It’s true that we have no record of Jesus specifically mentioning homosexuality during His earthly ministry, but He didn’t mention bestiality or molesting children either. Does this “argument from silence” (a logical fallacy) prove that Jesus was okay with these things? Of course not! We do know however that Jesus affirmed marriage as one man and one woman in a one-flesh relationship for life by appealing to creation. 

One argument in favor of “gay” marriage made by professed Christians and unbelievers is, “Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality.” Is this statement true? Yes and No. It’s true that we have no record of Jesus specifically mentioning homosexuality during His earthly ministry, but He didn’t mention bestiality or molesting children either. Does this “argument from silence” (a logical fallacy) prove that Jesus was okay with these things? Of course not!

We do know however that Jesus affirmed marriage as one man and one woman in a one-flesh relationship for life by appealing to creation. (Of course, Jesus is God the Son Incarnate. He affirms the entire Old Testament. Yet, even if I grant that Jesus’ words, the red letters, during His earthly ministry are more authoritative than the rest of Scripture, the argument still fails.) He essentially said, “It’s Adam and Eve, and not any other definition.” Thus, Jesus rejected every other so-called definition of marriage beyond what was given in Genesis 1:27 and 2:23-24.

In Mark 10:2-9, we read,

2And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

When asked about divorce, Jesus quoted Genesis 1:27 and 2:24. The parameters for all expressions of sexual orientation, for all desire for one-flesh relationship and all that it entails, is one man and one woman committed to one another for life in marriage. Every other desire for any aspect of this one-flesh relationship outside of seeking marriage to the opposite sex is a violation of God’s creation. In other words, to desire any aspect of the one-flesh relationship outside of marriage between one man and one woman for life is sin. That’s what Jesus thinks about Homosexuality.

Thus, we see that we cannot separate Jesus’s views of marriage from the Old Testament view of marriage, the “Traditional (Biblical) definition of marriage,” since the Old Testament view of marriage is Jesus’s view of marriage.

Furthermore, we cannot separate Jesus’ views of marriage and homosexuality from the other New Testament writers. In addition to hearing the argument, “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality,” I often hear, “Paul was against homosexuality, but he was a bigot.” But, if Paul was a bigot, you must reject the entire New Testament:

• If Paul was a bigot (Rom. 1:26-32; 1 Cor. 6:9), then you cannot trust his letters in the New Testament: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.
• Since Luke details Paul’s conversion, Christ’s commissioning of Paul as an apostle, and the various miracles Paul did, while never diminishing his ministry (even though he was a bigot), you must reject Luke’s writings as well since he approved of a bigot’s (Paul’s) ministry. As a result, you must reject the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
• Since the apostle Peter called the apostle Paul’s writings “Scripture” in 2 Peter 3:15-16, you must reject all of Peter’s writings since he approved of a bigot’s (Paul’s) ministry. As a result, you must reject the Gospel of Mark since he detailed the eyewitness account of a bigot-approver (Peter), and since Mark was a companion and friend of Paul the bigot (Acts 13:5; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philemon 24).
• Since Matthew recorded the words of Christ in affirming Peter’s (a bigot-approver’s) ministry in Matthew 16:18, you must reject the Gospel of Matthew.
• Since James approved of a bigot’s (Paul’s) ministry in Acts 15 and Gal. 2:9, you must reject the book of James.
• Jude, as well, the half-brother of Jesus, approved of Peter’s ministry (Acts 1:13), even though Peter approved of Paul’s (a bigot’s) ministry; therefore, you must reject the letter of Jude.
• Since the book of Hebrews was either written by a bigot (Paul) or a bigot-approver (Apollos or someone else who approved of Paul’s ministry, since all Christian leaders we know of in the New Testament church approved of Paul’s ministry), you must reject the book of Hebrews.
• Since the apostle John approved of both Peter’s (a bigot-approver’s) (John 21; Acts 1, 3) and Paul’s (a bigot’s) (Gal. 2:9) ministries, you must reject his writings as well: The Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation.
• Jesus approved of Paul’s ministry according to Luke in Acts 26:14-18, and since there is nothing written by Jesus’s hand in the Bible, and since we only have Jesus’s words written by those who approve of Paul the bigot’s ministry, you must reject all the words in the Bible that Christ said.
• *Even if I grant that some of these men approved of a bigot or bigot-approver prior to his sin, we still have no record of them recanting. And they had plenty of time and chances to recant!

If you think Paul was a bigot, then you must argue that the entire New Testament has been corrupted–including the words of Christ–by the apostle Paul’s bigotry. Do you love your homosexual sin more than Christ?

In conclusion, “What does Jesus think about gay marriage?” Jesus thinks that gay marriage is evil. If you are a homosexual, I encourage you to agree with God’s word instead of agreeing with what the world says against His word. There’s no possible way a person can read the Bible and come up with, “Homosexual marriage is not evil,” unless he or she changes Scripture. Don’t change Scripture, for the same Bible that says Homosexual marriage is sin, also says that Jesus Christ is the only Way of salvation (John 14:6).

If you cannot trust the Bible when it speaks about sin, you cannot trust the Bible when it speaks about salvation. Based on the authority of God’s word, I encourage you to repent of all homosexual desires you are conscious of. Repent of all desires grounded in your homosexual orientation. If you turn from your sin (repent), believing (faith) that Christ died for your sin and rose from the dead to declare you righteous before His Father, you will be saved from God’s wrath, your wicked heart, the evil one, and this wicked world. Christ will wash you (salvation); Christ will be washing you daily (sanctification); and you will be ultimately washed by Christ in the end (glorification).

If you are a Christian, continue repenting of all sin and sinful desires and continue trusting in Christ alone for your salvation.

Jared Moore is pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in Hustonville, KY. This article first appeared on his blog and is used with his permission.

[Editor’s note: The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]