Understand God's Truths for Relationships, Sex and Cheating
Coping with cheating in your relationship? You are not alone. Understand God's hope and help for cheating in these Bible verses of hope.
True Love:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 John 4:18a - There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
Proverbs 10:12 - Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
How to Love:
Colossians 3:12-14 - Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Ephesians 4:2 - Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
1 John 3:18 - Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
Luke 6:31 - Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
How to Love - How to love someone who is unlovable?
We are called to love everyone. Even though it is difficult to love everyone, especially those who have hurt us, we are challenged to put love above all. Just like God has unconditional love, we have that love in us as well! Ask God to help you love others, even when you feel like you cannot.
Not only are we called to love everyone, but we are also called to forgive. Forgiveness is not easy, but at the end of the day, we will feel better knowing we took the steps to forgive one another. It will take healing and God’s power to work through what hurts and what feels wrong, but forgiveness is an act of love. For a prayer on forgiveness, read here: A Prayer for Forgiveness of Others
Marriage and Sex:
Ephesians 5:33 - So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Mark 10:6-9 - But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be yoked together unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
Cheating and Dishonesty:
Proverbs 6:32 - But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.
Hebrews 13:4 - Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
Exodus 20:14 - You must not commit adultery.
Matthew 5:28 - But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
How do you deal with cheating as a Christian?
Seek help from trusted people around you. Whether it’s a friend, family member, therapist, or mentor, it is important to talk about the situation. Try not to isolate yourself during this trial. Talk about the cheating and your feelings surrounding it.
Remember to validate how you are feeling and lead yourself to forgive. You may feel angry, hurt, sad, depressed, resentful, or whatever it may be, and that is okay and normal. You don’t have to let this person back into your life, but you can take the steps towards forgiveness eventually with help from God. For more on cheating in relationships, read our cheating topic page.
Do you have a feeling that your boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating on you? Click here to see 15 ways to find out if you are being cheated on.
