“You are my friends if you do what I command.” -Jesus speaking in John 15:14, NIV Friendship is a selective relationship. It is a relationship built on trust and mutual admiration. Not everyone I know is my friend. They need to pass the cut. As we read from this quoted Scripture, Jesus did not call … Continue reading “We can still be friends, right? Wrong.”
Category: Forgiveness
The Christmas Story Instructing Us On Adultery And Divorce
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. – Matthew … Continue reading “The Christmas Story Instructing Us On Adultery And Divorce”
Proscribing Patience For Adulterous Spouses But None For Faithful Spouses
In my trial to keep my license as a minister, a focus of the questions was about whether or not I had forgiven my ex-wife. This is a fair question to ask a minister. Bitterness in the pulpit is a dangerous thing. And we are commanded to forgive. However, the accompanying piece was conspicuously absent. … Continue reading “Proscribing Patience For Adulterous Spouses But None For Faithful Spouses”
Abusing the Example of Hosea
When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” – Hosea 1:2, NIV Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that … Continue reading “Abusing the Example of Hosea”
If the Bible is clear that we are not to tolerate adultery, why then all the pressure to tolerate it in Christian marriages?
If the Bible is clear that we are not to tolerate adultery, “You shall not commit adultery.” – Exodus 20:14 (repeated in Deuteronomy 5:18), ESV (Ten Commandments) “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” – Leviticus 20:10, ESV “If a … Continue reading “If the Bible is clear that we are not to tolerate adultery, why then all the pressure to tolerate it in Christian marriages?”
What does forgiveness look like when your adulterous (ex) spouse is unrepentant?
Answering the mail today: “What does forgiveness (acceptance) look like when your adulterous spouse or ex-spouse is unrepentant? (I’m speaking of this as a person divorced from a cheating ex-wife who never admitted the affair was wrong or asked for my forgiveness.. We have […] children in common, so aside from getting along for the … Continue reading “What does forgiveness look like when your adulterous (ex) spouse is unrepentant?”
The Affair As “A Cry For Help”
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives … Continue reading “The Affair As “A Cry For Help””
No “Cheap Grace” Promoted Here
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer We live in a day and age not unlike the day and age … Continue reading “No “Cheap Grace” Promoted Here”
But he only cheated on you once…
Adulterers/adulteresses and their apologists say the cruelest of things: “I still love you. It only happened once. We all make mistakes. Can’t we just pretend it didn’t happen?” “It was only just one slip up. Why can’t you get past it?” “He just had one bad night. Why are you so hung up on one … Continue reading “But he only cheated on you once…”
Bastardization of Forgiveness
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:16, ESV Not without significant frequency (click here for an example post), I read of situations where forgiveness is abused to mean: “ignore the damage done to the faithful spouse.” The forgiveness … Continue reading “Bastardization of Forgiveness”