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Bible Study Discussions with Gary Panell

Question: If I have been 'saved' or 'born again' in the sense that I have prayed to God and received Jesus into my life and heart and for the most part lived a 'Christian' life, but have later given in to willful sin, is there no hope of salvation now, when I feel the most shame and sadness?  Or if I truly repent from this day forward, can I once again have salvation restored?  And if that's possible, how would I go about it?

Answer: First, if we have a conviction of sin it means that God is dealing with us, drawing us back to Himself.  A person who is so hardened that they could not be saved would not be convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit.  So the very fact that a person is being convicted of sin shows they can still repent.

Look at I John 1:9 where it says:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Notice it says from "all" unrighteousness.  There was King David in the O.T. who committed adultry, lied, and murdered, but he was forgiven when he repented.  Look at Psalm 51 for his confession to God.  Then there is Moses who murdered, and he was forgiven.  Both of these men went on to do great things for God later after these events were confessed and forsaken.

Look also at I John 1:10-2:1.  Here we see Jesus is praying for us at God the Father's right hand.  All of I John is good because it is written to Christians.  Although we don't practice sin, the term in English means commit sin and also "practice sin", however we confess our sin and move on.  It is like a child in the family, they may sin against the father or mother, but they are not kicked out of the family.

Also, you asked "what should I do?"  I would read Revelation 3:4 & 19-22 and Romans 8:38-39.  Then pray something like what David prayed in Psalm 51.

Gary Panell

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