What Does The Bible Say About Homosexual Marriage?

by Micky Galloway

Many years ago, in Malvern, AR, I preached a sermon with a rather lengthy Bible text we were going to discuss in the lesson. I made some comment about the length of the reading and preached my lesson. After the service an old gospel preacher came to me and said, “Never apologize for the reading of the text. When you are reading from the text, you know you got that part right!” Truer words were never spoken. Often we do too much talking about the text instead of reading the text. What does the Bible say about homosexual marriage? Some say that the Bible does not condemn homosexual marriage. Let’s just read the text and we’ll have that part right.

Genesis 19:4-11, “But before they lay down, the men of the city, (even) the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men that came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out unto them to the door, and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters that have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only unto these men do nothing, forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge. Now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.” Verse 24 continues, “Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.”

Leviticus 18:22-23, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion.”

Leviticus 20:13, “And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

Judges 19:22-30, “As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not any such folly. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold. And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel. And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

Romans 1:26-28, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed 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 unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due. And even as they refused to have God in (their) knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”

I Corinthians 6:9-10, “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, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (NKJV).

II Peter 2:6-7, “and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked.”

Jude 7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.”

Now if you are reading from the Bible and come to the conclusion that these clear texts condemn the practice of homosexuality, perhaps you will ask, “How then, can otherwise intelligent people, who act in other matters as honest people, claim that homosexuality is approved of God?”

Here is the answer offered by the editors of the “Queen James Bible.” (Yes, it exists.) Note these quotations. “What We Changed …” “The Bible says nothing about homosexuality. However, there might be no other argument in contemporary faith as heated as what the Bible is interpreted to say about homosexuality. The Bible is the word of God translated by man. This (saying nothing countless translations and the evolution of language itself) means the Bible can be interpreted in different ways, leading to what we call ‘interpretive ambiguity.’ In editing The Queen James Bible we were faced with the decision to modify existing interpretively ambiguous language, or simply to delete it … We edited the Bible to prevent homophobic interpretations. We made changes to eight verses. Our edits are as follows …”

For a comparison of the KJV text with the “edits” of the QJV, visit our website, www.fifthstreeteast.com, and look for the sermon outline, “Same Sex Marriage & The Queen James Bible,” from 6/30/13.

In the article last week, we noted the N.Y. Times report of the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision that dissenting Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said, “… If you are among the many Americans … who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today’s decision … Celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. Celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. Celebrate the availability of new benefits. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it” (Adam Liptak, June 26, 2015).

Let me add, that those who celebrate this decision to redefine the foundation of marriage; indeed, you may have a lot to celebrate, but do not celebrate the Bible, or faith in God. God and His word had nothing to do with it. This is just another example of those who glorify “Him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools … And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:21-28). Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun” NKJV.