Jesus wants to save. Pray for your neighbors as Jesus prayed for Peter.
Luke 22:31-32 (NASB)
‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded [permission] to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’
A Call to Abundant Life
As we close, I want to remind you that the Gospel says that at our very core, we are all sinners. Apart from Christ, there is nothing good in us. But we are invited into a grace that abounds above every sin.
Any sin in our lives is in direct opposition to the abundant life Christ wants for us. I look at my own life and see an accumulation of sins, but I am so grateful that a heart of repentance meets a God full of mercy. That is what we want for everyone—to walk in the grace of Jesus.
If you are struggling today, or if you want to know what this Gospel means for your life, we want to walk with you. We don’t have to get our lives right before we come to God; we come to Him, and through a repentant heart, He begins to set our lives right. Let’s lay our sins at the foot of the cross together.