Can a Person Be Born Gay?
The Christian perspective on sexuality begins not with human desire, but with Creation and the universal mandate for Holiness. The theological understanding of human nature, including all desires and inclinations, must be filtered through God’s revealed will in Scripture, particularly His design for the Imago Dei and the reality of the Fall.
1. God’s Original, Exclusive Design for Marriage
The biblical foundation for sexual intimacy is established in the beginning, before sin entered the world. God created two complementary sexes, male and female, and intended their union to be the exclusive vehicle for marriage, procreation, and reflecting Christ's relationship with the Church.
The Foundation: God created Adam and Eve, declaring, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Jesus Christ Himself affirmed this design, quoting the original creation account (Matthew 19:4-6), making it clear that the pattern is man and woman.
Complementary Sexes: The body’s structure reflects a divine intent: two distinct, complementary halves designed to unite. From this traditional view, marriage is fundamentally defined by this creational truth.
2. Same-Sex Attraction and the Reality of the Fall
The statement, "I can’t help being Gay. God made me this way," is addressed by placing all human experience—including deeply felt sexual orientation—within the theology of the Fall.
The Universal Brokenness: Since Adam’s sin, all humanity has been affected. This means that every person’s mind, will, and desires are distorted and no longer align perfectly with God’s original perfect design. The Apostle Paul writes that all creation suffers the consequences of this corruption: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:22). This "groaning" includes the reality of having powerful, innate, and often unchosen desires (whether for greed, envy, anger, or same-sex activity) that are contrary to God’s ideal.
Distinguishing Desire and Design: While the struggle or inclination itself is a reality of living in a fallen world, the Bible separates this inner inclination from God's intended design and the corresponding act. The Scriptures condemn same-sex sexual acts as being against nature and God's order, regardless of the feelings involved (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The attraction is real and often unchosen, but the theological conclusion is that its origin is rooted in the brokenness of the world, not God's perfect creation.
3. The Call to Repentance and Holiness
Because every human desire and tendency—whether heterosexual lust, anger, or same-sex attraction—has been corrupted by the Fall, the Bible’s response is a universal call to repentance.
Repentance is Universal: Repentance (metanoia in Greek, meaning a change of mind and direction) is not reserved for certain sins, but is the entry point for all Christians: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). For those who struggle with same-sex attraction, the call is to repent of any action (or dwelling on sinful desire) that violates God's sexual standard, just as the married heterosexual person must repent of adultery or lust.
The Path of Sanctification: The Christian life is a process of sanctification—being made holy and conforming one’s life to Christ. For the gay Christian in this traditional view, this means denying the self, taking up the cross, and choosing a path of celibacy (Matthew 16:24), finding ultimate fulfillment and identity not in sexual expression, but in Christ: “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Holiness, not happiness through sexual fulfillment, is the primary calling.
The ultimate Christian identity transcends all earthly labels. Whether one is straight, gay, married, or celibate, the core of their being is “new creation” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
