FH,
I guess, no I don't guess. I find your comments here offensive. I AM a Christian I would NOT presume to pass judgement on this poor woman, I don't know how you feel you have the right to do so. Whether she meets YOUR litmus test for "true" belief or not, is NOT a matter of Christianity.
I am really disappointed in your responses here.
God Bless YOU,
JL
JL, what utter arrogance on your part. I "pass judgment" on no one. I ASKED whether or not they were Christians and was ignored. She chose to seek "support and advice" from someone who, through his own statements, clearly does NOT believe in the biblical Jesus, so without a direct answer to the question, her CHOICE indicated her answer. That's NOT judging, that's accepting someone's "right to choose."
For the RECORD JL, perhaps you could clarify this for me. I seem to understand that you have not "personally" experienced infidelity in your marriage. I've never bothered to "look into" whether or not that was true, but if it is true, how to do "justify" giving advice to those who ARE dealing with infidelity of any type when you may not have "walked in the same shoes?" You usually give very good advice, and sometimes you "step on toes." Some people have even found your posts to be "offensive" to them, but I sure never told you that
I "found you offensive."
But I will do so now. JL, I am really disappointed in your response here.
You advised me 3.5 years ago to go to a strict Plan B, without knowing me, my wife, or our beliefs. I chose to obey God, regardless of how I was feeling, and due to God's mercy and guidance we have gotten our marriage back. Was your advice
wrong or arrogant?
Whether she meets YOUR litmus test for "true" belief or not, is NOT a matter of Christianity.
JustLearning - with all due respect, you had about 4000 posts when you first posted to me 3.5 years ago. Now you have over 10,000. How much of that posting advocates something as simple as "If you love me, obey my commands," as Jesus instructed us?
My "litmus test" for Christianity is simple, has someone confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior? You are correct, it is NOT merely the "claim" of being Christian, it IS accepting Christ as Lord and Savior and submitting, out of love for HIM, our will to His will, just as Jesus did in Gethsemene, and in His very presence here in human form.
Again for the RECORD, I don't "pass judgment on this woman," or on her husband either for that matter. I DO have an opinion as to what might be the "best course of action" they should take to help deal with this crisis in their lives, but that's not the same thing as "judging" in the way you are trying to define the word.
HERE is what I said. Read it again if you want to be "fair and balanced:"
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ScaredinGA, your husband NEEDS Christian counseling from a trained Christian counselor now more than ever. IF he is a Christian, he NEEDS to be hearing the Word of God, not the word of "man," in helping him to address both his homosexual "feelings" and his unfaithfulness to your marriage.
If YOU are a Christian, you have to put his soul "first" at this point before there will be ANY hope of "saving your marriage." If your husband does not first address his relationship with God, there will be little hope for your marriage, unless you are comfortable with the idea of "it's okay for him to cheat on you because 'he has these feelings."
Standing for God is not always easy. But neither is standing for a covenant marriage when sin of any type entices and invades the marriage. Christians surrender their lives, all of it, to God as both Sovereign LORD and Savior. When someone accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they "confess" their sins and TURN from them. Repentance means just that, sincere, heartfelt sorrow over one's sinful state and a CHOICE to "leave that life of sin" and follow after Christ in humble obedience to God's commands.
God KNOWS we are still weak and still in our fallen and sinful bodies, living in a sinful world. That is why God PROMISES to Christians in Philippians 4:13 that a Christian CAN do ALL things (no matter how hard or seemingly impossible the task) THROUGH Jesus Christ and the strength that He gives to a Christian. It is God's strength, not our own, that enables us to "overcome," to "repent," to choose to "leave a life of sin" and to receive forgiveness and restoration in Christ.
God knows the struggles we face in life and God NEVER commands us to do something without also providing all the means to OBEY His commands. THROUGH Christ is how God provides that strength and ability to "overcome" no matter how "beyond our ability" it may seem. "Surrender and obey" are not punative, but a loving response to a loving God who withheld NOTHING, not even the life of Jesus Christ, from us while we were lost in sin. God gave out of love then, and continues to give out of love today, not because we "merit" anything, but because Christ merits it and has included "his own" in the promises.
So please, for the sake of your husband's soul and for your marriage...INSIST upon a Christian counselor....assuming your husband considers himself to BE a Christian.
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To ScaredinGA - You said the following:
I have found some of these posts harsh and have ignored them. I don't want lectures, I am looking for support.
What YOU think you need is most important at this stage. You WILL get lots of support from both Christians and nonChristians because we all know the pain and effects of betrayal. My only caution to you while you are feeling lost in pain and confusion is to NOT abandon God. Remember this, if nothing else, we have ALL sinned and are ALL in need of God's compassion (that fails not) and forgiveness(that removes the sin and allows healing and restoration).
I am sorry that others have chosen to use your thread to attack me personally, and obedience to God in general. I will "bow out" of the discussion in the hope that you can get the support and advice that you think you need.
Truly I say to you, God bless you and grant you His comfort and wisdom during this extremely difficult time in your life.