“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven….Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
-Matthew 7:21, 23, NIV
Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
-I John 3:6, NLT
A common query I encounter is the question whether or not a cheater who led such a deceitful double life–months or even years long–is a Christian.
I quote Jesus and from I John to highlight the spiritual reality that saying one is a Christian is not enough to make it so.
Actions must follow words.
Ultimately, the verdict is up to Jesus to make. However, I do believe we have enough Biblical passages to suggest an unrepentant cheater ought to be seriously concerned about his or her salvation (e.g. I Corinthians 6:9-10, Hebrews 10:26-27, etc).
When it comes to abandonment–e.g. an abusive cheater files the divorce to leave the marriage, I believe–speaking from my own personal conviction here–that such an event qualifies as an unbeliever abandoning the marriage (see I Corinthians 7:15). A Christian spouse need not fight such a divorce and is free to remarry.
To those who naively think just saying one is a Christian is enough to make one so, I will simply point back to Jesus’ own words on the matter in Matthew 7:21-23 (quoted above in part).
My cheater claimed she was faithful to God in the same conversation when she later admittedly lied about being in an adulterous relationship.
Is a cheater beyond God’s mercy and grace? No.
I believe God is always ready to receive a repentant sinner home.
But God makes it crystal clear in the Bible that anyone who persists in willful sin–like lying and cheating–will not experience His mercy and grace. They are evildoers.
And, at Heaven’s Gates, Jesus tells such evildoers to depart from Him!
Thank you for this post.