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 Genesis 19:1-11
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot
was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them,
he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face
to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn
aside to your servant’s house and spend the night
and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and
go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the
night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them
strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered
his house. And he made them a feast and baked
unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the
men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to
the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they
called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you
tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know
them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance,
shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my
brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have
two daughters who have not known any man. Let me
bring them out to you, and do to them as you please.
Only do nothing to these men, for they have come
under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said,
“Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to
sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will
deal worse with you than with them.” Then they
pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to
break the door down. 10 But the men reached out
their hands and brought Lot into the house with them
and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness
the men who were at the entrance of the house, both
small and great, so that they wore themselves out
groping for the door.
Genesis 19:5
They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to
you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex
with them!” (NET)
Genesis 19:5 have sex with them. Homosexual practice
was open and common among the men of Sodom (see Jude 1:7). The English word "sodomy" alludes to the
perversions of the ancient city. (NIV Study Bible)
"In light of the passage, the most common
response to the question "What was the sin
of Sodom and Gomorrah?" is that it was
homosexuality. That is how the term "sodomy"
came to be used to refer to anal sex between
two men, whether consensual or forced.
Clearly, homosexuality was part of why God
destroyed the two cities. The men of Sodom
and Gomorrah wanted to perform homosexual
gang rape on the two angels (who were
disguised as men). At the same time, it is
not biblical to say that homosexuality was
the exclusive reason why God destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah. The cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah were definitely not exclusive in
terms of the sins in which they indulged.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 declares, "Now this was the
sin of your sister Sodom: She and her
daughters were arrogant, overfed and
unconcerned; they did not help the poor and
needy. They were haughty and did detestable
things before me..." The Hebrew word
translated "detestable" refers to something
that is morally disgusting and is the exact
same word used in Leviticus 18:22 that
refers to homosexuality as an "abomination."
Similarly, Jude 1:7 declares, "...Sodom and
Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave
themselves up to sexual immorality and
perversion." So, again, while homosexuality
was not the only sin in which the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah indulged, it does appear
to be the primary reason for the destruction
of the cities.
Those who attempt
to explain away the biblical condemnations
of homosexuality claim that the sin of Sodom
and Gomorrah was inhospitality. The men of
Sodom and Gomorrah were certainly being
inhospitable. There is probably nothing more
inhospitable than homosexual gang rape. But
to say God completely destroyed two cities
and all their inhabitants for being
inhospitable clearly misses the point. While
Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of many other
horrendous sins, homosexuality was the
principle reason God poured fiery sulfur on
the cities, completely destroying them and
all of their inhabitants. To this day, the
area where Sodom and Gomorrah were located
remains a desolate wasteland. Sodom and
Gomorrah serve as a powerful example of how
God feels about sin in general, and
homosexuality specifically." (From: https://www.gotquestions.org/Sodom-and-Gomorrah.html) |
Genesis 19:23-26
The sun had risen on the
earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained
on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD
out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and
all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s
wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a
pillar of salt.
Genesis 19:24-25 the Lord rained on Sodom and
Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven
(v. 24). These words emphasize the divine nature of
the punishment, the consequence of which is the
total destruction of all the inhabitants of Sodom
and Gomorrah and all the vegetation (v. 25). The
theme of universal destruction echoes the flood
story. This judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, the
flood of Genesis 6-9, and the later destruction of the
Canaanites when the people of Israel entered the
Promised Land (Deut. 20:16-18) all vividly
demonstrate God’s righteous wrath against sin, his
mercy in rescuing the godly from destruction, and
the certainty of the final judgment to come (cf. 2 Pet. 2:4-10). (ESV Study Bible)
Genesis 19:23-26 The rain of brimstone and fire may
be explained in a couple of ways. It is possible
that God used a volcanic eruption or some similar
kind of natural disaster. Then, the miracle would be
in the Lord's timing and in the narrow escape of Lot
and his family. See Exod. 14 for a similar
possibility. It is also possible that the
destruction of these cities was an act of judgment
outside the normal range of natural occurrences.
(Nelson's NKJV Study Bible)
"With burning
sulfur the Lord overthrew the wicked cities and the
entire plain in a great destruction (Gen. 19:24-25).
Some have suggested that deposits of sulfur erupted
from the earth (cf. the "tar pits," Gen. 14:10), and
then showered down out of the heavens in flames of
fire (cf. Luke 17:29). Lot's wife gazed back
intently and was changed into a pillar of salt, a
monument to her disobedience. The dense smoke
(Gen. 19:28) Abraham saw was caused by the burning sulfur
(Gen. 19:24). Though God judged the sinners in the
cities of the plain, He also remembered Abraham,
that is, God remembered his request (Gen. 18:23-32)
and saved Lot from the catastrophe." (The Bible
Knowledge Commentary: Genesis 19:23-29)
Leviticus 18:22-24
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is
an abomination. 23 And you shall not lie with any
animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither
shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie
with it: it is perversion. 24 “Do not make
yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by
all these the nations I am driving out before you
have become unclean.
Leviticus 18:22 Homosexuality is clearly prohibited
throughout the Bible (Lev 20:13; Rm 1:27; 1Co 6:9).
The Sodomites were destroyed because of their sodomy
(Gn 19:5), and the men of Gibeah were destroyed
following their homosexual rampage (Jdg 19:22). Male
prostitution was practiced as part of a fertility
ritual because pagans deified not just gods but sex
as well; ironically, male and female shrine
prostitutes were called literally “holy ones” (Dt 23:17). Homosexuality is called detestable because
it is against God’s order of creation and against
his laws pertaining to the covenant community. The
word occurs 116 times in the OT in contexts
addressing idolatry, magic, transvestism, and
defective sacrifice. (CSB Study Bible)
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.
Leviticus 20:13 Homosexuality carried the death
penalty in ancient Israel and is as strongly
denounced in the N.T. as in the O.T. (cf. Rom 1:24-27, especially
Rom 1:24; 1 Cor 6:9, 10). (The
Believer's Study Bible)
Fertility Cult
Prostitutes
Deuteronomy 23:17-18
“None of the daughters of
Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the
sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You
shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages
of a dog into the house of the LORD your God in
payment for any vow, for both of these are an
abomination to the LORD your God.”
Deuteronomy 23:17,18 Prostitution was not overlooked
in God's law—it was strictly forbidden. To forbid
this practice may seem obvious to us, but it may not
have been so obvious to the Israelites. Almost every
other religion known to them included prostitution
as an integral part of its worship services.
Prostitution makes a mockery of God's original idea
for sex, treating sex as an isolated physical act
rather than an act of commitment to another. Outside
of marriage, sex destroys relationships. Within
marriage, if approached with the right attitude, it
can be a relationship builder. God frequently had to
warn the people against the practice of extramarital
sex. Today we still need to hear his warnings. (Life
Application Study Bible)
Deuteronomy 23:17-18 (See Ge 38:21; Ex 34:15; 1Ki 14:24; Mic 1:7)
Deuteronomy 23:18 male
prostitute. Lit. "dog", a word often associated with
moral or spiritual impurity (cf. Mt 7:6; Php 3:2; Rev 22:15 and notes; cf. also Mt 15:26). (NIV Study
Bible)
1 Kings 14:24
and there were also male
cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to
all the abominations of the nations that the LORD
drove out before the people of Israel.
1 Kings 14:24 male shrine prostitutes. Ritual
prostitution was an important feature of Canaanite
fertility religion. The Israelites had been warned
by Moses not to engage in this abominable practice
(see Dt 23:17-18;1 Ki 15:12; 2 Ki 23:7; Hos 4:14).
(NIV Study Bible)
1 Kings 15:12
He put away the male cult
prostitutes out of the land and removed all the
idols that his fathers had made.
2 Kings 23:7
And he broke down the
houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the
house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for
the Asherah.
Hosea 4:14
I will not punish your
daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides
when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go
aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult
prostitutes, and a people without understanding
shall come to ruin.
1 Kings 15:12
He put away the male cult
prostitutes out of the land and removed all the
idols that his fathers had made.
Israel fell like
the surrounding nations before them!
Judges 19:16-30
And behold, an old man was coming from his work in
the field at evening. The man was from the hill
country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah.
The men of the place were Benjaminites. 17 And he
lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open
square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are
you going? And where do you come from?” 18 And he
said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah
to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim,
from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and
I am going to the house of the Lord, but no one has
taken me into his house. 19 We have straw and feed
for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your
female servant and the young man with your servants.
There is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man
said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your
wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.”
21 So he brought him into his house and gave the
donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate
and drank.
22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold,
the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded
the house, beating on the door. And they said to the
old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man
who came into your house, that we may know him.” 23
And the man, the master of the house, went out to
them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act
so wickedly; since this man has come into my house,
do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my
virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them
out now. Violate them and do with them what seems
good to you, but against this man do not do this
outrageous thing.” 25 But the men would not listen
to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her
go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all
night until the morning. And as the dawn began to
break, they let her go. 26 And as morning appeared,
the woman came and fell down at the door of the
man’s house where her master was, until it was
light.
27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when
he opened the doors of the house and went out to go
on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at
the door of the house, with her hands on the
threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let us be
going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on
the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his
home. 29 And when he entered his house, he took a
knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided
her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her
throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And all
who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or
been seen from the day that the people of Israel
came up out of the land of Egypt until this day;
consider it, take counsel, and speak.”
Judges 19:16 old man... sojourning in Gibeah. In a
striking irony—and a commentary on the degenerate
state of affairs in Israel—the Levite found
hospitality, not from the residents of Gibeah, but
from an outsider, a sojourner. hill country of
Ephraim. Cf. v. 1.
Judges 19:22-26 The “hospitality” offered by Gibeah
was no hospitality at all; it was the “hospitality”
of Sodom (cf. Genesis 19), an outrageous affront to
the Levite and especially to his concubine. This
section closely echoes Gen. 19:4-9; indeed, it is
likely that the author intentionally patterned this
text after the Genesis account, as if to say,
“Things are as bad now as they were in the days of
Sodom and Gomorrah!”
Judges 19:22 worthless
fellows. Literally, “sons of Belial.” In the OT, the
term “Belial” is used descriptively, speaking of
perverted or worthless people (cf. Judges 20:13; 1
Sam. 10:27; 1 Kings 21:13). In intertestamental
literature, the term was used of Satan, and this is
Paul’s sense in 2 Cor. 6:15: “What accord has Christ
with Belial?” that we may know him. The word “know”
was the normal Hebrew euphemism for sexual relations
(cf. Gen. 4:1). The same expression is found in Gen.
19:5, where the men of Sodom wanted to have
homosexual relations with Lot’s guests.
Judges 19:27-30 The Levite’s matter-of-fact reaction
to his concubine’s death illustrates his
callousness. His gruesome response was to cut her
into twelve pieces and send them around to the 12
tribes to rally them against Gibeah. Saul later did
the same thing with a yoke of oxen (1 Sam. 11:7); a
similar practice is known from Mari, in Mesopotamia.
has never happened or been seen. It is unclear what
was being referred to here (the outrageous actions
of the men of Gibeah or the cutting up of the
concubine), but it is more likely the former (cf.
Judg. 20:10). (ESV Study Bible)
Judges 19
Judges 19:1-21:25 What is the significance of this
tragic story? When the Israelites' faith in God
disintegrated, their unity as a nation also
disintegrated. They could have taken complete
possession of the land if they had obeyed God and
trusted him to keep his promises. But when they
forgot him, they lost their purpose, and soon "the
people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes"
(Judges 21:25). When they stopped letting God lead
them, they became no better than the evil people
around them. When they made laws for their own
benefit, they set standards far below God's. When
you leave God out of your life, you may be shocked
at what you are capable of doing (Judges 19:30).
Judges 19:1 Having concubines was an accepted part
of Israelite society although this is not what God
intended (Genesis 2:24). A concubine had most of the
duties but only some of the privileges of a wife.
Although she was legally attached to one man, she
and her children usually did not have the
inheritance rights of the legal wife and legitimate
children. Her primary purpose was giving the man
sexual pleasure, bearing additional children, and
contributing more help to the household or estate.
Concubines were often foreign prisoners of war. But
they could also be Israelites, as was probably the
case in this story.
Judges 19:24 Nowhere is the unwritten law of
hospitality stronger than in the Middle East.
Protecting a guest at any cost ranked at the top of
a man's code of honor. But here the hospitality code
turned to fanaticism. The rape and abuse of a
daughter and companion were preferable to the
possibility of a conflict between a guest and a
neighbor. The two men were selfish (they didn't want
to get hurt themselves); they lacked courage (they
didn't want to face a conflict even when lives were
at stake); and they disobeyed God's law (they
allowed deliberate abuse and murder). What drastic
consequences can result when social protocol carries
more authority than moral convictions!
Judges 19:29, 30 Although this was a terrible way to
spread the news, it effectively communicated the
horror of the crime and called the people to action.
Saul used a similar method in 1 Samuel 11:7.
Ironically, the man who alerted Israel to the murder
of his concubine was just as guilty for her death as
the men who actually killed her.
Judges 19:30 The horrible crime described in this
chapter wasn't Israel's worst offense. Even worse
was the nation's failure to establish a government
based upon God's moral principles, where the law of
God was the law of the land. As a result, laws were
usually not enforced and crime was ignored. Sexual
perversion and lawlessness were byproducts of
Israel's disobedience to God. The Israelites weren't
willing to speak up until events had gone too far.
Whenever we get away from God and his Word, all
sorts of evil can follow. Our drifting away from God
may be slow and almost imperceptible, with the
ultimate results affecting a future generation. We
must continually call our nation back to God and
work toward the establishment of God's moral and
spiritual reign in the heart of every person. (Life
Application Study Bible)
The New
Testament declares Homosexuality just as sinful as
the Old Testament does: All sex is sinfull apart from a
marriage between one (biological) man and one
(biological) woman and is forbidden!
Romans 1:18-32
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by
their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For
what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them. 20 For his
invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever
since the creation of the world, in the things that
have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For
although they knew God, they did not honor him as
God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in
their thinking, and their foolish hearts were
darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images resembling mortal man and birds and animals
and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their
hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their
bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged
the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and
served the creature rather than the Creator, who is
blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable
passions. For their women exchanged natural
relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27
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.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge
God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what
ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all
manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness,
malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty,
boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those
who practice such things deserve to die, they not
only do them but give approval to those who practice
them.
Romans 1:24 Three times Paul says God gave them up
(Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). In every instance the giving up
to sin is a result of idolatry, the refusal to make
God the center and circumference of all existence,
so that in practice the creature is exalted over the
Creator. Hence, all individual sins are a
consequence of the failure to prize and praise God
as the giver of every good thing.
Romans 1:25 exchanged the truth about God for a lie.
Paul implies that all other religions are based on
false ideas about the one true God; they are not
just “different paths to one God,” as some claim.
Romans 1:26-27 Not only homosexual acts but also
such passions or desires are said to be dishonorable
before God. Just as idolatry is unnatural (contrary
to what God intended when he made human beings), so
too homosexuality is contrary to nature in that it
does not represent what God intended when he made
men and women with physical bodies that have a
“natural” way of interacting with each other and
“natural” desires for each other. Paul follows the
OT and Jewish tradition in seeing all homosexual
relationships as sinful. The creation account in
Genesis 1-2 reveals the divine paradigm for human
beings, indicating that God’s will is for man and
woman to be joined in marriage. Consumed (or
“inflamed”) gives a strong image of a powerful but
destructive inward desire. The sin in view is not
pederasty (homosexual conduct of men with boys) but
men engaging in sin with men. There is no
justification here for the view that Paul condemns
only abusive homosexual relationships. Due penalty
could refer to the sin of homosexuality itself as
the penalty for idolatry. Or, the “and” in and
receiving may indicate some additional negative
consequences received in themselves, that is, some
form of spiritual, emotional, or physical blight.
The “due” penalty refers to a penalty that is
appropriate to the wrong committed.
Romans 1:28-31 Human sin is not confined to sexual
sins, and Paul now lists a whole catalog of the
evils common among human beings as a result of
turning from God.
Romans 1:32 People do not generally sin in innocent
ignorance, for they know God’s decree (at least in
an instinctive way) that their evil deserves
condemnation. Indeed, the evil goes further when
people give approval and applaud others for their
sin, probably because having others join in their
sin makes them feel better about the evil course
they have chosen. (ESV Study Bible)
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
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, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit
the kingdom of God. 11 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. (NASB)
1 Corinthians 6:9 not inherit the kingdom. The
kingdom is the spiritual sphere of salvation where
God rules as king over all who belong to Him by
faith (see Mt 5:3, 10). All believers are in that
spiritual kingdom, yet are waiting to enter into the
full inheritance of it in the age to come. People
who are characterized by these iniquities are not
saved (1 Corinthians 6:10). See 1Jn 3:9, 10. While believers can
and do commit these sins, they do not characterize
them as an unbroken life pattern. When they do, it
demonstrates that the person is not in God's
kingdom. True believers who do sin, resent that sin
and seek to gain the victory over it (cf. Ro 7:14-25).
* fornicators. All who indulge in sexual immorality,
but particularly unmarried persons.
* idolaters.
Those who worship any false god or follow any false
religious system.
* adulterers.
Married persons who indulge in sexual acts outside
their marriage.
* effeminate...
homosexuals. These terms refer to those who exchange
and corrupt normal male-female sexual roles and
relations. Transvestism, sex changes, and other
gender perversions are included (cf. Ge 1:27; Dt 22:5). Those whom some translations refer to as
"sodomites," and Paul as "effeminate," are so-called
because the sin of male-male sex dominated the city
of Sodom (Ge 18:20; 19:4, 5). This sinful perversion
is condemned always, in any form, by Scripture (cf.
Lev 18:22; 20:13; Ro 1:26, 27; 1Ti 1:10). (The
MacArthur Study Bible)
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul’s use of the word
unrighteous (Gk. adikos again; see note on 1 Corinthians 6:7-8)
implies that those whose behavior is
indistinguishable from the unbelieving world may not
be among the “saints” (1 Corinthians 6:1) at all. See also 2 Cor. 13:5. men who practice homosexuality. The Greek
words malakos and arsenokoitēs refer specifically to
male homosexuals, but in Rom. 1:26-27 Paul also refers to female homosexuals, and
to homosexual desires or “passions.” Both passages
(as well as Lev 18:22; 20:13; and 1 Tim. 1:10) refer
to homosexuality in general.
1 Corinthians 6:11 washed. This refers to the
spiritual cleansing from the guilt and dominating
power of sin that occurs at regeneration (see Titus 3:5) and that is symbolized in the “washing” of
baptism (Acts 22:16). sanctified. This is a similar
concept, in this instance meaning that an initial
break with the love of sin, and with the power and
practice of sin, occurs at regeneration (see Acts 20:32; Rom. 6:11; 2 Cor. 5:17). However, in another
sense “sanctification” is also an ongoing process in
the Christian life (Rom. 6:19; Phil. 3:13-14; Heb. 12:1, 14; see also note on 1 Cor. 1:2). justified.
The Greek term is dikaioō and is the positive
counterpart to the terms “unrighteous,” “suffer
wrong,” and “wrong” in 1 Cor. 6:1, 7, 8, 9 (see
notes on those verses). Here Paul uses dikaioō not
in its ethical sense (“be seen to be righteous”) but
in its judicial sense (“declare righteous”). God has
already declared the Corinthian Christians to be
“righteous” (see Rom. 5:1; 8:1, 33). God was able to
do this because the “righteousness” that belongs to
Christ, due to his perfect life, has become “our...
righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30; see also 2 Cor. 5:21).
Paul’s point in 1 Cor. 6:1-11 is that the
Corinthians need to live in a way that is consistent
with this verdict and status. (ESV Study Bible)
2 Corinthians 13:5-9
Examine yourselves, to
see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.
Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that
Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to
meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we
have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that
you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have
met the test, but that you may do what is right,
though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot
do anything against the truth, but only for the
truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you
are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.
2 Corinthians 13:5 The test to see if Christ is in
the Corinthians will be their response to Paul and
his call to repent, since God’s message and the
messenger are one (2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2).
2 Corinthians 13:7-9 Paul desires the Corinthians’
restoration even if at this late hour. Paul may seem
to have failed again by announcing a plan (this time
the threatened return in judgment) that did not come
to pass (cf. 2 Cor. 1:12-2:4). This apparent
failure, like the judgment itself, would once again
establish the truth of the gospel, whose primary
purpose is not tearing down but building up the
church (2 Cor. 13:10). (ESV Study Bible)
1 Timothy 1:8-11
Now we know that the law
is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding
this, that the law is not laid down for the just but
for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and
sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who
strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10
the sexually immoral, men who practice
homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and
whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in
accordance with the gospel of the glory of the
blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
1 Timothy 1:10 The first term in this verse
("fornicators") applies to sexual immorality in
general, and the next phrase condemns homosexuality
(cf. Rom 1:24, note). (The Believer's Study Bible)
Hebrews 13:1-5
Let brotherly love
continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to
strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as
though in prison with them, and those who are
mistreated, since you also are in the body. 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. 5 Keep your life
free from love of money, and be content with what
you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you
nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is to be held in honor, and
chastity in marriage is called for, with the warning
that God will judge anyone who is sexually immoral
(Gk. pornos, a general term referring to anyone who
engages in sexual conduct outside of marriage
between a man and a woman) or adulterous (Gk.
moichos, referring to anyone who is unfaithful to a
spouse). This warning is addressed to members of the
church, and if they are genuine Christian believers,
this judgment of God would not mean final
condemnation to hell (cf. Rom. 8:1) but would bring
disciplinary judgment in this life (cf. Heb. 12:5-11) or loss of reward at the last day, or both.
However, in light of the earlier warning passages
(Heb. 3:12-14; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:14-17), it is
possible that such sexual immorality will be an
indication that the person committing it is in fact
not a true believer and not born again. (ESV Study
Bible)
John 8:7-11
And as they continued to
ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who
is without sin among you be the first to throw a
stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and
wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they
went away one by one, beginning with the older ones,
and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing
before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said,
“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin
no more.”
John 8:7 He who is without sin. This directly refers
to Dt 13:9; 17:7, where the witnesses of a crime are
to start the execution. Only those who were not
guilty of the same sin could participate.
John 8:8 Cf. v. 6. This seems to have been a
delaying device, giving them time to think.
John 8:11 sin no more. Actually, "Leave your life of
sin" (cf. John 3:17; 12:47; Mt 9:1-8; Mk 2:13-17).
(The MacArthur Study Bible)
Galatians 5:14
For the whole law is
fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.”
Jude 1:5-8
Now I want to remind you,
although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who
saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the
angels who did not stay within their own position of
authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has
kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until
the judgment of the great day— 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. 8 Yet in like manner
these people also, relying on their dreams, defile
the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the
glorious ones.
Jude 1:5-7 Judgment Reserved for the False Teachers.
Jude applies examples of judgment from the whole of
biblical history in his polemic against the
heretics.
Jude 1:5 The Analogy of
Egypt. Jude reminds his readers that they once fully
knew about God’s judgment, but apparently their
sense of its certainty has waned. He refers them to
the Exodus account as a reminder. Jesus... saved a
people out of the land of Egypt (cf. Exodus 1-15).
This may seem puzzling, because the name “Jesus” is
not applied to the Son of God in the OT. It is a
prime example of the apostolic understanding of the
OT, according to which the Son of God, in his
eternal divine nature, was active in the world from
the beginning of creation, long before his
incarnation (cf. Luke 24:27; John 1:3; 8:56-58; 12:41; 1 Cor. 10:4, 9; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:8-12; 11:26). Jesus, then, judged and destroyed those in
Israel who escaped from Egypt but failed to keep
trusting in God, and therefore they did not reach
the Promised Land (cf. 1 Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:16-19).
Instead of the name “Jesus,” some Greek manuscripts
have ho Kyrios, “the Lord,” and some English
translations follow that reading. Most of the oldest
and most reliable manuscripts have Iēsous (“Jesus”).
Jude 1:6 The Analogy of the Rebellious Angels. The
heart of Jude’s next comparison is the angels who
did not stay within their own position of authority
but apparently rebelled against God’s authority and
sought to be equal to him. God has kept these beings
in eternal chains ever since. Some scholars think
this refers to the original fall of angels from
heaven. Others think Jude is referring to the sin of
angels in Gen. 6:1-4 (see note on 1 Pet. 3:19). This
view is strengthened by Jude’s citation of 1 Enoch
1.9 (Jude 1:14-15), which contains much discussion
on the fall of these angels.
Jude 1:7 The Analogy of Sodom and Gomorrah. As with
the unfaithful Israelites and the rebellious angels
(Jude 1:5-6), so also the people of Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 19) received the judgment of eternal fire.
Smoke was still rising from the site of Sodom and
Gomorrah in the first century a.d. (see Philo, On
Abraham 141; Philo, Life of Moses 2.56; Wisdom of
Solomon 10:7), and this was taken as a physical
symbol of eternal divine judgment. Pursued unnatural
desire refers to the homosexual activity of Sodom
(Gen. 19:5; cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities
1.200-201; Philo, On Abraham 134-136; Testament of
Naphtali 3.4). The Greek is literally “went after
other flesh,” meaning “other” or “different” than
the sexual immorality with women that Jude had just
mentioned (cf. Rom. 1:26-27). The judgment of Sodom
and Gomorrah in history functions as a “type” (a
foreshadowing planned by God, cf. Rom. 5:14) of
eternal judgment to come. (ESV Study Bible)
Mark 10:6-9
But from the beginning of
creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7
‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother
and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall
become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one
flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let
not man separate.”
Mark 10:6-9 Women were often treated as property.
Marriage and divorce were regarded as transactions
similar to buying and selling land. But Jesus
condemned this attitude, clarifying God's original
intention—that marriage bring oneness [between a man
and a woman only] (Genesis 2:24). Jesus held up
God's ideal for marriage and told his followers to
live by that ideal. (Life Application Study Bible)
1 Corinthians 7:1-2
Now concerning the
matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man
not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But
because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each
man should have his own wife and each woman her own
husband.
1 Corinthians 7:1 touch a woman. This is a Jewish
euphemism for sexual intercourse (see, e.g., Ge 20:6; Ru 2:9; Pr 6:29). Paul is saying that it is
good not to have sex, that is, to be single and
celibate. It is not, however, the only good or even
better than marriage (cf. Ge 1:28; 2:18).
1 Corinthians 7:2 immoralities. There is a great
danger of sexual sin when single (cf. Mt 19:12).
Marriage is God's only provision for sexual
fulfillment. Marriage should not be reduced simply
to that, however. Paul has a much higher view and
articulates it in Eph 5:22, 23. He is, here,
stressing the issue of sexual sin for people who are
single. (The MacArthur Study Bible)
God’s desire for
us is to live free from unbridled sinful desires.
Being under grace is not license to sin. Continual
sinful living is a sign of an unregenerate person.
Romans 6:15-16
What then? Are we to sin
because we are not under law but under grace? By no
means! 16 Do you not know that if you present
yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are
slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin,
which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads
to righteousness?
Romans 6:15 Paul emphatically rejects the idea that
freedom from the old covenant era of being under law
implies freedom to sin.
Romans 6:16 Moral decisions still matter for
Christians. Giving in to sin results in people
increasingly becoming obedient slaves to sin. (For a
brief description of ancient slavery, see note on 1 Cor. 7:21.) This kind of activity eventually leads
to death, not implying that genuine believers can
actually lose their salvation but that sinning leads
them in that direction, away from full enjoyment of
life with Christ (cf. note on Gal. 5:4). Those who
give themselves utterly to sin will die (face
eternal punishment). (ESV Study Bible)
Romans 13:8-10
Owe no one anything,
except to love each other, for the one who loves
another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the
commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You
shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not
covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in
this word: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:10 love is the fulfillment of the law. If
we treat others with the same care that we have for
ourselves, we will not violate any of God's laws
regarding interpersonal relationships (Mt 7:12; Jas 2:8). (The MacArthur Study Bible)
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
“All things are lawful
for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things
are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by
anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the
stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and
the other. The body is not meant for sexual
immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the
body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise
us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your
bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the
members of Christ and make them members of a
prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who
is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?
For, as it is written, “The two will become one
flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes
one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the
body, but the sexually immoral person sins against
his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you
have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were
bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 As one who is washed,
sanctified, and justified eternally by God's grace,
the believer is set free (cf. Ro 8:21, 33; Gal 5:1, 13). The Corinthians had done with that freedom just
what Paul had warned the Galatians not to do: "Do
not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the
flesh" (Gal 5:13). So in this section, Paul exposed
the error in the Corinthian Christians'
rationalization that they were free to sin, because
it was covered by God's grace.
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful... but
not... profitable. That may have been a Corinthian
slogan. It was true that no matter what sins a
believer commits, God forgives (Eph 1:7), but not
everything they did was profitable or beneficial.
The price of abusing freedom and grace was very
high. Sin always produces loss.
not be mastered. Cf. Ro 6:14. Sin has power, and no sin is more enslaving
than sexual sin. While it can never be the unbroken
pattern of a true believer's life, it can be the
recurring habit that saps joy, peace, usefulness and
brings divine chastening and even church discipline
(cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1ff.). See 1Th 4:3-5. Sexual
sin controls, so the believer must never allow sin
to have that control, but must master it in the
Lord's strength (see 1 Corinthians 9:27). Paul
categorically rejects the ungodly notion that
freedom in Christ gives license to sin (cf. Ro 7:6; 8:13, 21).
1 Corinthians 6:13 Food... stomach. Perhaps this was
a popular proverb to celebrate the idea that sex is
purely biological, like eating. The influence of
philosophical dualism may have contributed to this
idea since it made only the body evil; therefore,
what one did physically was not preventable and thus
inconsequential. Because the relationship between
these two is purely biological and temporal, the
Corinthians, like many of their pagan friends,
probably used that analogy to justify sexual
immorality.
the body... the Lord. Paul rejects the convenient
justifying analogy. Bodies and food are temporal
relations that will perish.
1 Corinthians 6:14 Cf. Ac 2:32; Eph 1:19. Bodies of
believers and the Lord have an eternal relationship
that will never perish. He is referring to the
believer's body to be changed, raised, glorified,
and made heavenly. See 1 Corinthians 15:35-54; cf.
Php 3:20, 21.
1 Corinthians 6:15
members. The believer's body is not only for the
Lord here and now (v. 14) but is of the Lord, a part
of His body, the church (Eph 1:22, 23). The
Christian's body is a spiritual temple in which the
Spirit of Christ lives (1 Corinthians 12:3; Jn 7:38, 39; 20:22; Ac 1:8; Ro 8:9; 2Co 6:16); therefore,
when a believer commits a sexual sin, it involves
Christ with a harlot. All sexual sin is harlotry.
May it never be! These words translate the strongest
Gr. negative—"this should never be so."
1 Corinthians 6:16 one flesh. Paul supports his
point in the previous verse by appealing to the
truth of Ge 2:24 that defines the sexual union
between a man and a woman as "one flesh." When a
person is joined to a harlot, it is a one flesh
experience; therefore Christ spiritually is joined
to that harlot.
1 Corinthians 6:17 one spirit with Him. Further
strengthening the point, Paul affirms that all sex
outside of marriage is sin; but illicit
relationships by believers are especially
reprehensible because they profane Jesus Christ with
whom believers are one (Jn 14:18-23; 15:4; 17:20-23; Ro 12:5). This argument should make such
sin unthinkable.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Every other sin... is outside.
There is a sense in which sexual sin destroys a
person like no other, because it is so intimate and
entangling, corrupting on the deepest human level.
But Paul is probably alluding to venereal disease,
prevalent and devastating in his day and today. No
sin has greater potential to destroy the body,
something a believer should avoid because of the
reality given in vv. 19, 20.
1 Corinthians 6:19 not your own. A Christian's body
belongs to the Lord (v. 13), is a member of Christ
(v. 15), and is the Holy Spirit's temple. See Ro 12:1, 2. Every act of fornication, adultery, or any
other sin is committed by the believer in the
sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where God dwells. In
the OT, the High-Priest only went in there once a
year, and only after extensive cleansing, lest he be
killed (Lv 16).
1 Corinthians 6:20 a price. The precious blood of
Christ (see 1Pe 1:18).
glorify God. The
Christian's supreme purpose (1 Cor 10:31). (The
MacArthur Study Bible)
Leaving
Homosexuality
Jeff Johnston of Focus on
the Family wrote,
"Many people with same-sex attractions choose not to
identify as homosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual.
Instead, their primary identification comes from
their faith in Jesus Christ. They identify as
Christians, followers of Jesus and God’s children.
And they choose to live according to biblical truths
and values, reserving sexual expression for marriage
between a man and a woman. We understand that this
may be a difficult struggle, requiring help and
assistance from other Christians."
Helpful Websites:
Keys to Recovery from Same-Sex Attractions |
Bible.org
https://bible.org/article/keys-recovery-same-sex-attractions
Leaving Gay Lifestyle: Support & Resources
to Restore, Heal (flfamily.org)
https://www.flfamily.org/get-help/leaving-gay-lifestyle
Struggling With Same-Sex Attractions - Focus
on the Family
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/struggling-with-same-sex-attractions/
Support and
Resources for leaving Homosexuality - Living Hope (livehope.org)
https://www.livehope.org/
Ex-gay, transformational Ministries aimed at
gays and lesbians (religioustolerance.org)
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_evan.htm
LGBT Recovery Centers - Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Treatment
https://www.recovery.org/drug-treatment/lgbt/
Finding a Group (nacr.org)
https://www.nacr.org/referral-center/finding-a-group
Celebrate
Recovery Homepage
https://www.celebraterecovery.com/
Homosexuality:
The Biblical-Christian View | Bible.org
https://bible.org/article/homosexuality-biblical-christian-view
Pro-Gay Theology:
Does the Bible Approve of Homosexuality? | Answers
in Genesis
https://answersingenesis.org/family/homosexuality/pro-gay-theology-does-the-bible-approve-of-homosexuality/
Probe Ministries
– Answers From A Christian Worldview
https://probe.org/
Grace and Truth
About LGBT – Probe Ministries
https://probe.org/grace-and-truth-about-lgbt/
(Related Bible Verses:
Gen. 19:1-11; Gen. 19:23-26; Lev. 18:22-24; Lev. 20:13; Deut. 23:17-18;
1 Kings 14:24; 1 Kings 15:12; 2 Kings 23:7; Hosea 4:14; 1 Kings 15:12; Judges 19:16-30; Rom. 1:18-32;
1 Cor. 6:9-11; 2 Cor. 13:5-9; 1 Tim. 1:8-11; Heb. 13:1-5; John 8:7-11;
Gal. 5:14; Jude 1:5-8; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Cor. 7:1-2; Rom. 6:15-16; Rom. 13:8-10; 1 Cor. 6:12-20)
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