First of all, I need to define "moral." I see this word in the biggest sense. I mean something bigger than "ethical" or "legal." Something is "moral" if it is being, behaving and functioning according to God's original purpose in creation. Something is "moral" if it reflects "the glory of God." Something is "immoral" if it falls short of the glory of God. Of course, that means that none of us ever functions in a completely moral way. All of us have immoral elements in our being and behaving. It's also true that some expressions of "immorality" are viewed in society as more "normal" and therefore somewhat acceptable - even for Jesus followers. I'm trying to wrap my head around God's view of the whole thing, and therefore must rely on the revelation of God in Scripture to draw some conclusions about the issue of sexual immorality.
First of all, I found 75 passages of Scripture that deal with sexual immorality; 70 in a heterosexual context and 5 in a homosexual context. The root issue was the ancient view that women were owned by men, and could be used sexually without any sense of wrong doing. And that included men using women sexually who were members of their own family. Incest is a frequent example of sexual immorality (cf. Leviticus 18:6), including having sex with one's mother (Leviticus 18:7), step-mother (Leviticus 18:8; 20:11), sister or step-sister (Leviticus 18:9, 11; 20:17, 19), grand-daughter (Leviticus 18:10), aunt (Leviticus 18:12-14, 20), daughter-in-law (Leviticus 18:15, 18; 20:12), sister-in-law (Leviticus 18:16), or any female relative of your wife (Leviticus 18:17). In other words, when a male member of a family views female family members as belonging to him, justifying treating any of them as sexual objects, it is immoral. In fact, I don't think it's too much too say that the tendency of men to treat women as sexual objects is the core issue of sexual immorality.
All instances of sex outside of a committed, covenant marriage relationship are immoral (Leviticus 18:20; Numbers 5:20; 25:1).
The Old Testament also forbids humans from having sexual contact with animals (Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:23; 20:15-16; Deuteronomy 27:21). Which raises an interesting point. Why would anyone ever be tempted to have sexual contact with an animal? (or some kind of physical sex toy?) If the object is finding some level of pleasure sexually, it doesn't really matter how you get it? Personal pleasure is the object, not meaningful, fulfilling human interaction. And the fact that these behaviors are also addictive only complicates matters.
It's in this larger context that the Bible addresses the issue of same-sex relations. Here is a complete account of the Bible's statements about homosexuality. “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable” (Leviticus 18:22). “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable” (Leviticus 20:13). The view is very simple: men having sex with men and women having sex with women is not how God designed it in the beginning. In the New Testament, Paul's sin list in Romans chapter one includes homosexuality. As is true in all of the sin lists, the core issue is idolatry. It's the worship of "other gods," and ultimately of one's self, that leads to sinful and self-centered, self-indulgent behaviors. Paul's list includes greed, envy, strife, deceit, malice, gossipers, slanderers, the insolent, boastful, arrogant, those disobedient to parents, those with no fidelity, love or mercy. In the midst of this list Paul states, "Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men” (Romans 1:26-27). There are two other passages of Scripture that mention the issue of homosexuality. In the midst of Paul's general teaching on sin in First Timothy 1:9-11 he includes "those practicing homosexuality," along with "rebels, the ungodly, liars and perjurers." And finally, Jude 1:7 refers to those who "gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion" in Sodom and Gomorrah.
It seems like there is a general issue of human sin, of our tendency to be self-centered, self-serving, and self-indulgent. If taken far enough, it leads us to exploit and victimize other human beings, treating them as objects. And our fallen human bodies and brains tend to reinforce those behaviors. Everyone struggles with these issues. And the solution is the same for everyone: Agreeing with God that we all have issues, we are all broken and fall short of God's glory, God's best plan for our lives. (This is called "confession.") Having been honest about it, the next step is to turn our hearts toward God, acknowledging that the grace of God alone has the power to forgive, heal and restore. (This is called "repentance.") While we are struggling with our personal broken tendencies and patterns, we must also recognize that everyone makes personal moral choices, and that we are responsible for those choices. It is not necessary to deny our sinful tendencies in order to make godly moral choices.
At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that "sin is sin." We may find some forms of sexual immorality more "normal" and therefore "tolerable," while we find others intolerable. That simply reflects our personal preferences and not God's view of sin. We are all broken. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. And we all need God's grace, God's love, God's salvation, equally. So while we are receiving grace from the Lord, we are also committed to being redemptive instruments of God's grace in the lives of others.
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