I'm drinking while posting in this thread. Take that.

Does that makes you a double drunk.....

I have a very close friend with a cloudy history. I believe him to be a righteous man and he obviously loves Christ. He loves his family and friends and his church. He'd do just about anything to help someone in need and he is constantly looking for ways to be of service to others ...

Let me briefly tell you his story and then you can tell me your thoughts on the matter :

He married a girl when he was young and was faithful to her in every way. After about a year she fell out of love with him and ran off with another man. He tried to convince her to come back but she wouldn't hear of it and she went on her way.

Ten years later he falls in love with another woman and marries her. He was faithful to her completely also. Early on in the marriage she has an affair with his lifelong best friend. He convinces her to come back and to go to counseling. It took him a few years but he forgave her and life went on. Years later she does the same thing again with the same man only this tIme she leaves and divorces him. He tried to convince her otherwise to no avail.

Several years later he meets another woman who had been through an almost identical set of circumstances and she becomes his 3rd wife. They have been married for a long time now and they are committed and dedicated to each other. I mean you should see them together, they are perfect for each other and very much in love to this day.

So, both he and her are on their third marriage. Both of them were completely faithful to their first two spouses. Both of them did everything they could to save their failed marriages.

Are they sinning?

It's a shame they didn't meet first...

After reading all the above posts,just let me say this. To suggest that ANYONE who accepts the gift of salvation is still lost, or to doubt your own salvation is wrong if you are truly saved.That would weaken the very idea of a PLAN OF SALVATION that a perfect God came up with. Everyone will continue to sin after being saved. Being gay is the same as being a drunkard in God's eyes. Looking at a woman in a lustful way is the same as going to bed with her. (Perhaps we can talk about deacons being the husband of one wife at another time and what was meant by that.)I'm thankful God forgives me instead of fallible man.

And another thing. Of all the folks who have children on here,think about this. Let's say your son or daughter, in their youth, were running the roads,maybe had gotten married to a sorry POS, had gotten divorced, then turned their life around and came back to you, and then married somebody faithful. You would wrap your arms around them with tears in your eyes, right?Don't you think God's love is like that times infinity? Doubting salvation is a sin. So cut it out. You are absolutely saved,Mr. or Mrs. divorcee. God sees your sin no more.

It's amazing how folks take scripture out of context and twist it to fit their situation.

Yes, Ridgestalker, I agree. Thankfully, anyone who is saved no longer has a situation. It is forgotten.

Divorce is not the unforgivable sin. Just like anything else, we're to hate the sin, but love the sinner.

Divorce has probably touched someone on this forum in some way or another. Marriage is a very serious covenant. Just like any other sin, God hates all sin. As has been stated, we must be very careful when we judge others. We are allowed to judge based on God's Holy Word. We are not allowed to judge based on what our "moral standards" or opinions might be (unfortunately,that's the way many of us judge, and yes, I have been guilty. God can forgive us of this also).

I know and have talked to divorced friends and family. Many of them have expressed how they feel they have been mistreated by members of their churches since their divorce. One friend of mine was even asked to leave his church. Another relative said she was shunned after her divorce and members of her church would not speak to her. She left that church and found another church where the congregation took her in and loved her. She is still a member of that church and is a faithful worker. I don't understand this. People who have divorced, even for reason's we may not think are biblical, need our love and forgiveness. As lost sinners, for those of us who have become followers of our Lord and Savior, our Father in Heaven forgave us for our sins, and continues to do so when we ask for forgiveness when we sin (1 John 1:9). With this in mind, shouldn't we be willing to forgive? The Bible says we should (Matthew 19:21-35). I believe that when we forgive others, that is when we are most like our Savior.

Marriage is hard work. The Bible gives us guidelines as to our roles as husbands and wives. I believe divorce happens, not because of all the problems that we may have with each other in our marriages, but because we don't have the relationship with our Lord and Savior that we should. When we step outside that relationship or neglect that relationship, our other relationships are going to suffer. Old Mr. Satan knows when we go through these times and he ups the attacks and temptations on us, wanting us to fall away from what we know is right. He knows that when lost folks see a Christian fall, he has the ammo he needs to keep those folks in his camp.

This post is a very simplistic reply to the question that was posed. I've been married 26 years and it has been hard work. Even though I married a godly woman, and I work hard to be godly man, we still have our fusses and fights. Neither of us has ever been unfaithful in the physical sense(other than I know have have lusted after other women, and we know what Jesus said about that), but I've learned to never say never. I would hope through any difficulty, trial or temptation we might face, that we would be able to work through it and remain together. I admit I have stepped out of my relationship with Christ (what many refer to as "backslide") and at those times, I've put my marriage on trial. Fortunately, I have a wife who loves me very much and she has been able to forgive me. With her patience, forgiveness and prayers, I've been able to return to the relationship with my Lord and to the relationship with her that God designed for us.

With all that said, it's easy to find fault with others and especially with our spouses at times. And as a husband, it's easy to get biblical on my wife about her duties as a wife. Then, just when I think I have a winning point, I always end up being convicted when I remember or she points out what is said about how husbands should love their wives; "even as Christ loves the church." (Ephesians 5:22-33).

As stated in my first sentence, let's hate the sin, but love the sinner. We may want to believe there is a hierarchy of sin, but that's what we want to believe. Sin is sin to God, and even though we may not want to believe it, a lie (even a small white lie) is just as bad as murder. God hates all sin and as His children, we should also. Thankfully, all of these sins can be forgiven. Only the one sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (which boils down to the rejection of Jesus as the Savior) is unforgiveable by God. That's the sin that will send unbeliever's (lost sinners) into an eternal hell.

1 John 1:7 says that we must be walking in the light as he is in the light in order for the blood of Christ to continue cleanse our sins.

So if a person enters into adultry is he walking in the light? Some mistakes last a life time and have consequences that effect many.In our human eyes it doesn't seem fair.I believe this would be considered a willful sin. Of course most believe once saved always saved so who cares do what ever you want.

Ridge, I went back to check that passage and didn't see "in order" in it. It said "...and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from ALL SIN." I added caps for emphasis. I mean you no offense. Perhaps I am just understanding it differently.

This is true....

So ridgestalker, do you believe that once a person is saved, he/she will never sin again?

I've always been taught to believe there are two kinds of people in the world, lost sinners and saved sinners.

^^^ Bingo!

The IF at the beginning means there is a condition required.

My understanding of salvation is that I can do NOTHING to save myself. I must ONLY ask God for it and it is GIVEN me for free. My salvation is unconditional. It is BECAUSE I have salvation that I WANT to walk in the Light. I still screw up EVERY dadgum day. Just my opinion. Outta here. Got chores now.

Of course not thats silly,I'm saying you must be walking in the light for the blood of Christ to continue to cover your sins.We all make mistakes for sure all the time.However adultry,murder etc are willful sins. 2 Peter 2:20-23 is very clear on this subject among many others.Rev 2:10 says we must be faithful unto death.Rev 3:5 teaches that our names can be blotted out of the book of life.Jesus taught this in many of his parables Luke 8:13 the seed that sprang for had no root and fell away he's not talking about grass but christians my friend.

Lot's of hypocrisy on this forum I've noticed with these recent threads...but I guess that's just human nature, right, just another one of our inherent flaws as human beings.

John 14

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

It may not be what you mean but the way you are saying it implies that if you sin , you aren't walking in the light so you aren't forgiven.

All Christians sin, if we say we don't then the truth isn't in us. All sin is the same to God and even a saved Christian might commit adultery.

There is only one who is qualified to judge if a person is saved or not and that is God. It's a heart condition and not able to be seen by anyone else. The difference between a saved person sinning and a non saved person sinning is that the saved person hates the sin ,in his reborn heart.

A Christian can be in sin that he hates and have no power to get out of it. It's because he hasn't yet renewed his mind to the scriptures. He hasn't yet submitted himself to God. He can get free but it takes renewing his mind to God's word , so that his thoughts are the thoughts of God instead of the old man. Being a Christian is all about crucifying the old self and living the new life in Christ.

Repeating a prayer or having your name on the roll at church doesn't make you a Christian. Many try to invite God into their life and they wonder why he doesn't fix it. God won't enter into your life, you have to enter into his. You have to die to self to live with Christ. That's what it means to be born again.