You may be thinking, “Oh great. Another anti-gay rant by another Christian blogger. How original.” Please hear me out.

Our country is at a great moral crossroads concerning the SCOTUS decision on same-sex marriage. Understandably, the question about the morality of homosexual behavior has been made the focal point in the dialogue. Is it morally correct to engage in homosexual behavior or not? Well–it depends… and it doesn’t. Here’s what I mean.

For many Christians, there are many moral absolutes. They accept them as Truth, and that they are True regardless if a person’s belief or non-belief. For most non-Christians, there are no/few moral absolutes, and assigning a moral value to a person’s sexual preference is ridiculous. So, for those readers who fall into the non-Christian group–we’re done here. From your perspective, the question is answered, and this debate is silly. You can do what you want to now, and support the cause you feel is best. It’s okay…and it’s not.

So, for the Christians out there, we can have the debate; and we need to, because the community of people who identify as Christians is divided on the subject. Paul asked “Is Christ divided?” in 1 Cor 1:13. It’s a rhetorical question–of course He isn’t. Two people cannot follow the same Master and go opposite directions. Jesus asked another question in Luke 6:46: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Great question, Lord. Why? The answer lies in the fact that many desire the emotional comfort of “being a Christian” without the hard work and sacrifice of really being a Christian. And part of that means taking the content of the Bible seriously and applying it consistently in the natural sense to one’s life. Hard stuff.

However, I can say “follow the Bible” all day long and it still doesn’t help move the debate along. The problem is that many Christians (and others) claim the Bible does not forbid homosexual behavior. These same people often claim that the sexual morality proscribed in the New Testament was for a different time, and that since homosexual behavior is widely accepted, that our application of that morality should change. But–was First Century A.D. mainstream culture very different than in 2015?

It wasn’t. Homosexual behavior was common among the Greeks, Romans and many other cultures. It’s depicted in their art and literature, and was socially acceptable even for powerful men in high standing. Repeatedly, the New Testament writers and Apostles discussed sexual morality. In these cases, the message of Jesus, Peter and Paul was not one that conformed to the prevailing culture, but was counter-culture. If there ever was a time to moderate Christianity’s stances on sexual morality to for the sake of inclusivity, it would have been 2,000 years ago!

So, what does the New Testament actually teach? First, it teaches that a thing called “sexual immorality” does exist: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality…” (1 Thess. 4:3). This tells me that some sexual behaviors are against God’s will. Such as homosexuality.

…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. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. Romans 1:26-28 ESV

If the above mentioned behaviors do not fall into the category of “sexual immorality” then what does? Rape? Incest? Pedophilia? Bestiality? What happens when these become mainstream? Should Christians accept them, too?

Look, if you want to support the cause of homosexual behavior–fine. Do it from the non-Christian camp. Please don’t confuse people by claiming to be a Jesus-follower AND follow mainstream sexual morality. They aren’t compatible. As a follow-up from the passage above:

“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:32 ESV

Before you jump to the conclusion about the “deserve to die” line, I’m not promoting violence. As indicated by verse 18, “God’s wrath will be revealed from Heaven,” not carried out by humans. Also, there are plenty of sins that incur this wrath, so I’m not singling this one issue out. I bring up this passage to make my point clear: If you are a Christian, you are forbidden from engaging in homosexual behavior, and forbidden from giving approval of those who do. So please either remove the rainbow colors from your profile picture, or remove your “Christian” label.