Question: Christians state that homosexuality is a sin since it’s “unnatural.” I’m confused why it seems that this you are denying the nature of the world God created in favor of your own narrative. There should be no better evidence for the Christian community than that gay people who are born gay remain gay in their nature even when they are taught excessively to ignore it. Why is it that you feel you need to teach man to ignore the true nature God created him with? Do you think you know better than the Creator?
Answer: Thank you for your question. The tenor of your question suggests that you’re either not a Christian or are not familiar with the Christian worldview (or both). I will respond to your question with that in mind.
You first say, “I’m confused why it seems that you’re denying the nature of the world God created in favor of your own narrative.” That fact of the matter is Christians are not denying the nature of the world God created in favor of our “own narrative.” Our view of the nature of the world is derived from God’s “narrative” of the nature of things; namely, from God’s very own word. In the very first chapter of the Bible, we read, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27 NKJV). Then in the very next chapter (which focuses on the 6th day of creation), we read, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 NKJV). So, from God’s own “narrative,” we see that God created man and woman to be in a “one flesh” union. Jesus, the very incarnate Son of God, picks up on this in His confrontation with the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 19:4-6). Homosexuality was not part of God’s original “very good” creation.
So where did homosexuality come from? From where did it originate? The Bible tells us that in the very next chapter, Genesis 3. In Genesis 3, we see the account of the fall of man. Satan (the serpent) tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God’s command to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once they did so, they became rebels, “cosmic traitors” (to paraphrase the late, great R.C. Sproul). Sin entered the world, and as a result, God cursed the man and the woman, as well as the creation itself. Ever since then, every person born into this world inherits Adam’s fallen nature. The image of God, in which Adam and Eve were created, is marred, ruined by their rebellion. The Apostle Paul lays this out quite clearly in his letter to the Romans. Romans is a detailed exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a declaration of “good news,” but before we hear the good news, we need to know what the bad news is. Paul lays this out in the first chapter of Romans when he says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18 NKJV). God’s wrath is upon all those who have sinned, and in vv. 18-32 of chapter one, Paul lists a whole bunch of things that describe the depths of our sin, including homosexuality:
[26] For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. [27] Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Romans 1:26-27 NKJV)
Note that Paul calls homosexuality “against nature.” Why? Because God designed humanity so that man and woman together form a “one flesh” union in marriage. Homosexuality is a perversion of God’s original created order.
You mention “there should be no better evidence than the Christian community that gay people who are born gay remain gay in their nature even when they are taught excessively to ignore it.” First off, given what was just said, no one is “born gay.” Homosexuality is not an immutable characteristic of human nature (such as being born a man or a woman or being born with light or dark skin). It is a sinful desire, a behavior, that is a result of the fall. This is not to say that people can be born with certain inclinations. For example, we know that babies can be born with certain chemical dependencies or deficiencies that can be inherited from their parents or a result of the habits of their parents. This is a far cray from stating definitively that someone can be “born gay.”
Finally, you ask, “Why is it that you feel you need to teach man to ignore the true nature God created him with? Do you think you know better than the Creator?” Again, given what we’ve just examined thus far, humanity no longer exists in the same state in which God created him. God created man to be holy, righteous, and good, but the fall corrupted man’s original created nature, so now that nature is prone to all kinds of evil and debauchery. This was evident rather early on in biblical history, as told in Genesis 6: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5 NKJV). This was the preface to the judgment of God seen in the worldwide flood in Noah’s days. This is but a picture of a far worse judgment to come that Jesus predicted:
[37] "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:37-39 NKJV)
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to save sinners, and we’re all sinners. Homosexuality is one of many ways in which the sinful nature of man manifests itself. Interestingly, in every passage in the NT that lists the sin of homosexuality, there are sins included that everyone would be guilty of committing. But as Jesus told Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV). Jesus died to bear the wrath of God for all those who would place their faith and trust in Him, including homosexuals. I close with the words of the Apostle Paul:
[9] 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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, [10] nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. [11] And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NKJV)
Paul notes in v. 11 that the Corinthian congregation contained people who were guilty of all the things mentioned in vv. 9-10, but he says, “and such were some of you.” The gospel of Jesus Christ liberates us from our sinful inclinations and makes us new men and women in Christ.
I hope this helps.
~ Pastor Carl
