Is there any going back once you've turned away from God?

No, I disagree! If you tell your parents that you hate them and wander away from them and don't call them and such do they stop being your parents? NO. You have some mending to do but they are still your parents just as much as God is still yours if you choose Him.

fragile one said:

Da was in the hospital this past month after having a blood clot in his leg (he's fine now, just on blood thinners, and strong as ever). While there, someone from my former church came and prayed for him. He seemed to have a very gentle, loving faith, which was totally alien to me. Ma and Da loved me, of course, but the church was so stiff and unkind to everyone (some of the things preached when I was a child - voting for a democrat damned you to hell, women who went to college were damned to hell, if you didn't give 10% of your money to the church you were damned to hell, if you didn't fast at least once a week you were damned to hell, if you didn't attend every church service offered at the church you were damned to hell, etc). Da told me a new pastor had come to the church, and the church is much different now, not like it used to be when I was a child at all.

I was really moved by the new pastor's faith, so when the associate pastor of the church came to pray with Da, I asked him out in the hall if it were possible for someone who has strayed so badly from the Christian faith to come back. The associate pastor asked about what had happened to make me fade away from the church, so I told him everything. He asked me if I had truly renounced Jesus, and I said yes, at the time I had. He then told me that no, there was no way for me to come back to Christianity, and that I am damned with no hope at all. He gave me several bible verses. He said that since I had turned my back on God, God turned his back on me (2 Chronicles 15:2) and that I am damned because I had turned my back on my first faith (1 Timothy 5:12), and that I had committed the unpardonable sin and there is no hope of forgiveness for me at all (Mark 3:22-30).

So, do you all think he was right? My heart has been really sad since I have been told these words.

Click to expand...

First of all, the church that was preaching these things is doing evil. They are not only putting a stumbling block up for others but making non Biblical doctrines necessary for salvation. This is NOT Christianity.

Anyways, think of Peter. He renounced Jesus 3 times and still came back to God. I don't think there is anything stopping you from doing it.

Please read Luke 15: 11-32. This is the story of the "prodigal son". Its a parable. A man has two sons...one decides that he doesn't want hang around home, asks his dad for his share of his father's inheritance and he gives it to him. He takes the money and squanders it on riotous living. It gets so bad for him after all the money is gone that he gets a job feeding pigs. He's so hungry that the swill the pigs are eating looks good to him. He's ashamed to go back home but his hunger wins out and he heads back home, tail between his legs so to speak, with the intention of asking his father to be hired as a servant so at least he can get a hot meal in his belly. This is where it gets good ...his father sees him from afar and he's so over-joyed that he runs up to him and kisses him and accepts him back into his family despite the fact that the son turned his back on him at one time. He gives him robes, a nice little bling bling (a ring) and kills the fatted calf for him. His dad exclaims: "My son was dead and is now alive again, he was lost but now is found".
The point of this tale that Jesus told in the book of Luke is this: The Father (God) has compassion and wants you back no matter what. He will lay down the red carpet for you and to "kill the fatted calf" (the best that He has) in His joy of having you back home!! You may turn your back on Him (and who of us hasn't???) but He never will turn His back on you!!
God bless you dear and I hope and pray that your Da continues to get strong and healthy.
CR

fragile one said:

{snip} So, do you all think he was right? My heart has been really sad since I have been told these words.

Click to expand...

The very fact that you feel sad about being told that is evidence enough IMO and, i believe also that of Scripture, that you have NOT committed the unpardonable sin - again, IMO and according to my understanding of Scripture, was time specific to when the Lord Jesus walked the earth and showed wonderous miracles that attested to the truth of His words and to His Deity (the Bible says that Jesus mentioned the unpardonable sin in regards to the actions/words of the Jewish religious leaders who called the works Jesus did (the works of God) the works of Satan) If it is applicable today, one would reach a point of no return, where they would not hear God's voice calling them nor would they ever feel sad, remorseful let alone repentant !

Jesus parable about the Prodical Son (or daughter) applies to what you are going through. Take note especially the embolded part in the parable -

Luke 15:11-24 And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

God has NOT turned His back on you - in fact, even as is illustrated in the parable, He has seen your turning to Him and He is filled with compassion and will be merciful to you if you repent of your sin and turn wholeheartedly unto Him.

I would warn you not to harden your heart nor let Satan deceive you into believing you don't need Christ - nothing could be further from the truth. Heed the Scripture when it says -

2 Corinthians 6:2 ... behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.


Ray

all i got to say is the curch sure didnt change enough...

god loves you. he'll take you back. we all make mistakes. the fact that your come back shows god wants you back to.

Athanasian Creed gave you one of the best stories. you was lost, and now you are found.

also the associate pastor is a lier. feel free to tell him that from me. the bible says to forgive one another cuz he forgave us. if god wouldnt forgive us then that verse would be pointless since god didnt forgive us. if the bible is correct then that makes no sence. plus gods word never changes. this means you ccan come back. it also mean the associate pastor lied...

hope you came to have a even stronger relationship with him and may your faith always remain strong. hope to see you in heaven.

fragile one said:

So, do you all think he was right? My heart has been really sad since I have been told these words.

Click to expand...

This guy was an associate Pastor of a church? First, disregard everything he said. If you are a child of God you are always a child of God. I cannot know if your original profession of faith was genuine. Only you and God know that. What I can tell you is that God never loses one of His children. He may let us fall into seasons of trial and even disbelief but His children always return. If you are ready to repent and return to the fold then this Pastor should have told you that he was overjoyed. I encourage you to return and devote you life to God.

God bless

Once you are saved you are always saved, have faith...he will never let you go...the Lord loves you. Think of all the times the Lord tried to get his people to turn back to him before sending trouble on them...he will always be with you...he loves you.

There is only one way to lose your salvation, and that is (as it says in Mark 3:22-30) to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. But all the people I've talked to aren't even sure how to do that. If you have love in your heart for Jesus Christ, he has love for you. He will remember you until your soul is finally taken by the flames or remember you forever as you enter into the kingdom. Have faith, you are saved forever.

LAWise520 said:

There is only one way to lose your salvation, and that is (as it says in Mark 3:22-30) to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

Click to expand...

God protects His children from committing this sin so it is impossible to lose one's salvation.

But all the people I've talked to aren't even sure how to do that.

Click to expand...

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is to know that the works of the Spirit are the works of God but to profess they are the works of satan.

If you have love in your heart for Jesus Christ, he has love for you.

Click to expand...

Actually, God loves His children long before they love Him and continues to love them even when they show their lack of love for Him by sinning. Additionally, the reason we love Him is because He first loved us but giving us life in His Son.

God bless

Bizzlebin Imperatoris said:

First of all, the church that was preaching these things is doing evil. They are not only putting a stumbling block up for others but making non Biblical doctrines necessary for salvation. This is NOT Christianity.

Anyways, think of Peter. He renounced Jesus 3 times and still came back to God. I don't think there is anything stopping you from doing it.

Click to expand...

I cannot believe or even concieve that this person turned you down and told you that you were damned! The Bible shows nothing but us dissapointed or mucking things up with God but He is "always willing to forgive and abounding in love in those who call to him". OP if you want to recommit yourself to Christ you absolutley can--my church allows that and I'm sure any other Bible based church would.

Sweetie...
That's why we need to look to Jesus and His example and not the example of people who sometimes don't live the life they profess. There are a lot of Christians, while not perfect, don't hate people who disagree with their faith and there are a lot of Christians who are not racists (that is a very unChristian way to be). I am one of them. I love you because you are so special to our Lord. He's knocking at the door of your heart. I hope you can find it in yourself to listen to His call and live your life for Him. I'm so sorry that you had only bad examples of our precious faith to live by. Please know that that's not the way Jesus wants us to be.
God bless you always,
CR

...I can never say anything when Bizzlebin gets to a thread before me.

of course you can turn back. I've heard of a priest of the church of satan renounce his position to become a fervent missionary. It's using the blood of Christ as an excuse to indulge in the flesh where the line becomes solid.

God waits with open arms for the lost soul. I know this from experience. I myself, an Christian, harden my heart from God. I had an extermly horrid 8th grade year. That year my best friend stabed me in the back when he started rumors that I was gay. It hurt soo much to go to the same classes and be called gay every day. I grew soo bitter and angry at them, at myself, and at God. I wondered, "why am I being tourtured like this!?" I of course prayed, but they were empty and I didn't expect anything to happen so they were "unanswered" from my veiw point. In fact they were answered, but I was blind to it. I grew increassingly away from God and that in turn made me bitter, angry, and depressed. I have to admit that was the lowest point in my life currently.

Things changed when I went to Church Camp the following summer. I realized how angry I was and how I had turned away from God, while keeping on the mask of being a good Christian. Oh how I felt soooo vile for that. How I felt soo unworthy. I had become an horrible creature. Yet, when I went to the alter to redidicate my life to God there was no, "you should have done better" or "Don't do it again or else" thoughts. I only experienced pure joy and peace with Him. The hardened shell of my heart fell away, and I just broke down in the peace and the joy that God was giving me. I know know that without that experience I would not be the Christian I am today. Of course I still sin because lets face it I am an human and a teen But I keep asking for forgiveness and repenting.

So to answer your question if God will take you back. YUP HE SURE WILL. All you have to do is turn to him and fall in those loving and open arms of his.

fragile one said:

Well, I do feel better that the option is at least open for me. I'm in no hurry to reconvert right now. I don't want to be like most of the Christians I have met. I'm a lover, not a hater. I don't want to be a racist. I don't want to hate people who disagree with me. I don't want to hate people because they aren't Christians. That's just not me. I know not all Christians are like that, but that was the type of church I grew up in, and that was the type of Christian group they had at university, and I don't want to be like that at all. So...I'll wait and test the waters a bit before I make any major decisions.

Click to expand...

It is wrong to hate, and wrong to be racist. If a Christian is doing these things, they are either having a struggle with sin, or in some cases, have already let evil win. True love is the highest form of Christianity, I am glad you want it

Greetings and Blessing be upon you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.



Wow. What a question. I would have to say, the better question would have been, Did you accept the salvation of Christ into your heart and soul? Did you ask Christ to wash away your sins and forgive you, before you denounced him?

It makes a difference.

I know many people that “used to be Christians” but never truly asked Christ to forgive them, having openly admitted they sinned, they fell short of heaven and Humbled themselves to Jesus, knowing full well, they were not worthy of salvation. Many of them “read the bible” and “Felt God” and all that stuff, but did not Humble themselves seeking forgiveness at a time when they could understand Sin, a 8 years old, sin is foreign to us, the idea is abstract. But when you’re an adult, and with reason and understanding you have sought salvation and realized you were “Not all that” this is not an easy thing to do, many people are too proud to truly humble themselves to anyone.

Now truth be told.

If you had accepted Jesus as your Savor, humbled yourself before him, and asked that his blood forgive you of your sins with a full understanding of what you are doing. Then to renounce him and ask him back is to crucify him again. It does not happen.

As for the Assistant Pastor:

2 Chronicles 15:2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

This is really twisting this verse, when there are so many much better ones to use, this really talks about the idea that “If you leave God, you will feel Gods separation from you, but if you seek him, he will come to you. This in no way implies a one shot chance.

1 Timothy 5:12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.

This passage is talking about young widows, it has nothing to do with the salvation of Christ.

Mark 3: 22And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub[3] ! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."
23So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
30He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

This is a tricky one.

I stand with him, if you have Blasphemies the Holy Spirit, called Jesus the Evil one. To Deny him is better then claim that he is the devil. If you have, well I stand with the pastor. Truly I am sorry, and I wish you best in the life you have, as much as you have left with it.

Some days you need to be held accountable for your own choices and actions.

As for returning to the Church, and returning to God, I do not know if you will ever be able, the choice remains yours. You might never be able to bring yourself to humble yourself to God and Jesus to truly ask him for Salvation and Forgiveness. Your pride and your need of self-sufficiency might allow your Ego to get in the way.

In the end of things:

Every Day you wait, is another day you could have grown closer to Christ and chose not to.

Vigil.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devou

Vigil said:

a 8 years old, sin is foreign to us, the idea is abstract.

Click to expand...

The idea may be abstract, but the sin is still there. Psalm 51:5

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Greetings and Blessing be upon you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Bizzlebin Imperatoris said:

The idea may be abstract, but the sin is still there. Psalm 51:5

Click to expand...

Bizzlebin Imperatoris said:

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Click to expand...

Until the age of Accountability, God knows you do not comprehend what it is your doing. Yes, we have sinned, and when we fully grasp the idea of Sin and doing ‘Wrong’ we will remember what we have done in our youth, and see our “Sins” that we did during If you want to believe in “Born in Sin” I shall say nothing against it.

God Bless.

Vigil.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8)

Vigil said:

Until the age of Accountability, God knows you do not comprehend what it is your doing.

Click to expand...

Could I have the verses for those two statements?

Hey now. Lets not get into a debate that doesn't really have anything to do with the point of the OP.