assurance?

You have to spend a lot of time with Him getting to know the kind of God He is, perfect, very merciful, compassionate, loving, kind. Psalm 136 says His mercy endures forever 26 times. He knows we can't get rid of our sins on our own, so since you're wanting to get rid of them I don't think He is probably mad at you. You need to seek Him to do it for you, you can't do it yourself. He knows that. You just need to figure out how to do that. You ask and believe and trust Him to deliver you Himself, with His strength and power. Go to the Scriptures and be completely honest about your sins and confess them to Him the way they really are, in light of the Scriptures. Let Him cleanse you with His blood. Keep telling Him you want Him to deliver you completely, that you want to walk with Him the way He wants you to. You must trust Him to do the whole work for you (Romans 4:5), it also says the just shall live by faith. You trust Him to do it. Also, the sins you do are sometimes things you do because it's what you did to cope with bad experiences that you had in your life. You have to have God explain the whole thing, have you talk to Him about those experiences, heal you from unforgiveness and lies you believe, about anything, about yourself, other people, about Him. If you had a difficult father or mother you might have a warped view of the Father. So you need Him to heal you from that too.

Here are some Scriptures:

Matthew 19:26 - with God all things are possible

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

the Lord Jesus Christ can deliver anyone from anything, just have faith that He can

Isaiah 53 - the whole chapter - meditate on what Jesus did for you, how unselfish He was, this will minister a lot about what He is like, how much love He had for us, who had nothing to give Him at all, but a bunch of sin and hatred

1 John 4:18-19 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

You have to know how much He loves you in order for you to love Him back the way He wants. Find out how much He loves you and you will love Him too. And we need to love Him in a way that we are unselfish toward Him the way He has been with us. We don't take advantage of His grace, that hurts Him. But He is the one who has to deliver us from even that.

John 13:2-17 - This is where Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, before dying on the cross for them. It gives a picture of how humble and kind He is, how good and loving He is. If you meditate on that a lot that will help.

Isaiah 55:1-3 - This talks about how God is what you need, not things or sin

Lifelong_sinner said:

hello all. i consider myself a calvinist, although i cant say if im truly saved. I repent often, but have such besetting sins. i believe calvinism because it convicts me daily as to how terrible a person i really am. but can a calvinist have assurance? i dont because of my habitual sins that i am literally unable to stop. this has caused me much grief and anxiety. i know God is not happy with me. At all. how can i improve my relationship with Him?

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Lifelong_sinner said:

i believe calvinism because it convicts me daily

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You do not need Calvinism to convict you that is the job of satan. If Calvinism is not serving your needs there are other denominations.

Good Day,

I do not think this is question related to Calvinism ( nick-name for the Gospel) but you may find this bit by DA Carson helpful.


Picture Two Jews the Day Before the First Passover

Lifelong_sinner said:

hello all. i consider myself a calvinist,

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OK so far....

Lifelong_sinner said:

although i cant say if im truly saved. I repent often,

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This might be just a small thing of terminology, I am not sure. Of course you are not saved by repetitiously repenting of sins. Certainly it is a good thing to repent of daily sins, but that does not get you to heaven. We are justified by faith alone. Am I understanding you right?

Lifelong_sinner said:

but have such besetting sins. i believe calvinism because it convicts me daily as to how terrible a person i really am.

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It is good to take your own sin seriously. I have no idea if your are committing crimes, or what you are referring to. I am not asking for you to spill your self on the internet, its a bad place to go for help. Is there a reformed pastor you can speak to? Be accountable to your pastor.

Lifelong_sinner said:

but can a calvinist have assurance? I dont because of my habitual sins that i am literally unable to stop. this has caused me much grief and anxiety. i know God is not happy with me. At all. how can i improve my relationship with Him?

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Well, if assurance is based upon on something inside me or inside you, we are both in trouble. It is easier for a Calvinist to have assurance because it is based in Christ.

"...we are not saved by believing in our own salvation, nor by believing anything whatsoever about ourselves. We are saved by what we believe about the Son of God and His righteousness. The gospel believed saves; not the believing in our own faith." Horatius Bonar

Lifelong_sinner said:

hello all. i consider myself a calvinist, although i cant say if im truly saved. I repent often, but have such besetting sins. i believe calvinism because it convicts me daily as to how terrible a person i really am. but can a calvinist have assurance? i dont because of my habitual sins that i am literally unable to stop. this has caused me much grief and anxiety. i know God is not happy with me. At all. how can i improve my relationship with Him?

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Just the fact that you're living a life of repentance is assurance.

Think about it. No Holy Spirit = no repentance and you live a life of sin and don't care.

Have the Holy Spirit = Life of Repentance. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit working in you. If you have the Holy Spirit you are guaranteed a child of God.

Like I told you before. Our righteousness isn't based on what we have done. It is based on what Christ has done on our behalf. Remember that. We are and never will be righteous until death. That is the truth. Salvation always has been and always will be by repentance + faith. Dont believe me, read the Bible.