5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I have a friend at work that is having "cyber" sex relationships online.  And he has a wife; would you consider him cheating on his wife; is that adultery or some form of adultery?  Also, are we sinning by listening to him tell us these stories?  What advice should we give him?  We already told him that he should not be on that website because it might get out of hand.  Please help.  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Concerned Employee

Dear Concerned Employee,

Yes, what this man is doing is a sin.  Jesus says that we commit adultery in our heart when we lust after a woman that is not our wife (Matt 5:28).  There is debate over whether or not what your friend is doing is at a level that can be deemed fornication… but there is no doubt that it is wrong.  Any man that has started a second life (ironically, the same name as the game) in order to pursue illicit relationships is living a very ungodly and harmful lifestyle.

The Scriptures teach that the best thing you can do is to rebuke him privately in hopes that you can win him back (Matt 18:15), but ultimately, you cannot continue to encourage this horrible behavior by listening to him recount his sinful experiences.  Continuing in your current pattern will corrupt you (1 Cor 15:33), and it will continue to feed the flame of his bad choices.  In the end, you are doing him more good by rebuking him than by continuing to flatter him by giving ear to his escapades (Pr 28:23).

There's a lot in the news about bullycide, where a school kid is driven to suicide by cruel bullies.  What if the bullied kid was driven so crazy by bullying that he couldn't control his urge to escape the abuse?  What if he never had the chance to accept Christ as Savior and might end up in hell?  Does God hold the bully responsible for the death?  How can the parents forgive their kid's killer knowing that the bully might have driven their child to hell?  Why should the bully get the chance to be saved that he denied his victim?

Sincerely,
Looking For Justice

Dear Looking For Justice,

There are several things to consider here:

1. All children go to heaven.  Read “What About The Children” for further information.
2. If someone is old enough to be considered a ‘young adult’ and responsible for their own choices before God, we can have confidence that God will not let anyone be tempted beyond what they are able (1 Cor 10:13).  There is no such thing as a sin that can’t be escaped.
3. If the bully is another child, we refer back to point #1.  But ultimately, yes, all bullies and malicious people are held accountable for their choices (Rom 14:12).
4. Nobody can deny someone else the opportunity to go to heaven.  Jesus died for the sins of all mankind (Jhn 3:16).  We all work out our own salvation (Php 2:12), and no one can take that opportunity away from us.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom