“But I wasn’t perfect in our marriage either,” says Faithful Spouse.
Do you have to be without sin to be the innocent party regarding the end of your marriage?
I remember going through my trial with the denomination and struggling with a version of this question. It was difficult to see myself as the “innocent party” as I knew I wasn’t a perfect husband. I wasn’t without sin.
Yet I suspect Satan wants us spinning our wheels on this question to the point where we cannot see an important distinction:
You can both be a sinner and also sinless as it comes to marriage ending sin as dictated by Scripture.
The Bible is clear that NO ONE is without sin (see I John 1:8). This includes everyone who is married. So, it should not surprise us when we discover that we are sinful.
What is important to keep in mind is whether or not you are free of sin that ends marriages–namely, sexual infidelity and abusive abandonment (see Mt 19:9 and I Cor. 7:15).
Perfection is not the target. All marriages have sin issues as they are unions of sinners. What NOT all marriages have is one partner choosing to cheat and otherwise abuse the other partner.
