It is hard to escape the conflict over sodomy which has taken over the major public forums in recent years. Those protesting that their commitment to sodomy causes them to be treated unfairly staged a massive protest April 25, 1993, in Washington D.C. The protest was written up on the front pages of both newspapers we receive. The editorial spin was that homosexuals are finally getting their due respect.

Leaving the issue of civil rights for the moment, let's ask, "What does God say about homosexuality?" In addition to Romans 1, two texts which address this question are 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10.

Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9b,10)

Law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers-and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:9-10)

After reading such passages the question is asked, "Yes, but are all homosexual acts condemned here?"

The answer is clearly 'yes.' The Greek translated by 'homosexual offenders' in 1 Corinthians 9 and 'perverts' in 1 Timothy 1:10 (arsenokoites) is defined in Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon as "one who lies with a male as with a female, a sodomite." In their Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich define it as follows: "a male who practices homosexuality, pederast, sodomite."

What is the meaning of this word 'sodomite' and where does it come from?

Genesis 13:13 records the following about Sodom:

Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Later in Genesis 18 we read:

Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me." (Genesis 18:20,21)

There follows a long bargaining session in which Abraham seeks to save Sodom depending on how many "righteous people" are found within the city. As a result of Abraham's pleas, God agrees to spare Sodom if as few as ten righteous men are found there.

Then the investigation begins. To the reader it is clear the investigation reaches a swift conclusion as the direct result of the "wicked thing" which the men of Sodom sought to carry out-the sodomizing of sojourners in their midst:

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.... Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing." (Genesis 19:1,4-7)

In Ezekiel we have one of a number of places where Sodom's sin is mentioned. It did not begin or end with sodomy; sodomy only displayed the extreme depth of her decadence:

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them.... (Ezekiel 16:49,50a)

Down through time a reference to 'Sodom' has been synonymous with apocalyptic judgement by God, and 'sodomy' has referred to any unnatural act of sexual gratification between members of the same sex, whether consensual and monogamous, or non-consensual and promiscuous.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'sodomy' as: "An unnatural form of sexual intercourse, esp. that of one male with another." Citations go all the way back to 1297, including Calvin, Wycliffe, Jeremy Taylor, Tyndale, Coverdale, and Swift.

The Westminster Confession lists sodomy as one of the sins proscribed by the Seventh Commandment: "The sins forbidden... are: adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts..."

In Jude Scripture again points to Sodom:

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 7)

Calvin notes that the sin was not just that of sexual violence, but the very kind of sexual violence which these men sought was perverse and therefore brought an added measure of God's judgement:

In (Sodom and Gomorrah's) time God set forth a striking demonstration, to impress His fear upon men, even to the end of time. And so it is mentioned very frequently in Scripture. As often as the prophets desire to mark some memorable or fearful judgement of God, and paint it in terms of that fire and brimstone, they make allusion to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. Good reason, then, for Jude to bring forward the same image to deter all ages (from) unnatural lusts. We know that the Sodomites were not satisfied with the ordinary way of fornication, but were stained with a more loathsome and filthy practice, contrary to nature. Note that (God) consigned them to eternal fire...." (Commentary on Jude)

What are the stakes in the current battle over sodomy? Brigitte and Peter Berger in their book, The War Over the Family; Capturing the Middle Ground (Garden City: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1983), quote Allan Carlson:

Disruptive human relationships existent since the beginning of social life, but always discouraged or restrained in healthy and growing societies-homosexuality, unsanctioned sexual cohabitation, and promiscuity-have been elevated to family status by a simple semantic change. And normative standards-far from being parochial, oppressive, or pathological-are in fact the very defining elements of all culture. Without "single standards" guiding human acts such as mating, reproduction, and the nurturing of children, social life rapidly falls prey to anarchy and nihilism.

Those of us who know that what Scripture says, God says, must be willing to bring its truths, God's revealed Moral Law, to bear on the idolatries of our culture. If Sodom's end was recorded in the pages of the Bible "as an example," we ought to use this example to instruct those around us who are on this same path towards eternal destruction. To fail to do so is to fail to love our neighbor. If we choose to get a good grade in class, to protect our best chances of getting tenure, or to stay on good terms with our co-workers, over speaking God's Truth to those who are lost and without hope in this world, we are choosing saving our lives over losing them for His sake.

Current lies utilizing euphemism ('sexual preference' or 'gay'), adhominem attack ('homophobe'), and the dishonest interpretation of God's Word ("Scripture doesn't really condemn sodomy, it only condemns promiscuous sodomy.") ought to be answered lovingly and directly by Christians.

All men and women are sinners. There are those who hear the voice of the Holy Spirit convicting the world "of sin, righteousness, and judgment," who repent and are forgiven. But there are also those who demand to be accepted by God just as they are-by that not meaning to cast themselves on God's mercy for forgiveness and purification, but rather to demand that they be accepted in their present sinful condition without repentance.

Such people declare open warfare on God's Truth, bringing on themselves His judgement.

But, thanks be to Jesus, all those who cast themselves on God for mercy confessing their sins and asking to be made pure will be forgiven, made holy, and welcomed into Heaven:

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 1:5-2:2)