I need you guys :'(

[paul becke]

Of course I can't be sure, but from my knowledge of the Lord and of His written Word, in my opinion... I would say you are a Christian that has eternal life, and that God loves you very much. At the same time, you haven't grasped the truth of His eternal salvation for your self yet. You seem to have been confused by Calvinistic teaching on the doctrine of election. Your feelings of rejection are not from God's camp, but form the adversary. Satan has lost you for eternity, and is just working on making you miserable and ineffective for God in this life, and isn't even doing that good a job doing that. Distance yourself from the Calvinistic teaching and Calvinistic church you may be attending. Study the gospel of John, 1 John, and Galations and ask God to use these books to deliver you from your doubts, and to affirm His love for you. If you can, change the name flipflop to something more glorifying to God, like "Nothing wavering". James 1:6. Put the devil on notice. You belong to Jesus (John 10:28) and Revelation 20:10 and Romans 16:20 are for the devil.

flipflop, God is not too proud to use our fear to help Him to save us. It can't of course remain isolated from other virtues, but in the perfectly normal course of events the love that justifes all our virtues INCLUDING FAITH/BELIEF, will grow as we grow closer and closer to Him and our great family in Heaven, in the course of our life.

For goodness' sake, flipflop, Jesus asked is Father to forgive his vile, malevolent executioners. And as James says in his Epistle: 'The devils believe and tremble.' Our faith is more than mere credence ; rather it entails commitment, evidently in the face of our trials. You should concentrate more on the only description of the Judgment in the Bible, and that given by Christ himself, in Mathew 25. It's not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord...' Note that Jesus very closely associates the Second Commandment with he First. What were Jesus' own words that summarised the matter ? Upon those hangs the whole of the Law and the Prophets ; and, 'It is love I desire, not sacrifice, knowledge of God, not holocausts.'

Here is a little act of contrition when you feel troubled about something you have done or failed to do : '

Oh my God, I am sorry for having sinned against you ; and with the help of your grace I resolve never to sin again.

Even say it a few times if you feel like it.
(Evidently, the word 'resolve' there means something more like 'wish', since it is impossible for us to stop sinning entirely in this life, isn't it).

 

[lsume]

I pray that my comment may bring you peace. If you include the Apocrypha, I think that the phrase "The Fear of The Lord" is written 51 times.

Prov.1

1. 
   [7] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

However,

1John.4

1. [18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

I can definitely see that you are in great pain.

1John.1 Verses 9 to 10

1. 
   [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
   [10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Rom.3

1. [10] As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
2. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Matt.19

1. 
   [17] And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Christ Himself didn't consider Himself to be good. Where does that leave any of us? One of my favorite Verses in The Bible for comfort follows;

Matt.12

1. [20] A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

Christ is The Great Physician and we know that we need to be healed. We know that without Him there is no hope. Thank God The Father for His Word our Lord and Savior Jesus The Christ.

Knowing The Fear of The Lord is one of God’s greatest Blessings.

 

[aiki]

Right now I'm kind of freaking out. I am afraid that I do not have the Holy Spirit/ghost. I'm very worried that my repentance is out of fear and that my coming to Christ was not a calling from God, but me trying to save myself.

God calls all those He foreknows will respond positively to the Gospel. He only rejects those who reject Him.

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Matthew 10:32
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

1 Timothy 2:3-4
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Fear has a place in our repentance. The threat of eternal hell is an integral part of the Gospel. But while fear may bring us to consider salvation it ought to dissolve in the light of God's amazing grace, mercy and love expressed to us in the Saviour.

Come to think of it when I did come to God I was very afraid of hell and I still am.

1 John 4:16-19
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 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 yet to properly understand the "width, and depth, and length and height" of Christ's love for you which "passes all knowledge." (Ephesians 3:18-19) When you finally understand God's love for you, the fear that currently grips you will fade away.

I believe in Jesus but I can't tell if my belief is real or not, I have faith in Jesus but I don't know if it's real or not.

The Bible gives us clear indicators of a spiritually-regenerated life. Some of them you have already mentioned. Here're some others:

- conviction of sin. (John 16:8)
- love of God. (Galatians 5:22)
- love of the brethren. (1 John 3:14)
- illumination of God's truth. (John 16:13)
- inner witness of the Spirit. (Romans 8:16)
- hunger for God's word. (Jeremiah 15:16)
- desire for holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)

And so on.

I want to be sincere and I want to serve God but I'm just so afraid that he hasn't really called me and the fact that I'm putting so much effort into learning about God, doing what his word says, turning away from sin, and praying to him is just proof that I am not sincere and that my efforts is attempt to overcompensate.

How about you stop staring at yourself and start "looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith"? All this obsessive second-guessing is keeping you entirely occupied with yourself rather than with your Saviour. Self can be very sneaky: It is succeeding in usurping God's place as the center of your attention by all this fearful questioning of yourself. This kind of thinking seems like it is taking salvation terribly seriously but it is really just Self distracting you from Christ. No one ever became confident in their faith by constantly fearing its loss.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in his wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace."

Excellent advice for us all.

I'm crying while writing this because it's so sad to think about god just looking at me shaking his head in disgrace at me because I wasn't one of the elect that he has called to him and he hasn't granted me the gift of repentance and faith for salvation because it's not his will to save me.

Good grief! What an ugly view you have of God! Yikes! Do you notice, though, how you are at the center of things here? You mention God but then talk about you. This is always how Self works. It's time to kick Self off the throne of your heart so God can be seated there where He ought to be. I bet when Self is dethroned, your concerns over your salvation will start to evaporate.

I know God is sovereign and just to choose who he hardens and who he has mercy but serving to glorify god is extremely hard with the end destination of my fight of faith being second death.

I think it's time you considered other, better views of salvation: www.soteriology101.com

I have spread the gospel to people even when I really was embarrassed and scared for awkwardness and even brought my friend to faith in Christ but it's so hard to serve with this constant fear that God condems me.

Well, of course it is. And this is how you know your fear isn't from God. He promises His children rest not constant dread.

I call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and God to forgive me and rescue me daily, I aknowledge that I'm sinner daily, I ask God to fill me with the Holy Spirit daily, but I just feel like the fact that I still struggle with the feelings of unrest, uncertainty, and condemnation shows that God has handed me over to my own terrible twisted mind and that my purpose is not to be a child of God, but a vehicle for God's wrath as desribed in romans 9.

Nonsense. You want to be confident in your salvation? Obey the First and Great Commandment.

 

[LoricaLady]

"The fear of YHWH" aka God "is the beginning of wisdom." You might want to do a Google search on the blessings and protection offered to those who fear Him. As for fearing hell, well, yeal. Guess who wants you to fear it big time? Your Heavenly Father! You are no way the only person who has avoided sin because of knowing it could lead to hell. That has certainly included me.

The Lord has not handed you over to feelings of condemnation! You have come her seeking counsel and support. Now, honestly, do you think we puny, faulty, mortals will be more understanding and supportive than Him? You need to hand those feeling over to Him and ask for Him to remove them. They are from the pit. Trying to fight them, and ingrained sin in general, will be pointless. The devil is stronger than we are. Of course He is infinitely weaker than the Father of Mercies who "delights to show mercy to us."

The Bible also says to be still, to let the Lord fight our battles for us. I pray you will do that and let HIM cause you to get free and stay free.

 

[lsume]

Right now I'm kind of freaking out. I am afraid that I do not have the Holy Spirit/ghost. I'm very worried that my repentance is out of fear and that my coming to Christ was not a calling from God, but me trying to save myself. Come to think of it when I did come to God I was very afraid of hell and I still am. There have been times where I have been filled with joy and happy to serve the Lord because of how overjoyed and sure I was with Peace knowing that I was saved. I have aknowledged that I am a sinner and I need God to forgive me through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. I know that I have to trust him and have faith in him for my salvation. I believe in Jesus but I can't tell if my belief is real or not, I have faith in Jesus but I don't know if it's real or not. I've sought to live according to God's will and I've definitely produced some fruit, I've also turned away from a lot of sin in my life and have asked jesus to help me overcome sin daily. I constantly pray to God in prayer thanking him for the trials he puts me through and I hope that this is just one of them. I am worried sick that I do not actually have the Holy Spirit and that all the things that I've been doing have just been my feeble attempts at saving myself and that God has not called me at all but my stupid, mortal, sefish, horrible, sick, twisted mind has lead me to God as a sort of safety net for insurance. I want to be sincere and I want to serve God but I'm just so afraid that he hasn't really called me and the fact that I'm putting so much effort into learning about God, doing what his word says, turning away from sin, and praying to him is just proof that I am not sincere and that my efforts is attempt to overcompensate. I'm crying while writing this because it's so sad to think about god just looking at me shaking his head in disgrace at me because I wasn't one of the elect that he has called to him and he hasn't granted me the gift of repentance and faith for salvation because it's not his will to save me. I know God is sovereign and just to choose who he hardens and who he has mercy but serving to glorify god is extremely hard with the end destination of my fight of faith being second death. I have spread the gospel to people even when I really was embarrassed and scared for awkwardness and even brought my friend to faith in Christ but it's so hard to serve with this constant fear that God condems me. I call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and God to forgive me and rescue me daily, I aknowledge that I'm sinner daily, I ask God to fill me with the Holy Spirit daily, but I just feel like the fact that I still struggle with the feelings of unrest, uncertainty, and condemnation shows that God has handed me over to my own terrible twisted mind and that my purpose is not to be a child of God, but a vehicle for God's wrath as desribed in romans 9. I go through feelings of not doing enough to please God and that I have to be more obedient to feelings that I am trusting too much in myself and not enough on grace. I feel horrible and have gone from panic mode to sheer sadness and tears while writing this. Please help me. Tell me the truth about what you all think and not just stuff to make me feel better please.

I already posted a response to your plea. However, I just saw your age. Please continue to try to be obedient to The Word of God. In the end, you won’t be disappointed. There is a day when Christ may visit you. He comes as a thief in the night. I was ill prepared when He Came to me. That was about 30 years ago and Fear is still a great motivator. It’s impossible for you to make yourself righteous. Try and try again and just keep trying so that should that day come to you, you will rejoice! It was the most exciting day of my life. There have been many days of regret.