What is the meaning of Leviticus 18:22? You must not lie with a man • “Lie with” is the ordinary Hebrew idiom for sexual relations, so the command addresses a specific physical act, not merely desire or friendship (cf. Leviticus 20:13). • Scripture elsewhere confirms that same-sex acts are outside God’s moral will: – Romans 1:27: “The men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men …” – 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 lists “men who have sex with men” among sins that bar the unrepentant from God’s kingdom, immediately followed by the hope of cleansing in Christ (v. 11). – 1 Timothy 1:10 includes such acts in a catalog of behavior “contrary to sound doctrine.” • The verse therefore delivers a clear, timeless prohibition, rooted in God’s revealed standards rather than shifting cultural opinion. as with a woman • By adding this phrase, God contrasts the forbidden act with the only divinely sanctioned sexual pattern: male–female union in marriage. – Genesis 2:24: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” – Jesus reaffirms the same design in Mark 10:6–9, grounding marriage in creation. • The comparison highlights two truths: – Sexual complementarity is intentional and good. – Redirecting sexual expression away from that design distorts what God calls “very good” (Genesis 1:31). • Within marriage, intimacy is honored (Hebrews 13:4); outside it—including same-sex intimacy—it is prohibited. that is an abomination • “Abomination” signals something morally repugnant to God (cf. Proverbs 6:16-19 for other actions He “hates”). • The word is used for practices that attack covenant holiness, especially in worship and sexuality (Deuteronomy 12:31; Leviticus 20:13). • Calling the act an abomination underscores: – Its seriousness before a holy God. – The need for repentance and purification, not merely personal preference. • Yet even here Scripture pairs warning with grace: “Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:11). God’s mercy in Christ reaches anyone who turns to Him, regardless of past sin. Summary Leviticus 18:22 plainly forbids male-male sexual relations, contrasting them with the divinely established male-female pattern and labeling the act an “abomination,” a term reserved for conduct God finds wholly incompatible with His holiness. Cross-scriptural testimony—from Genesis creation ordinances to New Testament exhortations—confirms the command’s enduring moral force while also extending the hope of forgiveness and transformation through Jesus Christ for all who repent and believe. |
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