Do I have to fix every sin I have done in the past?

Question: My question is on sin consciousness. I was a strong believer. I grew in the word and in my gift as a prophet. However, due to immorality, I fell. I had been trying to get back. Ever since I fell, it has been an up and down situation. After moving to a new country…

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What sends you to hell?

Question: My question is: What sends you to hell? I know that’s a dumb question, but I’ve heard so many different things. I believe in Jesus and that he can save me, but I always have this doubt. I feel Satan has put it there because I’ve never doubted the Lord before. I can’t get…

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Is restitution necessary for salvation?

Question: I am writing to you asking for your guidance. I am a believer of Christ, but am in a dark spiritual place. I do not understand the biblical concept or requirements of restitution fully. Clearly, Zacchaeus made restitution for the sins he committed and was saved. But is restitution required for salvation or repentance?…

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I can’t bring myself to stop fornicating

Question: Hello, I have a difficult situation that I blame myself for. I have two children out of wedlock by two different men. I am very ashamed; however, I love my children. I got saved a year ago and just got baptized last week. Anyway, to make a long story short, I have stopped fornicating…

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Are willful sins irremissible?

Question: Hello, I repented wholeheartedly and believed that I would never (willfully) sin again.  I was determined to not sin.  I was overjoyed to be baptized for the forgiveness of my sins because I knew what Jesus went through to make it possible, and I thought that surely I would never turn my back and…

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I fear I’m becoming a lukewarm Christian

Question: I have been a Christian for about five years now. Recently I have found myself becoming a slave to sin instead of a slave to Christ. I don’t like to talk about my emotions and things, so instead of dealing with them, I choose to bottle them up until it finally feels like I…

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Why Do Some Depart?

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WhyDoSomeDepart.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 13:18-23   I.         When teaching someone about the gospel, it is hard not to invest a bit of yourself into the one you are trying to reach.             A.        You know the importance of being a Christian, and you care about the one you are teaching. If not, why spend the…

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Does fornication mean my salvation is lost permanently?

Question: Good evening, I was wondering if you could help me with a question that has been haunting me for some time. My current husband and I partook in premarital sex for about a year and a half before we finally got married. We were both Christians at the time but fell prey to our…

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Is repentance required before baptism?

Question: I do have a question: Acts 2:38 says repentance comes before baptism. So does that mean a baptism is invalid if there was no repenting prior to it? In my case, when I was baptized, I just believed what the preacher was saying about Jesus was true, and knew Jesus said we had to…

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I didn’t answer the altar call when I should have. Have I offended God?

Question: I think I messed up big time this past Sunday. During a song, my pastor stepped to the pulpit and gave an invitation to the lost. The Spirit moved so powerfully during the song that the preacher didn’t get to preach that morning. I’m saved, but during this invitation, God was convicting me to…

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When People Find No Place for Repentance

by Terry W. Benton If grace so freely covers all sin without repentance, why was Paul so concerned that he warned night and day with tears about people in the church teaching false doctrine? I have a hard time reading Paul’s warnings to Timothy and come away with the modern lackadaisical attitudes toward sin and…

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How do I repent of something I enjoyed?

Question: Hello, I’m a Christian and I am a praise and worship leader and a Sunday school teacher in my church. For a while, I have been struggling with my fiance to not have sex, even though we started before but not completing it. However, today we did have sex, and I don’t know how…

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How can I change my life around?

Question: How can I change my life around? It’s like everything is falling apart for me. I pray repeatedly, but I find myself doing the same sin over again – drinking, smoking cigarettes, looking at porn, lusting, cheating, and everything else that’s worldly. I don’t want to do any of these things anymore. I just…

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I deceived myself into thinking I was saved when I was lost

Question: Dear Minister, I have been in a state of utter despair for the past 1.5 years. I feel like I am in a horrific state of having rejected the gift of Jesus and now finding myself with no place for repentance. I had deceived myself into thinking that I was saved when I was…

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No one can live righteously, so am I lost?

Question: Hello, I want to love God with all my mind, heart, and soul. I respect God and by God, I mean YHWH, Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit. God is indeed good and has blessed me and my family much. I have been and am still living quite a sinful life. I recognize my sin…

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Can I really change after my past?

Question: Hi, I’ve been reading the questions and answers on your site recently. My problem, like a lot of other people, is about fornication and forgiveness. I’m in my mid-twenties, and every time I was involved in a relationship, I found myself becoming so dependent on the guy that I turned away from God and…

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How do I get past my sexual sins?

Question: I read your article about the girl who committed fornication. You provided a wonderful answer for her. I was also was raised in the church. I have walked away and came back so many times I have lost count. I have committed way too many sins to even start to number. I do not…

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Now that I realize I am in adultery, how do I fix the problem?

Question: Good morning, I’ve recently come across this site and have received much clarity through other readers’ questions. I personally have realized that I am an adulteress. I have married (my first marriage) a man who divorced his first wife. I know that the divorce was not due to any infidelity on her part, thus…

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Can I remain in my marriage and be forgiven?

Question: I have a question. About 20 years ago, I was married to a guy I had met, dated, and had sex with beforehand. After about two years of marriage, I was very unhappy and depressed. One day my husband at that time brought one of his co-workers home to give us an animal. Basically,…

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Why wasn’t Satan and his angels offered forgiveness?

Question: Hello, I just stumbled into your website. I have a question. God commands us to forgive and this I accept but my question is: Why did God not forgive Lucifer, the devil? We need to follow the examples of God. Is there a reason why God refused to forgive Lucifer and the other angels…

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How do I make restitution when I no longer know how much I stole?

Question: I led a sinful life before I became a Christian.  I’d like to ask you a question about restitution. I was a thief.  I shoplifted and stole from other people.  Now, Zacchaeus tried to restore the money to those he’d stolen from.  But is it a command to do so? For instance, before I…

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When I am Old, Then I’ll be Good

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WhenIAmOldThenIllBeGood.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 25:1-13   I.         In Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers we learn that salvation is available to all who will come to the Lord, no matter when it is done – Matthew 20:1-16             A.        Jesus in his mercy chooses to treat all alike.             B.        When an elderly man wrote to me,…

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