Adultery

Adultery is so common today it is not even blinked at in my current church!  I have mentioned the barracuda which circles the guys of the church and ever so often manages to snag one, chew him up and then spit him back out.  Cowboy was the latest victim, he now appears to have permanently exited the church.  Embarrassment?  Guilt?  Whatever.  She is back to circling and no one has heard from or seen him.

And in my old church, let us not forget the faithless bride of 2010, her online lover, abandonment of her husband and then remarriage to a guy whom is a picture postcard of what she had just left.....

Of course, in our discussion of Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage - our Bible tells us that adultery plays quite a large part.

Sex before marriage - adultery.
Sex not with your spouse during marriage - adultery.
Divorced and have a fling - adultery.
You divorced or abandoned your spouse and they had a fling - you are guilty of their adultery.
You divorced or abandoned your spouse and they remarry - you are again guilty of their adultery.
You get remarried - you are committing adultery.
Hey guys - porno problem?  That is adultery as well!  Be honest now.

So, we have a superb passage in Malachi 2:10-17, and according to our New Testament, there is a whole lot of adultery going on out there in our 'modern' churches.  Adultery, no matter how you try to justify it, is sin.  But, it is a special sin (I Corinthians 6:15-18).  And, sorry but God will not bless you or His Church if you are in sin.  Period.

Oh, and lest we forget - adulterers (those whom live in and for adultery) will not be found in Heaven.

We are told to exclude those in sin from our congregations but not from our lives - so that they may be brought back into fellowship.

And here is the problem we create for ourselves - we say:

• Well they were not a Christian when the divorce occurred.
• They came to Christ after marriage and so divorce was unavoidable.
• Their spouse left them and lives somewhere else (abandonment).
• They have been married for X number of years and have been faithful.
• They have a family with the new spouse.
• "God" is blessing them.

Each of these statements I have heard numerous times, from pastors in justifying candidates for eldership, even pastoral, in churches I have attended.  Lets see, it is is not really adultery if any of the about 6 items is true?  Adultery, one of God's big hitters and the destruction of marriage - something else He is passionate about - are on a sliding scale of sin values?

If you are truthful with yourself - you have just discovered the real reason Christian families are failing worldwide, why the church has little witness any longer to a world awash in sin, and why there are a whole lot fewer faithful than you might like to believe in your fellowship.

But, there is a problem here that we do need to discuss next time in this line of thought.