More middle and high schoolers are coming out and identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Does God hate them for it? Does God love them just as they are? When that friend, co-worker, or sibling comes up to you and tells you of their LGBTQ+ sexual orientation, how should we respond as a Christian?
Does God love gay people? Let’s discuss it.
The short answer to this big question is yes — but that merely skims the surface of this iceberg. God loves everyone. The biggest example of His love is when Jesus Christ died for our sins. The very act of Him taking on our sins was because He loved us! His love is phrased in this way by Paul in Romans 5, verse eight, saying, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” However, are you familiar with the concept of “hating the sin, loving the sinner”? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening here. God loves everyone but cannot affirm or accept an LGBTQ+ sexual orientation.
Does God love the person? Yes.
Does God love/accept the action of homosexuality? No.
Why is “hate the sin, love the sinner” so difficult to hear when discussing LGBTQ+ matters? Why do many people assume that if they identify as gay, God cannot love them? The answer is simple: the person is choosing to identify with that sin. Identifying as gay becomes a part of their lifestyle and their identity. It’s almost a natural question to ask, “If God does not accept this part of my identity, how could He love me?” Another way to phrase this concept would be instead of someone saying, “I have lied,” it would be “I am a liar.” Instead of “I have stolen something,” it is “I am a thief.” As we try to be more like Christ, identifying with our sin will only hinder us from that pursuit. As Christians, we are to identify as Christ’s children first and foremost, not with our sexual orientations.
But why does God not affirm and accept homosexuality? When responding to this question, going back to the Bible is crucial. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” We must use the Word of God to see how God wants us to live, and it clearly shows that homosexuality is a sin.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (emphasis mine). Some argue that the word “homosexuality” used in this verse is used out of context. The word here, they say, is specifically talking about homosexual acts that are corrupt or exploitative, but other homosexual relationships are okay. However, if you go to the Greek text, the word Paul uses here is ἀρσενοκοῖται (arsenokoitai). Arsenokoitai is actually a combination of two words: arseno (meaning “a male”) and koitai (meaning “bed,” “lie with,” or “sleeping”). So the literal translation for the word “homosexuality” in 1 Corinthians 6:9 would be “men who lie with a male.” The word’s intended meaning in that verse does not give any hints that it only means exploitative homosexual relationships, but homosexual relationships in general. Furthermore, in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), arsenokoitai appears twice in the Old Testament: Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13. And in both of those verses, it is explicitly clear that the act of homosexuality is a sin.
Now that we’ve discussed this matter further, how should we approach someone who’s asked this question? There are three simple things we should do as Christians:
(1) Pray
The topic of homosexuality and God can be a sensitive and controversial one, and in response, we need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit for the right words to say and a heart of empathy. In James chapter one, James encourages and says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (Jas. 1:5).
(2) Listen and have compassion
It is a great start for someone to ask this question, and as Christians, our job is to love them and listen to their story. As Jesus tells us, we are to love as He loved us (John 13:34). When having a conversation with someone who’s asked this question, we need to be thoughtful in our response. There are those in the Christian community, unfortunately, who have painted a narrative of an unloving God to those in the LGBTQ+ community. As Christians, we need to show them how God loves them so deeply and desires a relationship with them.
(3) Go to the Bible
Jesus, in John 8, describes His Word as truth (Jn. 8:32), so our response should be rooted in the Word of God. As Paul says in the book of Ephesians, our response needs to be done in love (Eph. 4:15). We must speak the truth in love. The Word of God should be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Ps. 119:105), so let the Word guide you to good and productive conversations.
Does God love gay people? Yes.
God loves them deeply and he desires a relationship with them. However, He cannot accept what He rejects. We can see that homosexuality is deemed a sin in the Bible. But, as anyone who has sinned knows, God’s arms are opened wide to them and desire to transform their lives and live as God desires them to live.
Written by Grace Morris