How should the universal Church approach the issue of homosexuality?
Answer: If a person has not received the free gift of eternal life offered by God through Messiah Jesus, then it does not matter who that person feels sexually attracted to. The job of the universal Church, then, is to share with people how they can have a life that is abundant and eternal through saving faith in Messiah Jesus.
Also, homosexuals should receive the same humane treatment given to heterosexuals. Christians are supposed to act humanely toward heterosexuals and homosexuals alike.
So how is the universal Church to respond to homosexual Christians?
Yes, a person can have homosexual feelings and still be a Christian.
When one reads John 3:16, Romans 10:8-13 Ephesians 2:8-9 and 1 John 5:13, one can see that saving faith in Jesus is that all one needs in order to have eternal life. One adds to the Gospel when one insists that one must also be heterosexual.
Well, what about those New Testament verses that mention homosexuality?
Answer: The words homosexual, homosexuals and homosexuality are not in the Greek New Testament manuscripts. The word homosexual did not exist until it was coined in the latter half of the 19th Century CE.
Granted, the Apostle Paul coined a Greek word that he uses in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 and 1 Timothy 1:8–11. That word is ἀρσενοκοῖται, which is transliterated as arsenokoitai.
The exact meaning of arsenokoitai is in dispute.
Also see Homosexuals or Prostitutes? The Meaning of ἀρσενοκοῑται (1 Cor. 6:9, 1 Tim. 1:10).
Indeed, when Martin Luther translated 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 and 1 Timothy 1:8–11 into German, he translated arsenokoitai as Knabenschänder, which translates into English as Pederast. Modern-day German bibles use the same translation.
English versions of the Bible are not all in agreement with the way to translate arsenokoitai. For example, the 2021 edition of the NRSV translates 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 this way:
"Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, men who engage in illicit sex, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, swindlers — none of these will inherit the kingdom of God."Here is how 1 Timothy 1:8–11 is translated:
"Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately; this means understanding that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who engage in illicit sex, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted."
The post-salvation behavior of homosexual Christians is a topic that goes beyond the purpose of this website. For this paticular commentary, the important thing is that nothing in the Gospel - as presented in the New Testament- prevents homosexuals from having saving faith in Messiah Jesus.
Dealing with the issue of homosexuality is much like walking through a minefield. We have to be careful, lest someone gets hurt. We do not want to make the mistake of breaking a bruised reed or quenching a smoldering wick.
The Church needs to remember what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:12:
“Our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Satan has been using the issue of homosexuality to create a division in the Church. We Christians can use the full armor of God to fight back, but we must remember that neither homosexuals nor heterosexuals are the enemy. Our enemy is Satan.