Answer
The Western world has traditionally viewed monogamy, having one spouse, as virtuous compared to alternatives like polygamy. Because the Bible has largely shaped this view, some wonder if monogamous same-sex relationships align with or violate Scripture. According to the Bible, same-sex relationships in any form—including monogamous ones—are contrary to God’s righteous will for sexual intimacy, which He designed to be experienced exclusively within the covenant of marriage.
God’s righteous standard for intimate relationships is monogamy between one biological male and one biological female within the context of marriage. God clearly described this when He instituted marriage: “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, ESV).
Jesus reaffirms this principle in the New Testament, saying, “At the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Mark 10:6–9).
God’s righteous standard for sexual intimacy is monogamy between one man and one woman within the context of marriage. Any relationship that falls outside these boundaries is sinful. This is evident in both the Old and New Testaments, which clearly denounce homosexuality. For example, Leviticus states, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable” (Leviticus 18:22; cf. Genesis 19:1–13; Leviticus 20:13). Critics of the Bible often argue that the Old Testament’s teaching on homosexuality reflects an outdated and thus irrelevant moral standard.
But the New Testament reaffirms the prohibition of homosexuality. The apostle Paul describes it as an expression of the dishonorable passions of idolaters (Romans 1:24–26). He further states that such relationships are unnatural and shameless: “Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:26–27; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). This condemnation applies equally to both monogamous and polygamous same-sex relationships. The problem is not promiscuous homosexuality but homosexuality itself.
Homosexuality is sinful because the union of one biological male and one biological female uniquely reflects the image of God, which He imprinted upon humanity at creation. When He created people, He said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” and “so God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27). Furthermore, this complementary pairing of men and women in marriage reflects Jesus’ relationship with the church: “‘A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31–32). Same-sex relationships, even monogamous ones, cannot satisfy God’s purposes for marriage.
Another purpose of marriage that same-sex couples cannot fulfill is reproduction. After creating male and female, God commanded them, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28, ESV). While having children is not required of every marriage, God’s command for reproduction suggests it is part of His design for most (Malachi 2:15; 1 Timothy 5:14). Furthermore, children are considered a blessing for those who have them (Psalm 127:3). Same-sex couples cannot fulfill the reproductive aspect of God’s design for marriage.
Monogamy offers benefits over alternatives like polygamy, including physical safety and emotional wellness. However, God’s design for intimacy transcends these benefits, requiring monogamy between one biological male and one biological female within the context of marriage. People should respond to God’s wise design for heterosexual monogamous marriage with deep reverence, as Hebrews 13:4 instructs: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (ESV).
