{"id":52043,"date":"2017-11-24T20:56:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T02:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=52043"},"modified":"2022-08-14T20:58:34","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T01:58:34","slug":"can-i-be-forgiven-for-denying-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-be-forgiven-for-denying-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I be forgiven for denying Christ?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I’m currently 13 years old, but when I was 12. I would tell my grandmother “I don’t believe in God” deliberately because I wanted to make her angry, since I was angry. I didn’t know it was bad to say that. I actually regret it so much that I’m about to cry writing this. But my question is: Am I going to hell for doing this, even though I asked God to forgive me? And would Matthew 10:33 refer to me?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Let’s be reasonable. You did know it was a bad thing to say, that is why you said it to make your grandmother angry. However, there are two things you don’t understand.<\/p>\n

Sins will keep you out of heaven if you\u00a0stay<\/em>\u00a0in them. Being a Christian is about changing into a better person. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes in life, but if you reject the mistakes and work to become a better person, God is willing to forgive you. See:\u00a0Are You Unforgivable?<\/a><\/p>\n

The second thing is that Jesus is talking about people who say they are Christians, but will not admit it in front of other people — particularly people who are pressuring them to deny Christ. What Jesus is saying is that we have to be committed to him no matter what happens.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I’m currently 13 years old, but when I was 12. I would tell my grandmother “I don’t believe in God” deliberately because I wanted to make her angry, since I was angry. I didn’t know it was bad to say that. I actually regret it so much that I’m about to cry writing this.…<\/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":[51,1571],"class_list":["post-52043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-confession","tag-forgiveness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-i-get-so-angry-at-my-boyfriend-all-the-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":52043,"position":0},"title":"Why do I get so angry at my boyfriend all the time?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why do I get so angry at my boyfriend all the time, he doesn't do anything negative? I feel as if I should control him. I can't stand him not listening to me. I know this is wrong.\u00a0How can I change? Answer: There isn't enough to go on, but\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":27601,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-ok-to-divorce-because-of-violence\/","url_meta":{"origin":52043,"position":1},"title":"Is it OK to divorce because of violence?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, My husband and I married less than a year ago. We are both young. Of course, when it happened I felt so happy and felt as if my life was complete, until recently. My husband and I get along for the most part, but the thing is when\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":24163,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-deal-with-an-easily-angered-father\/","url_meta":{"origin":52043,"position":2},"title":"How do you deal with an easily angered father?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How should a Christian deal with a person who is easily angered? Well, let me rephrase that -- how can a Christian deal with a very easily angered father, who is always speaking negatively about people, things, and me? Answer: I'm not certain how old you are, so let\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":3070,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-have-empathy-with-his-children-when-they-make-mistakes\/","url_meta":{"origin":52043,"position":3},"title":"Does God have empathy with His children when they make mistakes?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hey Mr. Jeffrey, Does God have empathy for His children if they make mistakes or if they're growing slowly, or does He just want us to be mature and not make any mistakes at all right off the bat? If a child of God desires to grow but allows\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":17911,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-i-make-god-angry-by-my-sins-before-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":52043,"position":4},"title":"Will I make God angry by my sins before marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There was a lady I was dating before I was born again. Both of our parents knew we were dating and they really supported it. Along the way, I was saved. Soon I took her to the church where I was attending and she was born again too. After\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":86622,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-i-dont-make-peace-with-someone-will-this-be-judged-on-judgment-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":52043,"position":5},"title":"If I don’t make peace with someone, will this be judged on Judgment Day?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The passage that I'm concerned about is Matthew 5:25-26. Is this saying that if I don't make peace with someone I have hurt, the situation will be judged in court on judgment day? I am trying my best to clarify what this passage means for me. 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