Can I be forgiven if I sin after I was baptized?
Question:
I was baptized a few months ago, and I turned myself into the name of the Lord. Everything has been going well. I feel alive and well again.
I've been talking to a very special girl (she is baptized as well). The other day I met up with her, and we ended up kissing, and touching each other -- no sexual intercourse, but we did kiss. I feel ashamed and scared of the Lord right now. I prayed today in my room with the Bible in my hand and asked Him to forgive me, and that I shall not do it again. Are we condemned? Is there something we can do to not feel so guilty? Will God forgive us even though we are baptized?
I do love her and I feel as if God put her in my life for a reason, but that does not take away the sin I've committed, nor does it give it an excuse for me to do that. I am ashamed and scared.
I am not too familiar with the Bible, as I got baptized through music. Music brought me to God and I am a proud musician of the Christian Church. I am trying to be more involved with the Bible.
Will God forgive those who have sinned after baptism? Is there a verse I can reference that states He will forgive those who have sinned after baptism? I am scared. I am afraid of His power and I understand our wrongdoing. I just want to feel at peace. If this was a lesson, then I'll learn. Can you please help me? I will do what it takes just so God forgives me and gives me the power not to sin again.
Please help. Please help me answer all the questions I've asked. I'm really scared right now.
Answer:
Just so you know where I am coming from, the Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ broke away from the churches of Christ back in the late 1800s. The Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ wanted to add instrumental music to the worship like many of the denominations had begun doing. There were also disputes about the use of missionary societies, instead of the churches to send out preachers, as well as national conferences to determine the direction the churches would go. The Disciples of Christ took the most liberal approach, the Christian Church added many innovations, but not as many as the Disciples of Christ, and the churches of Christ stayed with the simple Gospel plan, rejecting all the innovations. As far as I know, the Christian Church still baptizes for the right reason. I just disagree with many of its practices.
"Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman" (I Corinthians 7:1).
By "touch" Paul is referring to sexual touching. Sexual touching leads to lewd behavior, which leads to fornication. If you don't want the destination, don't start down the path that leads to it. "Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house" (Proverbs 5:7-8).
What is too often overlooked is that it isn't just the destination that is wrong. The events along the way are equally wrong. "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:13-14).
The idea that sin can only be forgiven once is false. As Jesus taught us, "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him" (Luke 17:3-4). God doesn't expect us to do anything that He doesn't do Himself. God understands that we must contend with sin our entire lives and we won't always be successful. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 1:8 - 2:1). Along with admitting we were wrong, God also expects us to repent of our sins (II Corinthians 7:10-11). Repentance means both changing your mind about the acceptability of sin as well as changing your behavior.
Please note that I John was addressed to Christians. We ought not to sin, but all of us do stumble at times and for that reason, there is a way back into the grace of God.
