How many times do I need forgiveness

No, you should ask for forgiveness each time you sin, but if you're really repentant, you won't do it again. repentance is a 180 degree turn.

What if you accidentally miss a sin and don't ask for forgiveness for it?

i don't think so, yes, sometimes we don't even realise that we sin, but we will, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
and don't we also ask for forgiveness before the Holy Communion? that would wipe us clean.

yep, and also:

1 Corinthians 11:27-29

Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself.

The Bible idicates that we all sin many times. I personally think it's a good Idea at the end of every day to ask God for forgivness for any sins we may have commited some while being unaware of them. This demonstrates to God a humble attitude and a recognition of our imperfect state.

Yes I can guarentee you this truth, if you sin and come with a sincere heart asking for forgiveness, you will indeed recieve it. However if you repeatedly commit the same sin and do not have a sincere heart when you repent, you might as well not repent at all. Now sometimes we don't notice our sins, because we have become complacent. How horrible it will be for those who think they are at a good point in their walk. No one has the right to say "well done" accept for our Lord Jesus Christ. Just remember for all who have sinned have fallen short of the glory of God.

With that logic we should all be able to run around killing people. It just doesn't work that way. Jesus died for your sins so through repentance you wouldn't be held accountable for them. However if you do not repent, then the sin remains on your heart and you will join Satan with them.

No no no. We are totally forgiven for the things we have already done. You can't be forgiven for something you haven't done, correct? So when you accept Christ into your life the first time, your forgiven for everything you've done up until that point. Any sin after that still requires repentance.

And people go back to sin because its all they know. When Peter lost Jesus, he realized how badly he messed up (deniying Him 3 times), so not knowing what to do, he went back to what he was familiar with, fishing. In our case, we usually return to a sin.

what is to be forgiven, sin. But how do we get forgiveness? by believing in Him and repenting our sins. If we sinned yet we did not repent, there's no way that God has forgiven us.

[For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
For what I am doing, I do not understand;
for I am not practicing what I would like to do,
but I am doing the very thing I hate.
But if I do the very thing I do not want to do,
I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwellsin me.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is ot.
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
I find then the principle that evil is peresent in me, the one who wants to do good.
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
But I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which in in my members.
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself, with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:14-25

I have alot more to come.

Paul said this to Cephas "If you , being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
We are jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;
nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we oursevles have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. Galatians 2:14-21

God knows what is in our hearts, and what we shall ask of Him before we even ask Him. When we pray and ask forgiveness, it should be with meekness, humbleness and sincerity. Remember we are told to love God with all our heart and all our soul.
Now, when you KNOW the commandments, and break them, and ask forgiveness, and break them again, and ask forgiveness, and break them again...no, you won't be forgiven.

Hebrews 10:26

*FOR IF WE SIN WILFULLY AFTER THAT WE HAVE RECIEVED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, THERE REMAINETH NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS.

Thats why it is important to have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. He will guide you to all truth and understanding. He will help you when you feel weak, or when you feel overwhelmed.
Notice that when the Holy Spirit is within you, you can sin no more. But you have to ASK for him to come to you. That is why he is called the Comforter. And he (the holy spirit) will bless you with gifts: faith, miracles, prophecy, wisdom, the word of knowledge, to speak in tongues.
There is diversity among the gifts, but they work together under God. The book of Corinthians further explains this.

The disciples tell us to seek what is above; to go after righteousness, and charity (for it covers a multitude of sin). There is forgivenss with Jesus Christ, yes. But be wise in knowing that the works that you do on earth, will be counted great in heaven. Don't be caught up in the belief that it is okay to sin a little, because it's not.

Remember the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her hair.

He said that she sinned (much), but was forgiven (much) because she LOVED (much). And he said: go and sin no more. From that point onward, she was cleansed of her past.

She humbled herself before Him. She wept as a child before a father. And who is our Father, but God in heaven? And when we see Him as our Father/our Creator, when we <surrender> our hearts to Him, we become his children. That is why Jesus explained that a child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Because a child will love their parent unconditionally; with innocence, and trust, and believing, and love.
That is how God wants us to have a relationship with Him.

And when we give our hearts over to Him, we sin no more. We walk in his light.

Hope this helps,
Wildfire

Originally posted by Help-me-learn
Does this mean that we have been forgiven once and for all, and do not need to continue to keep asking each time we sin?

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I don't know if you are still following this thread but I'd like to offer some insight that God has given me through two months we have been studying this very topic (forgiveness) in my church.

First, we can only sin against God.&nbsp; That is not to say that our actions only affect God.&nbsp; On the contrary, our actions affect those around us.&nbsp; But, with regard to sinning, it is only against God.&nbsp; The reason for this is because of what sin is.&nbsp; Sin is a transgression against God's Law.&nbsp; While it's true that the propitiation of Christ's substitutionary death paid the penalty for our sins with regard to salvation we will continue to sin as long as we are bound in these mortal vessels.

The righteousness of Christ was imputed (credited) to us.&nbsp;&nbsp;We were&nbsp;not, however, inculcated (infused) with His righteousness.&nbsp; This is borne out in our daily lives but the undeniable fact that all people, saved or unsaved, occasionally sin.&nbsp; God, in His infinite wisdom, deemed it beneficial to our spiritual growth and maturity to leave within us the ability to continue to transgress His Law.&nbsp;

The reason for this is not so difficult to understand, though it is, at times, definitely frustrating.&nbsp; It is that very resistance that we experience due to our continued sinfulness, much as weight lifting does for the muscles of a bodybuilder, that increases our faith and faithfulness in our Savior.

As to our act of asking for forgiveness we must look at this from a godly perspective.&nbsp; Suppose someone gets angry with you and responds to that emotion in an ungodly way, like yelling at you.&nbsp; They might later feel a conviction for that sin.&nbsp; You as the one that was affected by that behavior are to consider that offense from a biblical perspective.&nbsp; First, you should understand that their offense/transgression/sin was against God, not you.&nbsp; Your first desire should&nbsp;be to see them restored.&nbsp; If it's not, if your first desire isn't for their best and to see them blessed in this struggle then you are not being obedient to God&nbsp;yourself, that is to "love your neighbor as you love yourself."&nbsp; Secondly, forgiveness is NOT an action that we have the power, or are in the position, to perform, at least not in the salvitic sense.&nbsp; If that person is saved, that offense was forgiven.&nbsp; You, as a child of God are commanded to live in a state of forgiveness.&nbsp; That is, understanding that the sin committed by another is already forgiven by Him that forgives and additionally, probably is something you, yourself, have had to asked for forgiveness for.&nbsp; For us, those that have been forgiven so much (see Matt 18:21-35), "giving forgiveness" just means that we will not hold that offense against the person.&nbsp; It does not mean we forget it ever happened.&nbsp; The biblical perspective of forgiveness for us is a lot easier to understand if we think of how we relate to our children when they commit an offense against the laws of our house.&nbsp; We don't disown them.&nbsp; We don't hold the offense against them forever, or even until they say they're sorry.&nbsp; We forgive them, period.&nbsp; Or, at least, we should. &nbsp; The actions we take are predicated by our desire for the best for them, even if that is something that they don't consider desireable, such as a spanking.&nbsp; Personally, I "forgive" my children long before they come and ask for forgiveness.&nbsp; It is that very willingness to forgive my children unconditionally that allows me to deal with the punishment aspect of parenting in a godly way.

So, a direct answer to your question is impossible unless I define who you are asking for forgiveness.&nbsp; If you are referring to God as the recipient of our plea for forgiveness I would say that you need to ask God to forgive you every single time you commit a sin against His Law.&nbsp; This is not for salvitic purposes, rather a desire to be sanctified and conformed to the image of His Son, much as a young child might desire to "be like" mommy or daddy.&nbsp; If the recipient of your plea be the one/s that were affected by your sinfulness, my answer would be, once again, every time you are aware that this is the case.&nbsp; Again, this is not for the purpose of retaining, or re-attaining, your salvation.&nbsp; Rather it is due to your desire to restore your relationship with the offended party and offer an apology for them being affected by your self-centeredness.

I hope this helps,

God bless.

Reformationist:

Very well explained. I appreciate the hard work that went into that.

One question. In the Lords prayer, where we ask that God forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Does this mean that our forgivness is conditional on our forgiving others?

Regards,

LB

Originally posted by LightBearer
Reformationist:

Very well explained. I appreciate the hard work that went into that.

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Thanks.&nbsp; That's nice of you to say.

One question. In the Lords prayer, where we ask that God forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Does this mean that our forgivness is conditional on our forgiving others?

Regards,

LB

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If we read the "Lord's Prayer" you will note that, though it is contrary to common belief on repentence, those we are commanded to "forgive," again, see above for what this action means for us, are not even mentioned having come to seek forgiveness.&nbsp; We are imploring our Heavenly Father to forgive us "as we forgive our debtors," which is right away, without condition.

As to your question, our forgiveness in a salvitic sense is not in question here.&nbsp; If I am saved I have been&nbsp;forgiven.&nbsp; I won't be unforgiven.&nbsp; However, if we are disobedient to God's Word and deal with others in an "unforgiving" manner then we are not "loving our neighbor as we love ourselves."&nbsp; Thus, we have fallen into sin.&nbsp; We are not once again salvitically separated from God.&nbsp; However, as you probably know, our relationship with Him suffers.&nbsp; Glory be to God that He will bring about our repentence and our being conformed even in spite of our occasionally being disobedient.&nbsp; In fact, He uses that disobedience, and the disobedience of others, to teach us valuable lessons, like patience, longsuffering, love, compassion, etc.

God bless.