Romans One: Homosexuality and the Bible

John of AllFaith's
Biblical Questions
Biblical Answers

Correctly Understanding Romans One A Study by Pastor John © 1999 (revised 8-1-2006)

(For more information on the Bible and Homosexuality visit http://allfaith.com/Grace/romans1.html)

To begin with, please read Romans chapter 1. I'll be using the Authorized King James Version throughout. As editions do vary, I'd recommend using the KJV now. Later you can check the newer paraphrases if you'd like.

Our CONTEXT begins at 1:15 and 16:

"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Paul, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, begins the topic by stating that he is talking about the Gospel of Jesus and how it must be preached and practiced, and how those who love God will accept it joyfully. We note, for the purposes of this study, that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) Christians do accept the Gospel both readily and joyfully. This study exists to demonstrate that neither the Bible in general or Romans 1 in particular prohibits this community from accepting and living the Gospel fully.

Verse 18:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven onto those who hold this truth in unrighteousness. We are therefore speaking of people who hold God's spiritual Truth and salvation in unrighteousness, i.e.. we are discussing abuses which are done in the name of religious truth. Devout Christians do not knowingly do this regardless of the sexual orientation.

Verse 19:

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them.

"Because that which may be known of God..." Again, religious truth is the topic, not sexual orientation or even sexual morality. 'That which may be known' of God' is that which has been revealed in the Holy Scriptures and by the Holy Spirit. These things attest to God's righteousness and should be honored.

Verse 20:

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

From what is visible we should know the invisible, i.e. God and God's truths are revealed through our senses. We can behold the handiwork of God all around us if we but look and these things confirm the existence of God, hence we have no excuse to deny God's existence.

Verse 21:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

These people being discussed knew God but chose to submit themselves to their "vain imagines" rather than to God. In other words, they invented new forms of religion, forms that satisfied their base urges and ungodly desires. We are still discussing religion here not sexuality.

Verses 22, 23:

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

These people claimed to be wise in their spiritual beliefs, and yet they were foolish, rejecting the true God, they worshiped false idols and "changed the glory of God into an image..." and worshiped that rather than the true God. Still, we're talking about religious practices and abuses, not sexuality. The Roman Empire, which would include Jewish Palestine, was filled with such worship. Pagan temples offered everything desirable and blasphemed the Creator of heaven and earth. Paul here condemns such worship.

Verse 24:

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

"WHEREFORE..." Wherefore, i.e. because they rejected God and worshiped idols and followed the paths of their vain imaginations rather than worshiping the One True God... FOR THIS REASON God gave these people up to their lusts.

The CONTEXT of these lusts is the unauthorized desire-based religious practices of the day. These have nothing to do with modern day consensual sexual relationships, whether they be heterosexual or homosexual.

As was common throughout the very religious Roman Empire, such idol worship INCLUDED sexual 'sacrifices' and rites wherein the worshiper engaged in 'sex magic' with temple priests and/or priestesses in the guise of spiritual ecstasy -- AS THOUGH the temple prostitute were the Pagan deity incarnate. THUS, the context here has NOTHING to do with contemporary homosexuality among Christians (or otherwise).

Verse 25:

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

"WHO..." i.e. these people engaging in ritual sex magic and worshiping the Pagan idols, who were "exchanging the truth of God for a lie," and who were committing idolatry through their sex rites and thereby serving the created images and their own carnal desires rather than the true God, who alone is blessed for ever.

Verses 26, 27:

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

"FOR THIS REASON..." i.e. because these people exchanged the worship of the true God for idols and sex rites, God "gave them up" to their own carnal desires.

The natural use or purpose of sexuality according to the Bible is procreation AND building/sustaining strong marital relationships (comp. I Cor 7:2). These people however were using their sexuality "against nature" by employing it to worship the idols of false gods. Through such sexual activities they sought two basic goals: One was the physical pleasures of sexual congress and the other, perhaps more significant in this context, was the promised spiritual union with their gods and the acquiring of benefits thereof. This is not the goal of sexuality intended by God but as these people willfully rejected God, they were allowed to go their own ways. Again, this was very common at the time throughout the empire.

These worshipers were "working that which is unseemly." The use of the word "working" shows that there was a specific end result in mind, i.e. earning the blessings of the Pagan deities, the normal reason for all idolatry. All they received for their "work" however was venereal diseases "...and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was fitting..." The sex cults throughout the empire were hotbeds of sexual diseases and the worshipers often became infected.

THOSE WHO TWIST these scriptures by saying they refer to HIV in our contemporary culture -- and I know some of you are out there! -- need to consider that this verse is the only one in the Bible that can be TWISTED to include lesbians. Lesbians remain among the lowest at risk for HIV and, after years of education, the gay male community is no longer the highest at-risk group. If this dreadful illness were God's wrath against homosexuals neither would be the case, nor would children be so at risk, nor the disabled, nor those in need of blood transfusions etc..

Verse 28:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge...." The subject is still religious faith; it has not changed. These people did not want to acknowledge the true God's existence. They preferred to worship idols of their own imaginings and trust in dangerous sex rites for their salvation. AGAIN AND STILL the subject matter, the context, is not homosexuality but idolatry coupled with sex rites, heterosexual AND homosexual. FOR THIS REASON, because of their spiritual harlotry, God gave them over to a "reprobate mind" and allowed them to believe that their false worship was approved by God when in reality, they were in direct opposition to God's holy will due to their pseudo-spiritual abuses.

In sharp contrast with this, LGBT Christian ministries are growing like wild fire, individual independent churches, groups like the Alliance of Christian Churches, the Gay Pentecostal Alliance, The Evangelical Network, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches and so on, are now home to thousands of sincere homosexual followers of Jesus who WANT God in their knowledge, their minds, their hearts and in their lives just as other Christians do. In addition to these ministries, more and more mainline churches and denominations are becoming "reconciling and affirming" of LGBT people. This fact alone demonstrates that these verses are not referring to gay and lesbian Christian people. As with any other community, lesbians and gays vary as to their acceptance and understandings of the Gospel message. A very large percentage of those who are not pro-Jesus have had their hearts hardened by abuses which well meaning Christians have subjected them to. The Church is failing miserably at evangelizing this community and will doubtless be held accountable by the one who said "Whoever comes unto Me I will in no case reject."

Verse 29-31:

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents; without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:"

What resulted from their being "given over to a reprobate mind?" As a result of their religious rebellion against God, these developed the various moral weaknesses described in these verses. LGBT Christians, as all other Believers, seek to avoid such traits in their lives.

Verse 32:

Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

"Who knowing..." i.e. the people being discussed in the previous verses, these idolatrous worshipers who are filled with all unrighteousness etc., "knowing the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of death..." That idolatry merited the death penalty for Jews under the Mosaic Law is clear. As I explained elsewhere however, despite the two verses in Leviticus which are sometimes cited, homosexuality is not a capital offense nor even negatively commented upon in the Torah.

CONTEXT IS ESSENTIAL in understanding the Word.God loves YOU
Just as YOU are!

The Virgin Birth and Isaiah 7:14 in Context

"The Earth belongs to יהוה and the Fullness Thereof."

Looking at Isaiah 7:14 in Context

By John of AllFaith © 1991

(For more, Visit the Noahide Nazarene Way

According to Christians, Matthew 1:23 explicitly refers to this section of Isaiah and foretells the conception and birth of Rebbe Yeshua of Nazareth to Mary, an unmarried teenage virgin. They see in this solid evidence that Rebbe Yeshua was the Messiah. Here we'll consider these verses in context in order to determine what is being taught. First, Matthew's account:

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

In this study, we will consider whether or not this is an accurate reference to the Isaiah passage. Ordinarily when studying such questions we begin with the text in the Tanakh in order to determine its meaning, and then address the New Testament reference. In this case however we begin with the New Testament in order to keep the question clearly in mind as we go through the verses in Holy Writ.
In order to understand the context of the verse in Isaiah we will begin at the beginning of the chapter.

Isaiah 7:

1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
3 Then said יהוה unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;
4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
7 Thus saith the Lord יהוה, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

The situation looks hopeless to Ahaz and the House of David, his people. According to the New JPS (see below for the 1917 JPS) the armies approached "but they were not able to attack it." In either case, when Ahaz learned that Aram's alliance with Ephraim had been achieved they were very worried! They were outnumbered and their enemies were approaching. There seemed to be no hope. However יהוה provided them hope! He ordered his prophet Isaiah to meet with King Ahaz and assure him that he and his people, the House of David, would survive. The prophet told Ahaz that the thing he feared "will not take place" In order to build Ahaz's faith, in the next few verses יהוה explains how things will go with the various peoples involved:

8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

It was vital that Ahaz and his followers have faith in יהוה. It was in the mind of God to save them and preserve the House of David among them, however they needed to have faith and to rely on God's protection. Yet both Ahaz and his people continued to doubt. This was very important and so יהוה offered Ahaz a remarkable boon:

10 Moreover יהוה spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11 Ask thee a sign of יהוה thy Elohiym; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

Notice here the reason Ahaz was offered a sign. He could ask for any sign that would bolster his faith in God's protection, for both himself and his people. The purpose of the sign was to rally the morale of the people involved, to satisfy their doubts at that time and to give them courage. And yet for reasons not made clear in the text, Ahaz refused to ask for a sign when prompted by יהוה's spokesman! His given reason sounds good at first listen, very pious, but I believe the real reason he refused to ask was because Ahaz was a coward! If יהוה gave Ahaz the proof, then Ahaz would have to act upon it! One cannot trick the יהוה however:

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt יהוה.
13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore Adonai [the Lord] himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. 17 יהוה shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

You have no faith, Isaiah charges. Not only do you try my patience, but יהוה's as well! OK then, the Lord will give you a sign so that you will stand firm before your enemies!
Who was this sign for? This is very important! Re-read the section if you need to: "... Therefore Adonai [the Lord] himself shall give you a sign..." Was this sign given for people living 800 plus years in Ahaz's future? Did it have anything at all to do with the coming of the promised Shiloh? No, clearly it was for Ahaz and the House of David, so that they would stand against the enemies of יהוה. This sign was for the Jews huddled there in fear and indecision waiting for Ahaz to lead them.
Some Bible teachers have argued that since the text says the sign is for the House of David, "Hear now, you house of David," it is for the House of David for all times. But notice verse 2, "Now the house of David was told..." The House of David יהוה is clearly speaking to, through His Prophet, are the followers of Ahaz present at that time and place and fearful of their enemies.
"Therefore..." Because of something... Because of what? Because these people were afraid to do their duty to יהוה. "Therefore, יהוה himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." יהוה will give "you," Ahaz and your followers, a sign that He is with you.
Is this sign a virgin conception? The word translated as virgin is "almah." Any Hebrew dictionary will tell you that this word does not mean "virgin," it means "maiden" or "girl." That's all it means. Strong's number for it is 5959 (Hebrew), look it up! Had Isaiah been inspired to say this was a virgin, he would have called her a "bethuwlah" (Strong's 1330), the word he uses for "virgin" every other time (as does Jeremiah and others). The passage therefore should read, as it does in the JPS:

"Therefore the L-rd Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Or as in the 1917 KJP:

"Assuredly, my L-rd will give you a sign of His own accord! Look, the young woman is with child and about to give birth to a son. Let her name him Immanuel."

In context, there is no way the verse is referring to a girl giving birth to a child 800 years or so in the future! What kind of sign is that? "I know you are all afraid these two kings are going to attack you, but here's a sign: 800 years from now a girl is going to have a baby!" I don't know about you, but that wouldn't help me much!
Its worth noting that when Mary's son was born 800 years later, she named him Yeshua (Hebrew for the Greek Jesus), not Immanuel. Yeshua, "Yah shua" means "YHVH Saves" while Immanuel, which is a proper name, means, "God is with us." IF this was indeed a prophecy concerning the child, his mother misnamed him!
How and why such biblically inaccurate teachings came about is discussed in some detail in my study entitled The Noahide Nazarene Way.
In context it is clear: Isaiah is telling Ahaz, if you wont ask for a sign and stand willingly, then God will give you one! See that pregnant girl over there? By the time her son (note that יהוה foretold the child's gender) is old enough to choose right from wrong the kings you fear will be done for! Now that's a sign that would help! As a reminder to Ahaz and his follower that יהוה cares for them, the child was named "God is with us" (Immanuel)! We continue with the text:

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that יהוה shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

If one wishes to 'rightly divide the Word of Truth' as we are commanded, it is absolutely essential to examine the context of the verses in order to discover and preserve the original intent of the authors. Without doing this, any verse in the Bible can be a proof text for anything one wishes to teach.

This has been a basic summary of our Noahide Nazarene beliefs concerning Isaiah chapter seven. More information is available in the other articles on this web site and this article may be updated from time to time.
Do be aware that no official body speaks for Noahide Nazarenes (or for Noahides in general). Each of us must prayerfully study to show ourselves approved unto יהוה.
Shalom,
~John of AllFaith
AKA Ben Ruach haKodesh
(11.29.1991)



Yisheyah 6 in the 1917 JPS

(JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY BIBLE).

1: And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it; but could not prevail against it.
2: And it was told the house of David, saying: 'Aram is confederate with Ephraim.' And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind.
3: Then said HaShem unto Isaiah: 'Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers' field;
4: and say unto him: Keep calm, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.
5: Because Aram hath counselled evil against thee, Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying:
6: Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel;
7: thus saith the L-rd GOD: it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
8: For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people;
9: And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not have faith, surely ye shall not be established.'
10: And HaShem spoke again unto Ahaz, saying:
11: 'Ask thee a sign of HaShem thy G-d: ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.'
12: But Ahaz said: 'I will not ask, neither will I try HaShem.'
13: And he said: 'Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my G-d also?
14: Therefore the L-rd Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15: Curd and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16: Yea, before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou hast a horror of shall be forsaken.
17: HaShem shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.'
18: And it shall come to pass in that day, that HaShem shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19: And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the rugged valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all brambles.
20: In that day shall the L-rd shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also sweep away the beard.
21: And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall rear a young cow, and two sheep;
22: and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give, he shall eat curd; for curd and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.
23: And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall even be for briers and thorns.
24: With arrows and with bow shall one come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
25: And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

John of AllFaith's Blog

John of AllFaith's Blog

Welcome to the Allfaith.com Blog

Hi,

I'm John of AllFaith.

I'm the owner of AllFaith.com where you will find lots religious studies from various religions, many are not what you might expect!

From time to time, I'll be posting certain of these studies and observations here. If you are interested in more, I encourage you to visit AllFaith.com.

If you have questions of a religious nature, chances are, I have answers. Post your questions or read my previous answers at John of Allfaith's Questions and Answers

In case you're interested, I hold a Calvary Chapel (Christian) Ordination, an independent Missionary Baptist (Christian) ordination, an MA in Religious Studies from JFKU, an ordination in Ministry and Spiritual Counseling from the Interfaith Seminaries, an ordination from the Universal Life Church, and am Pastor Emeritus of Grace Inclusive Church.

To varying degrees I have worked and studied with many different groups. I attained the position of Vaisnava brahmana within the International Society for KRSNA Consciousness and within the Sri Gopinath Gaudiya Math (both members of the greater Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya). I'm a former student of Swami Muktinanda's Sidha Yoga Foundation and an initiate of the Yoga Society (of Sri Ramamurti Mishra). I was initiated as a Welsh Traditionalist Pagan priest. I have been a Wahabi Sunni Muslim. I've been a Taoist and a member of various Buddhist sects, including the Dharmad Hatu of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I've been involved with various Hindu sects from diverse traditions. I've delved into the Occult Arts and the teachings of Gurdjieff, Madame Blavatsky and others. I've worked, worshipped and studied closely with numerous Christian denominations and movements including Missionary, Primitive, Seventh day, and Southern Baptists, Roman and Eastern Orthodox. I've been one of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses, a Pentecostal, a Charismatic, Methodist and an active member of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), etc. I was a Missionary to Central America, carried a 12x6 foot wooden cross on my back from Atlanta Georgia to San Antonia Texas, and have been involved with numerous other groups and movements too numerous to mention, although more is mentioned in Mystory and my Religious Studies sections.

All this and eighty bucks will buy my next tank of gas! (Can you believe these prices! Sheesh!)