A confessing Christian cheater may not be a Christian

“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.”

-Matthew 7:21, NIV

Confessing “Christian” Cheaters

One of the most confusing part of dealing with adultery and general infidelity discoveries is how they do not fit with the person involved. You cannot make the two match–i.e. the cheating and the person’s confession of following Christ.

I never would have dated–let alone married–my first wife if I had ever doubted her commitment to following Christ as Lord.

So, you can imagine how disorienting the whole infidelity discovery experience was for me. It was doubly so as my (now ex) wife and her supporters enjoyed claiming Christian commitments while the lies and adultery continued.

Without a strong and real relationship with Jesus, I do not think my faith would have survived such hypocrisy and wickedness. In fact, I am convinced I would have taken my life without my Jesus and His sweet Spirit with me during the darkest days.

My point in writing this is to highlight Jesus’ own words. It is clear from this verse from Matthew that claiming Jesus is not enough to make one a Christian. Actions must follow words.

It is not enough to claim Jesus as Lord but then live as if He is not!

Your cheater and their cohorts might claim Jesus as Lord. However, the truth Jesus shares here is that He is not their Lord if they do not obey Him. As the saying goes: Talk is cheap.

Do not blame Christ or Christianity for the cheater’s wickedness and hypocrisy. A true Christian does not live a remorseless life of lies and adulterous rebellion to God.

 

 

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*A version of this post ran previously.