A woman called me and confessed she had gotten into an adulterous relationship with another “Christian” man. She said her husband was not a Christian and was verbally abusive to her about her faith. She said that she had repented of her sin. She then told me her “Christian” friends counseled her to divorce her husband and marry this nice “Christian” man who loved her. She wasn’t sure they were right and wanted my opinion. I could tell it wouldn’t take much to persuade her to leave her husband and marry this other man. She knew in her heart it was wrong, but she was looking for permission to go ahead and do it. It is important we always tell the truth, even when it is not what people want to hear. First I said that she had not repented. She said, “But I have repented with tears.” I then said, “You don’t hate this sin; you just know it is wrong and will not be blessed. You still like it.” She said, “I don’t get what you are saying. I did repent.”

Her idea of repentance was acknowledgment that the act of adultery was wrong. Remember, God is looking for more. He wants a change of heart and mind. He is calling us to repent of the nature that breeds sin. If she didn’t genuinely repent of her heart attitude toward this man, it would eventually lead to divorce in order to get what she wanted from the start. So I said to her, “Suppose someone told you, `There is going to be a sexual orgy down the street. Would you like to go?’ How would you respond to that?” She was repulsed by what I said and replied, “I wouldn’t want anything to do with that.” I said, “When you can look at the adulterous affair with this `Christian’ man the way you just responded to that orgy, then you will have come to the place where you have truly repented!” She finally understood.

Bevere, John. The Voice of one Crying. Apopka: Messenger Press, 1993, p. 89-90.