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 asked God to forgive me for my sins, and wash me in the blood of Jesus to cleanse myself. I’ve also made the commitment of no sex until marriage, and it’s been almost a year. I want to go get tested but the guilt of now knowing I was wrong is kind of scaring me and I’m afraid. I’ve asked God to cleanse my body and take away this fear because I know that’s what the devil feeds off of. Does fear cancel out God’s healing? Or is it because I do not have enough faith to realize God has already answered my prayers and knows my heart?<\/p>\n
I have a Bible app on my phone and sends me random scriptures every day. Today I got this one. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (II Corinthians 7:10). Does it relate in any way?<\/p>\n\t
It is good to hear that you’ve made steps in the right direction and are sticking to your commitment. I pray that you continue to examine yourself and make changes to draw closer to God. “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified<\/em>” (II Corinthians 13:5).<\/p>\n When Paul stated, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 6:9-11), the phrase “but you were washed” refers to the fact that they had been baptized. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord<\/em>” (Acts 22:16). It is a shame that so many denominations ignore the command to be baptized, especially seeing as it is baptism that enters a person into the covenant with Christ and is what makes a believer a Christian. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses<\/em>” (Colossians 2:11-13). Take a look at “What Must I Do to be Saved?<\/a>” for more on this topic.<\/p>\n\n As Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick<\/em>” (Mark 2:17). Your past sins put you at risk of some fairly severe diseases. You left those ways, so you do what you can (see a doctor and if necessary take any medication prescribed), and leave the rest in God’s hands. Nothing you or anyone else can do will stop what God wants to be done. However, if you don’t really believe God will handle what you can’t, then why ask? And from God’s viewpoint, why grant an answer? “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways<\/em>” (James 1:6-8). Doing what you can is not an expression of doubt.<\/p>\n Repentance is a two-fold idea. It means you changed your mind about your sins and that you’ve changed your behavior. So repentance is what you did when you realized you were in sin. You didn’t make excuses, you changed. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter<\/em>” (II Corinthians 7:10-11).<\/p>\n Along with that you acknowledge you were wrong to God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness<\/em>” (I John 1:9).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[49,1572,645,1510,50],"class_list":["post-36977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-faith","tag-fornication","tag-medication","tag-prayers","tag-repentance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31799,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-committed-fornication-today-how-do-i-cleanse-myself\/","url_meta":{"origin":36977,"position":0},"title":"I committed fornication today. How do I cleanse myself?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am very sorry for my sins today. I just committed fornication this afternoon and my conscience has been pricking me and I don't know what to do. I am afraid if I cannot live to forget this. I am very sorry. What do I do now to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43260,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-god-punish-me-for-my-fornication\/","url_meta":{"origin":36977,"position":1},"title":"Will God punish me for my fornication?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've recently committed an act of fornication. I disobeyed my morals severely. I've prayed to God, admitted my sins, in hope for His forgiveness and restoration of faith within me. I feel used and worthless and certainly unworthy of God's love and of marriage in the future. I always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37764,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-asked-for-forgiveness-for-my-fornication-but-today-i-did-it-again-im-not-convinced-god-will-forgive-me-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":36977,"position":2},"title":"I’ve asked for forgiveness for my fornication, but today I did it again. I’m not convinced God will forgive me again","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Calvary greetings to you, sir. I have been indulging in sexual sin (fornication) for a while. I am engaged, and I still have sexual affairs with my close female friend. I reported it to my pastor just because I don't want to indulge in such sin again. I've asked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-find-myself-repeatedly-committing-fornication-when-i-know-it-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":36977,"position":3},"title":"I find myself repeatedly committing fornication when I know it is wrong","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a baptized member of the church of Christ. I am in need of your advice. I am 25 years of age. I have been in a relationship for some months. Within a few months, we engaged in sinful physical activities (sex) afterward I felt bad. In each\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-decided-to-stop-having-sex-with-the-man-ive-been-living-with-for-nearly-15-years-is-that-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":36977,"position":4},"title":"I decided to stop having sex with the man I’ve been living with for nearly 15 years. Is that wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been with my boyfriend for nearly fifteen years. We live together and have a preteen child. It's a new year and I decided not to have sex with him until he asks me to marry him. Is that wrong? Is it wrong to sleep in the bed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82796,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-marry-or-separate\/","url_meta":{"origin":36977,"position":5},"title":"Should we marry or separate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello minister, I write this with great desperation and anguish. About four years ago, I met my boyfriend. We started very well. He was very submissive to God, too, but it got to a point where we slowly fell into fornication. 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