Dear Jeffrey,<\/p>\n
When I was young, I had a lot of sexual encounters and never thought too much about my promiscuity. However, I am now older and have obeyed the Gospel, but I wonder from time to time whether I might have fathered a child. No one has ever come forward concerning this matter, but I can’t keep from wondering and worrying about it. If there is someone I am the father of and I don’t know about it, can I be forgiven by God, or am I doomed to hell because of this horrible sin I might have committed?<\/p>\n\t
Becoming a Christian requires, among other things repentance and baptism. “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” <\/em>” (Acts 2:38). Repentance is changing your mind about sin and changing your behavior (II Corinthians 7:10-11). That is something have done regarding your sexual sins. The goal is that someone meeting you today or in the future would never guess that you used to be promiscuous.<\/p>\n In repenting, we cannot undo the past, but we can take responsibility for what we did and try to minimize the damage as best we can, knowing that some things just cannot be corrected. You have no idea if you fathered any children, but you can resolve that if become aware of a child who is yours, that you won’t avoid taking responsibility. It means that before you get married, you need to tell your future wife that you had a bad past and you have no idea if that past will come back to haunt you. This way she won’t feel like she was caught off guard if it does come up. That is the best you can do for right now.<\/p>\n The sin wasn’t in possibly fathering children outside of marriage. The sins were in the lust, lewd behavior, and fornication that you were doing. If a pregnancy had occurred, it was just a side-effect of the fact that you were sinning.<\/p>\n When you were baptized all your past sins were done away with (Romans 6:3-7). You started a new life that doesn’t revolve around sin.<\/p>\n\t Thank you.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Dear Jeffrey, When I was young, I had a lot of sexual encounters and never thought too much about my promiscuity. However, I am now older and have obeyed the Gospel, but I wonder from time to time whether I might have fathered a child. No one has ever come forward concerning this matter,…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1571,1572],"class_list":["post-39641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-forgiveness","tag-fornication"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9757,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-tell-my-wife-that-when-i-was-young-i-might-have-fathered-a-child\/","url_meta":{"origin":39641,"position":0},"title":"Should I tell my wife that when I was young I might have fathered a child?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Nearly 30 years ago, I may have gotten my girlfriend at that time pregnant, and she gave birth to a child. I was young and ashamed and didn't want to have anything to do with her when I found out. Later on, I got married to another girlfriend,\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":4378,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-recently-found-out-my-boyfriend-fathered-a-child-in-high-school-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":39641,"position":1},"title":"I recently found out my boyfriend fathered a child in high school. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: God bless you, sir, for the amazing work you are doing. I have a challenge with my relationship, and I need counseling. I have dated my boyfriend for two years now, and I believe he loves me. He is always open with me, and he discusses his weaknesses with\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":19901,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-cain-fathered-by-satan\/","url_meta":{"origin":39641,"position":2},"title":"Was Cain fathered by Satan?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was told by a Sunday school teacher that Cain was fathered by Satan. I cannot find this in the Bible. Can you help me with the answer? Answer: \"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, \"I have acquired a man from\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":37253,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-had-the-most-children-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":39641,"position":3},"title":"Who had the most children in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who in the Bible had the most children? Since there was no form of birth control in the Bible days, the only way for women not to get pregnant is for the man to \"pull out\" (other than not having sex), but did any man fathered a child he\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":28292,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-my-husband-is-having-a-secret-affair-and-i-dont-know-how-to-deal-with-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":39641,"position":4},"title":"I think my husband is having a secret affair and I don’t know how to deal with it","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good Day, I have been married to my husband for less than ten years. We have several children together. My husband also has even more children from before we met. I chose to forgive and accept him as he indicated that he had grown from those mistakes and wanted\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":38646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-man-i-committed-adultery-with-is-trying-to-force-me-to-marry-him-what-should-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":39641,"position":5},"title":"The man I committed adultery with is trying to force me to marry him. What should I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a child whom I had with a man to whom I am not married. Actually, I'm still married to another man whom I left because of physical, and mental, and emotional abuse. My child's father has since been confirmed to the Catholic church. 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