More Questions/Comments/Thoughts about Lutheranism

alexnbethmom

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well - the bible does recognize divorce - the 2 biblical reasons for divorce are abandonment and adultery. let's just say, there is a married couple, and the man cheats on his wife. she finds out, he apologizes, says it won't happen again, try to make their marriage work, but he just goes out and does it again. in this instance, he has not only committed adultery, but abandoned his wedding vows to love, care, and protect his wife. biblically, she is justified in filing for divorce, and because she was not the one who abandoned her vows or committed adultery, it would not be a sin for her to remarry.
 
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Parogar

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well - the bible does recognize divorce - the 2 biblical reasons for divorce are abandonment and adultery. let's just say, there is a married couple, and the man cheats on his wife. she finds out, he apologizes, says it won't happen again, try to make their marriage work, but he just goes out and does it again. in this instance, he has not only committed adultery, but abandoned his wedding vows to love, care, and protect his wife. biblically, she is justified in filing for divorce, and because she was not the one who abandoned her vows or committed adultery, it would not be a sin for her to remarry.

That's not why most marriages end in divorce, but some. So let me restate that. Suppose that for every five Lutherans who are married, at least one out of those five mutually divorce from their spouse for a reason that is not that one.

Are these people treated with the exact same attitude as any other adulterers?

Or suppose for example a married man wishes to become a confessional Lutheran, but this man is on his third wife: the first ended because of mutual adultery, and the second ended for financial reasons. But suppose he is truly repentant and he vows to never commit adultery again.

Would his local Lutheran church recognize this marriage? Or would they insist that every single day he lies with his wife, he is committing adultery over and over again and he is not truly repentant.
 
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LilLamb219

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I don't think Lutherans concentrate on the Law IF grace is needed. If repentance is shown, then we wouldn't hammer the man down with more law. We wouldn't leave him in despair because where there is repentance, forgiveness should be proclaimed.
 
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DaRev

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Since the bible doesn't recognize divorce, then that means every single one of those Confessional Lutherans are unrepentant and living in a permanent and perpetual state of adultery.

Not true. Scripture teaches that there are two grounds for divorce - adultery and desertion. I myself was the victim of both. I am not responsible for the sin of my former spouse.
 
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DaRev

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That's not why most marriages end in divorce, but some. So let me restate that. Suppose that for every five Lutherans who are married, at least one out of those five mutually divorce from their spouse for a reason that is not that one.

Are these people treated with the exact same attitude as any other adulterers?

If that person repents of that sin, he or she is forgiven. The marriage may not be able to be saved at that point, but a repentant sin is forgiven.

Or suppose for example a married man wishes to become a confessional Lutheran, but this man is on his third wife: the first ended because of mutual adultery, and the second ended for financial reasons. But suppose he is truly repentant and he vows to never commit adultery again.

Would his local Lutheran church recognize this marriage? Or would they insist that every single day he lies with his wife, he is committing adultery over and over again and he is not truly repentant.

Again, a repentant sin is forgiven. A broken marriage may not be able to be saved. In the case you mentioned, the repentance of the sin that resulted in the dissolution of the marriage results in forgiveness.

In the case of homosexuality, it is specifically taught in Scripture that homosexual conduct, including the "lust in one's heart", is inherently sinful. The Bible refers to it as an abomination and that those who engage in such behavior will not enter the Kingdom of God. There is no way to repent of that sin other than total abstinence.
 
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When it comes to homosexuality I feel torn. Politicaly I am a libertarian, in that marriage is a government contract between two adults. On the otherhand I do believe homosexuality is not genetic but enviromental and hormonal. Two of my closest male friends are gay and they know that I love them very much just as they are. It is not my place to judge. So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't listen to a lot of the hate being preached out there. Just love people for who they are and pray that Jesus finds a way into their heart.
 
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Parogar

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Not true. Scripture teaches that there are two grounds for divorce - adultery and desertion. I myself was the victim of both. I am not responsible for the sin of my former spouse.

I am very sorry to hear you went through that. But it was probably for the best, because the wife you have now certainly seems to be worth a heartbreak or two from some heartless. Cheating is terrible!.
 
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Luther073082

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I know, but what ended up happening to him (the one who was unworthy). Did he go to hell? Get killed?

Was he never saved? From what it sounded like, he wasn't that bad of a person. Did God show him mercy?

What did it actually mean to "be worthy."

It's hard to say, it was a parable told by Jesus, so it wasn't intended to be taken as a literal story but only a short story used by Jesus to teach a concept.

If the continued until death believing he was worthy on his own of God's love and not recognizing that he is a sinner, then he would not be saved.
 
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Luther073082

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I'm not challenging you or calling you wrong, so what I'm about to say, I hope isn't taken that way.

But basically, that's some really difficult stuff to cope with.

I was thinking about this the other day, and what you have to understand is that God due to his perfection has to treat all sin as the same. All sin leads to separation from God.

That having been said I don't think we can say conclusively that God does not recognize a difference in severity of sins.

While God treats all sin the same, I can't say that God would not prefer that if you are going to commit a sin that you commit the sin that causes less injury to others or yourself.

We must remember at the same time though that the worst sin always has been and always will be unbelief and/or causing someone to stumble in their faith.

Because unbelief can't be forgiven. Everything else can be reconciled through Christ by grace through faith. But without the faith the grace can't be received, and without grace any of us are lost to God.
 
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