Is Homosexuality A Sin?

A question I received in my email a couple of days ago goes like this;

I saw your email on a Christian site that talked about homosexuality issues and so I wonder what your thoughts are on same sex romantic love are and if you think this is a sin, where are we told this in the bible?

My first concern with this email is that there might be a site on the internet somewhere that has published my email address. If so, I would like to request that you remove my email address from your site and link directly to my blog site instead. I have an inkling that this is not really the case, but is probably a standard introduction to a spam message, but I have thought about this for a while and think that maybe I should answer the question here anyway.

As far as 'same sex romantic love' goes, yes, I do believe it is a sin. Let me be clear, homosexual actions of any kind are sinful, romantic or casual. The standard rant from the other side is going to be that I am a homophobe. I have many phobias, I'm very 'Monkish' in that respect. Snakes scare me. As a matter of fact, most reptiles drive me nuts. Birds also scare me. But homosexuals don't scare me. Murderers scare me. Adulterous women scare me. But not homosexuals. In fact, I have known some very pleasant gays and lesbians who would work side by side with me on the jobsite.
One co-worker remarked to me how nice it was to be around a Christian who was nice to her. She went on to describe some of the injustices that Christians had committed against her, from lying about her job performance behind her back to open hostility towards her. I responded, " You know I don't agree with your lifestyle, and I believe that it is a sin. But that doesn't mean I can't love you and try convince you of the truth of the Gospel." She responded, something to the effect of, "If you were the only Christian I knew, I would consider leaving my lifestyle and attending church. But I've been mistreated by too many Christians."
She knew I thought she was living in sin. I didn't avoid the issue when it came up. And yet when I would treat her with the respect that we have been taught by Christ that each and every one should expect from His followers, she knew that it was her sin that I disliked and not herself.

That homosexuality is said to be sin in the Bible is very clear.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Rom 1:24-32)

There are a couple of things to point out here.
First, that homosexuality is not the only sin that will condemn people to hell. Covetousness, envy, gossip, disobedience, and foolishness are also included in this list of sins that the Apostle says deserve death.
Second, that homosexuality is not the unpardonable sin.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1Co 6:9-11)

The same Apostle Paul now tells us again that those who practice sin, homosexuality and greediness both included, will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But he goes on to say to the Corinthian believers, "And such were some of you." These Christians that Paul was writing to had formerly been sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers but now they were not. There is hope for all who sin. That hope is in the death of Christ.
Christ's death cleanses, sanctifies, and justifies sinners. Sins are forgiven, repentance is granted, and righteousness is given by Christ for all who will come to Him. This includes the disobedient child and the homosexual.

This, of course, is not an exhaustive treatment of the issues of homosexuality. I will leave that to better people than myself. But that homosexuality is a sin is stated clearly in Scripture. And equally as clear is the truth of the Gospel that can save homosexuals.