I don't think that anyone here has argued what forgiven by God means... I think the point that has been stated again and again is that forgiveness for those sins is not given until the repents. Yes, once they do, it will be as if the sin never existed... but until they do... it is not forgiven. If I can be so bold as to do so, I think that is the point BK has been making.
MEDC - of course forgiveness is based in someone's repentance of sin. I have said that very thing since "day 1" on this system. But the point that BK was making was that someone had to also divorce in order to be "truly repentant." That's simply not how I understand God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness is based solely upon the work that Jesus did for us and is dependent only upon our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We then ask God to forgive us for Jesus's sake, and God does. Requiring any "act" on our part is not required and is, in fact, unScriptural. Yes, we may also stop doing whatever it was that was the sin, but in the case of marriage, I choose to "err" on the side of God's forgiveness and not "require" someone prove to me through some action that they have met "my" standard for forgiveness. That's all I'm saying.
Let's face it, if an unbeliever is in what has been referred to as an "affair marriage" and then comes to know Christ, God is not going to "require" that they divorce. In the case of believer who divorced and entered an "affair marriage," they would have done so in rebellion to God. But God is not going to require that they divorce, and thereby commit another sin. They will be required to begin living for God in their marriage, and potentially have to "live with" repercussions and/or consequences that stemmed from the "sin that got them there."
God has plainly said in Scripture that the people in a marriage as a result of anything other that a Faithful Spouse who divorced over infidelity have caused their partner to commit adultery. Adultery is NOT an unforgiveable sin, but a marriage so begun must end all thoughts and actions that lead to more adultery, such as cheating on their current spouse, pornography, etc.
It is NOT an easy situation to deal with, and I understand how someone can feel very deep problems with an "affair marriage," if for no other reason that the original marriage partners where dealt an enormous blow. How many times has it been said that an affair itself "kills" the original marriage? Many times. If a death occurred to that "one flesh" marriage, a "new marriage" is formed when the WS comes back to the marriage and they "begin anew." If they don't come back, and then enter another marriage, it will be an "adulterous marriage" regardless of whether it is with the "affair partner" or with someone else. If someone remains unconvicted of their sin and refuses to repent of their sinful behavior to God, they will not be in heaven. But if they do, they are forgiven, no matter how "distasteful" it might be to me, BK, you, or anyone. We each have until we die to accept Christ, and that includes many sins committed by many people. None of us, even believers, are capable of leading a "sin free" life. That is why God's forgiveness is predicated upon what Jesus did and not on anything that we might do.
I am, thank you. I hope you are too, especially since I understand you got a "love email-gram" from someone who is definately not in the "forgiving mood."
God bless.
