QUESTION: "I read your article about sex and adultery, but I disagree with you. I live with my boyfriend because I want to make sure that we are compatible before we commit to marriage. I don’t think this is wrong because God understands the world we are living in today. We both attend church every week."

 I know that you do not see anything wrong with living as if married yet neglecting to enter into the covenant of marriage, but God declares it a great sin. The Bible flatly states that all who practice fornication or adultery will be cast into the Lake of Fire, -there will be no exceptions. (1 Cor. 6:9-10 / Rev. 21:8) You obviously want to eventually marry, but understand this -God not only is your Creator, He is also the creator of the Marriage Covenant. As a Christian you must enter that Covenant on His terms not on your own. Otherwise, please don’t even lay claim to being a Christian.

    You have been seduced by the very lie that deceived Eve - you can sin and not die. God told the first humans that they could eat of every tree in the garden except for one, and that if they disobeyed and ate of that tree then they would surely die. Satan came to Eve disguised as a serpent and tempted her to eat of the forbidden fruit saying,- "You shall not surely die." His goal was to cause Eve to question the truthfulness of God’s Word. Why did Eve disobey God? Because she believed the devil and did not believe God. But Eve did die, as has all who have ever been born of her seed. Please don’t let this happen to you. Don’t push away the plain Word of God and believe the lie.

    You mentioned that you attend church every week, this saddens me because I realize that no one is loving God or you enough to strongly encourage you to repent. This speaks volumes to me about your church. If you were attending our church (Crusade Church) regularly we would require that you repent. A very similar situation was taking place in the Corinthian church (Chpt 5) and the Apostle Paul strongly corrected them. There was a man in the congregation there who was living with a woman whom he was not married to and the congregation was proudly tolerating it. In their minds they were "showing love" but in reality they were doing nothing to help bring these sinners out from the dangers of a sure and fiery judgment. Paul told them that what they were doing was not good and directed the Church to put the man out of the congregation. He then explained that the Church is to not even associate with a "so-called" member who is practicing immorality. In Paul’s second letter we learn that because the "majority" obeyed him that the man bitterly repented and was re-instated into the Church. This man was restored and passed from the judgment of Hell to the reward of Heaven. I counsel you and your boyfriend to do the same. Read your Bible and see if your actions are not offending a holy and righteous God who offered the life of His own Son to save you. God saves no one from sin in order for them to continue to practice sin.

     I hope you now realize that you have been caught in the act. One day they dragged a woman before Jesus who also had been caught in the act of fornication. Jesus forgave her and then issued this Command - "Go, and sin no more." Please receive His Words today. Don’t put it off or the serpent will tempt you with the lie that you can continue to sin and live.