The short answer is NO. Nowhere in the Bible does it explicitly say that being LGBT condemns you to Hell. Some of the key passages are often cited by people to justify their own personal bias. Examples of these passages are Leviticus 18:22 “You are not to lie down with a male as you would with a woman. It’s detestable.” and 1 Corinthians 6:9 “You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don’t you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals.” These passages condemn specific sexual acts, but not sexual orientation itself.
Context matters: Leviticus is part of the Mosaic Law. Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law by being the final sacrifice for man’s sins as described in Hebrews 8:13.“In speaking of a “new” covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” Romans critiques idolatrous behavior, and 1 Corinthians lists sins like adultery and greed alongside “men who have unwanted sex with other men.” The original Greek word arsenokoitai used in the context of 1 Corinthians refers to exploitative acts, not consensual relationships.
Salvation in Christianity is based on faith in Christ not on your works. For example John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” and Romans 10:9 “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” not on specific sins.
All humans are sinners. If salvation was based on your works and deeds not one human would ever go to heaven, and repentance is universal as we can see in Acts 3:19. “Repent, therefore, and return–so your sins might be blotted out”. Fundamentalists believe homosexual acts require repentance. This does not seem to be reflected in scripture. The Bible emphasizes grace and salvation through faith, not exclusion based on one sin. The point is to be a little better today than you were yesterday. Ultimately working to live a life as close to Jesus as we can even with all our flaws.
The thing that people seem to forget is the most important rule in my opinion for Christians. “It is God’s job to judge, the Spirit’s job to convict and my job to love.” This is clearly shown in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So to answer the question, does being LGBT mean you are going to hell? No! There is only one person who decides whether you go to hell or not and that person is you. You can either accept Christ as your Lord in your heart and go to heaven or reject his offer of salvation and be separated from him in hell for all eternity. The choice is yours and yours alone.
May God bless and keep you all until next time.