Feeling forgiven

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coconut_princess -> Feeling forgiven (5/17/2008 7:38:12 AM)
When I confess my sins and ask the Lord to forgive me, I do not feel forgiven and I don't feel any better or feel any closer to Him. My sins are that I don't exhibit the fruit of the Sprit and often times have the fruit of the flesh. I often lose my patience and say something I shouldn't or I get angry or my attitude is really selfish. I don't plan to do these sins, it happens so fast like an automatic reaction. I ask for forgiveness for the same thing each time and I always end up feeling like I'm not forgiven and that He has turned away from me because I am asking for forgiveness for the same sin again. Repentence is turning away from sin and if I'm asking for forgiveness again, I haven't turned away therefore, I must not be forgiven. When I start to think that I'm not forgiven, I start believing that I'm not going to go to Heaven when I die and it brings on anxiety and paralyzing fear. Does anyone have any scriptures or thoughts on this?

kmangel -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/17/2008 8:37:55 AM)
When precisely did Jesus pay the penalty for your sins? Wasn't it two thousand years ago on the cross? How many of your sins were future then? All of them. So why don't you feel forgiven today? God doesn't have an account with our name on it so that we can make forgiveness withdrawals from it when we need it. When we are born again, He emptied the entire forgiveness account on us! Our debt was paid in full when Christ died and it became effective in our lives when we turned to Him in faith. So stop beating yourself up over your feelings. Feelings can be deceptive. Some days I wake up and I "feel" really in love with God, sometimes I wake up in a bad mood, but how I feel doesn't change how God feels about me. Confess your sins as they occur, yes. Acknowledge how foolish you are to disobey God and then praise Him that you are already forgiven and accepted by Him. God has a forgiving heart because He loves you unconditionally. If you feel He doesn't love you, that He doesn't forgive you, then your feelings are telling you a lie. You are buying in to how you feel at the moment rather than trusting in God's promises.

URForgiven -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/17/2008 9:07:13 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kmangel When precisely did Jesus pay the penalty for your sins? Wasn't it two thousand years ago on the cross? How many of your sins were future then? All of them. So why don't you feel forgiven today? God doesn't have an account with our name on it so that we can make forgiveness withdrawals from it when we need it. When we are born again, He emptied the entire forgiveness account on us! Our debt was paid in full when Christ died and it became effective in our lives when we turned to Him in faith. So stop beating yourself up over your feelings. Feelings can be deceptive. Some days I wake up and I "feel" really in love with God, sometimes I wake up in a bad mood, but how I feel doesn't change how God feels about me. Confess your sins as they occur, yes. Acknowledge how foolish you are to disobey God and then praise Him that you are already forgiven and accepted by Him. God has a forgiving heart because He loves you unconditionally. If you feel He doesn't love you, that He doesn't forgive you, then your feelings are telling you a lie. You are buying in to how you feel at the moment rather than trusting in God's promises. Well said kmangel. I might add that our feelings, our emotions are only responders. They respond to what we are thinking. You feel unforgiven because you are thinking that you are unforgiven. We do not live, as Christians, by our feelings. We live by faith. By faith , we believe what God has said about our sins, and what He has said is that we are forgiven; and that there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ. Peace

loveineffable -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/23/2008 8:23:16 PM)
Here are some ? for you How many sins did Jesus go to the cross for, per John the baptist? John 1:29 What was Jesus's earthly ministries purpose? Matt. 5:17 When did the new covenant take place? hebrews 9:16 Did Jesus fill his purpose here on earth? john 19:30 Is the the lord's prayer fullfilled in matthew, where he said hollowed be thy name thy kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven, for gives us our debts as we forgive our debtors? Was this prayer prior to Jesus going to the cross, under the old covenant? So after the cross could this prayer be fullfilled, or are we under the old covenant that jesus was fullfilling? So since we have established that he took them all, (sins) at the cross, how many are left for you? If none are left for you, then what is the only thing left for you to do? THANKYOU Now when you do sin, error, iniquity, whatever, are you going to start out thanking God for his provision back at the cross? Then ask how to say no to unrightouseness, trusting that he will teach you to the point he taught Paul. Saying his grace was, is suffuicient for him. In his weakness God's strength is made perfect. So Grow from mistakes, understanding you are forgiven and there is no more forgiveness to be executed and tha there is no forgiveness w/o the shedding of blood, and Christ was the last sacrifice, along with the last shedding of blood. My experience has been that when I said I can't, I heard in me thankyou from God saying nowhe can. So it was not easy at first, and still is easy to forget how simple it is. TRUSTING him to do in me what I can not do in myself. The same to youward his love is ineffable

rosamaria -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/24/2008 6:47:47 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: coconut_princess When I confess my sins and ask the Lord to forgive me, I do not feel forgiven and I don't feel any better or feel any closer to Him. My sins are that I don't exhibit the fruit of the Sprit and often times have the fruit of the flesh. I often lose my patience and say something I shouldn't or I get angry or my attitude is really selfish. I don't plan to do these sins, it happens so fast like an automatic reaction. I ask for forgiveness for the same thing each time and I always end up feeling like I'm not forgiven and that He has turned away from me because I am asking for forgiveness for the same sin again. Repentence is turning away from sin and if I'm asking for forgiveness again, I haven't turned away therefore, I must not be forgiven. When I start to think that I'm not forgiven, I start believing that I'm not going to go to Heaven when I die and it brings on anxiety and paralyzing fear. Does anyone have any scriptures or thoughts on this? HI,, I think I understand where you are coming from. And hey,, you are not alone in this,, I believe we all have this within us.. and if we dont' admit it.. we are liars'' yes.. Well,, why dont' you read the book of Romans'.. awesome book.. This .. I know will help you.. You know as long as we live here on this destructive world, we will always have problems as you mention ,, and have this situation with our flesh. But think about it.. that is why we need Jesus every day,, yep.. And when we feel like you mention in your post.. we gotta keep on going back to HIM,, AND HE will release what our heart is condeming us of.. what ever it is.. everyday,, yeah, .. such life.. with Jesus, always a way >>>>amen!! much love, blessings, rosamaria.. I understand ,, I really do...

GraceBro -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/24/2008 9:25:11 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: coconut_princess When I confess my sins and ask the Lord to forgive me, I do not feel forgiven and I don't feel any better or feel any closer to Him. Forgiveness is not based on how you feel. It is not something you ask for, it is something you already have based on Christ's finished work on the Cross. "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14 quote: My sins are that I don't exhibit the fruit of the Sprit and often times have the fruit of the flesh. I often lose my patience and say something I shouldn't or I get angry or my attitude is really selfish. Keep in mind that the fruit you desire to see is the fruit of the Spirit. It is not your fruit. It is the Holy Spirit producing it through you. Furthermore, you can't display the love of God towards someone unless they are sinning against you. How do you keep your patience unless someone is making you impatient? How do you keep from being angry unless someone is making you angry? "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22 quote: I don't plan to do these sins, it happens so fast like an automatic reaction. I ask for forgiveness for the same thing each time and I always end up feeling like I'm not forgiven and that He has turned away from me because I am asking for forgiveness for the same sin again. Where is forgiveness found? It is found in Christ. If you are in Christ, you are forgiven. Stop asking for what you have. Rather, rest in the fact that God has forgiven you so you can approach Him to find out why you weren't trusting Him when you chose to sin. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace..." Ephesians 1:7 quote: Repentence is turning away from sin and if I'm asking for forgiveness again, I haven't turned away therefore, I must not be forgiven. The christian life is not about trying to stop sinning. The christian life is about trusting the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide you from within. And as you learn to trust Him you will see a diminishing of the sin in your life. "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16 quote: When I start to think that I'm not forgiven, I start believing that I'm not going to go to Heaven when I die and it brings on anxiety and paralyzing fear. Nobody is saved by being forgiven. Salvation is the restoration of the life of God, made available through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to all who place faith in Him. And because all our sins were taken away from the eyes of God, for all eternity, at the cross, that life will never leave us. That is why it is called an eternal life. A life that will carry us through this life and throughout eternity, even after our physical bodies die. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Romans 5:10 Until you are reconciled to God, believing that all your sins have been forgiven, you will never be able to rest. You will spend the rest of your life alienated, in your mind, from God, because you will always wonder if there is some unforgiven sin keeping you from fellowship with God. God is reconciled to us, but we must be reconciled to Him, believing that the sin issue is, as Jesus said from the Cross, "finished!" God wants a relationship with us, but it is next to impossible if we believe we can't approach Him because of our sins. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 Grace and Peace

timf -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/27/2008 9:11:39 AM)
When I start to think that I'm not forgiven, I start believing that I'm not going to go to Heaven when I die and it brings on anxiety and paralyzing fear. Many Christians come to this point. There is a dangerous path that some take to alleviate this anxiety. Some seek to stimulate their feelings so that they feel better about God. This can lead to a sensation oriented approach to faith that puts a person in a position of trying to continually stimulate their feelings so that they can feel close to God. A more Biblical response is to turn back to the foundation, the solid rock, Jesus. For example when doubts assail, the Bible tells us we can raise a "shield of faith" (Eph 6) 2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. There is even a hymn based on this verse that can be sung to help a person draw closer to Jesus. I know not why God�s wondrous grace To me He hath made known, Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love Redeemed me for His own. But I know Whom I have believ�d, And am persuaded that He is able To keep that which I�ve committed Unto Him against that day. Even a paraphrase can make the Biblical precept more tangible. "Hey, wait a minute!...I know Jesus, and He is able to protect me." It is interesting to observe that during such exercise of faith that Satan's "fiery darts" seem to lose their effectiveness almost as if they were being quenched.

rileykins -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/27/2008 4:07:04 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: coconut_princess When I confess my sins and ask the Lord to forgive me, I do not feel forgiven and I don't feel any better or feel any closer to Him. My sins are that I don't exhibit the fruit of the Sprit and often times have the fruit of the flesh. I often lose my patience and say something I shouldn't or I get angry or my attitude is really selfish. I don't plan to do these sins, it happens so fast like an automatic reaction. I ask for forgiveness for the same thing each time and I always end up feeling like I'm not forgiven and that He has turned away from me because I am asking for forgiveness for the same sin again. Repentence is turning away from sin and if I'm asking for forgiveness again, I haven't turned away therefore, I must not be forgiven. When I start to think that I'm not forgiven, I start believing that I'm not going to go to Heaven when I die and it brings on anxiety and paralyzing fear. Does anyone have any scriptures or thoughts on this? Hi coconut-princess The next time you start to think that you are not forgiven, replace that lie with the truth of Scripture which tells you... In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Ephs 1:7 rileykins

Rev_22_4 -> RE: Feeling forgiven (5/31/2008 8:06:19 PM)
Did you know that our thoughts and beliefs contribute to our feelings? God has promised that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us. quote: 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. Do you believe God? You should. What God says is the truth. So, when you confess your sins, know that you are forgiven and believe it. Your feelings should change. If they don't, it's probably because of a lack of faith. In that case, you should ask God for faith. You should be confident that you will be in Heaven. God has also promised to finish the good work that He started in you. quote: 1 Corinthians 1 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Do you believe the apostle Paul will be in Heaven? Paul called himself the chief of sinners. quote: 1 Timothy 1 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Even Paul struggled with sin. He says that he ends up doing things that he knows he shouldn't do and not doing things that he knows he should do. quote: Romans 7 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Don't give up! Paul was forgiven and he was the chief of sinners. Know that you are forgiven and believe it. If you believe that you are forgiven, you shouldn't feel like you are not.

coconut_princess -> RE: Feeling forgiven (6/5/2008 5:49:12 AM)
Thank you everyone for your encouraging words and for the truth. Please pray for me that I will know these things are true in my heart and not go on my feelings. God bless you all.

cognitivemagic -> RE: Feeling forgiven (6/24/2008 12:52:03 AM)
Emotions definitely have a place in the Christian life, but they have the peculiar quality of being fickle. A better gauge of determining where you're at spiritually is by noticing whether you wake up every day and have air to breathe, geographical beauty to appreciate, friends and family who care about you, new things to see and people to meet, etc. God did not intend for you to try to reach beyond the creation to know that He loves you and wants a relationship with you. He intends for us to experience His love within the creation. Which is why, concerning "whom" God loves, the bible says that "He makes His sun to shine on the good and the evil" (Matt. 5:45); in other words, God loves everyone. The bible even says "God is no respecter of persons" and "there is no partiality in Him". Read Job chapters 29-31.

cognitivemagic -> RE: Feeling forgiven (6/24/2008 2:04:42 PM)
An addendum: Instead of focusing on how you might "obey" the law of God, rather, observe and do the things that make for peace in your own heart and life. For instance: if you notice that watching T.V. raises your anxiety or passions inside, then maybe watch less of it; or none of it. If you notice that being around certain types of people makes you uncomfortable, then avoid those type of people. Again, the focus is on what makes you peaceful; don't just do things that others are doing if you don't feel right, inside, about it. Do what your heart will allow you. And if you feel like you've done the "wrong" thing, as we all do, then pray and connect with trusted and spiritually mature people (especially your pastor).

loveineffable -> RE: Feeling forgiven (6/27/2008 12:12:16 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: cognitivemagic An addendum: Instead of focusing on how you might "obey" the law of God, rather, observe and do the things that make for peace in your own heart and life. For instance: if you notice that watching T.V. raises your anxiety or passions inside, then maybe watch less of it; or none of it. If you notice that being around certain types of people makes you uncomfortable, then avoid those type of people. Again, the focus is on what makes you peaceful; don't just do things that others are doing if you don't feel right, inside, about it. Do what your heart will allow you. And if you feel like you've done the "wrong" thing, as we all do, then pray and connect with trusted and spiritually mature people (especially your pastor). My pastor is Christ Jesus, isn't yours as well. is not he the mediator between God the Father and man? Can we not approach the throne of grace with confidence, in our time of need? because we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus, at the right hand forever making intercession for us. I can see him sitting there with his hand up stating finished every time the devil goes their to accuse someone. Or anyone else as well. ineffable love

cognitivemagic -> RE: Feeling forgiven (7/23/2008 11:08:32 PM)
quote: My pastor is Christ Jesus, isn't yours as well. is not he the mediator between God the Father and man? Can we not approach the throne of grace with confidence, in our time of need? because we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus, at the right hand forever making intercession for us. I can see him sitting there with his hand up stating finished every time the devil goes their to accuse someone. Or anyone else as well. Well, it seems that you feel that you must play "pastor" to me now.... At any rate, I was trying to give someone advice on the practicalities of living a "Christian" life. I wasn't trying to be "legal" by crossing my theological T's and dotting my theological I's. Rather, I was offering advice on maintaining a clear conscience before God. If having confidence before God means that you can do anything you darn well please and you are okay (in your heart) with that, then who am I to judge you? That's between you and God. But I, myself, cannot do just anything I please without wreaking some havoc on my own conscience. And the OP sounded like she was also troubled by her conscience over things of the world. Also, I didn't offer specifics like: "avoid Desperate Housewives on Sunday night" and "don't drink beer on SuperBowl Sunday"; in order to lay down a "law" of Christian living. Instead, I offered the idea that each person ought to examine herself/himself to see what things her/his conscience is okay with.

coconut_princess -> RE: Feeling forgiven (7/24/2008 9:21:51 PM)
I just want to thank everyone for their replies. God bless you all.

cognitivemagic -> RE: Feeling forgiven (7/25/2008 1:58:50 AM)
Dear Coconut-Princess: Your struggles in this world are neither new nor unique. God, like a parent, wants us to go from crawling like infants, to walking like children. Like every parent, He lets go of our hand in order that we might begin the process of walking. We may stumble and fall over....but God doesn't just let us go. He will pick us back up again. He may see that we aren't quite ready to walk yet and allow us to be more nurtured (i.e. to be more dependent like infants). But He wants to see us walk. So if it seems like God is not immediately present in you life....maybe even absent altogether....perhaps it's because He has found that you can walk and don't need His immediate supervision anymore. God bless you.

DaveW -> RE: Feeling forgiven (8/5/2008 3:21:52 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: coconut_princess When I confess my sins and ask the Lord to forgive me, I do not feel forgiven and I don't feel any better or feel any closer to Him. That is exactly why we relate to God on the basis of faith, not on feelings. Feelings can lie to us.

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