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1. How should Christians answer the following argument? “Many Bible commands are no longer heeded in our day. We should treat the ban on homosexual behavior the same way as we treat those other commands”
   We must distinguish between the different types of Old Testament commands: (1) Commands regarding sacrifices and the priesthood that pointed to Jesus and were fulfilled and ended when He came, (2) Holiness code commands designed to keep Israel separated from pagan peoples and were ended when Jesus came, (3) Civil laws that regulated their daily living and where ended when Jesus came, (4) God’s eternal moral commands that will not come to and end.
2. Give examples of each type of law.
   (1) All animal sacrifice commands and regulations regarding the priesthood. (2) Circumcision, dietary laws, sabbath and holy day laws, (3) It was forbidden to enter a home to collect a loan. Homeowners had to build a little wall around the edge of their roofs. (4) Thou shalt not steal, kill, commit adultery, have others gods before the true God, covet, etc.
3. How do we know that was against homosexual behavior fit into the last category?
   In 1 Corinthians 6 it is listed with fornication, idolatry, adultery, coveting, drunkenness, extortion. These are all part of God’s eternal moral law.
4. How should we answer the following argument? “The church is maturing past the thinking that homosexual behavior is sin, just as it moved past thinking that it was OK to have slaves.”
   They have it backwards. Once there were some people (who said they were Christians) who thought slaveholding was acceptable to God. But there were other Christians, who understood the Bible more clearly, who knew that it was wrong. These Christians showed the slaveholders the sinfulness of slaveholding, and eventually justifying slaveholding was abandoned.
5. How should we answer the following argument? “To demand celibacy of people who identify as homosexuals is unloving and unfair.”
   There are many, many situations in life where God expects us to say “no” to  certain desires:
   1. There are many men who have very strong desires to have sex with women who are not their wives. God says “You have to resist that desire.”
   2. There are people who have strong desires to have sex with kids. God says, “You have to resist that desire.”
   3. There are single adults who have a strong desire for heterosexual sex. God says, “You have to resist that desire.”
   4. There are people who have strong desires to get drunk or to take drugs to try to escape life’s difficulties. God says, “You have to resist that desire.”
   5. there really are some people who testify that they once had strong homosexual desires, but, at least in their case, certainly not in every case… God changed those desires.
   6. It is wrong to conclude that just because we have strong desires to do a thing, means that thing must be good.
6. How should we answer the following argument? “Homosexual relationships are producing good fruit, so they must be OK.”
   We don’t get to decide what is, and what is not, good fruit. God alone gets to decide that. Good fruit is doing the will of the Father. (Matthew 7:20-23)
7. How should we answer the following argument? “We must not condemn homosexual behavior because Jesus tells us not to judge others. “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)
   The word “judge” can have more than one meaning. We are COMMANDED to judge between right and wrong behavior. Jesus also said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24) He also said, “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” (Luke 12:57) Paul wrote: “And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:10)
8. How should we answer the following argument? “Look, We overlook lots of other sins in the church. If homeosexual behavior is really sinful, why can’t we just overlook it too?”
   Truly Biblical churches do NOT overlook other sins that bring reproach to the name of Jesus and to the church. Biblical churches would not knowingly accept new members who were having sex outside marriage, addicted to pornography, cheating on their taxes, etc.
   However, just because a church might have been unfaithful in exercising restorative church discipline in other situations, does not make it right to add more unfaithfulness in the area of homosexual behavior. But it’s probably true that many churches need to be more consistent in dealing Biblically with open sin.