POV

Dr. James B. DeYoung
The chief discussion of this passage concerns the terms "homosexual offenders." In the Greek it is one compound word, which never occurs in any writing before the Apostle Paul (he uses it once more in 1 Timothy 1:8-10). The term arsenokoitai literally means "male beds." Paul probably coins the word (as he coins others in his Epistles) and derives it from Leviticus 20:13 (similar to 18:22) where in the Greek text of the LXX the two terms arsenos and koitein are back-to-back in the sentence: "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable" (literally, "If a man makes a bed with a man...").

	By drawing on Leviticus Paul's meaning cannot be limited to male prostitutes, pederasts, perverts, etc., for he thinks more broadly with his biblical worldview. All homosexual behavior and orientation, written about hundreds of years before Paul, must be included.

This text is important for several reasons. It affirms that homosexuals and other unrepentant sinners have no place in God's kingdom (which must include heaven in its meaning). Also, people who come to Christ are expected to change from their past evil behavior and identity by the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Finally, the same term occurs in 1 Timothy 1:8-10 where Paul deals with what is unlawful, ungodly and unholy (using legal, religious and moral categories). This suggests that homosexual behavior is a proper object of restriction by the law, faith, and public morality.

Dr. David M. Carr
This list illustrates just how far Paul's world was from ours. None of its terms refer to the sort of "homosexual identity" under debate now. The term translated "male prostitutes" in the above NIV translation more likely refers to the passive partner of a male-male sexual relationship. The word translated "homosexual offenders," is an obscure expression made of the Greek words for "male" and "bed." If it refers to "offenders,"

	People cite vice lists of this sort from Paul while ignoring his broader ambivalence toward all sexuality. As is clear in 1 Corinthians 7, Paul does not just want his congregation to avoid sex between males. He would be happiest if they avoided sex and marriage altogether.

People cite vice lists of this sort from Paul while ignoring his broader ambivalence toward all sexuality. As is clear in 1 Corinthians 7, Paul does not just want his congregation to avoid sex between males. He would be happiest if they avoided sex and marriage altogether. To be sure, he tells married men and women to stay married and to have sex as needed to prevent other sorts of sexual immorality, but this he says "as a concession, not as a command" (1 Corinthians 7:1-6). He wishes others were celibate like him, and he encourages the unmarried to stay unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:7-27). Marriage is a distraction from "affairs of the LORD" (1 Cor 7:32-33). Like many contemporaries, Paul was ambivalent about sex, certainly male-male and female-female sex, but also sex between husband and wife. Those finding a pro-family agenda in Paul must ignore his broader attitude about sex and marriage.