Homosexuality: Natural or Unnatural?

The Bible, or more specifically, Apostle Paul, describes homosexual behaviour as "unnatural." Read what we find in the book of Romans, chapter 1:

"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." - Romans 1:26-27

This is one of those texts in the Bible that are not hard to understand but actually hard to swallow. The argument here is clear: we rejected God and now find ourselves desiring what we were not naturally made to do.

One thing that might be confusing for some people is that they feel like homosexuality is very natural for them, but what Paul is talking about here is not this subjective sexual inclination that feels natural to us. No, he is speaking of natural and unnatural in terms of God's design for creation.

And that's the problem with sin. Because we're born in sin, our very nature is contrary to God's initial purpose for us, and for this reason, unnatural from a creational perspective. Our "nature" as we experience it is unnatural.

And that's the profoundly deceiving nature of sin; it frequently feels very natural for us - making us question how something could be wrong if it is a "pure" expression of who we are.

But when we understand and accept it, two things become clear: we cannot trust our own hearts and need something external to us as a guide. And here is the beauty of the gospel message: when we repent from our sins and place our trust in Jesus and his teachings, it is because the Holy Spirit is working inside us, giving us a new heart, a natural one. A heart that desires the things in the way God created them to be. And we start to love the Word of God because it becomes a light to our path.

Many people think being human is "sinning," but that's quite the opposite. Sin has caused us to exchange what is natural for what is unnatural and shameful. Only God, the Creator of everything, can restore us to what we ought to be.

Nino Marques