Can you be a gay Christian?

Can you claim Christianity and be gay or transgender? Is embracing homosexuality or transgenderism ever obedience to God? For Bible-believing Christians, there is only one answer: NO.

Some Christians think, “Well, in an ideal world, transgenderism wouldn't be a problem. But we live in a fallen world. Maybe the “loving” thing to do is just affirm people in their beliefs, welcome them as they are… and wait for Jesus to make all things right… After all, we all sin, so we just need to be loving…”

At first, this may sound compassionate, kind, loving. After all, Christians do believe that we live in a fallen world, that people struggle with sin and brokenness, and that Christ will ultimately make all things new.

But this argument has a serious problem.

The fact that we live in a fallen world does not mean that Christians are called to affirm the evil in the world. Actually, it is quite the opposite. Jesus calls us to be salt on the earth and light in the darkness. And what does light do when it enters darkness? It reveals dark deeds and dispels the shadows.

Saint Paul tells us that Christians cannot simply sit back and allow the world to determine what is culturally acceptable, morally good, or true.

Saint Paul writes:

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 10:5

This means Christians are called to think critically, know God's Word, recognize false ideas, and bring the truth of God's Word into a dark world in order to expose the darkness.

That is how Jesus Christ loved the world. He came declaring that He is Lord, not only over the Jewish establishment, but over the entire world, and that the only way to salvation is through Him. He confronted sin, exposed darkness, called people to repentance, and ultimately laid down His life for sinners. That is how Christ loved the world, and that is how we are called to love it. By declaring Christ is Lord over ALL.

And when we do this, it will often result in hatred or rejection. But hatred is not the reason we bring these difficult subjects into the light.

We do it because Jesus loved us.

He exposed the darkness in our own hearts, showed us our sin, called us to repentance, and gave Himself for us. And now He commands us:

“Go therefore…”

We are called to go into a dark world and be light through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So this article has two purposes,

First, to expose the darkness in our modern world because we actually love the people living in it.

Second, to provide a resource for Bible-believing Christians to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God”

Example 1: God Created Marriage as Male and Female

Genesis 1:27 says,

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

This verse establishes two very important truths.

First, God is Lord because He is our Creator. He made us. We didn't make ourselves, and we don't get to decide for ourselves what we are apart from what our Creator has declared. The Creator determines the purpose of His creation.

Second, God created humanity as male and female. The Bible doesn't present a third category here. From the very beginning, God's design for humanity was male and female.

And notice something else: God calls His creation very good.

Genesis 1:31 says,

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

So when God created humanity as male and female, this wasn't some temporary arrangement that we have progressed beyond. This was God's good design from the beginning, and it was perfect.

God never made a mistake when He created Adam male. God never made a mistake when He created Eve female.

God knew exactly what He was doing then and God does not make mistakes NOW. The New Testament confirms that this design still matters. And Jesus affirms God's design.

Matthew 19:4–6, Christ says:

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Jesus is quoting Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. Mark records the same teaching in Mark 10:6–9.

So what is Jesus doing here?

He is affirming that this standard still matters. Christ goes all the way back to the beginning and points us to God's original design for marriage. Marriage is still between a man and a woman.

He doesn't present Genesis 2:24 as an outdated standard that humanity has somehow progressed beyond. He uses it as the foundation for His own teaching about marriage.

And notice who Jesus says established this: God.

Now if Christ is the one affirming God's definition of marriage, Christians (followers of Christ!) certainly don't get to redefine it. Marriage has always been between one man and one woman; nothing we say will ever change that. A same-sex relationship may call itself a marriage, but changing the name doesn't change what God designed marriage to be.

That's a mirage, not a marriage.

Example 2: Sodom and Gomorrah

The next place we need to look is one of the most famous judgments in the Bible:

Sodom and Gomorrah.

In this story, God comes down and brings fiery judgment upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their destruction becomes a warning of what happens when a people become so absorbed in their own pride and wickedness that they ultimately commit treason against God.

Sodom just a city where a few people made some bad (terrible) choices. It had become a society in high rebellion against its Creator.

And God did not overlook it.

He judged it. And used it as an example of how much he hates those sins.

Now the question is what exact sins did the cities commit?

In Genesis 19, two angels disguised as travelers come to Sodom and stay with Lot. That night, the men of the city surround Lot's house and demand that he bring the visitors outside.

Their demand was explicitly sexual.

“They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them! ”‭‭ Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The men of Sodom weren't simply being rude to strangers. They wanted to sexually violate the men who had come into Lot's house.

And what happened next? God rains fire and brimstone down from heaven and destroys Sodom and Gomorrah.

A couple of years ago, I was at a Pride rally and asked someone at a booth from a church in Sunnyslope what caused God's wrath against Sodom and Gomorrah.

Their answer was:

“Sodom was destroyed because they were inhospitable.”

Their larger argument was that people cannot help what they were born feeling or believing about themselves, including the belief that they were born in the wrong body, and therefore Christians should simply love and accept them.

Now, I suppose you could say that sexually abusing strangers is certainly inhospitable. But we can't take that one aspect of the story and pretend that was the only major sin happening in Sodom.

Now there is a problem. We should not read one passage in isolation while dismissing the other Scriptures that address the same subject. That would be disingenuous. We must examine the rest of Scripture before coming to a conclusion. So let’s turn to the penultimate book of the Bible, the letter of Jude.

Jude 7:7 says “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

Notice those words “sexual immorality and unnatural desire.” What does that mean?

It means any desire that goes against God's established order. God created only male and female, and established marriage as the union between one man and his wife.

Now, if you still aren't convinced that sexual sin was rampant in Sodom, let's go back to the story.

When the men of Sodom came to Lot's house, they demanded that he bring out the two male visitors, so that they could have sexual relations with them. Lot refused and offered his two daughters instead (which is a major problem itself, but I digress). The men responded by threatening Lot and moving against him. They weren't interested in the women Lot offered them. Their demand was for the men.

And remember, Lot wasn't some random visitor passing through the city that night. He lived there. These were the men of the city.

After looking at Genesis 19 and Jude 7, it is hard to honestly reduce the sin of Sodom to simply “inhospitality.”

Yes, Sodom had many sins. Ezekiel describes their pride, excess, arrogance, and failure to care for the needy. But Scripture also explicitly tells us that Sodom was characterized by sexual immorality and unnatural desire.

The Bible gives us a much bigger picture than simply bad table manners.

Example 3: Romans 1

We looked at God's original design from Genesis. We have looked at Sodom and Gomorrah and how Scripture defines sexual wickedness.

But what about the New Testament? Did Jesus and the apostles change the standard?

And the answer to that is a resounding No.

Paul gives us one of the clearest passages in the entire Bible:

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” (Romans 1:26–27)

Paul is talking about both women and men.

Notice the phrase “contrary to nature.” This is very similar to the phrase we just saw in Jude: “unnatural desire.” 

Men lusting toward men and women lusting toward women is presented as contrary to God's created order.

And this takes us all the way back to Genesis. God created male and female, and He established marriage as the union of a man and his wife.

The Conclusion

This isn't a new command from the New Testament. It goes back to God's original design.

Therefore, the conclusion to this article is simple:

Come to Jesus Christ.

Put away your debauchery. Put away your sin. Turn away from what God calls evil and turn to Christ.

God doesn't affirm homosexuality.
God doesn't affirm transgenderism.
God doesn't affirm gay people.
God doesn't affirm the cat people.
God doesn't affirm the bunny people.

But He does call sinners to Himself.

So renounce your sin. Repent. Believe in Jesus Christ. Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Because the Christian message isn't:

“God accepts everything about you.”

The Christian message is:

“Christ came for sinners. Repent and put off your old ways. Believe in Him, and be made new.”