Now that I realize I am in adultery, how do I fix the problem?

Question:

Good morning,

I've recently come across this site and have received much clarity through other readers' questions. I personally have realized that I am an adulteress. I have married (my first marriage) a man who divorced his first wife. I know that the divorce was not due to any infidelity on her part, thus I have accepted that makes me an adulteress. My question or concern now is, being that I am still in my marriage is that considered an ongoing sin? Can I ask for forgiveness for this? I am truly confused about how to make this right with God. Every answer I've read on this forum has been helpful and supported by scripture but I can't seem to find for myself anything regarding my issue on what to do once you have realized your marriage was sinful from the start. Am I a mistress? Are our children considered illegitimate?

Please help me.

Thank you in advance.

Answer:

As long as you are married to a man who has no right to a wife, the relation remains one of adultery. "For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man" (Romans 7:2-3). This verse is one of the clearer ones showing that it is an ongoing problem and not a one-time event.

The only way I know for sin to be forgiven is for the sinner to cease his sin -- changing both his mind about the sin and his behavior (II Corinthians 7:10-11) and then admitting he was wrong (I John 1:9). God promises to forgive in such cases and God always keeps His word.

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