Does Romans 1:26-27 apply to all homosexual relationships?
Rom. 1:26-27 ESV states, "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."
Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV. does not apply to monogamous homosexual relationships, and it never has applied to these types of relationships. Instead, the passage is associated with sins which result from idolatry. Theologians have uncovered a pattern of misbehavior and consequences in Romans 1:19-31. Basically, Paul taught the Romans that when Christians and Jews turn to paganism, they do evil deeds against God and each other. God holds them responsible for their sins, and He may allow the punishment to be that they commit evils acts against themselves, which is extremely relevant in our chaotic modern times - How many times have we witnessed massacres at our schools, malls, theaters, and other public areas recently?
The pattern is as such:
- human action (Rom. 1:19-23"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" Rom. 1:19-23 ESV.) / divine reaction (Rom. 1:24"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves . . ." Rom. 1:24 ESV.) - human action (Rom. 1:25"(B)ecause they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen" Rom. 1:25 ESV.) / divine reaction (Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV.)
- human action (Rom. 1:28 (1st clause)"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God . . ." Rom. 1:28 ESV. / divine reaction (Rom. 1:28 (2nd clause) - 31". . . God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless" Rom. 1:28-31 ESV.)1
As the chapter progresses, the sinners become increasingly wicked, and at the end of the chapter, Paul lists all of the evils and sins that had crept into their hearts (see Rom. 1:29-31"They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless" Rom. 1:29-31 ESV.). The catalyst of their disobedience towards God, however, was their idolatry and paganism. It was their initial turning away from God that caused them to become evil, as stated in Rom. 1:21-23"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" Rom. 1:21-23 ESV.. Thus, what is described in Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV. are not homosexual and heterosexual acts between loving, monogamous, God-fearing couples. Instead, the passage describes random sexual acts committed by pagan individuals. In fact, in Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV., Paul describes an orgy.
It is well-known that sexual orgies occurred in Roman society, especially during the observance of certain pagan holidays, "That the rites in some of the cults at least were orgiastic and tended to produce emotional extravagance and breaches of the mores when both sexes were thrown into intimate relations. . . ."2 Some of the most notorious orgies occurred during Bacchanalia, which was a cult that started in southern Italy but was associated with the Greek cult of Dionysia.3 In both cults, the participants drank wine and participated in orgies, some of which were violent.4 The Roman government officially banned Bacchanalia in 186 B.C.; however, citizens still secretly celebrated it for a long time afterwards in southern Italy.5
In the cult of Cybele, the priests were self-castrated eunuchs who, according to the Greek scholar Apuleius, would have homosexual relations with strong young citizens (no alcohol is mentioned).6 Members of the cult of Isis worshiped the fertility goddess Isis, and they participated in temple prostitution (again, no alcohol is mentioned).7 The members of the cult of Bona Dea, known as the "good goddess," were probably only female and they would hold celebrations in which they danced, drank copious amounts of wine, and had sexual relations with men afterwards (or if they couldn't find men, then an ass, according to the historian Juvenal).8
Based on historical records, temple prostitution and orgiastic celebrations were common in Rome, and Paul was undoubtedly familiar with and disgusted by such celebrations. Paul was definitely aware of the orgies, debauchery, and drunkenness that occurred among the Romans and Galatians, as stated in Rom. 13:13"Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy" Rom. 13:13 ESV. and Gal. 5:19-21"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" Gal. 5:19-21 ESV.. In fact, even MacArthur, who wrote the ESV Study Bible and who believes that the Bible supports the argument that homosexuality is a sin (see MacArthur, 2010, p. 1650 note for Rom. 1:26"1:26 God gave them up. see notes on vv. 18, 24. dishonorable passions. Identified in vv. 26-27 as homosexuality, a sin roundly condemned in Scripture (Gen. 19; Lev. 18:22; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; cf. Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 3-5; 1 Tim. 1:9-10; Jude 7)."), acknowledges in a section that "drunken orgies were commonly associated with pagan worship ceremonies of the day."9 Since Paul ties idolatry together with orgiastic behaviors in Romans 1:22-27, it is obvious that Paul is condemning idolatry, which lead to orgies, and which further lead to additional moral degradation.
Some Christians believe that Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV. does not apply to all homosexuality. Instead, these people argue that the section only applies to paganism and orgiastic behavior. It is true that orgies existed during Paul's time. However, these orgies were often accompanied with drunkenness. Anytime Paul refers to orgies in his letters, he mentions drunkenness as well. Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV. does not mention the presence of alcohol or that the participants were drunk. In fact, the vice of drunkenness isn't mentioned in the entire chapter, unlike Rom. 13:13"Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy" Rom. 13:13 ESV. and Gal. 5:19-21"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" Gal. 5:19-21 ESV. in which Paul associates orgies with drunkenness. Instead, the passage condemns specific homosexual activity. Thus, one cannot associate this passage with the drunken orgiastic celebrations that occurred among pagans.
How many times do we read about massacres in our schools, theaters, malls, and other public areas? The people who are committing these crimes obviously do not know God. They most likely were introduced to God at one point in time, but they turned away from Him. As Rom. 1:26-27"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error" Rom. 1:26-27 ESV. shows, when we turn our hearts away from God, we give into temptation and evils more and more until we become a menace to society and ourselves. According to Rom. 1:19-31, our sexual indiscretions are just the start of our decline. Obviously, when we turn away from God, we go against God's natural plan for us, which is to follow Him and procreate, so that our children may follow Him as well.
When we engage in unnatural sexual relations which do not aid in our purpose for procreation, we are turning away from God's plan, a plan which Jesus reaffirmed in Matt. 19:4-5"He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?'" Matt. 19:4-5 ESV. Unfortunately, people who practice any kind of homosexuality do not follow God's plan. Instead, God calls these people to a different kind of lifestyle: A lifestyle of celibacy, as Jesus set forth in Matt. 19:12"For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it" Mat. 19:12 ESV.. If they believe in God and pray for His grace, God will undoubtedly answer their prayers and not allow them to be overtaken by their passions.
1Jean-Noël, 1988, p. 1561 Return
2Enslin, 1957, p. 54 citing G.F. Moore, op.cit. i, p. 599; Cumont, Die Mysteries des Mithra, p. 163 Return
3Partridge, 1960, p. 22, 52, & 55 Return
4Partridge, 1960, p. 22, 52, & 55 Return
5Partridge, 1960, p. 55 & Bacchanalia, Encyclopædia Britannica online Return
6Partridge, 1960, p. 59 Return
7Partridge, 1960, p. 59 Return
8Partridge, 1960, p. 60-61 Return
9"Although scripture condemns all drunkenness (see notes on Prov. 23:29-35; 31:4-5; Isa. 5:11-12; 28:7-8; cf. 1 Cor. 5:11; 1 Pet. 4:3), the context suggests that Paul is here speaking especially about the drunken orgies commonly associated with many pagan worship ceremonies of that day" (MacArthur, 2010, p. 1766 note for Eph. 5:18). Return
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