We believe marriage is the covenant two people make with each other and before God — a witness to faithfulness in a world that needs more of it.

That covenant reflects something of God’s own faithfulness to humanity. The world is better for strong, committed marriages and families rooted in a supportive faith community, whatever form those families take.

Our pastors are personally prepared to officiate any marriage where they have discerned, through pastoral conversation, that the couple is entering the covenant for the right reasons. Marriages performed on the campus of Hope Presbyterian Church are submitted to our Session — our body of elected Ruling Elders — for approval, following the pastoral staff’s recommendation. This is not a barrier. It is simply how our congregation exercises shared responsibility over its common life together.

For any position the church takes, there should be a basis in Scripture. Ours is rooted in the conviction that the arc of Scripture — from creation through the ministry of Jesus to the witness of the early church — moves consistently toward inclusion.

The early church faced a defining question: does God’s grace extend to Gentiles? After significant struggle, the answer was yes (Acts 10:1–48; 15:1–21). We read that same movement as ongoing. The witness of Jesus is instructive: he consistently welcomed those his society labeled outsiders, challenged self-righteous judgment, and made clear that the purpose of the Law is the protection of human welfare — not the harm of people in its name.

We offer several passages that anchor our welcome, followed by honest engagement with the passages most often cited against LGBTQIA+ inclusion.

Passages That Anchor Our Welcome

John 3:16 (NRSV) “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

The scope of this promise is the world — not a subset of it defined by sexual orientation or gender identity. Everyone who believes is included. No exceptions are written in.

Psalm 139:13–14 (NRSV) “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.”

Every person is known by God before they know themselves. Made — not accidentally. Fearfully and wonderfully. LGBTQIA+ people are not exceptions to this. They are not mistakes.

Galatians 3:28 (NRSV) “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is dismantling the categories that divide and rank human beings. In Christ, those categories do not determine belonging. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not named here because Paul could not have imagined them as categories — but the logic of the passage points clearly: what divides us does not define our standing before God.

Genesis 2:18 (NRSV) “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.'”

Companionship, partnership, and covenant are built into creation. What God declared not good at the beginning of the story has not become good since. People are not meant to be alone.

Passages Often Cited in Opposition — and Why We Read Them Differently

Six passages are commonly cited against full LGBTQIA+ inclusion. We take them seriously. We do not dismiss them. We read them differently — and here is why.

Genesis 1:27 — “Male and female God created them” This passage celebrates the full equality of men and women — a stunning claim in the ancient world. It does not define the outer limits of God’s creative work; it affirms the dignity of all people. Paul’s later reflection in Galatians 3:28 extends the arc: in Christ, even the distinction between male and female does not determine one’s standing before God.

Genesis 19:1–29 — The story of Sodom and Gomorrah The name “Sodom” has historically been associated with same-sex acts, but the text itself tells a different story. The primary sin of Sodom was catastrophic failure of hospitality — the refusal to welcome and protect strangers. Ezekiel makes this explicit (Ezekiel 16:49–50). The violence threatened in the story is not a loving relationship. It is assault.

Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 — Men sleeping together The word translated “abomination” in these passages is a technical Hebrew term for ritual impurity — the same category used for kosher food laws. This places these prohibitions in context: they are purity regulations particular to Israel’s cultic life, not universal moral commands binding on Christians. We do not observe kosher food restrictions; we read these passages in the same category.

Deuteronomy 23:17–18 — Temple prostitution Older translations used the word “sodomite” for the male temple prostitute referenced here, which introduced centuries of confusion. The passage has nothing to do with same-sex love or committed partnership. It concerns the appropriate boundaries of worship and the use of sacred space.

Romans 1:26–27 — Exchanging the natural for the unnatural Paul is writing to a Roman church that knew firsthand the practices of Roman and Greek temples, where sexual acts were performed as religious devotion to pagan gods. The “unnatural” acts Paul condemns are located in that context — compulsive, degrading, and tied to idolatry. A faithful, committed same-sex partnership is not what Paul is addressing.

1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 — “Sodomites” The Greek words here — malakoi and arsenokoitai — are genuinely difficult to translate and have generated significant scholarly debate. The most careful reading suggests Paul is condemning pederasty: the exploitation of enslaved boys and the men who paid for their abuse. This is a clear and unambiguous condemnation — of exploitation, of abuse, of the rape of children. It has nothing to say about consenting adults in a committed relationship.

If you want to explore any of these passages more deeply, a pastor would be glad to talk with you.

If you’d like to read further:

• Biblical & Theological Support for Inclusion — Covenant Network of Presbyterians
• Queer Theology Resources
• The Biblical Case — The Reformation Project
• LGBTQ-Affirming Scripture
• A Clergy Responds
• 10 Bible Passages on a Christian Perspective on Homosexuality — Sojourners
• The Clobber Passages
• The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage: An Evangelical’s Change of Heart — Mark Achtemeier