If ever there was a chapter in the Holy Bible taken completely out of context, it is Romans Chapter 1.
INTRODUCTION
John 16:13 “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.”
In all humility, and giving all credit to the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us into all truth…
We submit that after reading this page, no one with a teachable spirit, with a logical mind, and with God’s love in the heart can possibly keep on believing that Romans 1 has anything to do with gay people — especially ones who love the LORD. (But alas, we are fully aware that there will always be modern-day Pharisees to subvert the Gospel.)
WARNING! Romans Chapter One Has Been Known to Cause Tachycardia, Sweaty Palms, and Perspiring Foreheads.
A True Vignette
After the singing, the preacher gets up behind the pulpit and says, “If you have your Bibles this morning, please turn with me to Romans chapter 1.”
Some young man or some young woman sitting somewhere out there in the congregation feels his or her heart starting to pound. The palms are starting to feel clammy and it feels like perspiration is gathering on the forehead.
“Oh, dear God, he’s in Romans 1! I want to get up and run out of this place, but I can’t. If I do, then everyone will know!”
Then the preacher says, “Looking at verses 16 and 17 today…”
There’s a sigh of relief! “He’s ending on verse 17. Thank you, Jesus!”
Many with same-sex attraction have experienced such a feeling of terror in a Bible-believing church when the pastor says, “Turn to Romans 1.”
The verses in Romans 1 that have caused so much unloving, vitriolic behavior on the part of self-righteous followers of Jesus, so much guilt and shame, so much ostracism and alienation, so much loss of fellowship with the saints, so much pain and suffering, so much anger with the Church and God, many times leading to suicidal ideation, attempt, and completion, are verses 18 through 32.
We interrupt this program for a Public Service Announcement: If you have not already done so, please read the site dedication first, and then return to this page.
Picking & Choosing Chapter & Verse: The Surefire Way to Damage and Destroy Human Lives
If a self-righteous person wants to adversely affect another person’s relationship with the LORD, leading to all kinds of disaster, there is a guaranteed way to accomplish it: Simply take the chapters and verses of Scripture out of context.
There is an old, worn-out joke about people who believe that the Holy Spirit will reveal His will to us in the following manner:
With eyes closed,
- Allow the Bible to fall open to a place that God has chosen.
- Let the pointer finger drop down on the page to the verse which God has chosen.
- Repeat this procedure twice to ensure confirmation.
One day, a sincere, but gullible, believer decided to find God’s will in a certain matter by following this procedure.
- First his finger fell on Matthew 27:5, where it says, Judas “went and hanged himself.”
- When his finger fell on the second chapter and verse, (by the Spirit’s “direction,” of course!) it fell on Luke 10:37, where it said, “GO, AND DO LIKEWISE.”
God has spoken, and he must obey!
If ever there was a situation where self-righteous people do such an inane thing as this — to the psychological and spiritual detriment of others — it is the way in which they interpret Romans 1:18-32.
Before expounding upon this passage, let’s make one thing perfectly clear:
NO ONE WHO BELIEVES IN THE DEATH, BURIAL, AND BODILY RESURRECTION OF THE LORD JESUS WILL EVER GO TO HELL — EVER.
Did Jesus lie when He said,
“WHOEVER believes in Me shall NOT perish.”? (John 3:16)
Did He lie when He said,
“the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”? (John 6:37)
Did the Apostle Paul give false hope when he proclaimed,
“if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)
Was Paul just talking about Jews and Greeks when he said,
“WHOEVER believes on Him…”?
If he was, then if you are not Jewish or Greek, you cannot be saved.
Was the Prophet Joel giving false hope when he declared that the Messiah WILL come. And when He does,
“it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”? (Joel 2:32)
Was the Apostle Peter bearing false witness when he repeated this prophecy of Joel have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ? (Acts 2:21)
WHOSOEVER MEANS WHOSOEVER
These “WHOSOEVER” promises can never be repeated too many times. They are the hope of every human being and every sinner, which we all are.
Now, to Romans 1:18-32 — the “pick and choose” passage that’s been taken COMPLETELY out of context!
If someone asks you, “Please describe your girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife/mother/father/sister/brother, do you only report one single characteristic?
Do you only say, “She has blond hair.”
Of course, the one who just asked you to describe that person will respond with, “And…????”
It would be ridiculous to describe the person in such an inadequate way! And yet, that’s exactly the utterly inadequate way prejudiced, bigoted people choose to describe the persons characterized by Paul in Romans chapter 1.
Paul gave a very comprehensive LIST of the attitudes and actions of the people whose behaviors he condemned. This list forms an aggregate description of these people. Aggregate means the whole that is formed by combining the typical (often disparate) elements. If you fail to include all of these elements, you are failing to describe the WHOLE person, community, etc., whether positive or negative. You are leaving pertinent things out! And when you do this, you are deliberately leaving the questioner with a FALSE impression.
This is what people do when they use Romans 1 to cast blanket condemnation on people with same-sex attraction, including those in loving, caring same-sex relationships.
Look at the List!
So, how did Paul describe these people when he gave a comprehensive list of their attitudes, their behaviors, their beliefs, their CORRUPTED theology? To WHOM has the wrath of God been revealed? (Romans 1:18, NKJV)
Paul’s Description of These People
THOSE who SUPPRESS THE TRUTH.
The “Truth” is “what may be known of God” (Romans 1:19). The “Truth” is Jesus Christ Himself (John 14:6).
THOSE who “KNEW GOD” (Romans 1:21).
And ALTHOUGH, at one time they “knew God,” (had full knowledge of Him), they DID NOT GLORIFY Him as God.
THOSE who were “NOT THANKFUL” (Romans 1:21).
They were ingrates. For all that God had shown them and given them, they gave God no thanks.
THOSE who “CHANGED THE GLORY of the incorruptible God INTO an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:23).
They became pagan idol worshipers of nature. They worshiped images of birds, animals, and reptiles. These are the things they changed the glory of God into! God is “incorruptible.” They changed that “incorruptible glory” into creatures and images of creatures that would eventually die and decay.
THOSE who “EXCHANGED the truth of God for the lie” (Romans 1:25).
Many people today — gay and not gay — are doing this today. At one time in their lives, they worshipped and prayed to the One, True, LIVING God. But now, they NO LONGER pray to the pray to the LIVING God. Instead, they “put their thoughts out” to the utterly material “universe.” (Notice, I did not capitalize “universe.”) Somebody convinced them that the material atoms of the universe (much like the ones of that chair you’re sitting on) have power to change their life situations. In short, they have “exchanged the truth of God for the lie.” Thus, they became…
THOSE who “WORSHIPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25b, NKJV).
Having once known and worshiped the LIVING God, they became idolatrous Pagan nature worshippers. They became worshipers of THINGS. Worshippers of THINGS that would eventually die and decompose. THINGS that would eventually rot.
None of the Descriptions in Paul’s List Can be Ignored.
Not one single element of these people’s dispositions and behaviors can be ignored. The people whom Paul described must be seen for who and what they were: Apostate idol worshippers.
“THEREFORE…” & “FOR THIS REASON…”: THE RESULT OF THEIR FOOLISH CHOICE
24 “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions…” Romans 1:24-26 (NKJV)
People do not choose to be gay. Who would? Who would choose to look for a same-sex life-partner with all its social stigma, when it would be easy just to find an opposite-sex life partner that friends, family, and the world would affirm, honor, and celebrate? What person would choose to be constantly fearful of being beaten up, emotionally and physically, when they could live an easy-peasy, convenient life of social conformity? What type of person would choose to lose the fellowship of the church family they grew up with? (One of the saddest statements I’ve ever heard from a young gay person was, “I am hated and condemned to Hell by the same pastor who baptized me in water.”) What a horrible experience to choose!
But People Can, and Do, Choose Something Else
“Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve…” (Joshua 24:15, NKJV)
In this passage, here again, we see what the choice is. Joshua asked, “Do you choose to serve the pagan gods, or do you choose to serve the LORD?” Every person who has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ must reply to Joshua’s question. And we must all answer it as he did:
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15, NKJV)
THIS CHOICE, is what determines our eternal destiny — not one’s sexual constitution.
Innate sexual attraction, and the freewill choice to abstain from it or build a mutually loving and caring relationship upon it, does NOT determine one’s eternal destiny.
Now, let’s get back to Romans 1:21-26, where we examine the “Therefore…” and the “For this cause…”
“BECAUSE…THEREFORE…FOR THIS REASON…”
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.. Romans 1:21-26 (NKJV)
“BECAUSE” although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God (choosing rather to worship images of men, birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things), “THERFORE” God also gave them up to uncleanness…to dishonor their bodies among themselves…“FOR THIS REASON” God gave them up to vile passions.
What the Apostle Paul Saw When He Looked Out His Apartment Window
Paul saw total and absolute hedonistic debauchery, all within the context of pagan idol worship. Temple cult prostitution was what he was referring to. (Critics, please do your homework regarding temple cult prostitution, which involved both opposite-sex and same-sex rampant orgies in Rome and Corinth at the time of Paul’s existence.) In no way was he referring to the two (married) guys or two (married) women who were forced to keep their love concealed. (An interesting possibility of this scenario may be found when considering the relationship between Jonathan and David in 2 Samuel 1:26):
“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.”
2 Samuel 1:26 (NKJV)
Figure that one out!
The fact is that, Paul is telling us that BECAUSE of their choice to worship images of man and beast, “ALTHOUGH THEY KNEW GOD,” God “gave them up” to dishonor their bodies — both “heterosexually” and “homosexually” in pagan worship.
How Do We Come to This Conclusion? It’s All in the Words “EXCHANGED” and ABANDONED!”
Paul tells us what these people did before they “EXCHANGED the truth of God for the lie.”
It happened in steps:
- They “EXCHANGED the truth of God for the lie” (Romans 1:25, NASB).
- Their women EXCHANGED the natural use for what was against [their] nature (Romans 1:26, NASB)
- In the same way also the men ABANDONED the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another (Romans 1:27, NASB)
These were not people with innate same-sex attraction. They were people whom God had given up and given over to degrading passions. He gave them up and gave them over to such degrading passions due to their choice to ABANDON Him. The result was that they EXCHANGED and ABANDONED what was had been natural for them.
As we have seen so clearly, the interpretation of Romans chapter 1 has been completely in error.
And So Has Been Paul’s Purpose for Writing It!
Why did Paul write all those things in chapter 1 of the Letter to the Romans? The answer is found in chapter 2:1-4.
1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:1-4, NASB)
Imagine that! All those horrible things the Apostle wrote about in chapter 1, many of the people to whom he was addressing the letter were doing the very same things! And they were judging others for doing them!!!
What Causes a Problem in Much of Biblical Interpretation
True scholars of the Bible know that it wasn’t until approximately the 14th century that the Holy Bible was divided into chapters and verses. This has caused a multitude of problems, leading to horrendous misinterpretation, false doctrine, and erroneous judgment.
Most ignorant Bible readers who misinterpret Romans 1 read that chapter on one particular day, and don’t get to chapter 2 until the next day, or many days after. When they start reading chapter 2, they have completely missed the connection between the first verse of that chapter, and all the verses they read the a day or days before in chapter 1. If there were no break whatsoever between Romans 1:32 and Romans 2:1, the continuity of the Apostle Paul’s thought would be much more intact. Romans chapter 1 was NOT written to condemn people with same-sex attraction. An accurate reading of Romans chapter 2 makes it clear that Romans 1 was written with the ultimate intent to rebuke those who were judging the people described in chapter 1, while at the same time, they were doing the very same things!
Do you know self-righteous people like that? They publicly judge and condemn others while they themselves are on the down-low! I’ve met more than a few along the way!
Tragically, these hypocrites have successfully made themselves gatekeepers of the Kingdom of God, and have the damaged the faith of multitudes of people with same-sex attraction. Don’t you be one of them! Ignore them and come back to Jesus! You’ll be so glad you did!
Let the Words of the Introduction Also be the Words of the Conclusion
We submit that after having read this page, no one with a teachable spirit, with a logical mind, and with God’s love in the heart can possibly keep on believing that Romans 1 has anything to do with gay people — especially ones who love the LORD!
But alas, we are fully aware that there will always be modern-day Pharisees to subvert the Gospel.
And by the way… You are encouraged to seek out an accepting church fellowship to make your church home. But if you do find yourself in a church that has not yet discovered the proper interpretation of Romans chapters 1, relax! That chapter is not about you!