I'm worried (not really worried, but the thought kinda just occurred to me, I guess) that my heart has hardened toward God. Many of you know that I dont know if I'm saved...well..I'm 99 percent sure I'm not for one reason or the other. The other day I made a ""commitment"" to God saying I want Christ in my life and I'll follow him. The very next day all of it went down the drain. Every morning I wake up I am full of thoughts of bitterness and cursing. I live for myself. I do "good things" but only for myself. I am full of hatred some days and others full of lust. I seem like a good person to most people but I know my heart is full of a lot of "junk"...( bitterness, hatred, selfishness, lust, etc) Does this mean God is done with me? Can I never be saved...? I'm worried because usually I have so much fear about my current state with God (not being saved) but lately I just dont seem to care....and I'm so caught up in myself.
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Has my heart hardened
- Thread starter coconut711
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2thePoint
Looking Up
Salvation means being reconciled with God. The way to be reconciled is by faith in the risen Jesus. If you come to God for any other reason than that you want to be with God forever, that might explain what's going on.
Think of what it means to reconcile with a person. You want to "patch things up" and be close to them. You want them in your life, to talk to and walk with. You want to please them. That's what salvation is all about between us and God. He wants us, not our stuff or our accomplishments. If we truly want him, all that other stuff will clear up as well.
Hope that helps.
Think of what it means to reconcile with a person. You want to "patch things up" and be close to them. You want them in your life, to talk to and walk with. You want to please them. That's what salvation is all about between us and God. He wants us, not our stuff or our accomplishments. If we truly want him, all that other stuff will clear up as well.
Hope that helps.
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Yes very true. You cant work for your salvation. It is faith in Christ alone. I feel like I'm so caught up with myself that I dont want the things of Christ and I use to be so scared about my eternal state and lately I havent thought twice of it. It's like taking a chance everyday I go without Christ. I'm sure it's only by His grace that he gives me another day (another chance to accept Him) What's if he's done with me? What's if He's decided he's gave me enough chances and now my heart is hardened?Salvation means being reconciled with God. The way to be reconciled is by faith in the risen Jesus. If you come to God for any other reason than that you want to be with God forever, that might explain what's going on.
Think of what it means to reconcile with a person. You want to "patch things up" and be close to them. You want them in your life, to talk to and walk with. You want to please them. That's what salvation is all about between us and God. He wants us, not our stuff or our accomplishments. If we truly want him, all that other stuff will clear up as well.
Hope that helps.
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2thePoint
Looking Up
It can be scary to walk up to God and say, "Do whatever you want with my life, I hold nothing back, I belong to you". But that's the key; he wants you. The fact that you're concerned is a good sign because if your heart was hard you wouldn't care. On the other hand, you can't expect to "think about it" the rest of your life, any more than you constantly worry about being disowned by parents or any other close relationship you might have. But you don't ignore them or go around irritating them either, right? Just remember it's a relationship, and that God loves us before we love him. He isn't Zeus who just hopes we'll mess up so he can zap us with lightning, but the One who loves us more than we can imagine. I can guarantee that he loves you and will bend over backwards to help you trust him. He isn't out to get you; he isn't an accountant or lawyer. He's never done with you!
Is there something you won't give up, or are afraid God will ask you to do? Someone or something you are afraid he might take away? Remember, he loves you and wants the best for you, and all he asks is for you to trust him.
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JSGuitarist
Παρα σοι ιλασμος εστιν
Dear sister, you are a far greater sinner than you think you are.
The problem is that you are trying to make yourself right before God. You're hoping that if you have just the right amount of repentance, the right kind, that God will take what you've given Him and then in turn grant you salvation. But that won't happen. There are many who come in thinking that all they need to do is say "I'm sorry for my sin," and then they can just walk in to the faith without any change at all, but that's not the angle you're coming from. You are actually coming in to this from the angle of legalism, and though you know that none are saved without repentance, you've fallen into the mistake of making repentance and faith a meritorious work--and when you find that you are still in your sins, you think it's because you haven't tried hard enough. But your repentance has just become self-righteousness.
But remaining sin is not a sign of being saved. 1 John 1:8 tells us, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." That's an apostle writing that, probably well advanced in years when he wrote it! Even Paul to the end of his days saw remaining sin in him that distressed him (Romans 7:14-25). There is a great difference in the attitude of a truly converted person from a false professor, but the presence of sin isn't a sign of being unconverted. I say that in case you may be holding yourself to a false standard.
You are not beyond the point of being saved. If you were, you would not be striving the way that you are right now.
Be encouraged though. There are many who have gone through far worse than you have, and yet they have come out saved. You have less to worry about than millions.
You do need to take your eyes off of your sin now and turn to look at Christ. You don't have a drop of good in you, and all that you contribute to your relationship with God is just your sin. Understand that salvation is entirely a merciful act. God has no reason to save you other than simple kindness and mercy. Christ knows your sin more than you do, but he's demanding no payment of you to be saved. Christ, and only Christ, does everything in salvation. Stop striving, because when He has done everything, there is nothing for you to do.
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SDBaptist
Puritan
You are a wretched vile son or daughter of Adam.
There is nothing good in sinful man.
Go to illbehonest. C O M and look at the Assurance videos.
Remember Hebrews 10:26-27.
Have faith and live for HIM!
Watch "You Must Overcome" by Don Jonson
It's all on that website.
Praying for you.
There is nothing good in sinful man.
Go to illbehonest. C O M and look at the Assurance videos.
Remember Hebrews 10:26-27.
Have faith and live for HIM!
Watch "You Must Overcome" by Don Jonson
It's all on that website.
Praying for you.
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a good thing is that you see your sin, that means you have been enlightened to your sin. This means that at least God is working on you. You see that you cannot fulfill his laws and are therefore in need of a savior. Keep praying to God that he will save you. He is clearly working in you.
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Skala
I'm a Saint. Not because of me, but because of Him
Friend, I was once told that the way to have assurance of salvation is not to try to be "better" or "more moral" or a "stronger Christian", but rather, to simply trust in Christ more and more. Trust in Him, and He will work in you to produce those fruits and take care of the rest.
In other words, though obedience is important, stop worrying so much about what you need to do for God, and ponder on what Christ has done for you. Contemplate the gospel message more and more. Throw all of your cares and trust on it. Christ lived and died to save you. He accomplished his task. He didn't fail in his mission. He said "It is accomplished". He is the Almighty Powerful Savior, He cannot fail.
Someone wise once said that the gospel message isn't just for evangelizing, but it also vitally important for our everyday Christian life. We need the gospel daily. It's not only what God used to save us, but it's what he uses to keep us, and grow us.
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If you are looking at how you feel or the frame of your heart, you will be miserable the rest of your life. We are told to set our eyes upon Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). Stop looking at how you feel and wondering if you are hardened or not. Look to Jesus instead; meditate on His character, his actions, etc....
I remember one day while waiting outside of class at school I was feeling wretched and depressed. I opened the scriptures and began to read Mark 1. I came across the part of Jesus and the Leper. As I began to meditate on the situation the Holy Spirit began to reveal Christ to me and it lifted me straight out of my terrible state into a state of joy, to the point I was holding back tears.
There is so much hope in Christ, even the worst of sinners that come to Him for help. If you feel cold and hard towards God, go to Christ, and tell Him. He will not cast you out. He won't be shocked with the things you tell Him for He already knows about the things you tell Him, much more than you do so even.
I know what it is like to be where you are at, at least in part. I can tell you that looking to yourself will not help you, but only lead you to distrust Christ even more and open a further door for Satan to come in and slander Him to you. As long as you look at yourself you will be bitter, wretched, blind, poor, naked, and just over all horrible.
10 looks to self and 1 look to Christ will leave you in despair. 10 looks at Christ and 1 look at self will lift you up high.
He is the fulfillment of the shadow of the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up.
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14-15
Salvation is found in trusting Christ and what He has done on the cross, not in whether you are feeling good or bad towards God.
I remember one day while waiting outside of class at school I was feeling wretched and depressed. I opened the scriptures and began to read Mark 1. I came across the part of Jesus and the Leper. As I began to meditate on the situation the Holy Spirit began to reveal Christ to me and it lifted me straight out of my terrible state into a state of joy, to the point I was holding back tears.
There is so much hope in Christ, even the worst of sinners that come to Him for help. If you feel cold and hard towards God, go to Christ, and tell Him. He will not cast you out. He won't be shocked with the things you tell Him for He already knows about the things you tell Him, much more than you do so even.
I know what it is like to be where you are at, at least in part. I can tell you that looking to yourself will not help you, but only lead you to distrust Christ even more and open a further door for Satan to come in and slander Him to you. As long as you look at yourself you will be bitter, wretched, blind, poor, naked, and just over all horrible.
10 looks to self and 1 look to Christ will leave you in despair. 10 looks at Christ and 1 look at self will lift you up high.
He is the fulfillment of the shadow of the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up.
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14-15
Salvation is found in trusting Christ and what He has done on the cross, not in whether you are feeling good or bad towards God.
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nomerhunks
Newbie
I don't think that your heart hardened but I think that you're losing faith in God. I said so because if you got faith in Him, you won't easily give up on those challenges. You may want to think it this way: God wouldn't give us challenges that we couldn't surpass or counqer. It is also a way strenghten our in Him.
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Being worried about this is not necessarily a bad sign. When I am in a spiritual low I tend to not care as much.
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savedfromdistruction
Regular Member
Asking Jesus into our hearts does not save us. We have to repent and come to faith. Repentance is not 50% or 75% or 99%. It is a turning to God. There is only one way to know so listen to these messaages and you will know.
http://www.gerald285.com/web_media/TrueChristianityJohnMacArthhur.wma
http://www.gerald285.com/web_media/BirthmarksofaBeliever.32.mp3
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