lgbtq stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning, or queer. What does God think of the lgbtq? Some say He supports them. After all, didn’t Jesus Christ teach that we should love everyone? Others say God condemns them. This is a volatile subject. But as Christians, we should only be concerned with what God says.

Yet there is actually a lot of disagreement over what the Bible says on this subject.

Consider two scriptures in the Old Testament book of Leviticus: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. … If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination …” (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). Some say these verses are a product of an ancient culture and do not reflect God’s thinking. One pro-homosexual religious website explains that for modern Christians to consider them “criteria for ethical and moral decision making would be naive at best, heresy at worst. The priests used the tools of knowledge at their disposal, just as we are required to use the tools of knowledge available to us. Today, we can benefit from thousands of years of learning!”

Do you believe it can be heresy to follow Scripture, or to believe that the Bible, even the Old Testament, reflects God’s thinking? Can the Bible be trusted, or not? Is it God’s Word, or not?

Homosexuality apologetics abound with statements that mitigate the authority of Scripture. Every biblical statement against homosexuality is passed off as being mistranslated or misunderstood or no longer relevant. The Apostle Paul’s condemnations of homosexuality, for example (Romans 1:24-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10), are dismissed as being unclear, or mere statements of personal preference.

The question is, why go to the trouble to “explain away” passage after passage of Scripture if you intend to simply believe exactly what you want to believe no matter what?

As further “proof” that God permits homosexuality, these scholars note that Jesus Christ never personally condemned it. But they overlook His statement that we should live by every word of God (Matthew 4:4).

Notice what Jesus Himself said: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” (Matthew 19:4-5). Jesus is taking us back to the creation of human beings: God made a male and a female, then joined them in marriage and instructed them in how to become one flesh—how to have sex within marriage. God created the pattern for all mankind to follow. Yet the way society today thinks about sex and “gender,” God’s decision to create two sexes was arbitrary and purposeless. Do you really believe that?

God gave the Seventh Commandment to protect marriage and family: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Several related laws amplify this commandment in defining sexual morality. Those verses in Leviticus provide God’s view on homosexuality. Deuteronomy 22:5 has a complementary law by which God intended to accentuate and preserve differences between the sexes. God gave specific prohibitions against lustful thinking (e.g. Exodus 20:17); premarital sex (e.g. Exodus 22:16-17); rape (Deuteronomy 22:25-27); all forms of incest (Leviticus 18:6-17); and bestiality (verse 23). Such acts are not new; people have been doing them for millennia. But God is clear: He wants the sexual relationship, which He designed, to be shared only between husband and wife.

There are reasons God’s Word warns against these practices. What happens if a person breaks these laws? They deprive themselves of the blessings God wants to give them. And tragedy often ensues. The National Survey on lgbtq Youth Mental Health says 39 percent of lgbtq youth have seriously considered suicide in the past year! People want to blame an intolerant society, but society is growing quite tolerant, even encouraging, and the numbers aren’t changing.

God doesn’t want His creation to suffer. He wants us to be blessed, happy and healthy: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2). So what does He think when people turn their backs on the blessings He wants to give? As a loving Father, he pleads with people to change—to turn to obeying Him.

In Matthew 4:17, Christ said, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repent of what? God wants all people to repent of sin. Sin is the breaking of God’s laws (1 John 3:4). Repentance means change to the way they can be blessed in this life and, ultimately, in His Kingdom. God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

What does God think of the lgbtq? He wants them to come to the knowledge of His truth. He wants them to learn about how He created family. He wants them to understand that the physical family is an exact type of the God Family (e.g. Ephesians 5:31-32). He wants them to live His way and experience all the joys and blessings produced by following His laws.

God the Father and Jesus Christ love all people dearly! That is why Christ died for the sins of mankind (John 3:16). But Christ also taught repentance, which is turning away from sin and following God’s wonderful laws.

There are some who may want to change from the lgbtq lifestyle but feel they can’t. God reminds us that with His help all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Notice this encouraging admonition from the Prophet Ezekiel: “Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive” (Ezekiel 18:27).

All sin can be conquered with God’s help! For more understanding on this vital subject, request our free literature The Missing Dimension in Sex and Redefining Family. Also, request How to Be an Overcomer.