Comments/Questions from Readers

Question #32: If people are engaging, under your definition, constant sin through adultery. How is it that they have blessings of God, communicate with him daily, act as his hands and feet, and are in fellowship with him? I know a few different pastors that are remarried after their first wife was divorced for adultery and yet seem to be under the mantle of God and doing his work.

First of all, we need to recognize that not ALL divorce and remarriage is adulterous. For example, a man whose wife has left him would not be committing adultery when he remarries, because he was already entitled to marry another woman. If we carefully read the NT (and OT) passages that speak to these issues, keeping the correct gender mentioned in the passages in view, we immediately can see how the wife is bound to the husband so long as he lives, not the reverse. If a wife either abandons or is put away by her husband (and she did nothing to deserve such judgment), then she is still bound to her husband and cannot become another man's wife without committing adultery. Of course, if the man is responsible for putting her away unjustly (without the matter of whoring that Jesus reaffirmed in Matt. 5:32 and Matt. 19:9), then he too is prevented from remarrying without committing adultery in the process.

As to how these adulterous men and women have the blessings of God, the answer is quite simple when we think about it. Many true Believers have fellowship with Him, are blessed by Him, and yet are ensnared in various sins of the flesh in their natural lives. I too know several pastors that have divorced, remarried, divorced, remarried, etc. and yet they are true Believers and are obviously helping fellow Believers in the Kingdom. Even aside from the issue of adultery, look at all the pastors who have strongholds with their tempers, or with sexual vices, or drunkeness, or homosexual desires, or greed, or gluttony, or whoring, and yet these same leaders are still being used as mighty men of God. God will use us where we are, not necessarily where we should be. If not for His grace in our lives, none of us would have any hope because we were all ensnared in some form of sin before we were delivered. We must recognize and repent of our sins, rather than seek to justify or excuse them. We must DESIRE to put them as far away from ourselves as possible.

Ephesians 5:5-7: "For this you know, that no one who whores, nor unclean one, nor one greedy of gain, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the reign of Messiah and Elohim. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these the wrath of Elohim comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partakers with them."

1 Corinthians 6:9-11: "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the reign of Elohim? Do not be deceived. Neither those who whore, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor greedy of gain, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the reign of Elohim. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were set-apart, but you were declared right in the Name of the Master Yahushua and by the Spirit of our Elohim."

Galatians 5:19-21: "And the works of the flesh are well-known, which are these: adultery, whoring, uncleanness, indecency, idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and the like - of which I forewarn you, even as I also said before, that those who practice such things as these shall not inherit the reign of Elohim."

According to His Word, those who operate in these works of the flesh will have the wrath of God to look forward to. They shall not inherit the Kingdom, despite how God may or may not use them in this life. All such sin must be repented of and deliberately turned away from to receive forgiveness for them. Do we have to be perfect in avoiding these sins? Of course not. Only He is perfect and we are to aspire to be like Him regarding these matters, but in the flesh, we will still have these problems to deal with. However, we most certainly cannot willingly choose to continue in these things and then still expect to be forgiven for them.

The real question is whether true Believers who do not realize that they are in adulterous relationships will be judged based on what they DO or what they KNOW.

Luke 12:47-48: "And that servant who KNEW his master's desire, and did not prepare, nor did according to his desire, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who DID NOT KNOW, yet did what deserved flogging, shall be beaten with few. And everyone to whom much is given, from him much shall be demanded. And to whom much has been entrusted, from him much more shall be asked."

Clearly, there is a different standard between the one who knew and the one who did not know, yet both get beat. So my primary goal in presenting this information is to get the truth out there to those who have ears to hear it, then allow His Spirit to reach the hearts of the individuals who need to earnestly repent and receive forgiveness for their lack of knowledge in this area. Each of us will be held accountable to what we knew and how we chose to respond to His will, either with obedience or disobedience. I would prefer that NONE of us get beat.

 
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