rosevs

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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.
 

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And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong?
Can you be more specific about what it is that you did? Some actions have consequences even when the sin, itself, has already been forgiven.
 
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S.O.J.I.A.

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I've done some horrible things to people that, while they were not criminal, were morally repugnant nonetheless. I think back on those deeds with great shame. I know that they were wrong and wouldn't dream of doing it again to anyone else.

repentance involves a changing of the mind, which leads to a change of deeds.
 
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ArmenianJohn

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You feel the guilt because you're guilty. I feel guilty and bad about the bad things I've done especially if I think about them. Before seeing your post, I was just thinking about someone I worked with who I was mean to and it made me feel bad that I did that. I thought about how that guy, if he thought about me today, would be more inclined to think "that guy was a jerk" than anything else about me. And while I was mean to him it wasn't a heavy, extremely hurtful kind of meanness - I mostly teased him or gave him a hard time. I doubt he's very "wounded" from what I did to him but at the same time I'm sure he wouldn't remember me more favorably than negatively. But still, I feel the guilt because I did it. Still, I feel bad for it.

I'm "saved", "born again", or however you call it or think about it - I'm forgiven by The Lord. But I'm still a human with a sin nature and with all human feelings including guilt so naturally, despite my forgiven state, I'm bound to feel guilty for those things I am guilty of doing.

My advice to you is to acknowledge and accept your guilt as being a real guilt for something you deserve to be feeling guilty for. That will not change. What you should ask the Lord for, being a born-again Christian, is for peace. He will not take away your guilt as your guilt is the just result of your actions. It's just a fact that you are guilty. However, He can and will give you peace.

It sounds like you aren't feeling that peace, which confuses me also because when you become a Christian you should become at peace. You should have the knowledge that your sins, which you are guilty of (and that won't change) are forgiven. Even though we are all guilty of our sin we are blessed and forgiven. We should be finding greater peace in that than the trouble we feel for our guilt.

Pray for God to show you that and comfort you with that peace. I think you're more bothered by the guilt because you feel you don't deserve the peace that He is willing and trying to give you. Well, you don't deserve it, but by His Grace you can and will get it if you just accept it.
 
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What you should ask the Lord for, being a born-again Christian, is for peace. He will not take away your guilt as your guilt is the just result of your actions. It's just a fact that you are guilty. However, He can and will give you peace.
That is generally true, but without knowing your specifics, we can't tell if there is more to your particular story.
 
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It was nothing like hurting anyone, arson, etc. It was a stupid thing we weren’t even thinking about doing while we were doing it.
It can't be as trivial as you say, if it is eating at you that much.
 
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rosevs

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Shoplifting. I was very young, younger than 15. After we were caught, I got rid of and gave away everything. At the time that’s all I knew what to do. It’s embarrassing to post about, so I did not want to. But that is what it was.
 
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The Holy Spirit may be convicting you to offer some kind of restitution. If it is within the statute of limitations, you may want to go through a lawyer. If it is not, you shouldn't be at legal risk, but I am not a legal professional.

That way, you get to apologize in person (and possibly get forgiven by that person) whether they accept your restitution or not.

This is how Jesus' conviction affected Zacchaeus in the Bible [see Luke 19:1-10].
 
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Tharseo

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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.

Feeling bad about sin in the past and feel sorrow is normal. It has nothing wrong.

2 Corinthians 7:10: "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death."

But you do not keep in your sorrow, for

Matthew 5:4: ""Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Have you experience the comfort from God? Walk in the Spirit everyday, and you will find assurance from the Spirit that you are truly children of God.

Romans 8:15-16: "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,"

Actually, have you thought of apologizing and repay the depts to the people you hurt? God speaks highly of those who repents in action.

Luke 19:8-9: "Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham."
 
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longwait

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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.

The devil condemns, God convicts.
 
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Strong in Him

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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.

You've paid the price, in law.
If you've asked God to forgive you; he has.
You've said that you never intend doing it again.
If you feel guilty, it may be because the devil is bringing it to your mind and trying to convince you to trust in FEELINGS and not in God's word. He is a liar and murderer from the beginning, John 8:44, and a thief who wants to spoil our relationship with God and steal our peace. If he can convince you that your, temporary, feelings of guilt are more important that what God says in 1 John 1:9 - job done.

You can't undo the past; that would involve going back in time. What you CAN do is use your experience, and testimony, to help others. What of these friends who were with you? Do they know that God forgives and gives second chances, or are they still committing crimes and think they are beyond help? What of the retailers you stole from; could you help them in their anti-shoplifting initiatives? If you are still a teenager and haven't yet thought of a career, how about law, or probation officer, or working with young offenders?

Thank God for his forgiveness and ask him how he wants to use the experience for good.
 
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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.

Here is some information I found on gotquestions.org that I think may be helpful.
How should a Christian deal with feelings of guilt regarding past sins, whether pre- or post-salvation?

Everyone has sinned, and one of the results of sin is guilt. We can be thankful for guilty feelings because they drive us to seek forgiveness. The moment a person turns from sin to Jesus Christ in faith, his sin is forgiven. Repentance is part of the faith that leads to salvation (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 3:19).

In Christ, even the most heinous sins are blotted out (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 for a list of some unrighteous acts that can be forgiven). Salvation is by grace, and grace forgives. After a person is saved, he will still sin, and when he does, God still promises forgiveness. “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).

Freedom from sin, however, does not always mean freedom from guilty feelings. Even when our sins are forgiven, we still remember them. Also, we have a spiritual enemy, called “the accuser of our brothers” (Revelation 12:10) who relentlessly reminds us of our failures, faults, and sins. When a Christian experiences feelings of guilt, he or she should do the following things:

1) Confess all known, previously unconfessed sin. In some cases, feelings of guilt are appropriate because confession is needed. Many times, we feel guilty because we are guilty! (See David’s description of guilt and its solution in Psalm 32:3-5.)

2) Ask the Lord to reveal any other sin that may need confessing. Have the courage to be completely open and honest before the Lord. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

3) Seek to make restitution, where possible, of the sins committed against others. Zacchaeus, in repenting of his sin, promised the Lord, “If I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). This is part of the “fruit in keeping with repentance” that John preached (Luke 3:9).

4) Trust the promise of God that He will forgive sin and remove guilt, based on the blood of Christ (1 John 1:9; Psalm 85:2; 86:5; Romans 8:1).

5) On occasions when guilty feelings arise over sins already confessed and forsaken, reject such feelings as false guilt. The Lord has been true to His promise to forgive. Read and meditate on Psalm 103:8-12.

6) Ask the Lord to rebuke Satan, your accuser, and ask the Lord to restore the joy that comes with freedom from guilt (Psalm 51:12).

Psalm 32 is a very profitable study. Although David had sinned terribly, he found freedom from both sin and guilty feelings. He dealt with the cause of guilt and the reality of forgiveness. Psalm 51 is another good passage to investigate. The emphasis here is confession of sin, as David pleads with God from a heart full of guilt and sorrow. Restoration and joy are the results.

Finally, if sin has been confessed, repented of, and forgiven, it is time to move on. Remember that we who have come to Christ have been made new creatures in Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Part of the “old” which has gone is the remembrance of past sins and the guilt they produced. Sadly, some Christians are prone to wallowing in memories of their former sinful lives, memories which should have been dead and buried long ago. This is pointless and runs counter to the victorious Christian life God wants for us. A wise saying is “If God has saved you out of a sewer, don’t dive back in and swim around.”
 
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longwait

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Shoplifting. I was very young, younger than 15. After we were caught, I got rid of and gave away everything. At the time that’s all I knew what to do. It’s embarrassing to post about, so I did not want to. But that is what it was.

So now you confessed your sins not only to the Lord but to us as well and have repented of it. That's good you know. Now go in peace. You were too young anyway. We all have done wierd things when we were young that we are not so proud of now. Only a rare few are mature from childhood itself.
 
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I think this is one of the more overlooked aspects of the Gospel and a relationship with Christ, but part of putting our faith in Him means that we also trust that His saving work on the cross for us sufficiently covered all of our sin--that God's wrath toward all of our sin was poured out on Christ. If you consider some biblical examples like David, he slept with another man's wife, got her pregnant, and then had her husband killed, and God calls David a man after His own heart. And you have Paul, who was notorious for killing and torturing Christians, and God chose him to become the greatest missionary of all-time and the man who would write half of the New Testament.

God has loved and pursued relationship with you knowing full well all of the sinful things that you would do throughout your life. He does not make mistakes, and His love for you has never wavered, even in the very moments that you were shoplifting. The beauty of the Gospel is that we can accept God's forgiveness, His love for us, and His acceptance of us knowing that we absolutely don't deserve it, and then use that amazing grace as a springboard toward glad and grateful obedience to Him. I really think the Christian life simply comes down to what Jesus told the woman caught in adultery: "Neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more." That is the simple beauty of the Gospel wrapped up in just a few words from Jesus.
 
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eleos1954

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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.

If you have sincerely confessed and repented to Jesus, He has forgiven you.

It is not unusual for satan to mess with someone in an effort to make a person question the forgiveness of Jesus. Not unusual at all.

Pray to Jesus and ask for peace regarding your doubts and for Him to renew your heart and mind in Him.

Experiencing guilt after one has sincerely confessed and repented, comes from the evil one.

Experiencing guilt before sincerely confessing and repenting may be the holy spirit leading one to Jesus to receive forgiveness.

God Bless.
 
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Dave-W

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Thank you. I have felt the peace. But I think this is the first time I’ve truly felt bad about what I did. When we got caught, I felt bad only because I finally got caught. Now, I know what I did was wrong in God’s eyes.
There is such a thing as godly sorrow. It is supposed to lead us to repent of wrong-doing. That means asking forgiveness, understanding it is wrong and changing what we do so we do not repeat the bad actions.
 
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thecolorsblend

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In the past, it's been three years now, and I was much much younger in maturity (I am still a teen), some friends and I committed a crime multiple times and finally got caught then paid the price; this was before I was born again. Now I am born again and the guilt is eating me away because of what we did and the fact that we did it multiple times before getting caught. Why do I not feel forgiven for what I did? Why do I feel so terrible? Is it the price I pay? Please help me. I certainly learned my lesson and would never do it again. Everyone I have asked told me that I was extremely young, stupid and that God forgave me. And I know he did, but why do I still feel so wrong? Thank you.
Notwithstanding that you seem to have paid your debt to society, you still did wrong. Suffering for the wrongdoing that we commit is a just punishment.
 
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