God created Adam, and after creating the rest of the earth, He then created ("artistically designed" is a more accurate translation of the original Hebrew) woman from man. So why did God create man and woman? Why didn’t He create just man and man, or better yet, woman and woman (I say this in jest here . . . I will try to convey a bit of humor in a very serious subject just to break-up the monotony)? God is God. He wanted to fill-up His recent creation with people, thus He designed procreation as a miracle between a man and a woman. God wanted to populate the earth, so hence He designed a man and a woman. This has nothing to do with a man loving a man, or a woman loving a woman – simply God wanting to have little “Gods” roaming the earth. Before you walk off offended at that last comment, the Word says that we are created in His image. I don’t mean that phrase as saying we are deity to be worshipped . . . God forbid as there shall be no other Gods before Him. I am simply saying that we are truly made in His image. So God’s purpose is no secret in creating a man and a woman . . . He wanted them to procreate the earth.

Sodom and Gomorrah – Genesis 18:16 – 19:29
I encourage you to read these scriptures as I’m not going to reprint the scriptures here for sake of saving room. However, I will stress a few key scriptures.

In verses 18:16 -33, Abraham is pleading his case to God asking Him if He would destroy a town for 10 righteous people in it (it took a while for Abraham to finally get down to 10, but give him an “A” for persistence). These scriptures provide a good separate study on intercessory prayer – a form of spiritual warfare provided to each of us. God finally says, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” Let’s look at the fact that if this scripture was really talking about homosexuals in the town, you mean there were not 10 straight people in this whole town of men, women, and children? I find that very hard to believe. Just food for thought . . . we’ll get into the meat in a second.

Two angels then visited Lot in Sodom. Lot goes to them and offers for them to stay at his house instead of staying in the open square (19:1-3). Then in verse 4 it states that “all the people from every quarter surrounded the house.” This includes all the people of the town . . . men, women, and children. Verse 5 goes on to say, “And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them.’” The word “know” in this scripture is “yada.” It means to acknowledge, recognize, acquaint, or have respect for. This was a mob scene outside of Lot’s house; he knew that these men, women, and children (young, professionals, senior citizens, alike) did not have good intent in mind regarding the visitors – they truly did not want to become acquainted or to simply acknowledge these strangers. They were a mob looking to mob. Lot knows he won’t be able to keep the large crowd disquieted so he offers his daughters to do with them as they want (what a man!).

As a result of the town showing no hospitality toward these strangers but desiring to kill them instead, Sodom was destroyed. It would have been similar to a family in the deep south of the United States only a few decades ago inviting an African American family into their home. The rest of this southern town would probably have surrounded this family’s home saying, “Send out this family because we want to get to know them too! We want to acknowledge them, become acquainted with them, and show them respect.” The family in the home would know the intent of such a crowd was not to show them respect but to beat –up their friends, or worse, kill them. Just as verse 19:9 states in the Bible, this mob in the southern town would also turn against this white family that was befriending this family of color. This was the same intent of all the townsfolk of Sodom.

If, like Christians have been taught for years, it is true that these men and women and children outside of Lot’s home were gay, why would Lot offer his two daughters to them to appease them? The men would want nothing to do with these two girls. Hmmmmm. It must be because God did not destroy Sodom because of homosexuality but because it was not hospitable toward other people who may be different from themselves. God’s Word tells us this in its own words.

In Ezekiel 16:46-49, it reads, “’Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters. You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abomination; but as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.’”

The word “abomination” in these scriptures all have the same meaning, “towebah.” This word means “idolatry.” The Soddomites committed idolatry to God . . . they worshipped their material goods and themselves over God.

Jesus is instructing His disciples in Luke 10:10 and states, “But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in the Day for Sodom than for that city.”

Jesus is telling His disciples that if a city is not hospitable to them, they should go outside of the city and dust off the city from them. He then equates that that city will be worse off than Sodom was for their inhospitality. He is equating an inhospitable city to another inhospitable city. Jesus knew the scriptures!!!

Leviticus 18:22; 20:13
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.”
“”If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”

Let me quote a few other scriptures from this section of scripture before I continue on with this portion of the study.

Leviticus 18:21b states, “nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:11 states, “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”
Leviticus 19:19 states, “. . . You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.”
Leviticus 19:26a states, “You shall not eat anything with the blood. . . .”
Leviticus 19:27 states, “You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.”
Leviticus 20:10 states, “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.”
Leviticus 20:18 states, “If a man lies with a woman during her sickness (period) and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.”

All of these scriptures (and there are a lot more where these came from) have a residual punishment of either death or being cut-off from their people.

Therefore, if we are going to truly live by the law, how many Christians have been heard using God’s name in vain? Punishable by death. How many “Christians” have lied to someone or dealt falsely with someone when selling a car or taken a pen from an employer or ?????? Punishable by death! How many have gardens with various types of seeds planted? Punishable by death! How many wear garments made of something other than 100 percent of one type of material, i.e., a mixture of polyester and cotton? Punishable by death! You wear that cotton/polyester blend and that’s the last mistake of that magnitude you’ll make! Punishable by death! How many have eaten steaks a little on the rare side? Punishable by death! How many men have shaved their beards or cut their hair (I think this one gets 95 percent of the American men)? Punishable by death! How many (even in the “Christian” church) have committed adultery and just simply asked for forgiveness? Nope! Punishable by death! Lastly, how many men have made love to their wives while she was on her period? Punishable by death!

I think you get my drift here. NO ONE could keep God’s laws as established within the book of Leviticus! That is the exact reason God sent us Jesus to redeem us because we couldn’t redeem ourselves!!!! Romans 3:19 – 24 states, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

If you want to live by the law, then you must live by the whole law (that’s what the Word says, not what Brenda says). I choose to live by my faith in Jesus Christ, and through Him we are not bound to wear 100 percent cotton or to keep our heads unshaven or any of the other things that God added as part of His law. He knew we could not live up to the law, though, so He gave us Jesus! Now we know that this was cultural thing in the time this book was written . . . we don't even consider it an abomination (nor does God) if we wear a cotton blend, if men are clean-shaven (looks much nicer and is so much more sanitary . . . no offense to those of you who like beards), or if I fall in-love with a woman.

Christians, decide if you want to live by the law or through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. If you tell your gay and lesbian brothers and sisters that they are an abomination to the Lord based on the scriptures in Leviticus, you better be abiding by ALL of those scriptures, because that is how God will judge YOU! God help you in your judgment as you’re wearing that cotton/polyester blend. You say that “it’s not the same?” Who says? God doesn’t differentiate!!!!! That is your judgment . . . not God’s!