Why Study Christianity and Homosexuality?

1.  Jesus is Lord.  As Christians, our behavior is subject to the Holy Word of God and all believers are accountable to the Lord.  As his disciples, we demonstrate our love for him through obedience to his commands (John 15:10).  We must, therefore, understand what his commands are.

2.  Our Mission: To Set The Captive Free!  This task, left to us by the Lord himself, is the heart of our concern.  The Scriptures declare that God has set us free from the Law; free to be who God created us to be; free to love him and each other (Galatians 5:1, 13-14), Jesus said that knowledge of the truth would bring freedom (John 8:32).  The combination of love and truth brings about changed character enabling the maturation process in people; which is conformity to the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15)

3.  Standing By The Truth.  We must share the truth with all who will listen.  If challenged, we will be ready to give a defense for the truth of the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15)

4.  Our Mission Defined.  Before the return of Jesus for his bride, the church must return to its first love (Revelation 19:7).  It is a love freely extended to all; as Jesus loved, so we must love one another.  Much of the church has forgotten its primary responsibility to be the light of the world and instead is consumed with bringing discrimination and condemnation.  Some have forgotten that no one comes to God the Father except those he invites (John 14:6); all who believe are joined to his family and in all its diversity, this family must learn to love (John 13:34-35).

5.  Reshaping The Image.  It is our responsibility to study and understand the truth and model it to the world through his church (2 Timothy 2:15).  This modeling will reshape the image of homosexuality from the stereotype that has brought such condemnation to an understanding that God has made all of us and to all of us his grace is extended.  Only then will freedom reign.  We must seize the moment.  It was for such a time as this that God has raised up those who live by the Spirit.  The prevalence of the myth has kept misunderstanding in charge for centuries causing pain and suffering not only for gay people, but for their families and friends.  We now have the opportunity to break the curse and set many captives free (Esther 4:14).  The captives are on both sides of the issue.  Knowledge of the truth will loose the bonds and set us all free to love one another just as Christ has commanded us.

Biblical Perspective

The basis of the research contained in this pamphlet and all the conclusions and positions taken herein have at their center the understanding that the Bible is the Word of God and in its original format is without error.  It was written by inspired men, appointed and anointed by God for that purpose.  It reveals the character of God, the almighty creator of everything that is; who through his only Son, Jesus, redeemed the lost creation from sin that had separated mankind from their creator.  He gave them new life through regeneration and renewal (new birth) by the Holy Spirit.

The biblical approach is inductive by method.  This eliminates a great deal of assumption and traditional teaching.  Every attempt not to bring pre-conceived ideas and beliefs which can only prejudice our understanding of the Scriptures has been made.  In the belief that through objectively letting the Scriptures speak for themselves through their original languages, we can reach the truth of these issues.  The English translations are at best “translations” where often meanings of words are sometimes lost or changed because the original text is not clearly understood or there is no comparable word in English to describe the Hebrew or Greek expression.  In some translations, traditional points of view are perpetuated with a seeming disregard for the clear text in the original language.  With these rules of interpretation, this study attempts to discover what the Bible (God’s Word) is and is not saying about the subject of homosexuality.

The researchers and editors of this study are fundamental interpreters of the Scriptures and conservative in their point of view using the most orthodox references and scholarly commentaries.  Primarily, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament were used for the objective basis of this study.  Other scholarly works are referenced and noted throughout the study.

The Bible itself combined with these other writings form the basis of the hope that is within us.  Subjectively, we have the witness of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus clearly taught would lead us into all truth.  On him we rely heavily and we pray that all who want to come to a knowledge of the truth will lean on the witness of the Spirit himself without whose counsel none of us could know any truth about God.