📖 Biblical Definition
Scripture addresses homosexual practice as a departure from God's created order for human sexuality. God established marriage as the union of one man and one woman: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). The Holiness Code prohibits homosexual acts: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" (Leviticus 18:22). Paul describes homosexual practice as a consequence of humanity's rejection of God: "exchanging natural relations for those that are contrary to nature" (Romans 1:26-27). Yet Scripture also offers hope: "such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified" (1 Corinthians 6:11). The biblical position holds together the truth that homosexual practice is sin and the truth that Christ redeems sinners.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The term was not in use in 1828. Webster defined related practices under "sodomy."
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SOD'OMY, n. A crime against nature. Webster defined the practice in the language of his era, categorizing it among offenses against the natural moral law. The 19th-century understanding reflected the consistent Christian moral tradition stretching back through the Reformers, the Church Fathers, and the apostles to Moses.
📖 Key Scripture
• Genesis 2:24 — "A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
• Leviticus 18:22 — "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."
• Romans 1:26-27 — "Their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature."
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 — "Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The biblical sexual ethic has been reinterpreted, relativized, or silenced by cultural pressure.
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The revisionist approach to Scripture on this topic takes several forms. Some claim the Bible only condemns exploitative homosexual acts, not committed same-sex relationships — a distinction unknown in the text. Others argue that Paul's words were culturally conditioned and no longer binding. Still others simply assert that love overrides all moral categories. Each of these approaches requires reading something into the text that is not there while ignoring what plainly is. The biblical witness is consistent from Genesis to Revelation: sexual union is designed by God for one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage. This is not one opinion among many — it is the unified testimony of Scripture across both Testaments. The church is called to hold together two truths without compromise: homosexual practice is sin, and Christ offers forgiveness and transformation to all sinners.
Usage
• "Scripture addresses homosexual practice clearly in both Testaments. The revisionist readings require the text to say the opposite of what it plainly states."
• "The gospel does not affirm us in our sin. It rescues us from it. 'Such were some of you' is the hope the church must proclaim."