Is it fair to say because Jesus didn’t mention homosexuality, He was for it?

Christian Post ^ | 06/15/2024 | Jason Jimenez

[SeekAndFind]

I'm sure you've heard this argument before. It's a common argument in LGBT-affirming circles. It goes something like this: Since Jesus did not specifically address homosexuality, it is assumed that he was accepting of it. This position is often referred to as the “silent argument.”

In this article, I aim to provide you with a biblically grounded and theologically sound refutation of the “silent argument.”

By examining Jesus's teachings on marriage, sexuality, and sin, we can clearly understand his beliefs and teachings. This will allow us to respond to the misinterpretations promoting Jesus as a gay-affirming Jewish rabbi.

Responding to the silent argument

It is poor reasoning to think because Jesus didn’t mention a particular sin or immoral evil, he somehow was for it. This is problematic for three primary reasons.

First, are we to assume that Jesus' failure to mention bestiality, rape, and incest explicitly implies his support of these immoral acts? Of course not. Even gay revisionists recognize the flaws and limitations of using “silence” as an indicator of Jesus' support for immoral behavior.

Second, the “silent argument” makes unwarranted assumptions about the cultural context of Jesus' time and attributes excessive importance to what Jesus' culture should have acknowledged and accepted as truth. But it wasn’t like parents were having kids coming out left and right like in our culture today. At that time, homosexuality wasn't a significant issue. It was widely understood that same-sex behavior was not in line with the Scriptures and was, therefore, forbidden for Jews to practice.

Third, the “silent argument” falsely assumes that the Gospel accounts encompass all of Jesus' teachings and views, which is a stretch. A close companion of Jesus even said at the end of his account, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). John uses a bit of exaggeration to emphasize that Jesus had plenty to say about a wide range of topics. This goes back to the point made earlier. If homosexuality were as prevalent and acceptable as gay revisionists claim, then indeed, we would have evidence of Jesus speaking directly to the moral issue in the affirmative.

But wait. Many gay revisionists like to cite the Sermon on the Mount as supporting their inclusive beliefs about sexuality. However, it's not a solid source to support their view. If there were many LGBT individuals in Jesus’ time and he was accepting of them, why then didn't Jesus deliver a “Gay Pride Sermon on the Mount.” That would have been the perfect opportunity to address the issue of homosexuality openly to help change people’s minds.

Yet, that’s not what Jesus did. What we actually see in the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus addressing the issue of lustful desires, teaching that those who look at another person with lust have already committed adultery in their hearts (Matthew 5:28). In Mark 7:21-23, Jesus takes it a step further and explicitly lays out specific lusts and sins, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Jesus used the Greek word porneia, which encompasses not only “sexual immorality” but also homosexual sex.

Based on these two passages alone, it is evident that we receive direct teachings from Jesus that are far from silent. Jesus' teachings stress the significance of self-control and the necessity to safeguard one's heart and mind against impure thoughts and sexual sin, which dishonor God.

What Jesus actually affirmed

A straightforward and honest reading of the canonical Gospels reveals that Jesus’ ministry, teachings, and self-understanding are firmly grounded in the Jewish Scriptures.

In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus declares, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” In this statement, Jesus affirms the moral laws of the Old Testament, which include prohibitions against homosexual acts as outlined in Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13. The consistency of the moral law in Jesus' teachings (as we just read in Matthew 5:28 and Mark 7:21-23) indicates that He supported these prohibitions.

There is, however, an attempt to counter the interpretation of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, which details homosexuality as an “abomination,” by suggesting that it refers only to pagan practices or rituals centered around temple idol worship. But that’s not what you see in the context of Leviticus. In Leviticus, Moses lists sexual tiers from bad to worse: 1. adultery, 2. homosexuality, 3. incest, and 4. bestiality.

These prohibitions are determined based on their rejection of the standard of moral living, especially regarding sexuality and marriage. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus emphasized the sanctity and permanence of marriage as outlined in the creation account in the book of Genesis.

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’? So, they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:5-6).

Jesus couldn't have been more explicit about his beliefs and affirmations regarding marriage and sex. In Matthew 19, Jesus provides a clear blueprint for the sacred union of marriage and emphasizes the importance of sexual relations within the context of marriage. His teachings align with and affirm the moral standards set in the Mosaic law, upholding the purity and holiness of sexual relations within the bonds of marriage between a man and woman.

Considering Jesus's affirmation of the Jewish Scriptures, the creational model of marriage being between a man and a woman, and the call for repentance from all types of sin, including sexual sin, it is evident that Jesus did not need to address homosexual practices specifically. His teachings made it clear that he had high standards for sexuality, relationships, and marriage.

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Jason Jimenez is the founder and president of Stand Strong Ministries and is a respected Christian-worldview speaker, and faculty member at Summit Ministries. He is the best-selling author of Hijacking Jesus: How Progressive Christians Are Remaking Him and Taking Over the Church, Challenging Conversations: A Practical Guide to Discuss Controversial Topics in the Church, and Parenting Gen Z: Guiding Your Child through a Hostile Culture.

[rlmorel]

Good article. Thanks fof posting it.

[TribalPrincess2U]

It is whatever you want it to be. IMHO

[South Dakota]

I believe the Lord said relation are for the purpose of procreation

[No name given]

And those relationships are to be between one man and one woman, both married to each other. Not two men or two women. And polygamy is out of the question.

[Just mythoughts]

Christ said ‘Remember Lot’s wife’. And Matthew 10:14-15. Course the devil is well known for twisting the Scripture.

[Republican Wildcat]

Matthew 19:4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

[cowboyusa]

This is what happens when Marconism comes into the Church. That the God of the Old Testement is a mean God, and YESHUA did something to change his mind. NOPE. YESHUA is the GOD of the WHOLE Bible.

[Persevero]

Jesus is God

God is three in one (Trinity) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

God wrote the Bible

So Jesus wrote plenty about sexual sin.

Basically the only sex that is approved by God is between a married man and woman. All else is sin, whether homosexual or anything else.

[Getready]

Jesus never mentioned disapproval of sex between a brother and sister. I guess that means he allows incest.
Gay men trying to find excuses for killing or harming themselves and others with incurable or severely debilitating diseases. Satan has completely blinded their understanding of the peril they are in.

[metmom]

He didn’t need to specifically mention it.

And argument from silence is Olympic grade rationalization.

God’s pretty clear in the OT about homosexuality and Jesus reminded people that He came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it. IOW, He has NOT changed His mind on it.

[SaveFerris]

Exactly. And of course, Jesus never mentioned transsexual swimmers, so.......

[Satan has completely blinded their understanding of the peril they are in.]

Anyone who doesn't believe that we're in the Days of Lot, as prophesied in Luke chapter 17, isn't paying attention.

The hour is very, very late indeed. There's not much time to freely share the Word of God and the opportunities are already closing.



--------------------------------

Genesis 19:27-28 KJV

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19%3A27-28&version=KJV

Even thus shall it be in the Days
of the Coming of the Son of Man...



(new version)



[can't find the door]

Genesis 19:1-11 - New King James Version

Sodom’s Depravity

1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.

2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.

5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”

6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,

7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!

8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.

10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19%3A1-11&version=NKJV

[AZJeep]

God’s pretty clear in the OT about homosexuality and Jesus reminded people that He came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it. IOW, He has NOT changed His mind on it.

____________________

Not just OT. Pauline letters are very specific on this subject, listing homosexuality as one of the greatest sins!
See e.g. Romans 1:18-32

[metmom]

Yes, Paul does mention it.

But the weak argument is that JESUS didn’t, therefore it must not be important or He condones it.

[SaveFerris]

1st Corinthians 6:9

[Karliner]

Matthew 10:15

Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

Luke 10:12 "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

Matthew 11:23-24

And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” Luke 17:28-30

It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

Sodom/Gomorrah, Jesus quotes

[Nervous Tick]

>> I believe the Lord said relation are for the purpose of procreation

Yeah, but men can now get pregnant, right? It’s all so confusing...

(Actually, as you say, it’s not confusing. The LORD, the GOD of order and not chaos, did spell out that sexual relations are for “being fruitful and multiplying”. All the present perverted noise is from the father of lies, satan.)

[doorgunner69]

More likely, in a more sane age, it was so patently depraved and abnormal, there was no question about it.

[jonrick46]

Jesus got the proof of his thinking about homosexuality by the behavior of the Roman culture with their bath houses and the sexual perversions of the ruling class.

[nickcarraway]

So, since Jesus never said serial killers are bad?