We continue our series on biblical sexuality by turning this week to one of the clearest passages in all of Scripture on the theological roots of sexual sin. Over the last few weeks, we have looked together at the beauty and glory of God’s design for us as male and female. We have seen that God made us in His image, that He stamped upon us the dignity of being image-bearers, and that He created us distinctly as men and women. Both are equal in value, dignity, worth, and significance before Him. We have also seen that God gave men and women important differences and complementary roles, so that together we might reflect His glory.
But today we turn to address one very important distortion of that good design: homosexuality. This is not an easy subject to address, and I realize it will not make us popular in the eyes of the culture. But it is a necessary issue to address, for at least four reasons.
First, it is a timely issue. We are watching the rapid normalization of homosexuality in our culture. Since June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court redefined marriage to include so-called same-sex marriage, the shift has only accelerated. Homosexuality is no longer simply tolerated. It is celebrated, praised, and held up as a sign of progress.
Second, it is a personal issue. Every one of us likely knows someone who identifies as homosexual. This is not merely about policies or court rulings. It is about people made in the image of God. And for some, this struggle is not theoretical. There may be people even within the church who battle same-sex attraction and have done so in deep loneliness and shame. We must speak the truth here, but never without compassion.
Third, it is a biblical issue. Some claim that the Bible says very little about homosexuality, or that it only condemns certain abusive or excessive forms of it. But Scripture speaks with one clear and unified voice on this matter. Both Old and New Testaments consistently identify homosexual behavior as sin.
Fourth, it is a theological issue. This is where Romans 1 is so crucial. Paul shows us that homosexuality, like every other sin, is not the deepest problem. The deepest problem is that mankind has rejected God. Homosexuality is not the root. It is one symptom of a far deeper disease: idolatry.
Romans 1:18–32 is one of the most detailed descriptions in all of Scripture of humanity’s sinfulness. Paul is explaining why all humanity stands under God’s wrath and why all humanity desperately needs the gospel. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.”
That is the bad news before the good news. We need the gospel because we are unrighteous, and because in our unrighteousness we stand under the wrath of God.
Why does God’s wrath rest upon humanity? Paul says it is because we “suppress the truth.” God has made Himself known through creation. Romans 1:19-20 teaches that His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived in the things that have been made, so that all people are without excuse. God has revealed Himself. His truth is plain. Yet humanity suppresses that truth. We push it down. We resist it. We reject His authority because we want autonomy. We want to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.
Paul then describes this rebellion as a series of exchanges.
In Romans 1:21–23, although people knew God through general revelation, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him. Instead, they “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images.” That is the essence of sin. Sin is idolatry. It is the exchange of the Creator for created things.
This passage is not mainly about homosexuality. It is mainly about worship. At the deepest level, sin is a worship problem. Humanity has refused to give God the glory He deserves and has turned instead to idols, most often the idol of self.
Then in Romans 1:25, Paul says that mankind “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” The lie is that something other than God will satisfy us more than God Himself. It is the lie that my desires, my preferences, and my chosen path are better than God’s design.
This is the heart of all sin. Rather than drinking from the fountain of living waters, we turn to broken cisterns that can hold no water. We exchange what is glorious and life-giving for what is empty and destructive.
Finally, Romans 1:28 says that people “did not see fit to acknowledge God,” and therefore God gave them over to a debased mind. They no longer want God in their thinking. They reject the knowledge of Him. This is an apt description of our culture. We are watching a society increasingly committed to self-rule, self-expression, and self-worship.
But we do not only see this in the culture. We see it in our own hearts. As Calvin said, our hearts are idol factories. Romans 1 addresses all of us.
Paul also describes God’s response to this rebellion in three chilling statements: “God gave them up.” We see it in verses 24, 26, and 28. These are among the most sobering words in the Bible.
To say that God gave them up means that He handed them over to their sin. He removed His restraining grace and allowed them to pursue the very things they insisted on pursuing. This is part of what makes Romans 1 so terrifying. God’s judgment is not only future. His wrath is also revealed in the present, as He gives people over to their sinful desires.
And one expression of that present judgment, Paul says, is homosexuality. Romans 1:26-27 describes women exchanging natural relations for those contrary to nature, and men likewise giving up natural relations with women and being consumed with passion for one another.
Why does Paul single out homosexuality here?
First, because homosexuality distorts God’s created order. It is “contrary to nature,” meaning contrary to the design God established from the beginning. God made man and woman as complementary partners. Homosexuality rejects and reverses that order.
Second, because homosexuality is an especially vivid expression of man’s suppression of the truth. God has revealed Himself in creation, and that includes His design for our sexuality. To reject that design is to reject the Creator Himself.
By “unnatural,” Paul means contrary to God’s created design before sin entered the world. This matters, because many argue that if same-sex attraction feels natural, then it must not be sinful. But our desires themselves are fallen. Many sinful desires feel natural to us. That does not make them good. It means we need a new nature, and that is exactly what the gospel provides.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10 makes clear that those whose lives are characterized by unrepentant sin, including homosexuality, will not inherit the kingdom of God. But then verse 11 brings hope: “And such were some of you.” That means there is mercy, cleansing, sanctification, and justification for all who repent and believe in Christ.
You are not alone. This is not a battle you fight in isolation. Reject a homosexual identity. That is not who you are in Christ. Go to war against your sin. Fight it through the renewal of your mind, through Scripture, prayer, fellowship, worship, and accountability. And be realistic that this may be a long battle. Some struggles remain for a lifetime. But Christ is sufficient, and His grace is enough.
We must blend truth and love. We cannot compromise biblical conviction, but neither can we speak without compassion. Romans 1 reminds us that homosexuality is ultimately a worship problem. So our goal is not merely to make someone heterosexual. Our goal is to point them to the beauty and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The deepest need of every sinner is not behavior modification, but reconciliation with God. And that is exactly what the gospel offers.
