Over the past several decades, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has felt it necessary to clearly state in various ways its position in regard to marriage, the family, and human
sexuality. These subjects are at the heart of many pressing issues facing society. That which for centuries has been considered to be basic Christian morality in the marriage setting is now increasingly called into question, not only in secular society but within Christian churches themselves.
The institutions of marriage and family are under attack and facing growing centrifugal forces that are tearing them apart. An increasing number of nations are not only debating the topic of same-sex unions, but some have already passed various pieces of legislation, thus making it a world issue. The public discussion has engendered strong emotions. In light of these developments, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is clearly restating its position.
We reaffirm, without hesitation, our long-standing position as expressed in the Church’s Fundamental Beliefs: “Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship.”1 Though “sin has perverted God’s ideals for marriage and family,” “the family tie is the closest, the most tender and sacred of any human relationship,” and thus “families need to experience renewal and reformation in their relationships.”2 God instituted “marriage, a covenant-based union of two genders [male and female] physically, emotionally, and spiritually, spoken of in Scripture as ‘one flesh.’ ” “The monogamous union in marriage of a man and a woman is . . . the only morally appropriate locus of genital or related intimate sexual expression.” “Any lowering of this high view is to that extent a lowering of the heavenly ideal.”3
Homosexuality is a manifestation of the disturbance and brokenness in human inclinations and relations caused by the entrance of sin into the world. While everyone is subject to fallen human nature,4 “we also believe that by God’s grace and through the encouragement of the community of faith, an individual may live in harmony with the principles of God’s Word.5
We hold that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, are loved by God. We do not condone singling out any group for scorn and derision, let alone abuse.6 Still, God’s Word that transcends time and culture does not permit a homosexual lifestyle. The Bible’s opposition to same-sex unions/marriage is anchored in God’s plan at Creation for marriage (Gen. 1:26–28; 2:20–24), in divine legislation (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; 1 Cor. 6:9–11), and in Jesus’ explicit confirmation of a permanent, monogamous, and heterosexual marriage relationship (Matt. 19:4–6).7
- “What Adventists Believe About Marriage and the Family,” General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, https://www.adventist.org/marriage-and-the-family/.
- Neal C. Wilson et al., “An Affirmation of Family,” at the General Conference Session in Indianapolis, Indiana, July 5, 1990.
- “Marriage,” General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, April 23, 1996, https://gc.adventist.org/official-statements/marriage/.
- Adapted from Biblical Research Institute, Homosexuality, Scripture, and the Church (Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2010), 6.
- “Homosexuality,” General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, October 17, 2012, https://gc.adventist.org/official-statements/homosexuality/.
- Adapted from Biblical Research Institute, Homosexuality, Scripture, and the Church, 7.
- This document was approved and voted by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Executive Committee, October 17, 2012.
