What do I do?

[JackB03]

The picture I'm painting isn't that black. Let's say you have a sin habit. For the sake of argument, we'll call it flipping people off on the road when they do something you don't like. It's entrenched, but the Lord convicts you of it, and you pray about stopping this behavior often and you make resolutions in your mind to hold back. You do this less, and you strain on. You're repenting. You finally stop and you can consistently drive down the highway in heavy traffic without extending that middle finger to the multitude of drivers which is no smarter than it was before. You've repented. Let's say 10 years later for whatever reason you're driving down the road and somebody does something idiotic and you flip them the bird. This doesn't mean you haven't repented. This only means that you've stumbled and backslidden. You can repent of this and you don't have to be condemned to doing this continually again.


Forgiving is what the party who was wronged does/is supposed to do. Repenting is what the party who did the wrong thing has to do. We repent, God forgives us. That's how it works. He is patient and knows whether we are sincere or not. If we are sincere, he's generally not going to bring the hammer of judgment on us for not completing the process yet. He sees us repenting and likes that. If we are not sincere though, we can't fool him.

I just heard from someone that when, for example, you commit adultery, you commit all sins. Is that true? This is whats confusing me. If that is true, then If I repent from adultery and never do it again, im really not Repenting because if I go out and commit a LIE or STEAL, I just committed adultery. So in essence, I didnt repent because I just committed a sin and all sins are sins.

I hope that makes sense, Im just really confused on how you can repent now.

Jack

 

[epistemaniac]

Jack!! You mean to tell me that even though it is tough, you are going to follow God's word and will for your life!?!? I am amazed. I am proud of you! I am thnakful to God for the grace He is giving you to be obeient! Praise God for your heart!!

RE your first question.... your first marriage was not a marriage between believers, so the following guidelines sems applicable...
"5. One married and divorced prior to his identification with Christ and the church should be considered to be “abiding in that condition in which he was called,” meaning that he is free to remain single or marry another believer (1 Cor. 7:20, 24; cf. 2 Cor. 5:16-17). Such a person cannot reconcile to an unsaved former spouse, nor is he obligated to make restitution for every sin committed prior to his conversion." (http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/SC03-1020CDNotes.htm )

as to your last question, you asked "At the last line, it says, "adultery may be forgiven when God's conditions of pardon are met". What does that mean for me, since I committed adultery? What conditions do I have to meet to be pardon?"

"Forgiveness is NOT unconditional. It is conditional. This does not mean it can be earned. It means forgiveness is given to those who truly trust Christ. Trust is not an act by which anything can be earned. It calls attention to the worth of God's grace, not the worth of our action. But trust is not mere intellectual assent to Biblical facts. It involves hearty affirmation of the will of Christ. Therefore trusting Christ involves confessing sin as sin and taking up arms against it." (A Statement on Divorce & Remarriage in the Life of Bethlehem Baptist Church)

Further possibly helpful info:

"Is Divorce or Remarriage the Unforgivable Sin?

When divorce begins to be discussed in this way it is common for someone to ask whether divorce is the unforgivable sin. The answer is found in the following texts.

"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22).

"(Jesus said) this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

"Every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:43).

"All sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:28f.).

"Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7).

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

From these wonderful promises we learn that forgiveness for sins is available on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus. Forgiveness is available for all sins, without exception. Forgiveness is received freely through trusting Christ. And trusting Christ involves confessing sin as sin and turning away from it to embrace the ways of God with joy.

The only unforgivable sin is the sin that we refuse to confess and forsake. We commit unforgivable sin when we cleave to a sin so long and so tenaciously that we can no longer confess it as sin and turn from it. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31f)is the resistance of his convicting work to the point where he withdraws, leaving the sinner in helpless hardness of heart.

Neither divorce nor remarriage is in itself the unforgivable sin any more than murder, stealing, lying or coveting. "All sins will be forgiven the sons of men." God is faithful and just to forgive—he will honor the worth of his Son's sacrifice for all who confess their sin and bank their hope on the saving work of Christ....

Therefore marital sin is in the same category as lying and killing and stealing when it comes to church discipline and church membership. If someone has lied, killed, stolen, or illegitimately divorced, the issue is not, can they be forgiven? The issue is do they admit that what they did was sin? Do they renounce it? And do they do what they can to make it right?....

So it is with illegitimate divorce or remarriage. It should not keep anyone out of the church nor put anyone out of the church any more than a past life of robbery. But there must be a heartfelt confession of the sin committed and a renouncing of it and an affirming of what is right, just as with all other sins of the past.....

7. If a second marriage ends in death or divorce, the widow or widower in this case is not permitted to return to the first spouse in marriage (Deut. 24:1-4). (ibid)

in another post you said "I just heard from someone that when, for example, you commit adultery, you commit all sins. Is that true? "
No. I would have to see a specific verse or bibllical passage proving this and I just do not think such a thing is ever said in the Bible.

hope this helps you out Jack... I am blessed by your desire to be biblically faithful to God! You are a shining example to others!!

blessings,
ken