In answering the specific question about whether gay people go to heaven or hell, we can substitute the words gay people with other sin groups. That includes renouncing our past and our sinful tendencies and embracing the wholeness we were created to experience. We are saved so that we can become all God designed us to be (Ephesians 2:10). We are not saved from hell to continue in the same sins Jesus died for. God then takes on the task of conforming us into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). All the sin, selfishness, pride, and perversion that were part of our lives before that moment are wiped clean, and we are pronounced righteous before God (Psalm 103:12). Second Corinthians 5:17 says that, if anyone is in Christ, he or she becomes a new creature. That divine exchange-our old life for His new one-brings about a transformation from the inside out. God then declared that whosoever trusts in Jesus as their Lord and Savior be granted eternal life in heaven (John 3:16–18). In exchange, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. God poured out His wrath against sin upon His own Son so that those who trust in that sacrifice can have their sins transferred to His account (Colossians 2:14). Jesus, the Son of God, offered Himself as our substitute on the cross, thereby taking the punishment we deserve (John 10:18 2 Corinthians 5:21). In His great love, God made a way that we sinners can be made righteous (Ephesians 2:4–5). Heaven is perfect, and we are not we are disallowed from God’s presence. Because of our high treason against our Creator, we all deserve hell. God, our Creator, could have wiped out the human race and started over. And some may be tempted to engage in sexual acts with their own gender. Some may overcome outward sins-and are puffed up with arrogance.
We may sin in different ways, but it is all sin. When we desire something contrary to the will of God, the desire itself becomes sinful (James 1:13–15). Our natural selves demand the right to be our own gods. Since that time, every human being has been born with a sin nature. With that sin came brokenness of all kinds: thorns, tornadoes, drought, sickness, disease, cruelty, and sexual distortions. When the first man and woman chose to disobey God’s command, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12). Homosexuality was not part of God’s creation. Adam and Eve were created perfect, and God blessed their physical union in the first marriage (Genesis 1:28). When God created human beings, He designed them male and female, in His own image (Genesis 1:27). For the purposes of this article, we will define gay as “practicing a homosexual lifestyle.”
When we ask if gay people go to heaven or hell, we may be using the label gay rather than considering the individual who may be struggling with temptation or confused about his or her sexual identity. We begin to see people in categories, rather than as individuals, and this is dangerous. When we do that, we create an adversarial, “us vs. Our world labels people according to their weaknesses, sin tendencies, addictions, or sexual inclinations. Is being gay a ticket to heaven or hell?įirst, a clarification.
On the other side are churches that condemn all homosexual thoughts and actions as deserving of eternal judgment. On one side are churches that teach that homosexuality is blessed by God. The question of whether gay people go to heaven or hell is much discussed today, and there is confusion surrounding the issue.