Salvation Summaries

In today’s society, it has become politically incorrect to say anything negative about homosexuals.  This is unfortunate, since all of us, at one time or another (and for me, many times), need disciplining, rebuking and correcting to help ensure that we are living in a way that pleases the Lord.

My job in writing this blog is not to worry about political correctness, but to comment on what the Bible has to say about salvation.  In roughly a half dozen books in the Bible – including both the Old and New Testaments – the Bible talks about homosexuals and whether they will receive eternal life.  Jude is one of these books, and I addressed in a prior blog what it had to say about homosexuality.  1 Corinthians has even more to say about this subject, and it answers three key questions:  1) Will homosexuals go to heaven? 2) If they won’t, why not? And, 3) How should believers respond to homosexuals?  I’ve addressed each of these below.

Will homosexuals go to Heaven?

The short answer to this is “no,” but there is an “out” for homosexuals that I’ll explain in a minute.

1 Corinthians and other books in the Bible are clear that people who practice certain sinful lifestyles here on earth will not be allowed entrance into heaven. One of these lifestyles is homosexuality.

• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 

As you can see from this verse, people who practice homosexuality are described by Paul, and therefore God (who inspired Paul to write this book), as “wicked,” and wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God (or go to heaven).  Being barred from heaven means that such person will go to the only other place that exists upon death, and that is hell.  Hell, as we know, is a place of torment and eternal punishment.

God’s punishment for wicked people is not necessarily limited to their afterlife though. He has punished sexually immoral people while on earth too. We see this with some of the Israelites in the Old Testament, where God killed them because of their sexual immorality (Corinthians 10:8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did– and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.).  In addition, God wiped out the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah, and thus killed an untold number of people. Why? Because of their sexual immorality, which was predominantly homosexuality (see the books of Jude and Genesis for more information on this).

However, there is an “out” for homosexuals that may allow them to go to heaven. This “out” applies to both a heterosexual person who is flirting with the idea of becoming a homosexual, and one who is a practicing homosexual.

According to 1 Corinthians 10;13, if a heterosexual is tempted to become a homosexual, and that person is a Christian, God promises to be there to protect them from it (1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.).  Now, there is no guarantee that escaping this temptation will be easy, but it is possible.

On the other hand, if a heterosexual is tempted and he or she is not a Christian, God offers no help to protect that person from yielding to this temptation and falling into sin.

For a person who is practicing homosexuality (and thus, this would exclude a Christian according to the Bible), the Bible indicates that a homosexual can change his or her lifestyle.  Now, I know that some of you may disagree with me on this statement, but let me explain.

I copied 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 from above, and then added verse 11 to it.  Please read these three verses below, and focus your attention on verse 11.

• 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

What does this verse say?  It says that some of the people who are now saved were previously following one of the sinful lifestyles that had prevented them from inheriting the kingdom of God (or going to heaven). One of these lifestyles is homosexuality.

Now, it’s true that we do not know exactly which sinful lifestyle these now saved people had…maybe all of them were drunks, for example, and none were homosexuals.  That is possible, but that misses the point.  The point is not which particular lifestyle they were engaged in (for each and all of them are bad), but that some of them who practiced such lifestyle no longer practice it.  Why?  Because they were changed.

The question this raises, then, is how were they changed?  The answer is in the same verse. These people were washed, sanctified and justified by the Holy Spirit.  In short, God changed them.  He forgave them from their sins, He cleansed them from the guilt of their sins, and now treats them as if they had never sinned.  God truly is amazing, is He not?

Before I go on to answer the next question, let me summarize what we just learned. According to the Bible, homosexuality is sexually immoral and wicked, and those who live this way will not go to heaven when they die. God though, in His great mercy, can change a homosexual person so that he or she no longer lives this way – for He did this with some of the people Paul wrote to – and after He changes them, they have the opportunity to go to heaven.  We also learned that God provides protection to a Christian heterosexual who is tempted to try the homosexual lifestyle by giving that person a way to escape such temptation; however, He will provide no protection to a non-Christian who is similarly tempted.

Why will Homosexuals not go to Heaven?

Homosexuality is viewed by many as simply an alternative lifestyle to heterosexuality, and that there is nothing inherently wrong with it. Many think that homosexuals were born that way too, and if this is true, then homosexuality must be O.K.

The Bible, on the other hand, which has not changed in more than 2,000 years and thus is not influenced by any society or culture, views homosexuality much differently.  According to the Bible, there IS something wrong with homosexuality – it is sexually immoral, and sinful.  Further, there is no evidence, in the Bible, that people are born this way.  In fact, the evidence suggests just the opposite – that homosexuality is simply one of many sinful lifestyles, and one of several sexually immoral lifestyles, that a person may be tempted to fall into, and when he or she does, that person becomes a slave to something that is sinful and displeasing to God.  We see this in the book of Romans, where God permits sinful people, who reject God over and over, to fall into the homosexual lifestyle.  As we learned above though, God can change a person who is caught up in a sexually immoral lifestyle, whether its homosexuality or adultery, to no longer practice this lifestyle.

Homosexuality affects not only a person’s mind, but their body too.  According to the Bible, God made you.  All of you.  This includes your mind, soul and body.  In short, you are God’s property.  And just as He does not want your mind to think of sinful things, He does not want your body to do sinful things. Homosexuality, like adultery, is a sin against one’s body, and God did not make your body for this purpose.

• 1 Corinthians 6:13 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

In addition, when a Christian does something sinful with his or her body, it not only affects that person in a negative way, it also affects the body of believers, the church, in a spiritual way, and God does not want this to happen either.

• 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

• 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

In summary, God made you – your mind, soul and body – and your body was not made for sexual immorality, whether homosexuality or adultery. God does not want you to sin with your mind, or with your body. When a person commits the sin of homosexuality, it not only affects that person’s physical body, it also affects the body of believers. For these reasons, God does not want people to embrace sexual immorality, which includes homosexuality; rather, He wants them to flee from it.

How should Christians respond to Homosexuals?

The answer to this question is “it depends.”

If a person is a homosexual but not a Christian, Christians are supposed to love that person like any other person, and share the Good News about Christ. However, if a person is a homosexual and claims to be a Christian, other Christians are not to associate with this person.

• 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people– 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

There are two reasons why a Christian should not associate with a homosexual who claims to be a Christian.

The first reason is that this “shunning” is meant to help that person see the sin in his or her life, and to abstain from it.  By doing so, fellowship with other believers can be restored, and that person can be put on the path that leads to eternal life.

The second reason is that allowing any obvious sin – whether it is homosexuality, or adultery – to continue within the church body can weaken the faith of those in the church, and cause others who are not yet of the faith to participate in the same, sinful thing. In short, it pollutes the purity of the church body.  As Paul said, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.”

• 1 Corinthians 5:5-7 5 Then you must cast this man out of the church and into Satan’s hands, so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved when the Lord returns. 6 How terrible that you should boast about your spirituality, and yet you let this sort of thing go on. Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected? 7 Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

One last Comment

I realize that my comments about homosexuality may be “news” to some and possibly offensive to others.  However, I think you can surmise from what I have said, and the tone of my comments, that I am not trying to unfairly criticize homosexuals. Rather, I am simply telling you what the Bible says about homosexuality, for it affects whether they go to heaven or hell when they die.

Also, you may find it interesting that I used to work with a homosexual.  This man was pleasant to be around, smart, and he did his job well.  Did I befriend him?  No, not really, and that was my fault.  However, I did try to help him see the truth about his lifestyle, but in an indirect way. I bought him a book about homosexuality – which contained the truths about it – and placed it on the front windshield of his car while it was parked in the office parking garage. On the book, I left an envelope with a note in it, and the note stated that because I cared for him, I wanted him to read this book.  Did he ever read it?  I don’t know, but I hope he did.

What happens to the body of a believer when he/she dies?

I’m going to be very brief here with my response, as I spent a little too much time on the topic above, and have become “bogged down” in my review of salvation verses.  I’ve gone through approximately 16 books in the New Testament thus far, and need to keep moving along if I want to get through the remainder in a timely manner.  At a later date, I may come back to this question to provide a more detailed response.

When any person dies – whether a believer or not – that person’s body decays, for it is “perishable” according to the Bible.

However, after a believer dies, that person receives a new body, a spiritual body.  This body will never perish, and it will have “power” too, though the Bible does not specify what this power is.  When an unbeliever dies, it appears that that person will also receive a spiritual body – one that will never perish –  but I do not know what power, if any, it will have.

• 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.