I have not been in ministry for a long time (10 years) but I have seen a very big shift. The number one question I have gotten in the last 3 years has to do with homosexuality and same-sex marriage. I don’t think that in the previous 7 years combined I’ve had as many conversations about this topic as in these last 12 months. It seems that everyone is talking about it, whether inside and outside the church.
People often ask for resources or more information on the topic, but most of the real good stuff out there is pretty dense and off-putting to the curious church member or biblical illiterate. I’m thankful that Kevin DeYoung has brought his pastoral heart and lucid pen to this subject. In his book What does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? DeYoung writes a most helpful book on this subject.
The book breaks into two parts. Part 1 deals with what the Bible teaches about homosexuality. DeYoung shows that the Bible teaches unequivocally that homosexuality is a sin. And, that this is the teaching throughout the Bible and not limited to some obscure, non-applicable portion of the Scripture. In doing this he helps to educate his readers that it is not just the expression of sin that God is opposed to (though he is), but the depravity of the heart, the nature that is rebelling against God’s rule. I thought Kevin was particularly helpful in his careful lexical work to show the continuity between Paul’s thought in Romans 1 and the holiness code in Leviticus. People who walk through that section will find themselves well equipped to easily explain a subject that may have previously been intimidating.
In part 2 he deals with the objections to this interpretation. Chapters such as “Not that Kind of Homosexuality” and “What about Gluttony and Divorce” and “You’re on the Wrong Side of History” and “The God I worship is a God of Love” are quite helpful. DeYoung winsomely and faithfully navigates these perennial questions with pastoral care and biblical precision. Readers who read them will not only be better equipped to answer question but also to answer them without being a jerk. Which, regrettably, is sometimes a problem for us as Christians.
The topic is not going away and neither are the questions. I’m thankful that Kevin DeYoung put in the work to write the book that will serve the broader church. This is definitely a book that I whole-heartedly recommend.
