What does the Bible say about same-sex activity?

NOTE: The following article was written to further clarify this excerpt from Bruce B. Miller’s Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning.

The question of how the church should balance our call to uphold biblical truth with the biblical mandate to love and minister to those around us can be difficult to answer as it pertains to a variety of subjects. 

Perhaps none are as divisive, however, as when that question is applied to our interactions with members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Some fall short by violating the clear teachings of Scripture on showing respect and grace to those we encounter in an effort not to violate the clear teachings of Scripture on the issue of same-sex activity. Others fail by going too far in the other direction and affirming that which the Bible condemns as sinful. Still more fall short by trying to ignore the question altogether and attempt to live in blissful ignorance of the subject. 

In each circumstance, we limit our ministry not only to members of the LGBTQ+ community but also to those outside that group carefully watching to see our response. 

In Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning, Bruce Miller offers a very helpful guide for how we can better think about our approach in light of both the gospel message and the larger context of God’s approach to fallen humanity. 

In the excerpt that follows this introduction, he helps us gain a greater appreciation for the complexities inherent to that discussion while also calling us to take an honest assessment of the degree to which our behavior would line up with that of Christ. 

To fully understand the conversation he’s asking us to have, however, we must first have a well-reasoned and firm foundation on how God sees the sin of same-sex activity. Miller affirms repeatedly throughout his book that acting on a homosexual orientation is sinful, but he largely treats that position as an assumption in his excerpt. 

Sinful…