Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
– Galatians 6:7-8, NLT
Committing adultery is not “ok!”
It is sowing to the flesh or sinful nature. This is an act of defiance and mockery. God calls it evil and will not tolerate it (see Deuteronomy 22:22 and Hebrews 13:4).
A common angst I see in faithful partners who come here–as well as in myself early in my healing journey–is anger over how the cheaters seem to prosper even doing such wicked things. It is feels so unjust.
Well, Scripture is clear on this number:
Unrepentant, cheating partners will not inherit eternal life.
Why?
Because they are sowing to their flesh and not to the Spirit. The harvest they can expect is one of destruction. By choosing the carnal pleasures of adultery, they are choosing to defying God’s clear commands (see Ten Commandments–e.g. Ex. 20:14)
This is a sobering truth.
It is a truth that ought to motivate more pastors to stern warnings on these numbers. A call to repentance is in order if the souls of adulterous spouses are to be saved before it is too late.
I do not believe adultery is an unforgivable sin.
However, I do not see forgiveness happening apart from the adulterous spouse turning from that sin–i.e. apart from repentance (e.g. Luke 17:3).
In other words, the adulterous spouse must stop sowing into the flesh. Minimally, this means they must end the adulterous relationship, the lying, and the keeping of stolen confidences/intimacies from their spouse. It means they start acting as God calls them to act in their marriage.
If they refuse to do those things, they remain in the camp of those who choose to sow into the flesh as opposed to the Spirit. That is dangerous spiritual grounds as mentioned above even if life is “peachy” this side of eternity.
Repentance is so important!
It is not to judge or condemn the adulterous sinner. Repentance is about saving them from destruction. This cannot happen while the adulterous person continues to choose sin over godliness.
Also, I will point out that Jesus’ ministry was not to condemn the world, yet Jesus still condemned sin (e.g. John 3:17 and Mark 7:20-23).
Going light on adultery helps no one.
Anyone who thinks God can be mocked will find One Day they are horribly wrong. It is best to stop minimizing, blame-shifting, excusing or otherwise tolerating choosing sin over choosing godliness.
A wise person recognizes this and sows accordingly.
*A version of this post ran previously.
