Appendix F

Reason:

We live in the Grace Administration and are not bound by hard-and-fast laws. I Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23 both say "All things are lawful for me."

Answer:

The born-again believer has eternal life. He has the seed of Christ, and spiritually, he cannot sin (I John 3:9). He is heaven bound and all hell cannot stop him. Yet every believer sins. In fact, if we say we do not sin, we are liars (I John 1:8-10). Sin is broken fellowship with God, and the only way we can know whether our behavior is acceptable to God is by studying God's Word. We know idolatry is a sin because the Word of God says so. A born-again believer can worship idols and still go to heaven. We know that homosexuality is a sin because the Word of God says so. A homosexual that is a born-again believer will still go to heaven. Experience is never a guarantee of Truth. The fact that a believer does not "feel" worse off for his sinful behavior does not mean he was not sinning. The only guidebook to what is and what is not sin is the Word of God. If the Word of God says something is a sin, then that thing is a sin. The believer must strive to line up his walk with the written Word. In the case of adultery, the written Word is clear - it is a sin and thus a behavior to be avoided. You can commit adultery and still go to heaven just as you can steal, or murder, or worship idols and still go to heaven. Nevertheless, the only way we can know God's will is through His Word. If God has not said what he meant concerning adultery - and there are many verses that show adultery is wrong - then how can we ever know what God does mean? If adultery is not a sin because "all things are lawful for me," then murder is not a sin either. After all, murder is only mentioned twice in the Church epistles, while adultery is mentioned six times.

The phrase "all things are lawful for me" is not the same thing as "nothing is a sin for me". The Word of God says we all sin (I John 1:8-10). All things are lawful because whether you sin or not you are going to heaven. But if you want to walk in fellowship with God, you must learn from His Word what things are sins - and His Word is clear concerning adultery. It is a sin.