Articles
Living In Sin
By Tyler Young
Time and
time again we have experienced that sad, sinking feeling which comes
over us when we discover a hopeful prospect for conversion or
beloved couple in the church is in an unscriptural marriage. It is
not uncommon to find people in such circumstances who have been
happily “married” for years with several children. Their homes may
be pictures of domestic bliss, except for the fact that a husband or
wife has had a previous marriage which ended in an unscriptural
divorce.
Those familiar with scripture know that God’s law concerning
marriage is simply this: one man joined to one women for life. Once
married, one may never be married to another person again unless his
or her first spouse dies (
As we have
increasingly encountered people in and out of the church living in
adultery, brethren have sought ways to justify them and avoid the
difficulty of demanding they repent and remove themselves from their
sinful unions. Souls have been lost and the precious bride of Christ
divided because of the false doctrines propagated far and wide
designed to circumvent God’s law on divorce and remarriage and
accommodate people in marriages in which, according to God’s word,
they have no right to be. The church has been filled with adulterers
because of brethren who lack compassion, courage and the conviction
for truth to say to those in unscriptural marriages, “It is not
lawful for you to have her” (Mat. 14:4).
We may not lose our heads, as John did, for saying that to people
today. But it is still a most unpleasant duty to inform happily
married couples that they are living in sin. No matter how gently
and patiently we do so, it is nonetheless a painful experience to
have to confront people with the consequences of their sin. This
writer once baptized a man in his late sixties who was dying of
cancer. A member of the congregation had studied with him and was
satisfied he was ready to obey the gospel. With tears in his eyes
the gentlemen put on Christ in baptism. He and his wife of twenty
years had four beautiful daughters, but as we studied further with
him after his conversion he revealed that he had been married five
times before. After a brief marriage of less than a few months, he
had divorced his first wife as a young man, but not because she had
committed adultery. That meant every marriage he had after
that—including his last one—was sinful in God’s sight. We taught him
the Lord’s will on marriage and divorce and explained to him the
requirements of repentance—that he would have to end his marriage
with his wife. Like the rich young ruler, he went away “sorrowful,”
never to return, unwilling to forsake all to follow Christ. Sadly,
his response to the demands of our Lord is all too typical.
