Does the New Testament Condemn the Act of Homosexuality?

Today I received an email from a church member with a good question. He writes: "I was watching an interview with a Catholic priest this weekend and he stated that the Bible (New Testament?) does not condemn homosexuality anywhere—that this is a term that was not around in biblical times and its usage is by those translating from the original text."

My reply: The priest you saw in the interview is wrong. My guess is that he's repeating what he has heard, and just wants to justify his own beliefs instead of letting God's Word speak for itself.

Romans 1:26-27 is pretty explicit in its condemnation of homosexuality, stating that God has given practicing homosexuals over to their own depraved way of thinking. Being under God's wrath (cf. Rom. 1:18), they receive in their own bodies the penalty of their ways.

Also, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10, Paul lists homosexuals among those who have misplaced desires and will receive God's judgment.

The Old Testament (Leviticus 18:22) calls the act of homosexuality "an abomination."

Sometimes it is claimed that Jesus never spoke against homosexuality. This is not completely accurate, as He spoke against any kind of sexual behavior outside the bounds of biblical marriage (which can be defined as a life-long covenant of companionship between one man and one woman). One example of this is in His use of the word "fornication" in Mark 7:21.