"ABUSERS OF THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND"
“ABUSERS OF THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND”
Both Andersonites and sodomite sympathizers alike take advantage of this phrase in order to propagate their agenda. For those of you that do not know, Andersonites (followers of the heretic Steven Anderson) are so anti-sodomite that they take it to an unbiblical extreme, preaching that sodomites cannot be saved and that every sodomite should commit suicide. On the other side, you have the extreme left-wing modernist “Christians” (most of which already deny the fundamentals of the faith) who resort to using mental gymnastics in order to get around that fact that the Lord has condemned sodomy in “all three testaments” (that is to say, before the law, under the law, and after the law) as a loathsome sin. Both of these diametrically opposed groups find common ground, stating that this phrase does not refer to sodomy. Let us consult the Scriptures to see whether this is so. After all, the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible (Isaiah 28:9-10, 13; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
For years it has been traditionally taught that the phrase “abusers of themselves with mankind” referred to homosexuals (or the more Biblical term “sodomites”). In fact, even most of the modern translations translate that phrase as “homosexual(s)” (NIV, NASB, NLT, CEV, NKJV, NAB, LB, TEV, NEB), “homosexuality” (AMP), or “sodomites” (NRSV, JB). Are the modern perversions right for once or does the reading retained in the Authorized Version mean something entirely different? So it all boils down to this, does the King James Bible say that “abusers of themselves with mankind” is speaking about sodomites, if so, then where does it say that?
These two questions are easily answered with some simple crossreferencing, no knowledge of the original languages or any consultation of the modern versions is necessary. The answer is not to be found anywhere in 1 Corinthians 6, so we must go to the rest of the Bible to acquire more revelation, in order to make this apparently unclear phrase transparent. As a good Bible student, one should resort to using a concordance to see where else these kinds of words or phrases are used in the Scriptures.
When doing such a word study, oftentimes a Christian will come across two different hermeneutical principles. The first of which, being the law of first mention. This hermeneutical law states that the first time a word appears in the Bible sets the basic tone and meaning of the word throughout the rest of the Scriptures (this will come in handy later). The other principle is parallelism. Many times in the Scriptures a word or phrase is repeated for emphasis and is used to equate two synonymous things or ideas. A keen example of this occurs in the second verse in the Bible.
Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
The repetition of the phrase “upon the face of the” is used in this instance to help define and equate the word “deep” with the word “waters” to show that they are synonymous (Webster’s 1828 dictionary testifies to this fact as well but its reference is not needed). This is allowing the Bible to define its own terms by using context clues.
Such a principle is important to keep in mind because a case of parallelism occurs in relation to the phrase this whole study is about. The phrase “themselves with mankind” only occurs twice in the Scriptures. It is used once in 1 Corinthians 6:9, which we have already read above, and it is also used in 1 Timothy 1:10.
1 Corinthians 6:9 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate¹, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,”
1 Timothy 1:10 “For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine”
In both passages the apostle Paul is listing different types of sinners. Notice, therefore, both passages have the same context, are written by the same enumerator of Scripture, and use the same phrase word-for-word. The parallelism is abundantly evident, “abusers of themselves with mankind” is to be synonymous with “them that defile themselves with mankind.”
Digging a little deeper, let's examine the first time the word “mankind” is used in the Bible. The first place that “mankind” is mentioned is in Leviticus 18:22.
Leviticus 18:22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
The verse is in reference to the sin of sodomy and is of the utmost importance because it is the first time the word is found in Scripture. This serves as a major clue in our study. Out of curiosity, let us examine the next time “mankind” appears in the Bible.
Leviticus 20:13 “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
It just so happens that the next reference to “mankind” also refers the abomination of sodomy. It looks like we are getting somewhere. Also observe how “mankind” is used in these two verses, it is used to refer to males in these two instances. In fact, in Leviticus 18:22, it said “mankind” and “womankind” but here it just says “mankind” and “woman,” clearly illustrating the fact that mankind is not just referring to all of humanity, in these two verses it is specifically speaking about men within the context (once again Webster backs up what the Bible already teaches).
Being cognizant of this, think back to how 1 Timothy 1:10 said “them that defile themselves with mankind.” A word search of “defile” takes us right back to Leviticus 18.
Leviticus 18:22-24 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:”
This is the icing on the cake. “Defile not ye yourselves” is a direct reference back to the sodomy of verse 22 and the beastiailty of verse 23! In these verses God commands His people to not defile themselves with mankind or with beasts, both are an abomination. This is exactly what Paul reiterated in 1 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 6:9, and elsewhere. Thus confirming beyond any shadow of a doubt that “abusers of themselves with mankind” (and its counterpart in 1 Timothy 1:10) does indeed refer to the sin of sodomy. As an old preacher once said, “there’s nothing like a Bible to clear up a college education.”
If that was not adequate enough (which it certainly is), Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (which is arguably the best dictionary money can buy despite its imperfections) once again verifies and backs up what the Bible teaches. Noah Webster defines “abuser” as:
ABU'SER, noun s as z. One who abuses, in speech or behavior; one that deceives; a ravisher; a sodomite. 1 Cor 6.
Furthermore, since an abuser is “one who abuses,” Webster has an enlightening definition of “abuse”:
ABU'SE, verb transitive s as z. [Latin abutor, abusus of ab and utor, to use; Gr. to accustom. See Use.]
2. To violate; to defile by improper sexual intercourse.
This just further solidifies the fact that the “abusers”² in 1 Corinthians 6:9 are sodomites and it was just another way of Paul saying “them that defile themselves with mankind.” Folks, I cannot stress this enough, all you need is a King James Bible to find the truth. You do not need the original languages, other versions, or even good English dictionaries. All you need is God’s preserved word in English. If you want to refer back to Greek, Hebrew, or a good dictionary to back up what the King James Bible says (of course without attempting to correct the text) then so be it, but it is not necessary. That book defends itself, it is like a lion, you do not have to defend a lion, all you have to do is set him loose (Hebrews 4:12-13).
¹ I also find it intriguing that the sin of effeminacy is listed just prior to the “abusers.” Everyone knows full well that effeminacy and sodomy often go hand and hand.
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