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Nov 16, 2025 06:00am

Living in Truth

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As I was talking recently to a woman whose husband had been unfaithful to her, she shared with me the response of many of her friends and family members, who were criticizing her for not leaving her husband and encouraging her to retaliate by taking his money. As the conversation progressed, I learned that most of these people professed to be followers of Christ. This was very troubling to me, especially since this woman had told both me and these others that she felt God was leading her to wait for Him to work in her husband’s heart and that she was trusting Him to heal their marriage.

While I am sure that these friends and family were well-meaning and wanted to protect her from further pain, if she had followed their advice and done as they suggested, there would have been many consequences. Most of those consequences she would have had to endure, but there would have been none for them.

As I listened to her story, I began to ponder all the ways that following their advice would have caused her to be disobedient to God. Unfortunately, their suggestions ranged from adultery to revenge, to ignoring the leading of the Holy Spirit, to unforgiveness, and to pride. All of these sins were justified by these “advisors” because of the hurt and betrayal she had already endured. Of course, she was suffering deep pain and grief, but she was also clinging to her God and following the Spirit’s leading to wait and hold onto hope for her husband’s repentance and for reconciliation in their marriage. If you are a believer and have ever experienced these kinds of trials, you know that these are bittersweet times with your Savior.

Our tendency when we are wounded by the sinful behavior of others is to respond with our own sin, but God calls us to something higher. He tells us in His Word that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can demonstrate what our God is like by not fulfilling the desires of our flesh. Galatians 5:16–25 says:
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

I find it interesting that most of the advice given to this woman by other believers falls under the list that begins in verse 19, where the works of the flesh are described. But verses 24–25 remind us that if we belong to Christ, we have crucified the flesh and should walk in the Spirit who gives us life. If we find ourselves reflected in verse 19—or if we are encouraging others to engage in those same works of the flesh—we may need to examine whether we have truly been “made alive with Christ” and have “put to death the deeds of the flesh,” as it says in Romans 8:13.

This entire scenario made me wonder about some of the other truths we struggle to live out as the body of Christ. For example, I have noticed that in our current culture many expect that, as believers, we should live peaceful and prosperous lives here on earth. This is quite the opposite of what Scripture teaches. Paul, when writing to his son in the ministry, Timothy, in his second and final letter, told him that those who want to live godly lives will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). He wanted Timothy to count the cost and to be sure of his calling—whether he would stand firm or back down at the sight of trouble.

1 Peter 2:20–24 says:
“For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth’; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

In addition to believing we should not suffer, many also assume that because we are believers, we are immune to the schemes of Satan. But in 2 Corinthians 11:13–15, Paul warns the church of false apostles. He explains that Satan himself presents as an angel of light, so believers should not be surprised when his followers disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness in order to deceive many.

Maybe you are wondering how we, as believers, can avoid being deceived—or how we can endure suffering. John 8:31–32 tells us: “Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” Matthew 4:4 says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Living by the Word of God means not only trusting His Word for salvation but also allowing it to guide how we live our lives. When we do that, Galatians 5:22–23 says it will be evident through love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

For the woman at the beginning of this article, that obedience looked like God rewarding her faith by bringing her husband home, giving her the strength to forgive, drawing her husband into a relationship with Him, and continuing to guide them through His Word.