First, God certainly can and does use disease as a judgment upon sin. From Miriam’s leprosy (Numbers 12:1-15) to Elymas’ blindness (Acts 13:6-12), Scripture gives many examples of explicit judgment upon specific sins by means of disease. We also see disease as judgment for general unbelief and sinfulness, as in the boils on the people of Egypt (Exodus 9:8-12). And there is no reason to think that God does not use disease today as a judgment against sins. However, we do not have Spirit-inspired Scripture to tell us today which specific disease is judgment against which specific sin.
Consider the following:
The Appeal to Romans 1:27
The first quote at the start of this post alludes to Romans 1:27 which states,
Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion (NIV).
This verse is undoubtedly the most-referenced Scripture passage in support of this idea. However, if one appeals to Romans 1:27 for the claim that he knows with certainty that HIV/AIDS is God’s specific, special judgment upon homosexuality specifically or exclusively, and that this verse is proof, then what was the meaning of that verse before 1980? Paul’s statement was not future tense.
