10 Affirming Arguments for Same-Sex Unions: A Biblical Response 

2nd Timothy 4:3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, We are definitely there.

People who are same-sex attracted are not the only ones that may be deprived from having a sex life. I have been a widow for 4 years, and before that, my husband was not capable of having sexual relations for many years. God is gracious and has helped me remain sexually moral. When we are committed to Him, he will help us honour Him by remaining sexually pure no matter what our sexual orientation is.

The Bible stated it’s an abomination. Plain & simple!

Remember, judgement day is coming! No matter how we justify sin, condone sin, word-twist the scriptures, homosexuality is sin.

In 1997, while living at 5412 berks street in Philadelphia with my elder sister, one day I left the apartment on foot to a dollar store to buy two meatball platters with spaghetti that the store sold for a dollar. I went into the dollar store and made the purchase. As I was done paying for the things I bought, I headed for the exit door. On my way to the exit door, a white lady was ahead of me to the exit door who had likewise purchased some items from the store. As I headed home on foot, she was going in my direction and in front. Suddenly, she dropped a small black wallet but kept on walking not realizing the wallet was not with her. People walking on the street were coming from behind and in front of us. Having realized this, I felt that if I walked over the wallet, the next person behind or in front coming my way that happens to see the wallet, could pick it up and decide not to return it to the rightful owner. Furthermore, I thought that if she got home and realized the wallet was not with her, she would be distraught depending on the content of the wallet. So I picked up the wallet and ran after her, yelling mam, mam. She turned around and I handed the wallet to her saying, “Mam you dropped this”. After collecting the wallet from me, she asked me a question by saying, “Who taught you how to do this? I said to her “JESUS CHRIST”. Then she said, “Thank you”, turned around, and went her way. As soon as she turned around and kept walking, a strong wind like a tornado came down from heaven and encircled me where I stood, and while in the midst of the whirlwind, it felt like someone was giving me the hug of a lifetime with tremendous peace. The peace was indescribable. Words would do it no justice. The wind was not destructive in nature but strong and gentle. People walking by did not realize what was happening because it was spiritual and only visible to me that day. Enveloped by the whirlwind, I felt like staying there forever because it felt glorious, so peaceful and full of such love indescribable that it was mind blowing as it happened. Next, the glorious Father from the excellent glory spoke out of the whirlwind with these words, “I AM WELL PLEASED BECAUSE YOU GLORIFIED MY SON JESUS CHRIST”. As soon as God the Father spoke out of the whirlwind these words, He instantly filled my heart with indescribable joy. The whirlwind remained with me for about 16 to 17 seconds after I heard those words with the arms of the Father in the whirlwind wrapped around me and then gently it dissipated from the scene and went up to heaven. This happened in broad daylight between the hours of 10 a.m. and 11a.m near city line avenue in Philadelphia. After this supernatural experience in a physical reality called time, I have never doubted the truth of the existence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost as clearly presented in the Holy Scriptures.

I am Christian, female, heterosexual, 66 yrs old, never married (not my choice) and thus celibate and alone. So as far as people who say they can’t live without sex, yes you can. As far as the church, the body of Christ, my experience is that they unfortunately tend to ignore single, never married, childless adults; presumably because of lack of common life experiences.

You cannot simply focus on the love of God, because allowing people to believe that they are right when they are still in their sins is not showing God's love.

Before I was a Christian I was incredibly lonely. I was letting men use my body. Now that I'm a Christian, I've never felt more loved and never had so much love to give out. I would never go back to my life before Christ. What I have now is so much more.

No. I’ve read the bible twice in the past year and saw nothing affirming homosexual behavior. Not a single phrase.

No. It is an abomination to the Lord because it perverts God’s will for marriage: one man and one woman. Period.

Thanks Sean, great interview. Sad that so many people comment when clearly they haven't watched

Your comment on loneliness is spot on and the church is guilty of catering to married folks and often makes marriage the ultimate goal when it is never stated as such in the Bible, more the opposite is true-you are free to minister when single without any ties or distractions. Also marriage/“soul mate” mentality as idolatry is a rampant problem in our modern society. We will kneel alone before Jesus someday to give our account and there will be no spouses in heaven. He is to be our “soul mate” plain and simple.

No… The question in of itself is absurd.

The title should read : 'A biblical response to 10 affirming arguments...' There is not enough room in the set formatting for the full title. The wording of the title unfortunately gives the wrong impression to people who don't take the time to look properly. Before commenting that someone is a heretic at least do your due diligence: read the full description, and and listen properly all the way through. Thank you to Sean for you excellent, faith-building interviews, and having the honesty and care to deal with uncomfortable topics.

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deut. 4:2.)

If we are ordering church where single Chrisitans are lonely, we are utterly failing. AMEN!!!! YES!!!!

Watch the whole video before commenting. Merely a suggestion! 😎

This should be a very short vlog. According to Romans, it's a certain NO.

Rebecca speaks with such astounding clarity! This is an amazing hour. Thank you both!

87 statements in the Bible says no

Thank you Sean McDowell and Rebecca McLaughlin for this interview that I see is clearly a call to true faith in Christ alone. God bless you

One of the best if not the best guest you have had….she speak with such wisdom, obedience to Gods Word and self denial..amen

my church celebrates single, when one is single, s/he is not tied to worldly obligations, s/he can simply be a more devoted Christian and given everything to God.

I read the title and didn’t know where this was going to go but I’m glad I stuck it out, thank you Rebecca for equipping us properly with how to counter these common same sex claims. Really well explained points that all direct us to Christ.

Dr. McLaughlin, thank you for the glorification you give to God. Your words start with issues involving same sex, but as I listened to you, the work of the Holy Spirit in you to go so far beyond the outward topic spoke so clearly to the whole Gospel of how Jesus’ love for us transcends all for all of us sinners. You are a true sister in Christ. Love to you-Peace be with you

What a powerful ending. Rebecca has truly been gifted with Godly wisdom. Thank you for this interview, Sean! I will be for sure getting her book!

Thanks for this great episode. It’s helpful to have responses to the objections people bring up about this.

Excellent interview. Thank you both so much! I'm going to go and buy the book now too!

Same sex relationship should be a NO especially in marriage

Powerful. lovely testimony Dr. McLaughlin. Thank you.

As a dad with a daughter in a same sex relationship this discussion is helping me with my own journey and understanding of what scripture is actually saying. Thank you!

Great interview. Very informative. Helps me in understanding.Thank you both.

Excellent conversation! Thank you, Sean and Rebecca.

Thank you for briging theses relevant topics and great authors.

Wow. I had never heard of Dr. McLaughlin before. I have not heard this topic discussed this charitably, intelligently, clearly, and indeed pastorally ever before. May we all follow Dr. McLaughlin in holding Jesus as our highest treasure!

This was THE BEST use of an hour. It was so full of good answers, but more than anything, it convinced me anew of Jesus’ great love for me. Thank you, Sean, for this platform.

Thanks Sean. Great work as always... would love to watch another interview with Rachel Gilson! So grateful to both her and Rebecca for both of their work and ministry, genuine but always grounded in scripture and backed up by sound reasoning!

The last one felt easy to refute, at least in my own mind. That God's love can't be against relationships of love. Because there are lots of things and people we can love. We can love false idols, even turn people into idols, spouse, children, family, friends. But just because you love something or someone so much, even if it feels genuine and intense and makes you feel good, does not mean it's a permissible love. Scripture even specifically talks about loving two masters, or loving God and mammon. Loving something or someone is not a free for all. If it's the sort of love that falls outside of God's intended purpose for love, then He very clearly condemns it, and we see evidence of this throughout scripture.

Great episode.. very informative on this very difficult topic.

About shellfish, it's curious that no one makes the same argument against the prohibition to stealing or lying that they do to homosexuality. They cherry pick the part about shellfish and mixed fabrics. So by their logic, because we allow shellfish and mixed fabrics, we shoudl also allow stealing and lying and the "m" word that's the extremely sensitive powers that be won't let people say.

Love Rebecca’s perspective. Such wisdom and maturity. Thank you!!!

God loves sinners, as we are all sinners, but God despises sinful behavior! We don't get a free pass just for "believing" in Christ! Even Satan believes in Christ. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Sweetheart, you don't get to "interpret" God's TRUTH! And drop the "I was born this way" BS. Diabetics don't get to eat a ton of sugar because they were born that way! BTW, there is NOT a "gay gene".

Love is a very vague term, I would say there is a vast difference between saying I love a woman, love a dog, love chocolate cake, love a book, love a movie, and finally love a favorite piece of furniture. If I have sex with my favorite book then having sex with it is not a proper proof of any real love for that item. It is not the emotion that is in question, it is the action towards that object where the problem lays. There are actions that are normal and still bestow a certain shade of love and there are actions that totally have nothing to do with a real definition of love. Sex can be done between people that love each other, and between people that have no emotional relationship.

Most of these comments are from people that didn’t listen all the way through. I highly recommend her book if you are trying to counsel anyone in a same sex relationship. She plainly says homosexual relationships are sin as are any sexual relationships outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.

Excellent conversation.

I admire Rebecca for her thoughtful responses to these claims. This is a very helpful interview. Thanks, y'all.

Sean, could you do a time stamp on this kind of long videos, so we can select the sections to watch?

I've learned very much from your interview. Thank you!

This is a very important video in our day and age.

I subscribe to a lot on RU-vid but yours is the best Sean! This one was outstanding, and not just because of the same sex discussion. Lots of pearls of wisdom for everyday Christian life. It was great. I admire Rebecca. All the best to her, my sister

Why should we be offended if we are sinners? Shouldn’t we be humbled knowing that pride does not make our sins go away? I abhor people using semantics to justify sin of any kind, mines included.

This was a blessing. Wonderful presentation.

This is very helpful. Thanks!

(Leviticus 18:22) Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

Absolutely phenomenal interview. Thank you.

Remarkably helpful and beautiful information

Thank you for such an amazing video, and such a great presentation. I think the approach of exegetically coming to scripture and not going for imposing an eisegesis is imperative…… I really appreciate the video - thank you for sharing your own story as well, Rebecca xxx

Thanks Sean! I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation as it's helpful in our understanding from God's word. Blessings xo

Rebecca speaks truth. At 8:20: nobody is ultimately owned by their desires. Every person who wants to follow Jesus receives the two-fold call to repent and to believe. This is so true, and this is the right answer to the ‘inclusive’ argument. It is your and my responsibility to respond to any temptation to sin (including same sex attraction) by relying on Jesus and denying ourselves, and obey him.

Well said! Glad this information is out there

@seanmcdowell What is your hope in platforming Side B Christians like Rebecca and Presto. N Sprinkle? How would you and Rebecca responded to 1 Corinthians 10:13? Can a person be regenerate by holding onto an identity that does not align with scripture?

Incredible breakdown of these arguments. I learned a lot listening. Did I miss it, or was there the point that many pagan forms of worship involved free and unrestrained acts of sex and would have been the reason to stay away from it? Also her beginning explanation of the exclusivity and inclusivity of Christianity was a very powerful insight. I will definitely consider her book for my library.

This was fantastic! I love Rebecca's heart, love for the Scriptures, but especially her love for Jesus. I simply wanted to add that even though Paul probably had a gift of celibacy, Paul had, and also needed, relationships with others within the church. Oh, yes. One comment from Rebecca which I give a hearty "amen" to was when she was talking about love and how rarely we see this applied to marriage, or even child rearing. I always like to say, "before my husband is my husband, he is also a brother in Christ and I am treat him as I would other believers." This is why I tell people, we should be glad if our spouse loves Jesus more and "hates" me because if that happens I will be loved more than I could even imagine. Awesome, awesome conversation.

Do y’all read the description of the video??? It’s a discussion of the scriptures some misuse for same sex.

A fine discussion!

I’m gay. I’ve been celibate for 14 years. Love Jesus and God more.

Beautiful!!!! Just Ordered 2 copies of her book!!

This was a fantastic episode. I have been blessed by it

This was fantastic! A courageous sister in Christ! God bless you both ❤

Hi Karl, I have a question about the 80 years as a nation on page 38. What about Saul, David and Solomon's reign?

Says one Christian sister to another: “You HAVE to love me.” I burst out in tears when l heard this…The problem of the worship and idolization of marriage in the church: it happens when we see a spouse or other human as a savior, not Jesus as our primary relationship. It happens when we give too much weight to earthly marriage rather than remember its use as a metaphor or symbol to represent Jesus’ love for His bride, or believers. This makes me think of nuns and priests, the idea being that they are single but ‘marry’ the Lord and lived in relationship with many other Christians (of course this is where many with same sex attraction had gravitated to). Yes as Christians we need to do SO MUCH BETTER loving each other, no matter marital status. It’s why church groups divided by ‘singles’, ‘married’, etc. were repellant to me in the past.

Very very very helpful!!!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

This was such a great talk. Your guest was brilliant. Thank you.

Leviticus 18:22 in the Bible says, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination" That is simple to the point . How hard is that hard to understand Where is the word homosexual in that verse? Why don't you go to the Hebrew language too ... Or the Greek

52:01 Thank you for pointing that out, Rebecca. Very true.

Wow! several profound points made in this conversation for us all.

What are the books that you mentioned

Thank you Rebecca. The Church tends to push away even singles. "The Lord is near the brokenhearted;" - Psalm 34:18

Very good Rebecca! Thank you!

Thanks Sean. Great work as always.

Wow! Thank you for this episode. Such profound and well-studied answers that not only answer the questions related to the topic but point us back to Jesus' love and how important He is...above anything else Brilliant.

Wow we need a PhD to tell us what is plainly stated in Scripture. Wonderful

Closing remarks left me speechless... Reminds me of John 15:13

I also bought into the "critical" interpretation of the Sodom story (that it was really about hospitality etc). Bought if you read it carefully: Why did Lot offer up his daughters? Of course it was for sexual purposes - and therefore, what the crowd was after, in the story, was to have sex with the visiting men (who were really angels). So no, it´s not about "hospitality". It´s about sin. The "old school" interpretation is clearly the correct one.

I'm not sold on this idea of "unconditional love." God is our standard, and He places conditions on love. This is not wrong either. Deuteronomy 28:1

Paul is talking about practice. Amen not having the same attraction but practicing it

Important topic! Was in a hurry so I ran through chatGPT to get initial pointers. Will now watch the video to see how correct the AI was. Posting here in case anyone else wants to review in concise version: 1. **Christians should just focus on the gospel of God's love.** - Dr. McLaughlin argued that God's design for Christian marriage is inherently tied to the gospel of God's love, and that true love cannot be separated from God's design for marriage and our bodies. 2. **Jesus was silent on same-sex relationships.** - Dr. McLaughlin pointed out that Jesus did define marriage in Matthew 19, referring back to Genesis, where marriage is described as a union between male and female. She emphasized that Jesus' teachings on marriage implicitly exclude same-sex unions. 3. **God's judgment on Sodom isn't judgment on same-sex relationships.** - Dr. McLaughlin noted that the story of Sodom in Genesis is often misunderstood and that historical interpretations within the church have consistently viewed it as condemning same-sex sexual relationships. 4. **The Bible's prohibitions on same-sex relationships are outdated and culturally specific.** - Dr. McLaughlin explained that while some Old Testament laws are not reiterated in the New Testament, the prohibitions against same-sex relationships are reaffirmed, indicating their continued relevance. 5. **Paul condemns exploitative same-sex relationships, not consensual ones.** - Dr. McLaughlin argued that Paul's writings in the New Testament do not make a distinction between exploitative and consensual same-sex relationships, and that the prohibitions apply broadly to all same-sex sexual relationships. 6. **The concept of sexual orientation is modern and not addressed in the Bible.** - Dr. McLaughlin acknowledged that while the modern concept of sexual orientation is not explicitly addressed in the Bible, the biblical texts still provide clear guidance on sexual ethics and relationships. 7. **The Bible's overarching message is one of love and inclusion.** - Dr. McLaughlin emphasized that true love, according to the Bible, involves adhering to God's design for marriage and sexuality, and that inclusion does not mean affirming all behaviors. 8. **There are examples of same-sex relationships in the Bible that are positive.** - Dr. McLaughlin refuted this argument by stating that the examples often cited (e.g., David and Jonathan) do not involve sexual relationships and should not be interpreted as endorsements of same-sex unions. 9. **The Bible's teachings on marriage and sexuality are not meant to be taken literally.** - Dr. McLaughlin argued that the teachings on marriage and sexuality in the Bible are meant to be taken seriously and literally, as they reflect God's design and purpose for human relationships. 10. **The church has historically changed its stance on other issues, so it can change on this one too.** - Dr. McLaughlin countered that while the church has indeed changed its stance on some issues, the biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality have remained consistent and are rooted in the unchanging nature of God's design.

Thanks Rebecca.

Thank you.

Great answer about brotherly love Rebecca! ❤

I always knew I was a sinner since a child don’t get when people can’t see their own sin

Thorough investigation! Can you right a book justifying murder next?

God doesn’t make mistakes when creating our genders and sexual preferences to the opposite sex. The VAST majority of gay men, and woman were abused in someway, shape or fashion. There could be other triggering factors like a terribly overbearing and non supportive father to a son etc.

“Deep love on offer!” I love this phrase that Dr. McLaughlin used to describe the atmosphere that ought to prevail in the church. It's a shame the video didn't get to its deep-love-on-offer portion till it was almost over. Instead, we had the obligatory parrying of arguments for affirming same-sex relationships to make sure everyone's got their doctrine right. I'm tired of that. So tired. Dr. McLaughlin, would you tell us more about your church? How do you make people feel welcome? How do you inspire church members to reach out in love? I want to hear more about a church with deep love on offer.

Thank you for such a powerful Biblical God honoring conversation about an important topic!

Wow! She is so rich in Jesus! God’s blessings all over you, Sister!! Thank you so much for loving our King!!!

We recognize that our own twisted desires are very strong yet they pale in comparison to the strength of God’s desire for us!

Thank you

I love her closing statements about Real Christian Family 😁

I really appreciate Rebecca’s study in the Bible & her own candid sharing that makes her credibility in answering these questions valid. I agree in her answers & makes me want to keep focusing on loving those struggling with same sex desires especially in the body of Christ. Christ’s love for us trumps all that we may feel is lost. I agree our culture idolizes too much on relationship with others. Paul’s letter to the Philippians may apply to what I’m thinking: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬