Short Summary of Biblical Perspective on SOGI

My feature article, Biblical Gender Identity, is both succinct and exhaustive.  But printed with Arial size 10 point font with 1-inch margins it's 50 pages, which is more than most people want to read.  So here's a shorter, simpler summary of verses directly relating to the modern hot topic of sexual orientation and gender identity. As with the feature article, this is not about sharing my opinion. This is about knowing what our Creator's opinion is as revealed in His word, and taking Him seriously.

In the second chapter of the Bible, in Genesis 2:18 God points out that man was designed to be with woman, and vice versa.  Three times God tells people "be fruitful" (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 9:7).  This was actually the first thing God was recorded as saying directly to us.  So now we have the tension.  We've been commanded to make babies, or at least make an attempt, but there are parameters.  In Genesis 2:24-25​, we were given the only model for marriage in the entire Bible.  Not the only example (either good or bad) but the only model.

In the 10 Commandments, God gives us the "minimum system requirements" to be moral.  In the 7th Commandment, He declared any attempt at baby-making should be limited to the context of marriage (Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18).  The point was repeated numerous times:

• Leviticus 18:20
• Leviticus 20:10
• Deuteronomy 22:22-27
• 2 Samuel 12:10
• Proverbs 6:26-35
• Jeremiah 7:9-10
• Ezekiel 18:5-6
• Matthew 5:27-30
• Matthew 15:19 & Mark 7:21-23
• Matthew 19:18
• Mark 10:11-12 & Luke 16:18
• Romans 13:9
• 1 Timothy 3:2
• 1 Timothy 3:12
• Titus 1:6
• Hebrews 13:4

The Bible is very clear the answer is an emphatical "no" outside of marriage, but it's also emphatically "yes" inside.

• Exodus 21:10
• Deuteronomy 24:5
• Proverbs 5:18-19
• Malachi 2:15
• 1 Corinthians 7:1-5
• 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

The commitment of marriage is meant to be taken very seriously.  Regardless of how many good and bad examples have shown themselves in your life, it was designed by God as a oneway highway, with very few exit ramps.

• Malachi 2:13-16
• Matthew 5:31-32
• Matthew 19:3-12 & Mark 10:2-12
• Luke 16:18
• 1 Corinthians 7:10-17

If the commitment is too much then that's ok, skip it.  But then you are forbidden to engage in the one activity that results in babies.  As a general rule, everything involving sex outside of marriage has one label: sexual immorality.  The term is mentioned 30 times in the New Testament.  Here are highlights, and note these first two and last three were spoken by Jesus.

• Matthew 15:19
• Mark 7:21-23
• Romans 1:24-25
• Romans 13:13
• 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
• 1 Corinthians 10:8
• 2 Corinthians 12:21
• Galatians 5:19-21
• Ephesians 5:3
• Colossians 3:5-6
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
• Titus 1:6
• Hebrews 12:16
• Revelation 2:14
• Revelation 2:20-22
• Revelation 9:21

If you desire sex that does not make you special.  There's a reason you want it.  You want it for the same reason everyone wants it: because God said so.  He commanded us to "be fruitful" in Genesis 1:28.  But since it's so tempting for everyone to take this out of proportion, and being outside of time (because He invented it) God knew we would get legalistic and ask what it means to be "sexually immoral," He defined it for us.  As the Inventor of biology itself, He defines sexual immorality, not us.  Here are the most obvious groupings, established in the Old Testament and often reinforced in the New.  We must always remember God's expectations were always supposed to be easy (Deuteronomy 30:11-14, Isaiah 45:19).  If we are confused, it's society's fault, not God's.

Going through the motions and living together so you can have the benefits of marriage without the overhead (commitment) of marriage is not cool.

• Exodus 22:16-17
• Leviticus 21:13
• Deuteronomy 22:28-29
• Hebrews 13:4

Even worse than living together is promiscuity, and even worse than that is prostitution.

• Leviticus 19:29
• Leviticus 21:9
• Deuteronomy 23:17-18
• 1 Corinthians 6:12-17

The Bible makes it clear that families have a special role in society, and of course life.  The theme is repeated many ways that people are not free to decide for themselves how sex fits into life.  (At least, not without negative consequences: Galatians 6:7.)

First example of the theme is blurring the lines that establish family roles.  A man was forbidden from making babies (or even going through the motions) with his mother, aunt, sister, niece, daughter, granddaughter, or his step- or his -in-law.

• Leviticus 18:6-18
• Leviticus 20:11-12
• Leviticus 20:17
• Leviticus 20:19-21
• Deuteronomy 22:30
• Deuteronomy 27:20
• Deuteronomy 27:22-23
• Ezekiel 22:11
• Amos 2:7
• 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

Similarly, people should not pretend (go through the motion) to make a family with any non-human.

• Exodus 22:19
• Leviticus 18:23
• Leviticus 20:15-16
• Deuteronomy 27:21

God had an opinion on anyone deviating from straightforward, heteronormative practices.

• Leviticus 18:22
• Leviticus 20:13
• Romans 1:26-27
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
• 1 Timothy 1:9-10

To help keep lines of distinction clear, there were commands to avoid behavior that would confuse or deceive in ways that would damage the integrity of the family, and God's plan and purpose for it.

• Deuteronomy 22:5
• Deuteronomy 23:1

Since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, no matter what we look like, where we're from, how wealthy we are, or what we believe, all humans are clearly the same race.  Therefore miscegenation (so-called interracial marriage) is not a sin.

Last but not least, when a baby is conceived, it is to be honored as a person created "in the image of God."  We have been commanded not to consciously end the life of our offspring, and God is personally offended when we disregard this.

• Leviticus 18:21
• Leviticus 20:1-5
• Deuteronomy 12:31
• Deuteronomy 18:10-12
• 2 Kings 17:17
• 2 Kings 21:6
• Psalm 106:37-38
• Isaiah 57:5
• Jeremiah 32:35
• Ezekiel 16:20
• Ezekiel 23:37-39

Even though the womb is essentially inaccessible by normal standards, God is well aware of what happens there.

• Exodus 21:22-25
• Psalm 22:9-10
• Psalm 139:13-16
• Isaiah 49:1
• Isaiah 49:5
• Jeremiah 1:5
• Zechariah 12:1

And we are commanded to defend the fatherless.

• Exodus 22:22-24
• Psalm 82:3-4
• Isaiah 1:16-17
• Jeremiah 7:5-7
• Jeremiah 22:3
• Zechariah 7:8-10
• Malachi 3:5
• James 1:27

Why does God care about this level of detail in our lives?  Because He made us, and even though He gave us freewill, we were put here to do His will.  We are supposed to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).  He has a right to have an opinion on our behavior.  This is not about conservative or liberal values.  God doesn't take sides, He takes over, and He'll do it with or without you.  This is about us caring about what our Creator cares about and doing what He asks to minimize the chance we'll hear Matthew 7:21-23 and maximize our chances of hearing Matthew 25:21 or 23.

Remember, at the end of time in Revelation 21:8 and 22:15, "sexually immoral" will not be how we want to be characterized, because even the end of time won't be the end of our existence.  Since we don't get to define how God labels us, we have a responsibility to ourselves to pay attention and give respect.  At the same time, we must remember we are not alone.  We have an enemy (2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, 1 Peter 5:8) but he can't make us do anything, he can only suggest.  We need to demonstrate discernment: James 4:7, for we will all be judged by our actions: Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:12-13.  We were created to be holy for our God:

• Leviticus 19:2
• 1 Corinthians 6:20
• 1 Corinthians 10:31
• Ephesians 5:3
• Hebrews 12:14

This is the short, short version of the story, with only the direct verse references.  For indirect Bible references and on-topic Bible stories, plus worldview extrapolations and more in-depth looks into why some of these references are there, check out my feature article on Biblical Gender Identity, here, or my other related feature article on Family in the Bible, here.