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A Thought For Your Christian Journey:
Can Jesus Forgive Me
Again?
1 John 1.9
Recently I received the following email:
hello! mr. walter,
im sorry i didnt listen to you. i gave in to temptation
again. i gave myself to my bf again. it seems jesus was never in my heart that's
why i give in so easily. i don't know if i could stop what im doing and if i
could change for the better.
i feel my life is a mess and has no direction. ive been
going to church and reading the bible lately but im still a sinner.
i dont know if jesus could still forgive me.
i dont know what to do anymore. i just hope that i wont
get pregnant accidentally or have std.
til here..
thanks for listening...
Can Jesus Forgive Me
Again?
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Almost all New Christians will struggle with an old
habitual sin that was a part of their life prior to accepting the Lord Jesus
Christ. They will wrestle with a continuing temptation to sin and they
will also wrestle with the habit of their old sin. Many will find victory
in their struggle and will find God’s deliverance in the form of the strength to
resist the temptation and keep themselves pure from the defilement of continuing
sin. Bur some will fall to their temptation and will commit the old sin
that has so easily beset them in the past.
There are two reasons that some will fail and fall back
into their old sin:
-
There is always the possibility that they prayed a
guided prayer, but did truly present themselves to our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. These must simply ask themselves, “When I prayed the sinner’s
prayer, did I do business with God? Or did I pray the prayer for any other
reason; for the person guiding me in the prayer, for personal physical gain,
or anything else?” This question should lead you to a sincerity check. Why
did you say the sinner’s prayer? If you were not sincere toward God then,
you can correct that right now, pray the sinner’s prayer of repentance
again, only this time talk only to God, and He will hear. The Bible says,
Jeremiah 29:13
And ye shall seek me,
and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
The most important things here is
that you be certain that you are Born Again, and the New Birth is based on God’s
Word and your response to what God has said; not upon your feelings, or
failures. God has said,
Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
-
A Second Possibility - You know that you have accepted
Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, but you, in a moment of human
weakness, stumbled and sinned. Some things that will help you to know that
the Holy Spirit is in you even after you have fallen to a sin include:
-
A Deep Sense of Conviction. You will feel
the despair of having let your Heavenly Father down again. You may even
respond as the prodigal son did in Luke 15.11-32, when he said to his
father, “[I] am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one
of thy hired servants” (vs 19)[1]
But, just as the Father would not hear of such an abandonment from his
son, neither will your Heavenly Father allow such to happen with you.
You became a child of God when you accepted Jesus (John 1.12; Gal
4.4-7), and God will never leave you or disown you (Heb 13.5). Rest
assured you are safe and secure in the hand of your Heavenly Father
(John 10.29-30; Isaiah 49.16). The fact that you feel so bad following
your failure and sin is an indication of the work of the Holy Spirit
with in you. Now, you must respond properly to the touch of God in your
life. So, on to the next point.
-
A Despair Over What To Do Next.
The
problem faced by almost all new Christians is that they do not have
enough knowledge to know what to do next. They are new to this
Christian thing and unless someone helps them they will fall again
because they don’t know how to get back into a right standing with
God.
So here’s what you need to do when you fall into sin as a
Christian:
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Go to God in serious and heart felt prayer and ask Him to forgive you of your
sin, and the Bible assures you that God will forgive you. When you pray
this prayer of confession don’t beat around the bush with God, name the sin and
confess it. But be careful,
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Sin is a serious thing with God. Because of sin people are condemned to an
eternity in Hell. Because of sin, God’s precious Son, Jesus Christ,
suffered and died (Isaiah 53). Jesus paid the price required by your sin
when He was beaten and crucified. You need to take your sin as seriously
as God does.
When you come to God, come with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and God
will meet you there as your Heavenly Father. The Bible Says,
Psalms 34:18
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken
heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Not only do you need to confess your sin, but then:
Repentance means to turn away from your sin
and to sincerely strive to never commit that sin again. The Apostle Paul
once had to write a letter to a Church that was struggling with a man caught up
in sexual sin; you can read about this in 1 Corinthians 5. That letter from
Paul made that Church sorry unto repentance. Paul wrote,
2 Corinthians 7:8-9
8
For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did
repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were
but for a season. 9
Now I rejoice,
not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye
were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in
nothing.
There is a great deal of difference between feeling sorry and sorrowing unto
repentance. If you feel sorry you will ask God to forgive you but you know
in your mind that you fully intend to commit the sin again; this is not
repentance, and this is like trampling the blood of Jesus under foot. If
you sorrow unto repentance it means you really mean business with God, and you
really desire never to commit that sin again.
Now, about turning away from your sin. When you do turn away from
your sin it is important that replace your sin with something Godly. If
you just try to resist your sin you will struggle with the temptation and you
will become so focused on the temptation that it becomes almost overbearing.
The best thing you could do with your temptation to sin is the replace it with
something Godly. For instance, every time you are tempted with this sin
decide to memorize a Bible verse that will help you keep from sinning. By
doing this you get your mind off of the temptation and onto God’s Word.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow
righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a
pure heart.
An example of this is found in the Old Testament story of Joseph, who when
tempted with sexual sin, ran away from the temptation for the sake of purity
(Genesis 39). Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are stronger than
your temptation, instead follow God’s advice in the Bible and get away from
those things that are tempting you. If you are struggling with Alcohol,
then don’t get around Alcohol. If you are struggling with sexual sin then
don’t get yourself into intimate situation; don’t kiss, hug, make out, and all
that other stuff. If you find you cannot resist your sexual passions then
follow the Biblical mandate of 1 Corinthian 7.9, which states:
1 Corinthians 7:9
But if they cannot contain, let them marry:
for it is better to marry than to burn.
In other words, find a
Christian spouse, get married, and be faithful to
your spouse for the rest of your natural life. Sex is not bad in itself,
God created sex to be a great thing between a man and his wife; but sex outside
of marriage is sin no matter what, and must be avoided at all costs.
As a Born Again child of God you must
Confess your sin and
Repent
of your sin; you must also:
Live a life that is right with
God. You need to know that as a child of God, if you choose to live in
presumptuous sin (rebellion), your Heavenly Father will chastise you.
Hebrews 12 points out that your Heavenly Father loves you too much to leave
you in your sinful condition. He will chastise you with the purpose of
protecting you and correcting you. Just as your natural parents chastised you
because they love you.
God’s chastisement can come in
a number of forms. The most obvious is a deep conviction concerning your
sin. God will prick your heart with His deep disappointment in your sin.
However, God’s children can face physical suffering and even death as a result
of rebellion. Concerning the fornicator in the Corinthian Church Paul
wrote:
1 Corinthians 5:5
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus.
This does not mean that every
time someone is sick or dying that it is because of their sin; there are many
other reason for sickness and suffering, but sin is still a real cause of
suffering in a Christian’s life. No matter what, in the midst of your sin,
and as a child of God, your Heavenly Father’s goal is to lovingly lead you to
repentance and a right relationship with Him. The truth of Hebrews 12 and
sin in the life of a child of God is that a Born Again Christian’s will be
miserable if he or she is living in sin.
Hebrews 12 also points out
that if you are living in blatant sin and are experiencing no form of
chastisement by God, then you are not and never were a child of God, you only
thought you were. Hebrews 12.7-8 says,
Hebrews 12:7-8
7 If
ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom
the father chasteneth not?
8 But if
ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers,
then are ye bastards,
and not sons.
God will correct His children,
but only because He loves them with the deepest kind of love.
To walk as a child of God in deep spiritual fellowship and
friendship with God is God’s goal for you and I as Born Again Christians.
God is not seated on his throne with a big paddle in His hand just waiting for
you to mess up so He can correct you. Instead, God is looking upon you
with compassion in His heart, mercy in His hand, and love in His eye striving to
pour an incredible life into you. If your loving Heavenly Father tells you
not to do something, it is not so He can deprive you of something, instead it is
to protect you from the consequences of those sins.
God has a wonderful life in store for you. Your
Heavenly Father wants you to experience an abounding life. An abundant
life is not event free. At times you will face trials and temptations, but
you will also experience great joy as well. But in order for God to give
you all that He wants to give you, you must learn to trust Him and walk with Him
always and in everything.
Life in Christ is worth
Confessing, Repenting, and
Resolving to surrender your life to Christ.
Published October 11, 2006
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