Adultery - eternal condemnation?

[shioks]

We have seen many Christians (be it Pastors, layman or followers) fall due to Sex, Money and Power. In this thread, I would like to learn different views (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and etc) on adultery.

We know Jesus has forgiven the sin of the lady who has 5 husbands but yet when Christians divorce and enter remarriage, not in accordance to the two teachings by Jesus and Paul, is deemed adulterous.

Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why?

 

[Hieronymus]

Jesus forgave the woman, but it's still adultery.
So, it is not an 'eternal sin' (i suppose you mean unpardonable).

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Jesus said Matthew 5:28 on adultery, but seemed to be concerned about religious people going to hell when they were being hypocrites or being able to help others but choose not to because of their religious customs. Those who focus on telling people that they're going to hell are in danger of the same ruler stick being measured back to them.
.
So far as a sin being eternal, isn't that like making sin a god? Sin isn't eternal because the creation is perishable, sin is a parasite. Sin cannot exist without a creation to infect.

 

[CodyFaith]

Jesus said the only unforgivable sin was blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Mark 3:28-29. Anyone who comes to Christ has their sins forgiven and are new men/women.

I think the scripture that's referred to by the Christians you're talking about may be 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
I'm too young in Christ to comment on that scripture.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why?

IF you start with a PREMISE that is not true, nothing that follows can be of value.
Perhaps you saw 'Christians' say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally....
Perhaps you didn't see them say this.
I didn't see them say this, anywhere. (not "MANY Christians", not even several, not even a few).

So, I dis-agree that "Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally."
Because I haven't seen "Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally."
Perhaps someplace they do .
Have you seen them say that ?

 

[Erose]

Adultery is a mortal sin (a sin that leads to death) and if one dies with this stain on their soul, without seeking reconciliation with God, then yes they will be eternally condemned. But it isn't an unforgivable sin.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Adultery is a mortal sin (a sin that leads to death) and if one dies with this stain on their soul, without seeking reconciliation with God, then yes they will be eternally condemned. But it isn't an unforgivable sin.

Or, as God says, The penalty for sin (ANY SIN) is death. Not just adultery.

So, if people do not start repenting of their sin(s), what's going to happen to them then ?

 

[farout]

We have seen many Christians (be it Pastors, layman or followers) fall due to Sex, Money and Power. In this thread, I would like to learn different views (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and etc) on adultery.

We know Jesus has forgiven the sin of the lady who has 5 husbands but yet when Christians divorce and enter remarriage, not in accordance to the two teachings by Jesus and Paul, is deemed adulterous.

Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why?

So much is in addition to just the question. The question for me is asking can God forgive some of mankind's deepest sins? Is adultery unforgiveable? What sin or sins are unpardonable?

When most hear the word "adultery" we assume is a sexual involvement with at least one person or both being married. The sexual act of intercourse with someone other than ones spouse is condemned by God in the Ten Commandments. God says there is no excuse for this it is a sin. There are so many who fall into this sin, and the side effects of this sin destroy families, relationships, and lives.

No matter how educated a person is, or what their position is, be it secular or in ministry, the sexual desire is a fire that can over rule the brain and religious or personal conviction may have. We have seen the highest Generals in the Army to the most respected Minister, to the President of the United States all fail to honor their marriage Vows before God, their mate, and the people who stood by watching these people promise to be honorable in the marriage vows. Sexual desire (lust) is a very powerful tool Satan uses to destroy men and women. Satan uses temptation to draw men and women into sin in any area they are weak to temp us into sin. Sex is not the only area Satan uses, but sex is a big draw as we all are sexual beings.

A Christian who had drifted from reading the Scripture daily, and has let their relationship in talking to Jesus several times a day, has an open gate in the walls around their soul. We become drawn away and enticed by our own evil desires, and if someone desirable, sexually exciting temps us and lust takes hold we allow sin to take place. James 1:13-15 tells us how we become tempted and its source. James 4:1-17

For a Christian that is a genuine FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ, how are ALL our sins forgiven? When we sin the Holy Spirit convicts of us of out sin John 16:8. The Holy Spirit uses shame to convict us of our sin, no matter what the sin is. Sin for the Christian is sickness of the deepest part of our inner being (soul) and until we are willing to repent (stop doing) of the sin we will suffer inner disruption of our peace and closeness to and with Jesus Christ, Bible reading and prayer are severely hindered. When we reach the point of perhaps torment with in, or the amount of spiritual unrest we can no longer stand, the Holy Spirits pleading with our soul leads us to the point of wanting to confess our sin or sins. This process may be almost instantly or may take years depending on the sins hold on us or the gravity of the sin or our sensitivity to sin in our life.
1 John 1:9 pointedly states that upon our confession of each specific sin that Jesus Christ will forgive us of that sin. In addition to forgiving us Jesus Christ will also clean, wipe off, give us right standing, return us to being in a close relationship with Him and Yahweh, the Father. We need to remember when confessing our sin, we must repent and confess each sin by name. Asking for blanket forgiveness of all our sins does not allow for naming them one by one as we are aware of those sins. Far better to ask that the Holy Spirit bring to our memory the sins we need to confess. As Jesus Christ is genuinely wanting closeness with us, He truly wants to heal our sin sick souls, we need not fear His reaction to our confession's to Him. 1 John 4:18 tell us that "There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives our fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us."

The only unforgiveable sin, is lying to the Holy Spirit, which is rejecting Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father and Heaven. That is called Blaspheme the only unforgiveable sin. But to more directly answer the question any sin is forgivable if repented and confessed.

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

We have seen many Christians (be it Pastors, layman or followers) fall due to Sex, Money and Power. In this thread, I would like to learn different views (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and etc) on adultery.

We know Jesus has forgiven the sin of the lady who has 5 husbands but yet when Christians divorce and enter remarriage, not in accordance to the two teachings by Jesus and Paul, is deemed adulterous.

Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why?

Adultery can be forgiven, we must repent.

Of course if a Christian does not show remorse and continues to live in sin, then I would have to doubt whether they have true saving faith in the first place.

 

[actionsub]

We have seen many Christians (be it Pastors, layman or followers) fall due to Sex, Money and Power. In this thread, I would like to learn different views (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and etc) on adultery.

We know Jesus has forgiven the sin of the lady who has 5 husbands but yet when Christians divorce and enter remarriage, not in accordance to the two teachings by Jesus and Paul, is deemed adulterous.

Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why?

Disagree. Paul even said in I Cor 7 with regard to one who has been "loosed" from a wife via divorce "But if you marry, you have not sinned."

Many Christians may say "adultery is eternal sin..." However, "many Christians" say a lot of things that aren't necessarily Biblical.

 

[shioks]

Jesus said the only unforgivable sin was blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Mark 3:28-29. Anyone who comes to Christ has their sins forgiven and are new men/women.

I think the scripture that's referred to by the Christians you're talking about may be 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
I'm too young in Christ to comment on that scripture.

Jesus forgave the woman, but it's still adultery.
So, it is not an 'eternal sin' (i suppose you mean unpardonable).

Jesus said Matthew 5:28 on adultery, but seemed to be concerned about religious people going to hell when they were being hypocrites or being able to help others but choose not to because of their religious customs. Those who focus on telling people that they're going to hell are in danger of the same ruler stick being measured back to them.
.
So far as a sin being eternal, isn't that like making sin a god? Sin isn't eternal because the creation is perishable, sin is a parasite. Sin cannot exist without a creation to infect.

Sorry for long silent after starting this thread. I was caught up with some issues to address and have no time to response.

I have the same understanding as you all. The reason I started this thread is that in one of the group discussions, I have two pastors commented that "adultery is an eternal sin and not forgivable" which was not I understood. I only recall all sins are pardonable as in 1 John 1:9. I believe the only sin that is unpardonable is blasphemy against holy spirit as per scripture.

 

[shioks]

IF you start with a PREMISE that is not true, nothing that follows can be of value.
Perhaps you saw 'Christians' say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally....
Perhaps you didn't see them say this.
I didn't see them say this, anywhere. (not "MANY Christians", not even several, not even a few).

So, I dis-agree that "Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally."
Because I haven't seen "Many Christians say adultery is eternal sin and is condemned eternally."
Perhaps someplace they do .
Have you seen them say that ?

I wouldn't have started this thread this if not because of so many Christians around me said so especially recently two pastors commented such.

 

[shioks]

Adultery can be forgiven, we must repent.

Of course if a Christian does not show remorse and continues to live in sin, then I would have to doubt whether they have true saving faith in the first place.

How do you repent? I have seen Christians fall into adultery or sexual sins over and over again even after repentance. The sexual temptation is so great though the scripture says we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear. So back to the question, if this would be eternal sin then?

 

[shioks]

So much is in addition to just the question. The question for me is asking can God forgive some of mankind's deepest sins? Is adultery unforgiveable? What sin or sins are unpardonable?

When most hear the word "adultery" we assume is a sexual involvement with at least one person or both being married. The sexual act of intercourse with someone other than ones spouse is condemned by God in the Ten Commandments. God says there is no excuse for this it is a sin. There are so many who fall into this sin, and the side effects of this sin destroy families, relationships, and lives.

No matter how educated a person is, or what their position is, be it secular or in ministry, the sexual desire is a fire that can over rule the brain and religious or personal conviction may have. We have seen the highest Generals in the Army to the most respected Minister, to the President of the United States all fail to honor their marriage Vows before God, their mate, and the people who stood by watching these people promise to be honorable in the marriage vows. Sexual desire (lust) is a very powerful tool Satan uses to destroy men and women. Satan uses temptation to draw men and women into sin in any area they are weak to temp us into sin. Sex is not the only area Satan uses, but sex is a big draw as we all are sexual beings.

A Christian who had drifted from reading the Scripture daily, and has let their relationship in talking to Jesus several times a day, has an open gate in the walls around their soul. We become drawn away and enticed by our own evil desires, and if someone desirable, sexually exciting temps us and lust takes hold we allow sin to take place. James 1:13-15 tells us how we become tempted and its source. James 4:1-17

For a Christian that is a genuine FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ, how are ALL our sins forgiven? When we sin the Holy Spirit convicts of us of out sin John 16:8. The Holy Spirit uses shame to convict us of our sin, no matter what the sin is. Sin for the Christian is sickness of the deepest part of our inner being (soul) and until we are willing to repent (stop doing) of the sin we will suffer inner disruption of our peace and closeness to and with Jesus Christ, Bible reading and prayer are severely hindered. When we reach the point of perhaps torment with in, or the amount of spiritual unrest we can no longer stand, the Holy Spirits pleading with our soul leads us to the point of wanting to confess our sin or sins. This process may be almost instantly or may take years depending on the sins hold on us or the gravity of the sin or our sensitivity to sin in our life.
1 John 1:9 pointedly states that upon our confession of each specific sin that Jesus Christ will forgive us of that sin. In addition to forgiving us Jesus Christ will also clean, wipe off, give us right standing, return us to being in a close relationship with Him and Yahweh, the Father. We need to remember when confessing our sin, we must repent and confess each sin by name. Asking for blanket forgiveness of all our sins does not allow for naming them one by one as we are aware of those sins. Far better to ask that the Holy Spirit bring to our memory the sins we need to confess. As Jesus Christ is genuinely wanting closeness with us, He truly wants to heal our sin sick souls, we need not fear His reaction to our confession's to Him. 1 John 4:18 tell us that "There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives our fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us."

The only unforgiveable sin, is lying to the Holy Spirit, which is rejecting Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father and Heaven. That is called Blaspheme the only unforgiveable sin. But to more directly answer the question any sin is forgivable if repented and confessed.

I like your response.

The question is repentance, how? I once heard a pastor said Satan knows your weakness (just like you said) and Satan will use your weakness to continue attacking you. Even great pastors have fallen to adultery or fornication.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

If a lamb or a sheep keeps wandering down into a crevice and getting stuck there in the brambles,
does the shepherd slaughter the sheep ?

 

[hedrick]

I don’t think this discussion is looking at things broadly enough.

Note that I’m assuming someone who continues in an adulterous relationship. I believe everyone agrees that one can repent from adultery.

I maintain that for Protestants it is simply not the case that we have to repent from every sin. (I'm less clear on Catholic moral theology.) There are too many situations where people either don’t recognize sin or can’t give it up. That is a standard that few if any of us can actually meet. Indeed that kind of legalistic definition of repentance is what caused Luther his problem before his conversion.

While Jesus certainly demanded repentance, I am not convinced that he is sitting there to check whether we have repented for every sin. I think repentance as he used the term is a more general concept.

In fact we wouldn’t be having this discussion if it weren’t a notorious sin. But I don’t believe there’s a list of unforgiveable sins. People sometimes cite passages like 1 Cor 6:9. But that passage includes greedy and drunkards, which almost certainly wouldn’t trigger this discussion. I think if you look at the intent of the passage it was not to call out a list of sins that form a special category, but rather to caution converts not to fall back into sin. As such it was a list of things that they had done before their conversion, not a special category of sins. I can certainly imagine unrepentant adulterers who Jesus would exclude from his followers. But I don’t believe it makes sense to say that this sin is uniformly fatal.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

I like your response.
The question is repentance, how? I once heard a pastor said Satan knows your weakness (just like you said) and Satan will use your weakness to continue attacking you. Even great pastors have fallen to adultery or fornication.

As it is written, "Bad company corrupts good morals" (i.e and helps no one)
So, stay away from "Bad company".
Don't seek, don't be around, do not accompany anyone who is willing to sin against God and who is willing to harm and to sin against other human beings.
Find a friend , or friends, who will stand strong themselves (already) and not sin,
and thus keep good company, who will not make anyone stumble.
This direction, God will help in, as He Promises always in His Word.(Jesus, Perfect Shepherd, will not lead lamb nor sheep into dangerous crevice to be trapped; He Guards His sheep, and guides them away from danger - and to "good company" )

 

[miamited]

Hi shiok,

All sin has eternal condemnation as it's wage. But, praise God and His mercy, any sin can be forgiven through faith in Christ.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[shioks]

I don’t think this discussion is looking at things broadly enough.

Note that I’m assuming someone who continues in an adulterous relationship. I believe everyone agrees that one can repent from adultery.

I maintain that for Protestants it is simply not the case that we have to repent from every sin. (I'm less clear on Catholic moral theology.) There are too many situations where people either don’t recognize sin or can’t give it up. That is a standard that few if any of us can actually meet. Indeed that kind of legalistic definition of repentance is what caused Luther his problem before his conversion.

While Jesus certainly demanded repentance, I am not convinced that he is sitting there to check whether we have repented for every sin. I think repentance as he used the term is a more general concept.

In fact we wouldn’t be having this discussion if it weren’t a notorious sin. But I don’t believe there’s a list of unforgiveable sins. People sometimes cite passages like 1 Cor 6:9. But that passage includes greedy and drunkards, which almost certainly wouldn’t trigger this discussion. I think if you look at the intent of the passage it was not to call out a list of sins that form a special category, but rather to caution converts not to fall back into sin. As such it was a list of things that they had done before their conversion, not a special category of sins. I can certainly imagine unrepentant adulterers who Jesus would exclude from his followers. But I don’t believe it makes sense to say that this sin is uniformly fatal.

You may expand the discussions with this is not broad enough. I'm all ears and hear to learn.

Leaving RCC aside, even within Protestants there are two views on repentance. On one side, repentance is required for salvation while, on the other side, repentance is not required (as repentance is considered as your own works).

I believe it would be good that we ask for forgiveness in our known sins and also unknown sins. Sometimes we don't even know we have sins against God. But not repenting from our sins will lead to eternal condemnation (1 Corinthians 6:9) is kind of hard to swallow as verse 1 Corinthians 6:11 said otherwise.

 

[hedrick]

Leaving RCC aside, even within Protestants there are two views on repentance. On one side, repentance is required for salvation while, on the other side, repentance is not required (as repentance is considered as your own works).

I believe it would be good that we ask for forgiveness in our known sins and also unknown sins. Sometimes we don't even know we have sins against God. But not repenting from our sins will lead to eternal condemnation (1 Corinthians 6:9) is kind of hard to swallow as verse 1 Corinthians 6:11 said otherwise.

I think it’s pretty clear that repentance is needed. But for Jesus I think repentance normally means turning from a life opposed to God to a life of obedience. That is it’s a change in orientation. What I think is dubious is that there’s a checklist of everything we did wrong, and we had better have repented of every one. The question then is whether there are particular sins that are mortal sins, and have to be repented or we are damned. Protestants have normally objected to the distinction between mortal and venal sins until you ask them whether an unrepentant adulterer or gay person can be saved. At that point the concept of mortal sin reappears, even though the theology will tell you it shouldn’t. I would prefer to stick with the theology as we find it with Jesus and Paul.

1 Cor 6:9 is probably not meant as a list of mortal sins, as it has a variety of types, some of which we wouldn’t typically think of at mortal (drunkenness being the clearest). If you look at the whole context, the passage is a warning against falling back into the sins that they were trapped in before they become Christian.

How do you reconcile Paul’s understanding elsewhere that sin remains in everyone with this passage? I think the answer is a somewhat paradoxical one. Sinners won’t inherit the Kingdom, but we’re all still at least in part sinners. God’s forgiveness through Christ lets him accept us anyway. That’s why he continues with 12 - 20. He doesn’t say that if you sin you’ll be damned. He says that because of our union with Christ, sin now involves Christ. Do we really want to involve Christ with a prostitute? Yuck!