July 20: What does the Bible say about sexual identity?
Welcome
My name is Michael Schulte. I have the privilege of being the pastor here at The Collective. I want to welcome you to worship today, and just to say that we like to say that no one belongs here more than you. You, in the fullness of who you are, are welcome here.
Series Overview
This summer at The Collective, we’ve had a sermon series titled The Bible, the Birds, and the Bees. We’ve been exploring what the Bible has to say about different issues of gender and sexuality.
Today, we’re asking the big question: What does the Bible say about sexual identity?
There are six passages in the Bible—termed the “clobber passages”—which some claim position sexual difference or homosexuality as a sin. Today, we’re going to take a look at each of those six passages.
We’re not here to convince anyone of anything, but to show that there are ways to read the Bible in an affirming way. You can both revere the Bible as God’s authoritative word and affirm the inclusion of queer people in all levels of church leadership. You can do both.
Language Matters
Before we dive in, you’ll hear me use the term sexual difference—not homosexuality. The word homosexuality has often been used to medicalize and pathologize queer people, especially in church contexts. I use sexual difference to affirm that different sexual identities exist, and that they are normal and okay.
1. Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah
Two angels appear as men and visit Sodom. Lot invites them into his home, but before they can lie down, the men of Sodom surround the house and demand that Lot bring out the visitors so they can "know" them—a euphemism for sexual assault.
Lot refuses, horrifyingly offering his daughters instead. The crowd rejects this and tries to break in, but the angels intervene, protect Lot, and warn him to flee because the city will be destroyed.
This passage is often cited to claim God punishes same-gender sex. But:
Sexual sin is never mentioned in the angel’s condemnation.
The entire male population can’t plausibly be same-gender attracted.
The crowd’s intention is not about sexual identity—it’s about violence and exploitation.
In Ezekiel, Sodom’s sin is identified as pride, excess, and failure to help the poor. In Matthew, Jesus connects Sodom’s destruction to a lack of hospitality. This story is about inhospitality and abuse of strangers, not about loving, consensual relationships.
2. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13
These verses seem clearer: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”
But context matters. Ancient Israel:
Did not have concepts of sexual orientation.
Used toevah (abomination) not to mean “sinful,” but to draw boundaries between cultures.
Forbade many things labeled toevah that we do today—eating pork or shellfish, for example.
These texts are about distinguishing Israelite culture from surrounding nations and preventing exploitative acts, especially those involving power and coercion.
Shockingly, incest between a father and daughter is not called an abomination, because patriarchy allowed men control over their families' sex lives. That context alone should caution us against applying these ancient laws to today’s consensual relationships.
3. 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10
These passages list people who “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” including “male prostitutes” and “sodomites.”
The Greek words in question are:
Malakoi, which means “soft” and likely refers to the passive partner in exploitative relationships.
Arsenokoitai, a term Paul likely invented, combining arsen (male) and koitai (bed). It appears nowhere else in Greek literature of the time, so its meaning is unclear.
Modern Bible translations that insert the word “homosexuality” here are misleading. That word didn’t appear in English Bibles until 1946, and scholars who inserted it have since retracted that choice. Unfortunately, the damage remains in popular versions like the NIV.
What Paul likely condemns here are exploitative relationships, not modern same-gender loving ones.
4. Romans 1:26–27
This is perhaps the hardest clobber passage. Paul talks about people giving up “natural” relations for “unnatural” ones and calls it a “shameless act.”
But what is natural?
In Paul’s time, being heterosexual was seen as the default for all people.
Any same-sex activity was understood as an act of excess desire, not orientation.
It disrupted gender hierarchies—specifically, placing men in passive roles “reserved for women.”
It didn’t lead to procreation, which was considered the purpose of sex.
Today, we know better.
A 2019 peer-reviewed study in Science found that same-sex attraction is influenced by many genes and is a natural part of human life.
If natural law never evolves, we’d also have to:
Stop using C-sections.
Ban left-handedness.
Reject skincare products.
Romans 1 reflects first-century norms, not eternal truths. It does not comment on consensual, same-gender relationships as we understand them.
The Good News
The so-called “gay agenda” has led many churches to pervert the gospel, turning it into a message of exclusion.
But the gospel is simple:
God, through Christ, brings good news of great joy for all people.
Salvation is a gift. If queer people must deny themselves to receive it, then it’s no longer good news. But the truth is:
Christ died and rose again for all people.
There is nothing we can do to earn it.
God’s love is for everyone—without asterisk.
Romans 8 says:
Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Not rulers, not powers, not sexual identity.
You Are Fully Loved
Despite what the world, politicians, or churches may have told you:
You are freely and fully loved, just as you are.
God is not against you. God is for you.
God’s unconditional love through Christ is a gift—fully, freely, and forever.
And not a single one of those six verses can take that away.
Let anyone who has ears hear. And may all who need it find freedom in this truth.
– Pastor Michael Schulte
The Collective
