Dear Bro Eli,
Some people reason out (especially the Seventh Day Adventist group here in the Philippines) that what is mentioned in the book of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 are the people who were former gays, but after they have received baptism they have already changed their ways and were no longer gays but have become “straights”.
What can you say about this Bro Eli?
Ken
Dear Ken,
While there may be gays or homosexuals in the first century Christians at Corinth, but, there are those who are called by Paul as “abusers of themselves with mankind”.
1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-11
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
The phrase “abusers of themselves with mankind” being referred to in the verse are Sodomites in the Greek scriptures. Sodomites are not homosexuals or gays: They are, by nature, users of women; but because of the overwhelming lust in them, after leaving the use of women, they have lusted with the same sex.
ROMANS 1:26-27
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
We can be enlightened by what happened in Sodom, before the time of Paul.
GENESIS 19:4-11 (NIV)
4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house.
5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. And they said, “This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.”
You will notice in the verse that Lot offered his two virgin daughters to these men of Sodom but, they opted to have sex with the angels, which were in male form who visited Lot.
The term ‘Sodomites’ does not refer to gays or homosexuals. They are men who, after indulging sexually with women, will want to do the same with men.
LEVITICUS 18:22
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
The gays mentioned by Paul to the Corinthians are ‘malakos’ in Greek, which means:
G3120
μαλακός
malakos
mal-ak-os’
Of uncertain affinity; soft, that is, fine (clothing); figuratively a catamite: – effeminate, soft.
Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek Words taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.
G3120
μαλακός
malakos
Thayer Definition:
- soft, soft to the touch
- metaphorically in a bad sense
2a) effeminate
2a1) of a catamite
2a2) of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man
2a3) of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness
2a4) of a male prostitute
Part of Speech: adjective
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: of uncertain affinity
Considering all these definitions, ‘malakos’ of effeminate are not Sodomites. Homosexuals are not Sodomites; they are naturally born with a man’s body, but with preferences of a female. Gays or homosexuals can not be psychologically changed but can be spiritually guided for salvation.
The condemnation of almost all religious groups towards gays (that they can not inherit the kingdom of God) is unjust. God wants all men to be saved.
1 TIMOTHY 2:4
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
A gay, with the heart of a gay and characteristics of a gay, can be spiritually and morally upright by the teachings of the gospel of Christ. We must remember that Christ came for the healing of sinners.
MARK 2:17
When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
I hope that this enlightened you.
God Bless.
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