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NASB | Matthew 16:6 And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 16:6 Jesus said to them, "Watch out and be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." |
Subject: How Holy Is Marriage? |
Bible Note: Dear Always Learning, To answer your question regarding heterosexual marriage involving adultery. At the point a person is convicted that they have committed sin and they sincerely, genuinely ask for forgiveness, we are told in John that we will be forgiven. Now as to consequences that we will suffer for that sin they remain the same such as a stigma from society, cannot hold various offices in the church and so on. There is a principal or a concept in the bible where God's people sin, there is a time of punishment to bring them to repentance then they repent and are restored to blessing. So a person who committed adultery, divorced, repented, is restored. This is truly a matter of the heart and and is not done flippantly; the repentance part. Regarding this situation it has been said you can't unscramble eggs. Do you see the message in this? The moral of the story is at the point you recognize your sin, seek forgiveness and then acknowledge that you are forgiven. What you do next is to walk in the word; walk as though you have a clean slate; no longer guilty because through the blood of Christ He has taken away our guilty conscience - see the book of Hebrews. Now you say a person should divorce again. That is not necessary because as someone has pointed out that we can't fix ourselves; we pick up where we are and accept the forgiveness we asked from God. Moving on to your next question regarding a homosexual relationship. First of all, the bible does not acknowledge marriage between two men or two women so where would this relationship fall in the bible. It can be found in the sexual immorality verses; one of which forbids this type relationship. So the answer to your question is if you have sought forgiveness for your adultery, remarriage resulting in adultery then you are forgiven if it was a sincere genuine repentance. You are no longer living in adultery because you have been forgiven. You are given a clean slate. You are given a clear conscience. As to the homosexual wanting to continuing living with their partner; we already know that this type relationship; same sex relationship is forbidden in scripture. So you see you comparing oranges to apples. I too have homosexual acquaintances and treat them with the same courtesy as my straight friends. I treat my alcoholic friends with courtesy. I hope that somehow in some way I might be able to share the gospel with them. It is the goodness of God that brings lost people to repentance. Stop looking around and look up. We only become confused when we compare ourselves with others. It is when we look at Christ on the cross, in the grave and Christ resurrected that we see there is nothing we can do that can take away our sin, it is His perfect sacrifice that takes away our sin and then walk in His commands as closely as we can. Sincerely, Val |