Why the Sins of Ashley Madison Are More Severe Than Most

The narrative has once again reared its head.

We saw it with great prevalence in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage.

We were told not to judge because the homosexual’s sin was no worse than when we lose our temper with our kids, gossip or tell a white lie.

Now in the wake of the Ashley Madison, we are hearing it again everywhere.

We shouldn’t judge because the 400-plus men and women in ministry who opened accounts on a website that helped them have an affair haven’t committed any worse sin than we have.

First of all, it is not we who judge when we call their sin a great offense against God, their wives or husbands to whom they vowed fidelity and their children. It is God’s Word that judges their sin in many places when it repeatedly condemns sins of a sexual nature.

Here are three reasons why the sins of those on Ashley Madison are not like other sins:

1.  Sins of a sexual nature are more serious sins. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:

Flee sexual immorality. “Escape from sexual immorality. Every sin that a man commits is outside the body. But he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18).

Sexual intimacy binds us physically and spiritually to each other. Paul called it a mystery. It is a holy act and reserved for marriage alone, but when engaged in outside of the boundaries of marriage and distorted in a way to illicitly bring other partners into that union by way of affairs, polyamory and polygamy is a distortion of a holy thing!

Lying is not a distortion of a holy thing.

Anger is not a distortion of a holy thing.

This is why sexual sins are more significant.

2. There is a difference between intentional/habitual sins and unintentional sins. To pay a lot of money to sign up on a website and arrange to have an affair is very intentional!

In the Old Testament we don’t find a sacrifice for intentional sin. Furthermore, in Hebrews 10 it says:

“For if we willfully continue to sin after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who despised Moses’ law died without mercy in the presence of two or three witnesses. How much more severe a punishment do you suppose he deserves, who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded the blood of the covenant that sanctified him to be a common thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine,’ says the Lord, ‘I will repay.’ And again He says, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:26-31).

When we look at the Old Testament sacrifices, we see that there is no sacrifice for intentional sin. The Bible is clear about this, when we receive Christ as the propitiation for our sins, we no longer have the right to do what want, but are obligated to live according to the dictates of His Word.