What is your view of sins, forgiveness, and consequences?

[Jane_Doe22]

So the "bearing one another's burdens" verse is astonishingly applicable here. Imagine yourself in that type of situation, and what you would be willing to hear. And try and not treat her as a monster, but at the same time Wisdom may tell you in prayer to warn her in love that she may be destroying her life. It will depend on what God tells you to do, and how He tells you to do it. But remember: Even if He says to warn her, do so in a spirit of meekness, as someone doing so only because she cares for her. And to do this you will have to get your own hurt feelings out of the way, or she will only see you as clouded by your own feelings just as she is.

I wish you the best. Very tough situation.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you here:

I am not her. I would respond very differently then her here, and want to be treated very differently then she wants.
I cannot bear this burden for her-- she's not asking for help, and I cannot give it here.

 

[Jane_Doe22]

You wont like it, but my answer is YES.
I personally believe that God poured out ALL judgement upon His Son.
God dealt with sin at the cross.

God is not a God of double jeopardy. "Punish now, and then punish again later"
But as I have mentioned , I do believe that we ourselves reap what we sow...it has nothing to do with God.
Drink poison = die. God was not involved.
Jesus did what He came to do.

As for your line- "It depends on the heart of the person we are trying to help"
Only God see the hearts ...all "we" do is just guess...and we can guess very wrong!! We can't 'judge the hearts' of those who have got themselves into a big mess.

anyway...I did say that you wouldn't like my answer...

My thoughts are similar to Grace's: yes, punishment happens because of sin. But it's not because God is arbitrarily punishing people. Rather, the punishment that comes is just us reaping the natural sucky consequences of our actions-- God didn't go out of His way to make our lives harder than we ourselves made them. Rather, God goes hugely out of His way to urge us to turn toward Him- towards true happiness-- and paves the way for us to come back to Him.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you here:

I am not her. I would respond very differently then her here, and want to be treated very differently then she wants.
I cannot bear this burden for her-- she's not asking for help, and I cannot give it here.

Well in that case I suppose it would be different. My response was because while the Lord managed to protect me in it, I fell into a similar situation awhile back. Happier than I had ever been in my life, and deeply love, whereas my marriage is not really that way. Those who would have rejected me during that time would have rejected a man who honestly was looking at it from a spiritual perspective, and seeing the benefits it would have meant to my life, and how much stronger and more productive I would have been in ministry, not to mention being much more happy, joyful, fulfilled, and at peace.

Did it happen? No, and thankfully I remained faithful in my marriage, I'm just saying that during that span of time I would have given you the same battle as she has, if not worse. I would have felt as though you didn't truly know my life and didn't fully see what I was seeing. And I should add that what I was seeing was correct, only I eventually found out that it was not His will for my life, regardless of whether or not I would be far more productive and happy spiritually or not.

 

[brakelite]

a man who honestly was looking at it from a spiritual perspective, and seeing the benefits it would have meant to my life, and how much stronger and more productive I would have been in ministry, not to mention being much more happy, joyful, fulfilled, and at peace.

Not wanting to get into anything personal here, but wadr, I do wonder how spiritually fulfilled and spiritually effective in ministry David felt before Nathan had his little talk.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Not wanting to get into anything personal here, but wadr, I do wonder how spiritually fulfilled and spiritually effective in ministry David felt before Nathan had his little talk.

LoL. This wasn't motivated by seeing some woman naked on a rooftop, you character. I didn't even think the woman in question looked all that great the first time she sent me a picture...

Brother... I was wondering if I would regret sharing this with her publicly, and I think I already do.

Not to worry, Brakelite. It's over.

 

[brakelite]

LoL. This wasn't motivated by seeing some woman naked on a rooftop, you character. I didn't even think the woman in question looked all that great the first time she sent me a picture...

Brother... I was wondering if I would regret sharing this with her publicly, and I think I already do.

Not to worry, Brakelite. It's over.

I thought it a very courageous confession...rest assured I will not be offering any similar..."Confessions of a Brakelite"? I think not.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I thought it a very courageous confession...rest assured I will not be offering any similar..."Confessions of a Brakelite"? I think not.

LoL. Sounds like it would sell, though. Maybe if you get desperate for money or something.

 

[Dave L]

Sin is about the motive behind what we do. Love = righteousness. Hatred = sin.

If in Nazi Germany you hid Jews in your house and the soldiers came to the door. You might tell the truth and get them all killed. On the other hand, you might lie and the troops would move on. This is Love saving lives, and preventing sins the troops must one day answer for.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Well in that case I suppose it would be different. My response was because while the Lord managed to protect me in it, I fell into a similar situation awhile back. Happier than I had ever been in my life, and deeply love, whereas my marriage is not really that way. Those who would have rejected me during that time would have rejected a man who honestly was looking at it from a spiritual perspective, and seeing the benefits it would have meant to my life, and how much stronger and more productive I would have been in ministry, not to mention being much more happy, joyful, fulfilled, and at peace.

Did it happen? No, and thankfully I remained faithful in my marriage, I'm just saying that during that span of time I would have given you the same battle as she has, if not worse. I would have felt as though you didn't truly know my life and didn't fully see what I was seeing. And I should add that what I was seeing was correct, only I eventually found out that it was not His will for my life, regardless of whether or not I would be far more productive and happy spiritually or not.

I hesitate to post a reply because I don’t know you or your marital situation, but could this have been a case of the grass being greener?

 

[Helen]

LoL.
Brother... I was wondering if I would regret sharing this with her publicly, and I think I already do.

Haha! No worries my friend...it makes you a 'real person'
...God hid nothing...uncovered openly the weaknesses of those in Hebrews 11.
Many of us have also "been there, done that".
Deception is a strong spirit... 'as an angel of light'....

Bless you....H

 

[Jane_Doe22]

Well in that case I suppose it would be different. My response was because while the Lord managed to protect me in it, I fell into a similar situation awhile back. Happier than I had ever been in my life, and deeply love, whereas my marriage is not really that way. Those who would have rejected me during that time would have rejected a man who honestly was looking at it from a spiritual perspective, and seeing the benefits it would have meant to my life, and how much stronger and more productive I would have been in ministry, not to mention being much more happy, joyful, fulfilled, and at peace.

Did it happen? No, and thankfully I remained faithful in my marriage, I'm just saying that during that span of time I would have given you the same battle as she has, if not worse. I would have felt as though you didn't truly know my life and didn't fully see what I was seeing. And I should add that what I was seeing was correct, only I eventually found out that it was not His will for my life, regardless of whether or not I would be far more productive and happy spiritually or not.

It is important to remember individual situations / personalities, rather than just having a blanket response. Thank you for that reminder.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Many of us have also "been there, done that".
Deception is a strong spirit... 'as an angel of light'....

Bless you....H

Thanks, Helen. I think that's why I posted it.

It is important to remember individual situations / personalities, rather than just having a blanket response. Thank you for that reminder.

Yes. That's why I try to give a different perspective sometimes. Sometimes a person can be in it entirely for self-serving reasons, but then sometimes it's not that simple.

I hesitate to post a reply because I don’t know you or your marital situation, but could this have been a case of the grass being greener?

My wife and I are in many ways quite happily married and always have been. But my life has been so strongly dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ for the last thirty years that for a situation to present itself that appeared would have allowed me to do much more for Him... I found it tempting. This woman had spiritual gifts and a heavily driven personality (to accomplish great things for God) that my wife does not. But I've managed to find my feet again, am completely back to where I was, and am happy and content in my marriage again, so all is well that ends well. My wife knew the entire time because we hide nothing from each other.

The Lord is telling me to drop this now, so it may be time to shut up, LoL.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Thanks, Helen. I think that's why I posted it.


Yes. That's why I try to give a different perspective sometimes. Sometimes a person can be in it entirely for self-serving reasons, but then sometimes it's not that simple.


My wife and I are in many ways quite happily married and always have been. But my life has been so strongly dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ for the last thirty years that for a situation to present itself that appeared would have allowed me to do much more for Him... I found it tempting. This woman had spiritual gifts and a heavily driven personality (to accomplish great things for God) that my wife does not. But I've managed to find my feet again, am completely back to where I was, and am happy and content in my marriage again, so all is well that ends well. My wife knew the entire time because we hide nothing from each other.

The Lord is telling me to drop this now, so it may be time to shut up, LoL.

I understand where you're coming from. I just know that it's easy to think that someone who has never been our spouse would make a better spouse than the one we have.... I also know that your dedication to serve God makes you a big target for the enemy.

God bless you and may you continue to serve Him in a mighty way!

 

[farouk]

I understand where you're coming from. I just know that it's easy to think that someone who has never been our spouse would make a better spouse than the one we have.... I also know that your dedication to serve God makes you a big target for the enemy.

God bless you and may you continue to serve Him in a mighty way!

The 'grass is greener in the next field' attitude is not in the mind of Paul in 1 Corinthians 7.

 

[farouk]

I had a close friend who also gave one impression of her life, but then suddenly left her husband and moved away with one of the church leaders. I felt betrayed by both of them. At the time I was going through my divorce and dealing with all the betrayal from my own husband. I had chosen to handle him Gods way, with grace and forgiveness. This did not save my marriage as there is only so much unfaithfulness a marriage can take. So the consequences affected both of us. I have never regretted my divorce, but I still pay the price as I do not have the financial support of a husband, the companionship of a soul mate. I have found it easier to forgive him than my friend..... both have never really seen wrong in their actions, maybe the difference is that she is a Christian and my ex husband isn't.
I do communicate with my friend now, she divorced her husband and married the church leader. However I have never felt able to meet up with her In person, they come back to visit the area from time to time. So I guess , inside, I still have ' issues ' with her. My ex I am able to talk face to face with.
Now my dad is somewhere in the middle - he had an affair and re kindled the relationship after my mum died, he is equally unable to accept what he did as being wrong. He justifies it by relaying to me that my mum had an affair, but keeps changing the name of the person she was involved with. I have no idea if it is true, and at 87 and no one to confirm anything I have leave it in the realm of uncertainty. I am open about how I feel about his affair, but offer grace with him and his partner now. I try not to allow it to affect our relationship in the present, and go to the Lord with how it makes me feel at times. My dad is not a Christian, his partner is an ex JW.

So three different situations, all with different outcomes with regards to forgiveness, grace and consequences.
Rita

Very searching events.

We do indeed need to keep our eyes on the Lord. Hebrews 12.2

 

[farouk]

"Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God." R.C. Sproul.

As stated above, to sin is to do the will of satan over God. It's deeper than just a bad choice and the consequences of The Fall stretched even to nature. The ultimate consequence of sin is death, that is its wage. For forgiveness, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, we are saved by His grace but there may still be consequences we have to live with due to our sin (prison, health issues, relationship issues, etc)

As for other people who hurt us, we must forgive them. Not always easy but we must. Some people are not healthy for us to have in our lives so just because you forgive someone doesn't mean you have to give them full access to your life. There is family that I keep at a distance due to their unhealthy presence in my life, but that does not mean I don't love them or forgive them for the hurt they caused me.

Good quote from RC Sproul. Was sorry to hear he passed away a while ago.