It's also known as mortal sin.
If we know something is wrong and we keep doing it anyway, does God forgive us when we repent? I assume so, but I also assume it grieves the Holy Spirit. I searched this subject and it took me through a long and winding journey with no real answers.
My thoughts, as one who has committed deliberate (and repetitive) sin, is that God forgives us when we come to Him with a sincerely repentant heart. If we ask for forgiveness knowing full well we're going to repeat the sin, He knows. It's in the back of our minds, even as we're praying for forgiveness.
I believe the best thing to do is to pray for HELP. Ask Him to help you stop doing the sin. Ask Him for strength, wisdom, guidance, whatever it takes to free you from this temptation.
The reason I bring this up is that I got to thinking about the things I haven't been able to let go of from my past and realized they were things that were premeditated; things that I KNEW were wrong but chose to do anyway. So, I think this feeling of guilt is maybe rooted in the fact that these sins were committed knowing full well that they were sins, and that I was going to do them anyway. It's kind of like that saying, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission."
I continue to work to better myself and to give things up to Him and not make a decision without Him. Jesus prayed all of the time. He lived a life without sin. What does that tell us about what we should be doing?
For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Romans 2:12-16 ESV
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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power
#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #anxiety
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