Will God forgive me of sins I commit after I become a believer?
I am a believer in Christ but in the past few days I have committed some sins can God forgive me even then?
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Asked May 30 2013
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Anonymous
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Lincoln Chua
i think we all know on a biblical standpoint that Christ died as the one and perfect sacrifice for our sins , and as mentioned by another member previously that it is for the past, present, and future sins. But I think we all need to keep in mind (both new believers, pre-believers, and more importantly seasoned Christians) is that,"believing in Christ" is not lip service. We need to constantly battle against the temptation to sin against God. If we truly "believe in God" , we will do all we can to try and limit, and stop sinning (though realistically speaking it is difficult to be sin-free after our proclamation of faith. "Keep on Keeping on", i read this somewhere before, which i think its encouraging. We should all keep on encouraging ourselves and our fellow believers friends to keep on believing and living a life that brings glory to God.
Braden Mcdonald
Look at it this way: if not, everyone is lost, and no one will be saved. What you need to understand is that IN Christ (the state of every born again person), the righteousness of Jesus Himself has been imputed to you (Hebrews 10:14). God sees Jesus when He looks at you. When you stumble in sin, you are forgiven. Jesus already paid for that sin when He saved you and you died with Him (Romans 6:4-5). God's grace gives you room to make mistakes as you grow in godliness. Remember, God stands outside of time. When He regenerated you, it was a one-time, supernatural event. Your sins were dealt with - ALL of them.
Julie Buckler
Jesus forgives all sins- past, present and future,- for those who come to Him confessing their sins, trusting in Him and His perfect atoning work on the cross. He is faithful and just to forgive us out sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once forgiven, always forgiven. We need to keep confessing or admitting our sins as they happen to keep our daily relationship open and keep our closeness to God in tact.
Anonymous
1 john 1:9 if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.
James Kraft
The truth is that we could not obey Gods laws before we were saved, and we may do better after we are saved, but we are still sinners saved by grace. Paul said He was still a sinner. He said the things I should do, I do not, those things I do not want to do, that I do. If we could live a holy life Jesus would not have had to die for us. So many pastors and other Christians expect perfection in holiness and it is impossible. The truth is they are not perfect either. But, shall we go ahead and sin so that grace may abound? God forbid that we should live any longer in it. But, when we sin grace does abound. Most christians do not want to sin, and the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We all fall short of the glory of God. The best of us are still sinners. The bible says if we say we have no sin, we are a liar, and do not the truth. No matter how good we think we are we are so far from Gods absolute holiness that our righteousness looks like filthy rags. If we could live without sin, we would soon quit trusting in Jesus and start trusting in ourselves that we are righteous. So sin does have a purpose in the life of a believer. It is to keep us from the greater sin of pride and self-righteousness. I know many will not agree with me on this point, but I believe it is true. God knows what we need and His greatest desire for us is to trust him, even when we sin. He wants us to trust in His righteousness and not our own. He clothed us in His righteousness when we first believed in Him. We all come into the christian life with bit of pride and self-righteousness. It is a very humbling experience to realize we cannot help God to save us. We want to commend our selves to Him by what we do. The truth is we have no righteousness of our own. I am as guilty as anyone. God has to bring us low inorder to lift us up, and He will use what ever means it takes. Even to letting us fall into sin. Only God has the power over sin. Many think Jesus came into our lives to make our flesh or old nature look like Him. No, He came to give us a new nature so that He could live out His life through us. Only He is holy, we are not Holy. We have to give up our righteousness in order to get His righteousness. We all have a bit of Phariseeism in us.
Anonymous
prov 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who (1)confesses and (2)forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Thomas K M
If people know that their sins have already been forgiven won’t they go ahead and sin? When you know that you are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in your life. Jesus Himself said that those who are forgiven will love Him much. How are you forgiven our sins? We don’t have to confess our sins in order to be forgiven. We confess our sins because we are already forgiven. When we say confess our sins means being open with God. He is my God, my Daddy my Abba. Forgiveness is not depended on what we have done. But what Jesus has done? Confession in the new covenant is just being honest in your failures and your humanity. It is the result being forgiven. And not something you do in order to be forgiven. Our fellowship with Him has not been broken.
Jim Tumlinson
Because of what is preached in the pulpit, condemnation, guilt etc we believers ask this same question over and over. Let's look at it realistically. Jesus died over 2000 years ago, before we were born He died for our sins All of our sins were forgiven before we were born. The only unforgivable sin is blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Which is not receiving Christ as savior. Now lets look at scripture; Heb 7:26-27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. NIV Heb 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. NIV The below is not giving permission to sin since we sin without permission but it helps establish our righteousness in Him Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. KJV 2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. KJV With that being said, just move forward and love people and you will do great for the kingdom of heaven
Carl Jones
When we trusted Christ for salvation a number of things occurred; one of which is often overlooked by my fellow believers, namely, We were crucified with Christ. Yes, that's right, God saw our plight and He put us to death. He did not tell us from now on to try to live a godly life or to do better. No, He saw how corrupted, unholy and evil we were and He put an end to any thought we had about living a life pleasing to Him. We need to know and understand this: Our works of righteousness are a stench in His nostrils, there is no good in us, we are utterly depraved. His answer? He crucified us with Christ. A dead man cannot please God, nor does he even desire to - he is dead, dead to the law (the law has done its work), we are dead to the hold sin had over us. So what now? God raised us up in newness of life, we were regenerated, made alive in Christ. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. It is something that, being ignorant of what God did for us when we received Christ as Saviour, we think that somehow we have the ability to live for Him, NO! We can do nothing, it is Christ living in us who does everything. When we sin, does God "uncrucify, unregenerate us"? No, it is a once and for all time action that God has crucified us with Christ, once and for all time that we are raised in newness of life in Christ. So what are we to do when we sin? God has given a solution: We are to agree with God we have done wrong (confess) He has promised to deal with it. I 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. It is God who is faithful, not us. God in His grace sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice for our sin. God in His grace crucified us with Christ. God in His grace forgives our sin when we confess. It is all of God, His grace, nothing of ourselves. If we could trust that Jesus had done everything for us regarding salvation, then it is also a simple matter of trust that we can also believe He has done everything for us in regards forgiveness of sin when we confess. Feelings may or may not come into it, it is a matter of trusting God who has given His word. Do you believe Him?
Dinganie Soko
I think the ‘general flow’ of preceding answers may be somewhat misleading. While salvation comes through grace and grace alone, I don't think it's correct to say that all our sins (including future ones) have already been forgiven (but they have already been ‘potentially’ forgiven). We must do more than just believe that Christ is our Saviour to ensure that we enter God's kingdom: we must also try to live as Christ lived. While our salvation comes through total acceptance of Jesus as the son of God, our ‘own efforts’ to be like Christ are clearly an affirmation of that faith. True believers should strive to live like He did and that means trying one’s best to be like Christ and not committing ‘pre-meditated sin’ because one knows that after that sin s/he is going to ask God for forgiveness. We must appreciate that if one is truly saved, his/her sins should not be pre-meditated: they should result from human weakness – ‘as is common to mankind’ if I can use the wording found in 1 Corinthians 10:13. It is important to know that we shouldn’t take God’s grace as a license to sin. Taking our crosses and following Jesus à Matthew 16:24 means we must more than just believe: we must turn that belief into action. Paul doesn’t disagree in Romans 6:1-2 “1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Paul’s letters are full of advice on how to live like true Christians. James also says the same thing: our actions should complement our faith; James 2:17 “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Faith is only effective when accompanied by actions, otherwise there wouldn’t be evil in the world as Satan knows more about God than we ever will in this lifetime, yet he can’t be saved: James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Abraham, the father of the saved, earned that title through his faith and actions together, not through faith alone: James 2:22 “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” And Jesus Himself was very clear: in Matthew 7:21-23 “21Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” My understanding of Ephesians 2:8-9 salvation is like water in a well that God has dug for us; hearing about the existence of that well is like hearing the word of God; believing that the well does exist is like having faith; but one cannot access that water unless one goes to the well to draw the water: actions making that faith complete. One may know about the well but may never taste that water unless s/he acts on that knowledge. Let us keep on praying so that God shows us the correct answer to the question before us.
Andy Mangus
My take on this question stems from my own personal experiences just before and soon following my personal moment of receiving eternal salvation back in 1979. I was like most people when they get saved. They feel a bit strange inside but don't really notice any real change...until, they begin to know the split second of every sinful thought, deed or act that they have committed a sin. And immediately, they know it and get internal conviction of that sin which comes with the 'prodding of the Holy Spirit' to confess and ask forgiveness from our Heavenly Father! Point being is this: Scripture tells us that our sins are forgiven for eternity; past, present and future. But, what many, many people don't understand from the many scriptures that talks about sins and forgiveness, is that when one receives salvation, He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell 'supernaturally' inside our heart! He will always let you know you have sinned and He will, in your spirit, give you 'conviction' of that sin. Before I got saved, I would not even think of myself as a sinner and like most everyone else, I had that "self-righteousness" that everyone is guilty of. And then, I met Jesus Christ on that "Blessed" night years ago. YOU have the privilege, as a Child of GOD, to ask for His forgiveness of all and everyone of your sins as many times a day as you feel inside your mind, body and spirit to do so! The Bible tells us that "our (your) sins are removed as far as the East is from the West" and that "His love for you is eternal"! A key point to understand is that He gives us contrition to know when and how we have sinned and tells us to ask for forgiveness in prayer for our many, many sins for our benefit and necessity of our own acknowledgement of our deep need for Him and His BLESSED GIFT OF ETERNAL SALVATION BY HIS ETERNAL SACRIFICE ON THAT CROSS AT CALVARY! "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh' how much is His Glory Divine...." God's gift to us, His one and only begotten Son, JESUS CHRIST". ~~Andy~~
Rachel R
If you are baptized as a responsible believer, then when you repent and pray to God to forgive your sins, then He will forgive them. He can only forgive sins that you have already done.
L.S. James
Will God forgive me of sins I commit after I become a believer? Yes He will because Scripture makes it explicit. Results of Justification: Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand...While we were still helpless [powerless to provide for our salvation], at the right time Christ died [as a substitute] for the ungodly. Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die. But God clearly show and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today]. Not only that, but we also rejoice in God [rejoicing in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received and enjoy our reconciliation [with God]. (Roman 5:1, 2, 6-11 AMP) It is therefore crystal clear that we, who are ‘in Christ’ being ‘a new creation’ (2 Cor 5:17) are totally forgiven of our sins once and for all by the Lord‘s ‘finished‘ work at the cross (John 19:30). To think that God will not forgive His redeemed of any sin only undermines the exhaustive work of Christ Jesus as incomplete, if not absurd. Ps. blessed as we are to be living as unglorified saints in the age of grace, while it lasts, let’s not push it for God‘s sake.
Allyse C
To be forgiven from our sins, we must see the wrong that we do, turn away from it completely, and repent (Matthew 4:17; Acts 2:38-40; Luke 13:2-3; Acts 3:18-19; Revelations 2:5). We must completely repent and ask God for forgiveness first (Matthew 6:14-15). It's not up to us to see if we are forgiven or not, forgiving us from our sins is all up to God rather than ourselves. Baptism is also EXTREMELY important for our salvation (Galatians 3:26-29).
Myron Robertson
The simple answer is given in 1 Corinthians 15:22 where it says, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." It is the same all in both cases, but I know few Christians who really believe this and a great many who spend thousands of words trying to prove the all who are actually saved are a very small minority. Rev 17:8 tells us that the lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. Or perhaps, comparing this with Rev 13:8 the reference is to the elect being written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, but this could not be the case if the blood had not been shed. God is not subject to time, and for this reason, once the plan is approved and Jesus, the God of "Amen" (Isa 65:16 where amen is translated as truth) says, "Amen," then the plan is considered complete, whether any part of it has begun or now. So even before the creation of the world, Jesus was slain and all sin forgiven. Yet the process still needed to play out. I know one pastor who is fixated on his interpretation of Romans 4:25 stating that no one was justified (entered grace and sins forgiven) until Jesus was actually resurrected, and no sin since that time has been covered by his blood. There are all kinds of problems with this belief, but it shows an awareness of steps in the process and of timing, both of which are important to the plan of salvation. The laws of the feast days of Israel are the primary outline of the plan of salvation, and they show that salvation is in three primary parts corresponding to the three main feasts, Passover (justification by faith), Pentecost (sanctification or the process of becoming actually holy) and Tabernacles (receiving the inheritance of the glorified body and adoption as fully mature "Sons of God.") The remaining feasts and other types show that these steps can be further divided into other smaller steps but we need not concern ourselves with them at this point. Grace is a major factor in all of these steps and they cannot occur without grace, which is poorly understood by the church but can simplistically be defined as forgiveness, which is only one small factor in grace where sinners are concerned. (Grace also exists where there has never been any sin because grace is not forgiveness.) We reenter a state of grace when we are justified by faith in the blood of the lamb. Jesus death on the cross paid for the sins of all the people who (will) ever live. God cannot forgive a sin unless the victim is paid for that trespass. Once the penalty is paid in full forgiveness is a requirement of the law. What happens at my justification is that I accept the payment of my penalty, which was already done in my behalf without my knowledge or consent. God's law now treats me as if I were holy (sanctified) even though I am not (Rom 4:17). Now I must begin the second step in the process, learning to hear God's voice which in turn kills the flesh and teaches obedience. At the first Pentecost, Israel heard only the first 10 of God's commands and refused to listen any further. The church today still only acknowledges those 10 and refuses to even keep those, listing all kinds of exceptions to them. Only by grace do we learn to hear, and like Israel of Old the church refuses this higher level of grace, calling their licentiousness grace, which it is not. Isaiah 29:9, 10 tell us that God still holds us accountable for our sins in this state of grace because if full grace were extended immediately no one would ever stop sinning. I am still saved by grace during this time of sanctification, but I must still pay a portion of my consequences to learn obedience to God and his law. Still, only grace makes this learning possible.
Michael Tinsley
Psalm 103:12 says,'as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us.' East from the west in our physical universe is infinitely far apart and that's what God wants you to understand. God doesn't 're-member' our sins. He doesn't put us back together (re-member us) with any sins we committed or will commit. Jesus died for all our sins, every one of them, forever. None of us were born when Jesus went to the cross for us (our sins) and then arose for our justification, Romans 4:25. So, don't believe it when someone tells you all your sins aren't forgiven. If you do sin, your only need is to admit it to God and then move on in your walk with Jesus. You don't have to make a big, hand-wringing, crying lament over it. You admitted it and its done. Hebrews 9:28 says Jesus died once to take away the sins of many. It doesn't say some sins, or a few, or all but this one. It says the sins of many. All the sins of everyone who would ever live. Don't make avoiding sin the most important thing in your Christianity because you then seek to do something from your own power for justification. Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved (and forgiven) by grace and not by works so working to avoid sin isn't the way. Jesus didn't just come to die for us. He lived vicariously for us as well so that when we walk in His footsteps, modelling ourselves after Him, we are able to enjoy salvation the way God intended. He doesn't want us to live a white-knuckled fight against sin. He wants us to believe what the Bible says Jesus did for us and to walk with Him in mercy, grace, and love. Stop trying to live a Christian life on your own power and just be a Christian. Jesus already did all the work and we can rest in His accomplishments. Sharing the gospel with others to develop more disciples isn't easy if they see you in a daily struggle _trying to live as a Christian. They'll think being a Christian is too much _work. Walking in grace with Christ when you relax in His finished work is what God intended. In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus says to take His yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls, 'For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.' Rest is what He says to do. Rest, not struggle and fight not to sin. Not only did Jesus live and die for us vicariously He was baptized for us as well. In Matthew 3:13-15 Jesus told John to baptize Him 'for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' What righteousness needed to be fulfilled? Our righteousness. Jesus was completely righteous and certainly didn't need to be baptized for Himself. He did it for us. Our personal baptism is symbolic of having died to sin and being born again, raised from death into righteousness and eternal life. Jesus did it all already. Walk with Him knowing the work is done. Reap the rewards of peace, joy, mercy, grace, and love and your Christian life will be one of freedom from sin and will become enjoyable and truly fulfilling. When people see you living that way they want to know how you can be so happy. Let Jesus live His life _through you and they will want what you have, the love of Christ Jesus.
Chelsea Miller
We are born again of incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23). Nothing you do after you get saved can change that. It's incorruptible. Done deal. Just look at David in Psalms 51, after his sin with Bathsheba, when he repents and asks the Lord to purge him and create in him a clean heart. He goes on to say in verse 17 that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart - that's what God is looking for, a change of heart. The word "repent" literally means "to turn," and that's all we have to do. There are many other scriptures regarding this, as we are all born with this Adamic nature that is screaming within us to sin (Romans 7:14 - Romans 8:1), but ultimately if we are truly pressing on in God, giving ourselves to the Word of God we should be growing more like Him and we should see the desire to sin diminishing in our lives (Titus 2:11-14). Psalms 119:9-11 - We cleanse ourselves by giving ourselves to His Word, hiding it in our hearts. That's what keeps us. And until we become like Him, He will always forgive you when you fall (1 John 1:9, Micah 7:8-9, Proverbs 24:16). He is the "author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 1-2). Even if you make your bed in hell, He is there (Psalms 139:8), because He can't deny Himself that lives within you (2 Timothy 2:13). So be encouraged! He is a merciful God!
Danny Hickman
Supporter
Many believers speak of sinning as something we "do." People, saved or not, are sinners before we are ever capable of "doing" anything. "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). This verse not only applies to David, but to every person born of a woman, impregnated by the seed of a man. Jesus was born of a woman, but not by the seed of a man, so He is the only exception (Luke 1:35). I'm not advocating a casual concern for our sin problem. I want to remind believers, and inform skeptics and doubters, of the grace that God HAS PROVIDED for them who recognize our helplessness and cries out to Him for help. There is no other way to receive forgiveness. "For by grace are you saved through FAITH"; (believing in His plan when it shows no sign of doing anything of value, makes no sense, etc., Eph 2:8a). You're not forgiven FOR what you do, but OF who you WERE, a sinner. After forgiveness is granted our status is changed from sinner to saint, but that 's the extent of the difference. We harm the gospel (the good news of salvation by the grace of God), when we put "stop sinning" in the conversation. It's like requiring a bird to rid itself of feathers and remain a bird. And the suggestion to buckle down and try harder to not sin is even more confusing. How much cutting back on wrongdoing is enough? The law of the Spirit of life has set you FREE IN CHRIST JESUS from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2). What does this scripture mean, that you're free to sin all you want? Of course not! (Rom 6:1). The story of the three Hebrew boys thrown into a fiery furnace depicts the way we are protected from the power of sin that Paul says is always present in our lives (Rom 7:21-23). The fire had no effect on the boys although the fire hadn't lost it's natural power. We know that to be true because we're told the men who threw them into the furnace were consumed by the heat of a furnace that had been turned up seven times its normal decibel. (The wages of sin is death, the natural result of sin, the power on display when sin is allowed to complete its work. But the gift of God is eternal life THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD). The men were consumed by the fire because they were not shielded by the Lord. The Hebrew boys were shielded because of their faith that if God chose to save them from the fire he was able to do so. But if He chose not to it wouldn't change their decision to remain faithful only to Him, and to refrain from worshipping the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up (Dan 3:17,18). They were released from the furnace after the king saw the salvation available to them that place their trust in the Lord, not in their own ability to negotiate with the enemy. Afterwards they were promoted to a higher position, (sainthood for new covenant believers) but they were still captives in Babylon; they weren't physically set free to go to Jerusalem, the land of their inheritance. It didn't take long for the enemy to try a new tactic. He forbade prayer, real prayer. Daniel, the boys fellow Hebrew, protested. He was thrown into a lion's den. The Lord rewarded his faith by shutting the lions' mouths (Dan 6). Sin never goes away, it challenges us for the entirety of our earthly lives. God fixed it. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). It is finished (John 19:30). Will you be forgiven? No. If you're a believer in the sacrifice completed at the cross at Calvary, you were forgiven before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4, Rom 8:29). When we pray for forgiveness of our sins we are confessing our knowledge of our sinfulness, not itemizing our account the way we file our income taxes, being careful to list everything. We're telling our Lord we are repentant of our sinful condition. We ARE forgiven, that's WHO we are, not WHAT we are. Thank God for His amazing grace. Now, abstain from sin.
Mark Vestal
God is no longer imputing sin to anyone today (2 Corinthians 5:19). Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). All our sins, past, present, and future, were nailed to the cross so that we are no longer burdened with the anguish of being unable to live up to God's requirements. Jesus Christ was perfect on our behalf, and God was in Christ on the cross reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). Our job is to reconcile ourselves to God through faith in Jesus Christ and His finished cross work on our behalf, believing the gospel that saves today: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" When we believe this, we are sealed with the holy Spirit until the day of redemption, and thankfully not just until we sin again (Ephesians 4:30)…which we will most likely do as humans (Romans 7:22-25) KJV. Our faith in Jesus Christ makes us the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)! The Spirit can now work effectually through us as we have finally removed the focus of ourselves and our iniquities and placed our focus on Jesus Christ and the cross (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Turning from sin will not get our sins forgiven. Confessing our sins will not get our sins forgiven. Water baptism will not get our sins forgiven. Humbly asking for forgiveness will not get our sins forgiven. Crying a scalding hot bucket of tears and begging God to forgive us will not get our sins forgiven. Our sins were forgiven nearly 2,000 years ago (Colossians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 5:19), and salvation occurs at the moment of belief in this, the gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13). Nothing that we ourselves do in the flesh can assist in what Christ completed for us (Ephesians 2:8-9, Colossians 2:10). It's literally how we accept Jesus Christ as our savior from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4). We can’t save ourselves by doing anything other than having faith in Christ. Repentance, from the Greek word μετανοέω, means to "change your mind". Israel had to change their mind on who Jesus Christ was, their promised Messiah, and be baptized. We today are saved by God's grace through our faith in what Jesus Christ did on the cross on our behalf (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and nothing of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9). We, as saved members of the church, the body of Christ, should absolutely change our minds on living a life of continued sin. Will we sin again as saved members? Yes, but our goal is to no longer serve sin, as our understanding of who we are in Christ becomes clearer during our walk in faith. Break the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1) and live in peace by accepting God’s free gift (Romans 5:18) through faith in what Christ accomplished on the cross for you (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). You've been blessed with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3), as believers instantly become members of the church, which is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:24).
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