This is a response to a post on Captain Bud Sturguess' blog titled
Christians, Discuss: Is Unrepentant Porn Addiction Grounds For Divorce?
"I would feel safe to say that if a married person indulges in pornographic material, they're committing adultery." - Captain Bud Sturguess
I agree with that statement.
Fornication on the other hand is a word synonymous with 'whoredom' (in the Old Testament in particular), and the phrase 'committing fornication' can be substituted with 'whoring' (applicable to both men and women). The perpetrator is called a whore (woman) or a fornicator/whoremonger (man).
It's a sin, a transgression of God's law. And when it involves a married person, adultery is also committed.
Now back to lusting after a woman in one's heart in Jesus' teaching (Matthew 5:28). I understand that that is referring to a man coveting his neighbor's wife (a married woman). Hence, this results in adultery.
On a side note, I also understand that all sins essentially flow out of the heart, including fornication (Mark 7:21), so one can be guilty of that, too, without any sexual contact. That's my personal conviction and maybe something for unmarried people to ponder on as pornography addiction does not spare them.
Your discussion question now: Is unrepentant porn addiction grounds for divorce in Christian marriages?
(Prayer time-out...)
OK, I am back.
I believe the right entry point for me here is to echo your reminder of the place of mercy and forgiveness in a marriage. And I will make it official also that we are discussing an adultery case. So, I will refer to the married person who indulges in pornographic material as adulterer. Mercy should be extended to that person as such.
We are also assuming two people who have married each other believing they are both Christians. The reason I say that is that these sins of the flesh like adultery and fornication point to someone who is caught in Satan's snare and not walking with God, in the light (1 John 1:5-7). The apostle Paul said such persons will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 5:19). That is the "present" status of that person with God.
So, that's a sister having issue with an adulterous brother or vice-versa. Jesus tells us what I believe should be happening in that case:
Matthew 18:15-17
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
Therefore if there is still no repentance after these merciful efforts are exhausted, Jesus calls for disfellowship from the person who is to be regarded as "a heathen and a tax collector". That's an unbeliever, an unrepentant sinner. The church is to have no fellowship with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). That's one strong guiding principle.
And in the marriage context, this takes us to consider the case of a brother or sister being married to an unbeliever. The fact that all these attempts to restore the marriage would have failed, resulting in an unrepentant adulterer still, I believe the offender has expressed his/her unequivocal unwillingness to remain married to the sister or brother. And guiding principles are given to us in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 for a brother or sister married to an unbeliever.
So, while the Scriptures give us clarity on many things to consider, your question is not a yes or no question to me. I personally believe a brother or sister should exercise long-suffering and not initiate legal separation (divorce) from his/her spouse. But prayer and fasting have their place in each person's seeking of direction in such a situation, and God's ways and thoughts and purposes must be sought diligently by the servant of God and submitted to. His direction is always available!
Lastly, a note on 1 Corinthians 7:15. It reads, "But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases." It's interesting to remark that the word translated "departs" in that verse is the same word (G5563*) translated "put asunder" (KJV) or "separate" in Jesus' teaching:
Matthew 19:6
So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.
Another rendering of 1 Corinthians 7:15 could then be: "But if the unbeliever separates himself, let him separate himself; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases."
And since we have assumed that the adulterer was once a saint, I want to highlight also that I hold the position that such unrepentant sinner is also a spiritual adulterer and has effectively turned to unbelief as demonstrated in his/her ongoing disobedience/rebellion against God's ways (Hebrews 3:12, 6:4-6).
I appreciate the exchange, brother, and likewise your spirit. You've ended with many questions but I think walking in the Spirit, we might arrive at all answers. We should not attempt to legislate these situations with do's and don't as God is perfectly capable of doing that as He had done under the Old Covenant but has left that out of the New Covenant, leaving us with these questions also. But for sure He has not left us in the dark!
May we always remember these:
Romans 13:8
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
1 John 3:14-15
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
I pray these reflections may serve others dealing with a case of hatred (absence of love) in a marriage.
Peace to you!
_______
* See Strong's Concordance entry for G5563: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G5563&t=KJV
Showing posts with label bondage to sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bondage to sin. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2018
Monday, October 8, 2018
The Bible speaks about the wicked (sinners) and the righteous (saints)
Exercise: use a bible app to look for all the verses in the bible that mention 'sinner' (or 'sinners') and see what the word is saying. Then look for all the verses in the bible that mention the 'righteous' and see what the word is saying. Pray before you begin. Read whole passages to get their context (as opposed to reading isolated verses and risk taking them out of context).
The bible says nothing about "sinners saved by grace" as a class of sinners separated from other sinners or "lost sinners." Not being saved has everything to do with being in bondage to sin, so salvation has everything to do with being set free from sin and doing righteousness. And the one who does righteousness is righteous (1 John 3:7).
Jesus is the truth who came down from heaven to save sinners (Romans 5:6-8) and set them free to serve God, no longer serve sin! What Jesus addresses in salvation is bondage to sin first of all. That is, the fact of being taken captive by the devil to obey one's evil desires in agreement with him (the devil), and so to do his will (sin) rather than the will of God. There is a release from that bondage because of Jesus’ sacrifice. It comes through the knowledge of the truth (John 14:6; John 8:31-36; 1 Timothy 2:4). Then Jesus enables those He has so redeemed or made free from sin to progress to perfection (maturity), helped by his grace through the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2) so as to be like Him in the end.
1 John 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Note that 1 John 1:8 that comes right after the above passage can never be used as an excuse to sin, or to say that unless someone admits to be sinning all the time that person is a liar by claiming to be perfect like Jesus. It reads: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The next verse from that, 1 John 1:9, reaffirms that cleansing from all sin is found in Christ: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And the last verse of the chapter, verse 10, further clarifies 1 John 1:8: "If we say that we have not sinned (never sinned), we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." The apostle then exhorts believers to not sin in 1 John 2:1-2: "My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." Finally, consider well the understanding of the apostle John about sin when he writes later in 1 John 5:18, "We know that whosoever is born of God does not sin; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one doesn't touch him."
Proverbs 28:13
He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.
Mistakes in judgment happen, thoughts must be guarded, attitudes must be checked, especially with pride that is a blinding agent masking one's flaws and abundant need of God's grace to be transformed according to his will. But these things are not one and the same in the Bible as issues of willful sin that should end once salvation in Jesus (freedom from sin) comes. Willful sin proceeds out of a rebellious, uncircumcised heart that has not been reconciled to God through brokenness in repentance (Psalm 51:17; Psalm 34:18; Luke 18:13). In terms of identity (who one is), things that do not pertain to willful sins of the flesh do not threaten believers’ standing with God as righteous and make them regarded as "sinners" or "workers of iniquity." Of course they need forgiveness once they realize how they have missed the mark and not truly represented Jesus in their action or way of thinking. But there is a clear difference between a rebel who does not care about God's ways and a saint (righteous person) who has stumbled in a way. The Bible says that that person will receive correction (Hebrews 12:3-11), get back up, and press on as a servant of God (Proverbs 24:16). That person will be on his/her guard to not stumble in the same manner ever again, empowered by God's grace.
Being righteous and doing righteousness is not about being perfect as Jesus (or there would not be a need for instruction and exhortations for believers), but it’s about putting on Christ (Galatians 3:27) and having severed ties with former ways as the "old man" is crucified, that is, put to death (Romans 6:6). Standing as righteous is a testimony that someone has been made right with God through repentance and faith in Jesus (Acts 20:20-21; Acts 26:19-20). And by God's grace (Titus 2:11-14) that person has been empowered to walk in his ways of righteousness and holiness as a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10). Sinning willfully after coming to the knowledge of the truth (Jesus) is an insult to the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:26-29).
Remark also that "There is no one righteous; no, not one" (Romans 3:10) is not talking about born again believers comprising the body of Christ. It only suffices to read the verse in its context (e.g. Romans 3:10-18) to realize who it is talking about. That passage describes sinners doing all things contrary to how a Christian (follower of Jesus) is instructed to walk in the light by the grace of God.
Be on your guard, many false prophets / false teachers / false ministers of God / wolves in sheep's clothing have been preaching lies for hundreds of years (1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1; Matthew 24:11). Remember in Elijah's time the ratio was 850 to 1 (1 Kings 18:19)! Imagine today. Know who you are or who you are supposed to be in Christ if you have been saved by grace through faith.
Also, being righteous is again about doing righteousness (1 John 3:7; Ezekiel 18:20-32), not being "self-righteous." So, if no one is doing righteousness, of course we can say, "we are all sinners," too. And that would mean no one got the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. But thankfully that is not the case!
1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone that does righteousness is born of Him.
The Gospel is preached to call all to repent and be made right with God and be accounted by Him as righteous. Now do we have repentance right? Do we have faith right? Let's make sure we are walking on the narrow/constricted road to eternal life that Jesus said few will find (Matthew 7:14). He said, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and will not be able" (Luke 13:24).
Peter understood that when he asked:
1 Peter 4:1
If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Jesus is coming back for his servants, the righteous, not the sinners. He came for sinners the first time, to call them to repentance and save them from sin. So, a sinner who has been saved by grace is really an ex-sinner, an ex-evil doer, an ex-worker of iniquity, an ex-enemy of God. These things are synonymous! God does not call his servants sinners, evil doers, workers of iniquity, enemies. A saved person is called righteous by God because of Jesus' atoning sacrifice.
Matthew 13:41-43
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
May Jesus bless you!
See also:
Are we are all sinners?
Are You an Ex-Sinner Calling yourself a Sinner?
Saints or Sinners?
Struggle with sin and double-mindedness
Sinners don't have a sinful nature but evil desires they act upon
False Prophets Today
Salvation From Sin
The Goal of Repentance
The bible says nothing about "sinners saved by grace" as a class of sinners separated from other sinners or "lost sinners." Not being saved has everything to do with being in bondage to sin, so salvation has everything to do with being set free from sin and doing righteousness. And the one who does righteousness is righteous (1 John 3:7).
Jesus is the truth who came down from heaven to save sinners (Romans 5:6-8) and set them free to serve God, no longer serve sin! What Jesus addresses in salvation is bondage to sin first of all. That is, the fact of being taken captive by the devil to obey one's evil desires in agreement with him (the devil), and so to do his will (sin) rather than the will of God. There is a release from that bondage because of Jesus’ sacrifice. It comes through the knowledge of the truth (John 14:6; John 8:31-36; 1 Timothy 2:4). Then Jesus enables those He has so redeemed or made free from sin to progress to perfection (maturity), helped by his grace through the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2) so as to be like Him in the end.
1 John 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Note that 1 John 1:8 that comes right after the above passage can never be used as an excuse to sin, or to say that unless someone admits to be sinning all the time that person is a liar by claiming to be perfect like Jesus. It reads: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The next verse from that, 1 John 1:9, reaffirms that cleansing from all sin is found in Christ: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And the last verse of the chapter, verse 10, further clarifies 1 John 1:8: "If we say that we have not sinned (never sinned), we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." The apostle then exhorts believers to not sin in 1 John 2:1-2: "My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." Finally, consider well the understanding of the apostle John about sin when he writes later in 1 John 5:18, "We know that whosoever is born of God does not sin; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one doesn't touch him."
Proverbs 28:13
He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.
Mistakes in judgment happen, thoughts must be guarded, attitudes must be checked, especially with pride that is a blinding agent masking one's flaws and abundant need of God's grace to be transformed according to his will. But these things are not one and the same in the Bible as issues of willful sin that should end once salvation in Jesus (freedom from sin) comes. Willful sin proceeds out of a rebellious, uncircumcised heart that has not been reconciled to God through brokenness in repentance (Psalm 51:17; Psalm 34:18; Luke 18:13). In terms of identity (who one is), things that do not pertain to willful sins of the flesh do not threaten believers’ standing with God as righteous and make them regarded as "sinners" or "workers of iniquity." Of course they need forgiveness once they realize how they have missed the mark and not truly represented Jesus in their action or way of thinking. But there is a clear difference between a rebel who does not care about God's ways and a saint (righteous person) who has stumbled in a way. The Bible says that that person will receive correction (Hebrews 12:3-11), get back up, and press on as a servant of God (Proverbs 24:16). That person will be on his/her guard to not stumble in the same manner ever again, empowered by God's grace.
Being righteous and doing righteousness is not about being perfect as Jesus (or there would not be a need for instruction and exhortations for believers), but it’s about putting on Christ (Galatians 3:27) and having severed ties with former ways as the "old man" is crucified, that is, put to death (Romans 6:6). Standing as righteous is a testimony that someone has been made right with God through repentance and faith in Jesus (Acts 20:20-21; Acts 26:19-20). And by God's grace (Titus 2:11-14) that person has been empowered to walk in his ways of righteousness and holiness as a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10). Sinning willfully after coming to the knowledge of the truth (Jesus) is an insult to the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:26-29).
Remark also that "There is no one righteous; no, not one" (Romans 3:10) is not talking about born again believers comprising the body of Christ. It only suffices to read the verse in its context (e.g. Romans 3:10-18) to realize who it is talking about. That passage describes sinners doing all things contrary to how a Christian (follower of Jesus) is instructed to walk in the light by the grace of God.
Be on your guard, many false prophets / false teachers / false ministers of God / wolves in sheep's clothing have been preaching lies for hundreds of years (1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1; Matthew 24:11). Remember in Elijah's time the ratio was 850 to 1 (1 Kings 18:19)! Imagine today. Know who you are or who you are supposed to be in Christ if you have been saved by grace through faith.
Also, being righteous is again about doing righteousness (1 John 3:7; Ezekiel 18:20-32), not being "self-righteous." So, if no one is doing righteousness, of course we can say, "we are all sinners," too. And that would mean no one got the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. But thankfully that is not the case!
1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone that does righteousness is born of Him.
The Gospel is preached to call all to repent and be made right with God and be accounted by Him as righteous. Now do we have repentance right? Do we have faith right? Let's make sure we are walking on the narrow/constricted road to eternal life that Jesus said few will find (Matthew 7:14). He said, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and will not be able" (Luke 13:24).
Peter understood that when he asked:
1 Peter 4:1
If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Jesus is coming back for his servants, the righteous, not the sinners. He came for sinners the first time, to call them to repentance and save them from sin. So, a sinner who has been saved by grace is really an ex-sinner, an ex-evil doer, an ex-worker of iniquity, an ex-enemy of God. These things are synonymous! God does not call his servants sinners, evil doers, workers of iniquity, enemies. A saved person is called righteous by God because of Jesus' atoning sacrifice.
Matthew 13:41-43
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
May Jesus bless you!
See also:
Are we are all sinners?
Are You an Ex-Sinner Calling yourself a Sinner?
Saints or Sinners?
Struggle with sin and double-mindedness
Sinners don't have a sinful nature but evil desires they act upon
False Prophets Today
If I Say I have No Sin! WHO is the Liar?
Salvation From Sin
Call to Repentance
The Goal of Repentance
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)