Posts Tagged ‘repentance’
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…
Read MoreLife has been hard the last few years. How do I keep from slipping further into sin?
Question: Hello, I’m 23 years old. The last few years of my life have been the hardest ones to date. I have lost my mother to cancer and my grandfather died too, both Christian. But my question is: How can I get back on track as a Christian myself? Due to the grief, I felt…
Read MoreWhy 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…
Read MoreShould I admit I lied about seeing another guy while with my boyfriend?
Question: I was only dating the guy I am engaged to now and had developed feelings for another guy I met in college. I could never pinpoint the reason why we met, but he liked me too, even though I was (and still am) madly in love with my boyfriend. The college guy and I…
Read MoreI left God and have not been a faithful wife. How do I get baptized?
Question: I have known about God all my life. I used to go to church with my parents. It has been a long time since I have been to church. I forgot about Him for a while; I lost faith and stopped praying. I got married two years ago. A couple of weeks ago I…
Read MoreDoes 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…
Read MoreIs 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…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreWhen 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…
Read MoreSince I blamed God for my miserable childhood and left God, is it possible to return and be saved?
Question: I’ve had a lot of anger toward God. When I was a child I was molested by a family member who lived in our house. My father was an alcoholic (he got help when I was in high school) who would abuse my mother, threaten to kill her and try to kill my mother…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreHow do I repent of adultery when I don’t feel sorry for doing it?
Question: I have been married for 20 years. It has not been an easy marriage in many respects, but after reading a lot of the questions and problems of other people on your web site, I realize that it could have been much worse. Anyway, I will not go into all of the problems of…
Read MoreI want to repent and change my future, so should I dump my boyfriend?
Question: I came to the United States when I was 14 years old. I used to be Baptist until we came to Utah and my parents converted to the LDS church. I’m currently not an active member of the LDS church. When I turned 18, I started dating a young man. We stayed boyfriend and…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreNo 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…
Read MoreAm I not able to get pregnant because I didn’t tell my husband about my adultery years ago?
Question: Hi Jeff, Stumbling on your website was nothing short of a miracle. I’ve been searching for the same set of questions over the years, but I’ve never seen your website. I’ve lost all the sense of peace I have in this world. I am heavily burdened; I can actually almost touch the burden. I…
Read MoreCan 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…
Read MoreI’ve improved since I fell into fornication, but how do I make sure it doesn’t happen again?
Question: I would like to seek your advice on some personal issues. I have been able to overcome some of them in recent months, but I still have some and I decided this should come first. About four years ago I attended college in my state. I am really likable, so I have so many…
Read MoreI behaved so badly with my former girlfriend that I think I should remain single for the rest of my life
Question: Dear Minister, Recently I broke up with my girlfriend, but now I am experiencing guilt because I engaged in sexual activity with my ex. We did a lot, except penetrative sex, such as hand jobs, oral, and sexting. Now I feel like I should remain single my whole life because I believe whoever God…
Read MoreI messed up with sex. I know it is wrong, but how do I change the situation?
Question: Hi there, I’ve come across your site and read a few articles on what you’ve been writing on with regards to sex outside marriage and all. I have a little problem and I would like to discuss it with you. I’ve been dating my girlfriend for almost about half a year now. I take…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreNow 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…
Read MoreCan 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,…
Read MoreWhy 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…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreWhen 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,…
Read MoreI’ll spend my youth enjoying sin and then turn to God when I am old
Question: Hello, I have been reading your website for a few days when someone introduced me to it. I read the below Question & Answer for: I am old and have been away from the Lord for a long time. Can I ever reach heaven now? I have always wondered about this for a long, long…
Read MoreI am old and have been away from the Lord for a long time. Can I ever reach heaven now?
Question: Hello, I am troubled and need advice. I am in my late seventies. I want to go to heaven when I die, but due to my past, I am not sure this will happen. I was raised and baptized in the church. I have always believed that God and Jesus were real but during…
Read MoreWhat if you didn’t know something was sinful before you were baptized?
Question: Hello, I have been baptized recently and but my mom has not yet. I have been trying to encourage her to get baptized and she has said that she wants to be baptized soon. However, I recently read some things on your website about repenting before being baptized that make me wonder if this…
Read MoreHow can we be given grace without repentance?
Question: What does this mean? Does this mean that we are giving grace without repentance? I’m looking at a church and I looked up their beliefs, this was one of them. “That God has given us all a measure of grace according to our gifts: Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of us grace was given…
Read MoreTerms of Membership
by Irven Lee Truth Magazine – January 3, 1980 The Lord built His church and paid for it with His blood. He is its head and has all authority in it. It is not my church, your church, or our church. It is not ours to plan its mission or work, nor do we enter it…
Read MoreDoes a former homosexual have to marry a woman to prove he is no longer a homosexual?
Question: I have heard you say that homosexuality is not genetic and that the behavior can be changed. Does this mean I must become a heterosexual and prove it by getting married to a woman before God will let me into heaven? Answer: No. Marriage is not required of anyone. It is only required if…
Read MoreI ruined my reputation, and now I can’t move past it. What am I to do?
Question: Six years ago I ruined my reputation and many burned bridges; irreparable damage. To this day I haven’t forgiven myself and neither have those who I’ve offended and hurt. No one will accept my apology; no one. The gossip has gotten so bad, that I’ve relocated several times in order to start fresh and…
Read MoreI am no longer committing sexual sins, but should I get myself checked or just trust God to answer my prayers?
Question: I was one of those Christians that if you were to ask me if I died today would I go to heaven, I would say yes. But I was still in fornication, drinking, etc. And I would of went to hell thinking I was living right. I’ve let go of all of that and…
Read MoreDoes a person have to repent before you can forgive him?
Question: In Luke 17:3 we are told to forgive if repentance takes place and in Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you,” but in Mark 11:25 Christ says “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who…
Read MoreI was serving the Lord until recently when I slept with a girl. Now I feel trapped in sin. How do I stop this?
Question: I do not know where to start with this, but I am a born-again Christian. I have been serving the Lord for five years until I slept with a girl recently. I am not married to her. We are just girlfriend and boyfriend. This is not right. I feel like I am trapped because…
Read MoreI haven’t been living the life of a Christian and now I don’t know if Jesus will accept me back
Question: Praise the Lord! I am 25 years old and hail from a Christian family. I knew and understood the Lord Jesus Christ with his spirit from the age of 16. After three years of proper confession and sanctification, baptism was given to me. It is not that I was leading my life as per…
Read MoreWhat would you say to a young teenager who committed fornication and who came out for altar call?
Question: What would you say to a young teenager who committed fornication and who came out for altar call? Answer: There is no “altar call” in the Bible. But if a young person wished to become a Christian and was willing to give up his sins, then that is just what becoming a Christian is…
Read MoreI decided to be baptized, but I’m not getting married for two years and we’re having sex. Can I ask for forgiveness after we get married?
Question: I have decided I will be getting baptized this Sunday. I have been very conflicted lately because my fiance and I have decided to be intimate, but I know it is a sin before marriage. I keep having these thoughts that if I repent once we are married everything will be okay, but that…
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