Question from a Site Viewer
Initially, I joined a Baptist church, and believed to accept Jesus in seventh grade and was baptized. For a couple years I was really involved. But then I fell away. I prayed at times and felt I could live in a worldly fashion–greedy for money, hungry for lust, etc.–then just ask for forgiveness and be safe. I grew in anger and hostility to religion. I really fell away and turned and said things I now regret.
I am now 29. Recently, all of a sudden I have had this burning and overwhelming desire to read the Bible and search for meaning. I have become hardened over time, and I do struggle with temptations and wrongful thoughts. But now the Gospel is hitting me and I know I have erred.
I am deeply troubled however by Hebrews 6:4-6 and 2 Peter 2:20-22 and Hebrews 10:26. Is it not possible for someone to return to repentance after having denied God earlier? Can a person who goes through the motions, then goes his own way, come to repentance? Or have I crossed a point of no return? Is it impossible to truly follow Jesus Christ again and be saved as these verses seem to indicate? Or is falling away a consistent state that can be broken? 1 Timothy 1:13 is troubling as well. What if one willfully sins after having knowledge? Can a Christian fall away and ever receive God’s mercy again? I am really struggling with these sorts of chapters dealing with apostasy. I just feel like I am lost. Please help!
Tim’s Answer
First, I would commend to you the article Does God Want Me Back, where we address your question as it relates to Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26. God is the God Jesus told us about in Luke 15. He always welcomes the sinner back. No matter how badly His people have sinned, His desire is their return. If you fall away and return, the Father will welcome you with open arms. If you have trouble believing this, I challenge you sometime to begin with Isaiah and read through all of the prophets and mark how badly they had sinned and how many times God continued to call them to repent. And even when they ultimately did not repent, and God brought judgment, God promised to go with them into captivity and to bring them back. As He says in Ezekiel 18, He has no pleasure in the death of those who fall away, but rather wants them to repent. He is the Father who has more joy over one sinner who repents than over 99 sheep who need no repentance. From Abraham to Peter, we have a long history of God’s people falling away and the Father welcoming them back when they turn to Him. So, I can say with confidence that even if you fall away, if you seek God, you will find Him and in your finding your heart will be delighted.
You ask about 2 Peter 2:20-22. The character of false teachers is that they have no desire to repent. They desire the pigpen, the vomit. The point is that they never knew Christ, but were always pigs and dogs. They were never sheep. They did not fall away. The 2 Peter passage does not speak to the issue of those who desire to repent. For such people, God’s arms are always open. He delights in our return. Is this not the entire point of the parable of the prodigal son?
And if he did not delight in our return, there would not be a person on earth that would have any hope. While you may have fallen away like the prodigal son and others may be like the elder son, both needed to have a father who was willing to forgive them. Each of us have sinned. We may think some sins are big and some are small, but the point is that we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. And, we all have sinned willfully. Those who think otherwise are deceiving themselves. If the Father did not forgive our sins, none of us would have any hope. But His great desire is to have His creation be in fellowship with Him.
You ask about 1 Timothy 1:13, where Paul found mercy because he sinned ignorantly in unbelief. That passage is an interesting passage. Translated woodenly, the passage reads “because being ignorant I did [it] in unbelief.” The focus is that the mercy was extended, not because of ignorance, but because of unbelief. Mercy is always needed for unbelief. It is not needed for belief. Mercy did not come because of ignorance, but because of unbelief. As A.T. Robertson points out in his tome A Grammar of the New Testament, the participle “being ignorant” carries a “manner” meaning rather than a “causal” meaning. Stated in another way, Paul lived and did all of these things in the state of unbelief, while he was ignorant. God’s mercy was extended because of Paul’s unbelief, not because of Paul’s ignorance. Paul’s ignorance was an accompanying manner or characteristic of his unbelief, but it was not the reason for the mercy. The mercy came because of the unbelief, which is why we all need mercy.
The context also draws us to this reading. In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul states that he was the chief of sinners. There are no sinners greater than Paul was. God is not saying, and Paul is not saying, that there are certain sinners who act ignorantly and on these God will have mercy but for the greater sinners who act deliberately God will not have mercy. Such a reading would do violence to the text. How can Paul be the worst of sinners if he only sinned ignorantly while others sin intentionally? This makes no sense. And if Paul is making a distinction between willful and ignorant sins, then how could God ever show all longsuffering to Paul as a pattern for the rest of us? None of the rest of us can claim that we have never sinned willfully. The passage should not be read to state that God used Paul as this great example to us but actually there is no hope for the rest of us because Paul’s example does not fit us. Such would turn the passage on its head.
Moreover, all of Scripture is filled with examples of intentional sins. Abraham asked Sarah to lie for him; David murdered Uriah; Manasseh did more evil than all the kings before him; Peter denied Christ, the prodigal son left his family for an intentional life of sin . . . If we take the position that intentional sins are not forgiven, then are we consigning Abraham, David, Manasseh, and Peter to hell? Did not all these believers fall away? Did Jesus misspeak when He told about the reception of the prodigal son?
I read 1 Timothy 1:13 as saying that God extended mercy precisely because of the need for mercy in Paul. Paul was acting in unbelief and was ignorant, and needed mercy. That is the condition of us all before we come to Christ (see Ephesians 4:18). We are ignorant and are in unbelief.
In any event, Paul in 1 Timothy 1:13 is talking about his conversion to Christ. He is not talking about the forgiveness of sins and restoration of fellowship for believers. To those who are believers and err, Paul admonishes the church to restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1). There is forgiveness with God. It is His nature and delight to forgive, restore, and renew hearts.
My encouragement to you is to seek God. I have long thought that even if Scripture said there was no hope, the proper response of us all would be to petition heaven and seek to serve God, understanding like the Ninevites of old that perhaps God will change His mind (Jonah 3:7-9; see also David in 2 Samuel 12:22). God may be gracious even as He was to Israel after He told them they had gone too far and He was through with them (Judges 10:13, 16; 11:32). But we do not face such a situation. Rather, we have a God who pleads with us to return to Him. As Isaiah 55:6-7 so eloquently states:
Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord and He will have mercy on him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.
If you will spend your lifetime seeking and serving God in mercy, truth, and love, you will come to the end of life a happy man. You will be surprised how through the years your life is transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus. Instead of hatred, there will be love; instead of irritation, there will be longsuffering. Instead of sadness, there will be joy. Instead of anxiety, there will be peace. Instead of being controlled by one’s emotions, there will be self-control so that the emotions serve you and do not imprison you. You will experience some of heaven on this earth, as you experience the Holy Spirit in the life of following Christ.
And though it may take some time to reform your mind to get rid of the things you have placed in there, through memorization of the Word, prayer, and focus, you can win that battle and look back with thanksgiving and gratitude to God for a mind, heart, and life that feels clean and pure.
May the Lord Jesus be the brother besides you, the companion within you, and the joy before you.
a fellow pilgrim,
tim
I’m a child of God, a believer & follower of Jesus Christ, my Lord, Savior, King. My first baptism at 13 was to keep my best friend company in the baptistry. After 18, my life was mostly spent in extreme disobedience of God. In my late 50s, I began studying scriptures to determine what they say to me, not what church elders say they mean. My life changed. Was baptized for the right reason at local Baptist congregation. Really baptized….for the right reason. There’ve even been times since then when I’ve disobeyed God. Much confusion has resulted about repentance and forgiveness after turning away from Truth. This article has been of such relief & blessing to this 68-year-old woman.
Me too. I too was like you. And this msg truly cleared my doubts. I feel ao happy to learn thay my Heavenly Father welcomes us even after we turned away from Him.
Praise God!!!
I am almost 60 and have been through a similar set of circumstances.
God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness.
I have found that the key is making sure that you know Jesus first off and taking EVERY thought captive, spending time in prayer and studying God’s word.
When we read God’s word then the Holy Spirit can use that by bringing those verses to remembrance in our daily good fight for FAITH.
I have been encouraged by the Holy Spirit as well to take thoughts captive, spend time in devotion to knowing Jesus through prayer, worship and meditating scripture, being reminded that God is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins. I also was far away from the Father and have returned at 54. I believe many are being called back to His heart and will live out the rest of their lives with a singular focus…to glorify Jesus Christ. They are a people forgiven much and loving much.
We’re you ever a born again Christian before ? I ask becaue I was and according to Hebrews 6 I cannot be saved again.
Dawn, you do not need to be saved again. Once saved, always saved. You just need to repent and serve our most High! He has never left you even if you left him. He has been waiting patiently for your return. Let the Holy Spirit work in you. Spend quiet time reading, listening, and meditating on His Word! God loves you and if you truly accepted him to begin with, He had been there ALL Along! Rejoice and humble yourself! You are saved, and loved!
the book of hebrew referring to the one who falls away , has no apportunityto return! this is a question of who is being spoken to , I beleive it is those that are living through the mellinium with christ present, then in the end those certain ones fall away when satan is released . then because like the angels there is no way once they rebel in the presence of Jesus , that they can return, the book of hebrew’s is speaking to the future after the end of the church age !
does not apply to christian’s
dispensation of the future .
otherwise I beleive 90% of christian’s are guilty in this passage , and ther is absolutely no mercy , as it says Christ will rule with an iron rod , and no man need to teach another man because christ will be the teacher .
May God bless you for this Tim. I hope there are more people who truly repent and search for God’s mercy reading this.
Hallelujah God is Real I Believe What Your Saying Tim Because I Know It’s The Holy Spirit Speaking Through You
I am in the case of a truly born again Christian who has fallen away about one year ago. Back then I felt the Holy Spirit leave me and I got more and more aware of God’s wrath on me. I asked God for forgiveness hundreds of times, sincerely asking him to come back into my life but all I have had for answer is emptiness in my soul. There is no more love in my heart; I am alive but dead inside. I don’t know where to walk anymore; I feel completely lost, with no more purpose. God is condemning me. I feel cursed and abandoned with no more hope of ever receiving his mercy again. I have become heavily depressed. What should I do?
God will never forsake you. He forgives when you ask for forgiveness. He loves you so much, so much more than I can possibly explain. It is our own hearts that make us feel empty and condemned, even after we ask for forgiveness. Our Lord is a gracious God who does forgive, and who is aching now for the pain you feel. Your life is precious, to Him and to your friends and family – even to me. The Lord loves you and is there for you, even if you cannot currently feel Him.
I feel this exact way! I feel hopeless after being so on fire for God. I feel like that verse in Hebrews says there is no repentance for those who have tasted and fallen away. I am so scared. How do you continue to live without Jesus. I feel suicidal.
We are the smallest piece of sand and God is an ocean of Mercy! Even Judas would have been forgiven if only he would have asked for it. He would have been known as Judas the repentant. God knows everything, even about our hearts turning from Him. The bigger the sin the more entitled we are to His mercy. He suffered so much for us. Let us begin again to avoid sin and become holy. I know in my heart he forgives us, all of us.
Shelly, the Bible says “Do not fear” 365 times. Read philippians 4:6-7.
“Do not be anxious about ANYTHING.” God has NEVER left you NOR has He forsaken you. Read (Joshua 1:5). (NIV) Those thoughts on suicide are NOT from God. In fact in Jeremiah 29:11 it says “plans not to harm you”. (NIV). But remember, we are not perfect. Pick up your cross and follow Him. Read Isaiah 41:10. (NIV) Reflect on it, think about when it says “be not dismayed for I am your God” and Be strong!!! Our hearts may be hopeless but God is never hopeless. Try not to focus on those “what ifs” bc they only lead to worry. Lastly, read Psalm 145:18-19 . God certainly hears you. Pray and He will answer. Have FAITH!
Are you still struggling?
Thank you! I’ve found myself also giving myself a pep talk when I felt downtrodden, but I’m only human. I can do nothing without God.
cling to Bible verses that promise mercy to the contrite (1 John 1:9). find truth in that & not in what you feel–His forgiveness is more than feelings. God rejoices when repentant sinners come home! He never pushes them away;He loves them & you. rmb that & walk by faith. don’t give up tho its hard!
Hey Samuel, I feel the same way. I could feel the Holy Spirit, I resisted obedience on something and It felt like He left me. I don’t have the guidance like I did before. I don’t have the joy. Especially at first I felt like a child lost in the woods. I’m continuing to seek Him. Do the same.
I’m continuing to seek Him. There were a couple of specific things I felt Him ask me to do and I resisted. Then I wasn’t feeling Him. That was in April. I’ve been praying and asking to do things His way and follow His will instead of my own will. I keep embracing the Scriptures that say He doesn’t punish us for all our sins and that He forgets them and throws them into the sea – I try to embrace the Scripture that says He does not remember them anymore. If He forgets, then I should forget as well. It’s a battle. I keep fighting. But the comment below was encouraging.
The Bible says the Holy Spirit does not leave us. We may grieve or quench Him, but He never leaves us. Maybe you are feeling the result of unconfessed and unrepented sin. You can pray & ask Jesus to search your heart and show you where you need to repent & surrender your life to Him. It is a long process sometimes, but I truly believe in the promises of God. Spend time in God’s word getting to know Him. Sermons & ministries can help you learn, but rely on Jesus & Holy Spirit for answers. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you did to grieve or quench Him. You will feel awful & cry out, but then, once you confess & repent there’s incredible peace & joy! God WANTS a relationship with you!
hello where in the bible can i find it say The Holy Spirit never leaves us so i can read it?
Ephesians 1:13 is the verse you’re looking for. 🙂
God bless you. please keep me posted on your progress. I am praying for you. Praise the Lord Jesus. Christ forever.
Hi Samuel
I was in a similar situation for what seemed like a lifetime. I even stopped praying because I felt like God does not even listen to my prayers. I felt empty and lost and I desperately needed God’s touch again. I felt His presence again while I was sitting in a Sunday School lesson at church. I JUST KNEW HE IT WAS HIM. Be patient with God, He sees your agony and He will touch you again.
Thank you for sharing this. I have felt this way as well. Knowing God returned is meaningful.
Is there any way to contact each other for questions or to help each other out with these things?
God bless you.
God bless you. please keep me posted on your progress. I am praying for you. Praise the Lord Jesus. Christ forever.
Samuel, hope by now all is well from the truths spoken in this thread and you have been restored to complete joy in the Lord. Always agree with God’s word & not our feeling. Rmbr 1John 1:9 promise. And when feeling empty, praise Him. Praise & worship of Him & His great love toward us will always bring us closer to God. Be at peace, God our redeemer is full of grace & mercy.
Samuel… if I was to type something up it would have been the exact words of yours.
I turned away from God for about 5 years. I was extremely zealous for Him before that. As a sought Him more I expected more. My only desire was to know Him more. Not having these prayers answered to my liking I fell away in anger towards God. 5 years later begging Him to forgive me and give me peace once again. I have gained that to a point, but battling my salvation has been my stumbling stone. I am literally in the same place I was when I was hungry for God. I’m up and down all the time. I don’t have an answer but know that you are not alone. May God work this out in both of us. I still choose to believe
This was an AMAZING book by a man who struggled with a lifetime of these issues and was delivered by Jesus. Please check it out- Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: By John Bunyan
I know how you feel, I was born again and deliberately sinned and mad at myself for it. My heart has hardened. I’ve talked to a couple pastors, they told me not to give up and confess all your sins to God and make sure your brutally honest. God loves us, but dont take it for granted like I did. I really messed up. I pray that this helps you, also try to find a good small church so when a christain is filled they will pour out to all people around.
This was an AMAZING book by a man who struggled with a lifetime of these issues and was delivered by Jesus. Please check it out- Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: By John Bunyan
I feel the exact same way! What am I to do? I disobeyed God and His spirit left. I have repented, but He has not returned. I am miserable.
What you should do first and foremost is stop listening to Satan. Also, don’t trust your mind and your feelings as they lie to us and trick us. There is also spiritual warfare and demonic activity. Read the Word, as is mentioned in Tim’s reply and take it to has to say about you. Trust it and not your thoughts and feelings.
I was also in a similar situation. When i repented or at least I thought i did and asked forgiveness I didn’t feel forgiven. Initially I thought I had repented but actually didn’t. Somewhere inside me i knew that down the road i’ll still look back to this sin. I hadn’t truly let go of it. God wants us to repent. Repenting doesn’t mean to feel enough guilt or frustration about your sin. It means to forsake it, not out of emotion or anything, but to really leave it to let go of it. So as i lay in bed i thought about leaving this sin and settled in my mind to do it. Well immediately i knew I’m forgiven not because of anything on my part (not because of my feelings or emotions or anything when i repented) but because God is who he says he is. And he says in 1 John 1:9-10 that he is faithful to forgive.
Amen! I have prayed before but had certain sins in the back of my head but finally ready to say no more! It’s a process but that is what has held me back! Thanks 🙏.
Are you still stuggling?
Tim,
Thank you for allowing the LORD to use you in sharing this information. My situation is similar to the young man who posed the question, as well as to vehoae. I am 49 years old soon to be 50. This post has helped to realize that there is hope to my own situation, as I love the LORD and I want to live his way. Thanks so much!!
Jesus said once that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. When asked about this further Jesus said that all things are possible with GOD. Whether you are rich or have truly fallen away or whatever, never stop seeking him for he is the GOD of love and mercy. If you seek HIM you will find HIM with HIS arms wide open running to meet you again.
This.
Stop believing that mortal sin catholic heresy. We will sin until the day we die; lots of people struggle with wrongful and sinful thoughts, myself included. 1 John 1:9 says,
He died for those evil thoughts; don’t condemn yourself, but don’t dwell in sinful thought either. You do not need to go to a priest for your sins to be forgiven. That’s ridiculous! Go and confess it straight to the Lord and ask for his help with the sins you struggle with. And this does NOT mean go on in your sin willfully. Jesus told us to pick up our cross and deny ourselves, and in Romans it says — shall we sin that grace may abound? GOD FORBID!
Catholicism is not heresy. Please hear me out. Yes, there are sins that certainly upset God and remove us from a state of Grace. But as a person recovering from OCD thoughts, Catholicism helped me overcome thoughts that tell you you are unworthy in the eyes of God. I highly suggest reading what our Lord said to St. Faustina “Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul (1777).” https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/spirituality/trust
not in the bible, you need to just follow the bible, not false religion
I have walked in similar footsteps. I was baptized in 2013 after which I turned back to a lifestyle that was exceedingly sinful. Drugs, alcoholism, fornication, deep hatred of self and others. Toward the end of 2014 I came home to our heavenly father. It has been a healing process and a process of removing these addictions. Spend time praying and reading your Bible. God is faithful to forgive. You need to give these feelings to God and continually seek him. Repent of sins and don’t look back (stop thinking about them). A good father never leaves his children. Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hopefully this will help clarify
https://carm.org/justification-and-sanctification
Remember the prodigal son. It’s never to late to return home. And how happy was the father?
Tim’s response made me weep. I had a falling away roughly over a three-year period. But God, who is rich in mercy, graciously brought me back to repentance. Upon being brought back I was struggling with some issues. I was questioning my salvation and wondering if I was ever even really saved. I looked worse than an unbeliever in my falling away. I love that God doesn’t allow His children to be truly happy or have that inner peace that surpasses all understanding when we fall away. I opened my Bible and read Luke 15:4-7 (The Parable of the Lost Sheep). I realized that was me. And there really was joy in heaven over my return. I bawled some heavy tears of repentance and joy!
Steph me too!!! That hebrews 6 verse scared me so bad and ive been struggling with it for years! Thank you tim for your words of hope in Jesus! Praise be to His name. And what happened to me was almost exactly what the the guy who made the initial question described. Love you guys! Thank you all!
What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:4-7
Every day we get up and choose to honor God with thanksgiving. We are building up the Kingdom of God that lives in us and taking back what the devil has stolen. We may not see it in our natural eyes or feel it all the time. By faith, knowing His word is true, we walk on towards the goal. Jesus Himself was able to go through the torment of crucifixion keeping His eyes on the hope that was set before Him.
Jesus did the hard part for us. All we need to do is choose to walk in His glory, knowing that we are forgiven, being thankful for the gift of salvation that has been “freely” given.
I want you all to know how incredibly encouraging it is to know I am not the only one who battles with the feelings of condemnation. I was truly born again two years ago after being baptized a week earlier. The presence of the spirit of Christ was overwhelming for a period of time. Over time I began to fall away back into the flesh and the old person I was. Now I don’t recognize the spirit like I once did. Now the condemnation is overwhelming at times. I am thankful however I am not the only one. The devil has a way of isolating us and making us feel like we’re all alone with nowhere to go. You are not alone. You are loved.
I’ve done abortion. Will I ever be forgiven by God? I doubt he will ever love me again.
As far as the east is from the west so our Lord will remove and forgive our sins. If we repent, confess all and walk in righteousness we have redemption according to the riches of his grace! Ask for grace and draw near to Him . . . God’s grace is abundant and we are saved for an eternity by grace!
Christ died for all sin. God’s love is unconditional, meaning that he loves you no matter what sin you do.
He LOVES YOU this very moment Miriam. Nothing you can ever do or not do can make Him love you any less. Please always remember that. Take the time to seek God right now, confess your sin to Him and ask Him to forgive you. He will forgive you. Just receive His Son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and begin to live a new life. The life that God purposed for you before the foundations of the world. God loves you no matter what you have done. Most importantly also forgive yourself.
God forgave David for committing adultery and then having her husband killed. If you were truly fallen away to the point of blasphemy, you’d have no desire to ever return to Jesus. God will forgive you if you ask for forgiveness. The Bible says, don’t you know that it’s God’s goodness that causes you to repent? God has brought you to this point because He loves you and He’ll definitely forgive you. God’s not a man that He should lie and He WILL forgive you if you but ask.
I know this comment was years ago, but just in case, I wanted to reply. You can be forgiven. 1 John 1:9. I am going to pray for you as soon as I send this. Hugs
https://truthsaves.org/articles/will-god-forgive-purposeful-sin/ read this….helped me
Talk to the lord ask him to turn your fear into faith and fill you with the Holy Spirit read his word and pray daily for grace he will meet you where you are! Pray confess he will redeem you! God bless
James 5 if a person wanders from the truth and somebody brings him back love covers over a multiude of sin
We are all feeling some of the same feelings. There is hope. Its the good news. Many people are saved and are not strong enough to resist the initial attacks from the dark one. But, where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Im ashamed of my sin but it keeps me from being conceited and boastful.
Its amazing thousand of christians have an answered questions; as human being we all take our own ways of life. pleasing the desire of our flesh. but this is not Christ paid a price for . But lots of so called beleivers are stuck.We do really need the help of our Deliverer and the help of our precious Spirit of Christ to guide and teach us the Truth. There are so many of us who are wounded in spirit. We do need to bring everything to light; for Jesus is light. God bless every wounded brethren
This is an old post but a relevant one for all who for one reason or another have fallen away from faith.
Embrace Jesus and what he has done for us and return whole heartedly to Him, REGARDLESS of how you feel emotionally. Our emotions can deceive us and make us feel that God will never take us back . The key issue here is that Satan is the Accuser of the brethren, the Bible says so and it is TRUE. It is not God that is making you feel hopeless and condemned but the Devil. Christ died for your sins, ALL your sins. Believe in Jesus and accept his forgiveness and your salvation. God bless all of us who have fallen from grace but have been called back and are restored. Amen and amen.
Do we have to be baptized again if we come back to Christ?
I was born again and I fell into temptation by watching porn. I felt the sprirt convicting me but I still watched it and I picked it back up for 3 more months and kept watching it. My heart is hardened. I pray that I am forgiven. I used it as a liscence to sin which is wrong. I feel numb and have no more joy. I want to come back to God again and feel conviction but I havent in sometime. Please give me advice
How are you now?
Thank your for all the openness and honesty here. I can relate so much to what has been shared and the pain of walking back in to a full blown lifestyle of sin and returning. Could it be that if indeed we are concerned and deeply searching that that in itself is a work of God drawing us back regardless of whether or not those wonderful original feelings are there? I believe that Jesus gives us real hope and that we are not to despair even when suffering from depression or anxiety or OCD or drugs or suicidal thoughts. Read romans 8:38 now. Don’t hesitate open the word now and read and pray. Nobody can out sin the cross so as to make it ineffective to save their soul.
God’s grace covers a multitude of sin.
1 John 3:15, Also 1 John 2:19. I had an abortion at the top of this year and I was a professing Christian before. Someone told me I would go to hell for it. I feel it was willful, ignorant sin. My child was 14wk4 days. No one who has murdered hath eternal life? I didn’t go into it with the intent to kill… I couldn’t grasp eternity. I can’t live with the reality of what I’ve done. Is this the manifestation of never being saved? Christ died for our sins. Christ rose for our salvation. I took life and death into my own hands. I pray for forgiveness. But I feel its too late because innocent blood as Christ was innocent also I knew better. Prayers needed. Thank you.
Hannah, the Lord Jesus has already forgiven you. You just need to receive it, and forgive yourself. Know that Jesus accepts you, and wants you back.
Jesus said the only sin that couldnt be forgiven was the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Abortion, while it is a sin, is not the unforgivable sin. Be convicted not condemned and repent. I am going to pray for you as soon as I send this.
God forgives abortion ! God forgives every single sin except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which very well may be apostasy. Go to god immediacy and repent ! I know multiple woman who had abortions and are serving the Lord and are saved !
What a blessing this article is my friend. I will continue the good fight of faith.
Thankyou to all who contributed to this topic. God Bless you all with his abundant grace. I have struggled with this also but now feel hope from the truths that have been shared. I have shed tears and feel a sense of peace and joy. Press on and trust in God’s faithfulness and love. Thank you all for the encouragement and insight.
Sin has consequences. The fruit sin bears is death. Romans 8 says things like “the mind controlled by the flesh is death” and “if you walk according to the flesh you will die” BUT if “by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” The battle against the flesh is REAL if you’re a believer. There’s a story in 2 Corinthians where someone in the Church was sleeping with his mother in law, but Paul tells the church to “reassure your love for him” because “we are not ignorant of the devil’s schemes.” 1 John 4 says when our hearts condemn us, to love in action and truth, and it will reassure our hearts in his presence . Do something selfless for someone. Confess to believers
I have been a born again Christian for about ten years. Later I didnt fully bielieve in bible and I left Christianity but always believed in God. Can I still get saved? Im back on praying and I have repent from sins I made on that period.
Absolutely! I know this first hand by my own experience! Believe me, I have floundered so badly at times. Still, God is the one who looks at the heart. He knows what is genuine and what is not! It’s not about us but how God will constantly rescue us. He loves us much more than we are capable of loving! I’m so grateful for this GOD who will walk hand in hand with us until life’s journey is over! No way will he not hold on to us when we have determined to walk with him. We are so blessed. So often we are blinded to this due to Satan’s deception. It sure doesn’t change things though. Give your life to GOD and know he’ll fight Satan for you.
yes of course, I pray that you will study the dispensations that separate specific parts of the bible, and teach you that not all scripture applies to the church , because where were grafted into the vine of christ through grace . the verse in hebrews specifically is speaking to those who are in the future, this is the dispensation of time for those living in the millennium, Jesus is present ruling over them ! they are without excuse , so if they fall away there is no returning ! but this is not applies to the Gentile , jewish christian because that is not during the age of the church saved by grace .
Hebrew 13:5 Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you
Thanks for the article.
I turned my back on God when I was 40 I was born again when I was 21. I am 63 years old and have repented to God for the years of rejection. I have been repenting for the past 6 months and have been experiencing extreme fear that he rejects my repentance. Have I gone too far for forgiveness.
This is exactly where I’m at ! I don’t feel god nor the Holy Spirit! You can o my be saved if you have the seal of the Holy Spirit. Everyone keeps telling me I’m saved but I don’t hear god nor the holy spirit 😢
How can a person know if they are truly saved? I was saved when I was 21. I was also baptized. I attended church but also kept one foot in the world. I attended church more regularly but I felt distant from God like I didn’t fully trust him. I lived in intentional sin. I eventually fell away. I am 63 now and have spent my days repenting, just to feel like I’m not getting through to God. My question is if I wasn’t truely saved can I receive Christ again?
if you haven´t fallen away to the point of blasphemy, you can always come back to God. Are you going back to church, reading the bible again? maybe a good church can help you!
I haven’t rejected God till death. So I don’t think I have blasphemed. I am reading my bible.
Hi, Jodie. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a very particular, specific sin. The scribes were blaspheming the Spirit by Whom Jesus healed and performed miracles: “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” Mark specifically adds the clarification, after quoting Jesus’ con-demnation of that blasphemy: “because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” It is not anything besides or in addition to this.
We have some thoughts on this topic. Check out this article.
Are you still struggling?
I am trying to figure out whether or not I’m saved ! Everyone I talk to says yes but I was saved at 19 and fell into disbelief for decades and came back to god months ago only to discover passages like Hebrews 6 and the unpardonable sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6 equals apostasy from many videos I’ve watched I don’t know if you can be saved twice and if the Holy Spirit leaves you once will he ever return ? One pastor told me salvation is a one time event but his never leaves you even if you fall away. every pastor I’ve talked to says you can come back to god but I’m not so sure god is happy with someone who turns their back on his son. I just don’t know !!! But I don’t hear gods voice nor do I have the joy and peace from the holy spirit. feel horrible for ever having walked away from Jesus ! If anyone has had an experience similar to mine and had felt the presence of god again pleaese comment
Are you still struggling?
Hey , I’ll tell you my testimony. at the time I was on fire for God , my family was from a Pentecostal background. When I converted was from a similar religion, I however didn’t understand Spanish or anything, I was there I was very confused and I even Got baptized. I really felt like that was a place God wanted me to be, but along the way I felt like I didn’t belong there . I wasn’t ready to take away my old ways for religious rule, but they kept insisting it’s God rules . I got caught into thinking I was doing the right thing by attending church but I felt bad because I didn’t understand the preaching and I kind lack in reading my Bible… because I was already repentance for my sins on a daily at the time (i wasn’t born again) one day God was calling me and I repented but I was so scared I didn’t know what to do,., I felt like it left and never return… I cry everyday because it was on me to be honest …. I didn’t have a good foundation and I got hurt in the process by those I loved … but I hope there is hope but I just don’t know anymore I am so regretful
This has helped me so much thank you for this article and God bless you all. I am 60 years old I was saved at about 12 or 13 I did not live for God and did not understand the Bible or God and got into some real trouble sin I went back to church in my twenties but never really trusted God enough to do what he wanted me to well my sin blew up came out I got divorced I stopped going to church got back into sin I try and do what is right now and have been trying eversince to reconnect with God I do feel him pulling me closer and I am praying he will continue to pull me closer to him and never let me go I pray for all of you the same to be pulled close to God and not be ever let go.
Dear Pastor:
If a person can return after falling away then why these scriptures
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
Hebrews 6:4-6 NKJV
Thank you
Pat Nastasi
[email protected]
I was abused sexually and spiritually by a pastor. I’m not his first victim. He has been treated with gentleness and they let him into church to worship even though he continues to harass his victims in public.
So I don’t believe that God loves me at all. I don’t believe that Jesus loves me either. The Bible is a weapon that tells me to ‘forgive and forget’ but he uses the Bible as a way to hold power over others. He says he’s repented but he doesn’t admit to doing any wrong.
Why does God trash victims like this? Using his pastors to turn us away? Why is it okay in the Christian faith for abuse to happen?
God doesn’t trash victims. God isn’t the one who did this to you. It was a sinful man who made his own choices apart from God. We all free will, to do good or to do evil. Being mistreated by a human being doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you. Jesus Himself was mistreated (mocked, tortured, and killed) by human beings, many of whom were religious leaders of the day. Did that mean that God his Father didn’t love Him? God has a purpose and a plan for your life and He loves you.
It is such a blessing that in 2024, we have a way of looking across time to see God’s faithfulness to us does not fail. I am reading comments from as early as 2015! It’s 2024! I have been searching for Adonai as of late and its absolutely true! He knows exactly where you are because YHWH never left. As a believer, I joined the military at 19. I strayed faaaaaaar even tho I made concessions from a carnal aspect. At 43, I have been in need of His care after almost losing my retirement to alcoholism, crippling sexual desire and every other foul thing in my heart. My heart is elated at the knowledge that He reconciles us as often as we need. Repentance is a daily action to not fall into the same traps and it is a blessing to know The Holy Trinity guards my heart to keep me from falling again and again. Even when I do, there’s provision already made by The Truth! 🥰
To God be all praise and Glory for the endurance He has wrought in me with such Grace and Mercy!