He wasn't joking but yes it's a joke. Scripture clearly presents homosexual sex acts as sinful whether or not those engaging in them are married or unmarried and offers a great many reasons why this is so which includes that homosexuality sinfully misses the mark with respect to God's design and will for human beings.
Since homosexual relationships exist under God's judgment as immoral, they can never be spiritually normalized as heterosexual relationships can which comport with God's design for men and women as per a correct exegesis of the Biblical model.
Which means that homosexual activists, such as Elton John, who attempt to portray homosexual relationships as equivalent to their heterosexual counterparts and/or acceptable to God are in error.
There is a stark difference between feelings derived from loving the object of one's carnal sexual immorality and the supernatural love that God manifests between a genuine Christian man and woman in a blessed heterosexual marriage covenant.
It's
in this context that Saint Paul wrote the following:
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them." -Ephesians 5:3-7.
Note the last two verses: "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them."
If you are partakers of their sins, you must be of their punishments too. Refuse all partnership, therefore. Let your natural instincts to recoil from partnership in punishment and your spiritual instincts recoil from partnership in sin manifest even as you share God's Word with this mission field.
But Elton John is now 67 years old and has heard these truths many times in his life. I can remember the popular media reporting genuine Christians attempting to reason with him when I was in high school in the late 70s.
"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate."
