Do we ever reach a point that we cannot be forgiven?
Nahum 3:19
ESV - 19 There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
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Asked July 01 2013
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Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The book of Nahum ends with a rhetorical question regarding the reason for Nineveh's coming destruction: "Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about you cl...
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Bruce Lyon
Supporter
The question is: "Do we ever reach a point that we cannot be forgiven?" The only point that one can not have his/her sins forgiven is when they stop asking their God and their Father for forgiveness! God loves mankind so much that He allowed His uniquely begotten son to be crucified in order that mankind might be reconciled to Himself. The reconciliation comes about when we come to believe in the One whom He has sent! Jesus gave himself up to be crucified willingly in order that you/I might be able to come into the throne area of God and seek forgiveness and help in our times of need and to praise His righteous and holy name, Yehovah. God is our strong tower, our keep that we can run to in time of need and His ears are always open to the prayer of a broken and contrite heart. Contrite: feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt. "a broken and a contrite heart" If a man/woman approaches God with a broken and contrite heart seeking forgiveness He will never turn away from them. Notice the one exception: BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT. Matthew 12:32-37: And whosoever speaks a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the holy spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, neither in the age to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For OUR OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART THE MOUTH SPEAKS. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For BY YOUR WORDS YOU HAS BE PRONOUNCED NOT GUILTY, AND BY YOUR WORDS YOU SHALL BE CONDEMNED [FOUND TO BE GUILTY].
James Kraft
Supporter
Believers have already had all their sins paid for by the Blood of Jesus. So we can never be condemned again. John 3:18 But we still reap what we sow, and if we stay living in some sins, God may take our life early, and we can lose our rewards in heaven, but we can not lose our salvation under grace. God does chasten His children. First Corinthians 5:5. This born again believer was sleeping with his fathers wife. Paul said it was so bad they needed to bar him from fellowship with the church, and turn such a one over to Satan to kill his flesh so that His spirit would be saved in the day of the Lord. There are sins unto death, but a believer can never be condemned again. We have eternal life because Jesus died for all sin forever to everyone that believes on Him. And we all sin. Maybe not big sins, but we are all still sinners. First John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us. That is why Jesus had to die for us. It was the only way we could be saved. First John 2:2 And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. We should confess our sins to stay in fellowship with our heavenly Father, but He has already forgiven us all trespasses. Colossians 2:13. When we do good, God blesses us, when we do evil he withholds His blessings. But we have an advocate with the Father Christ Jesus who paid the penalty for all sin for us who believe. We can get out of fellowship with Him, but never our relationship. Even if we lose our faith. Second Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, He abideth faithful, He can not deny Himself. His Holy Sprit that lives in the believer. Hebrews 13:5 He will never leave us or forsake us. John 6:37 He will never cast us out. There is no sin Jesus did not pay for, but we still reap what we sow and all sin has consequences. The trouble is, we may get away with it once, but then we believe God is not looking and we do it again. Then it becomes easier. A man who gets away with adultery once, may just fall into a pattern that He can not get out of and ruin his relationship to his wife and kids. It happens. Some sins have consequences that last for life. Others, God may restore what the locust have eaten. It is not possible for a born again believer to be unborn. But we can lose our rewards in heaven, and much here on earth. God forbid that we should anymore walk in them. But, when we sin, grace abounds, where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. Gods grace is sufficient for all our sins forever. AMAZING GRACE, JESUS PAID IT ALL AND WE PAID 0. We can not save ourselves by good works, and we can not lose our salvation by bad works. Once we trust Jesus and believe He paid our sin debt in full, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and God knows His sheep. Second Timothy 2:19
Jim Tumlinson
Supporter
Yes and no. First the NO. When Jesus died He died for the sins of the entire world and for you and I He died before we were born. Our sins had not been committed yet. So in this we can see that no sin we ever commit will be charged against a born again believer because Jesus cannot be crucified any more. He did it ONCE for ALL. God knew what sins all of mankind would commit and ensured that Jesus would die even for those. God made enough provision with the sacrifice of Jesus to cover all sin for eternity. So there is nothing you can do to not be forgiven. Let me say it this way, God knew every sin you would commit before the foundation of the world so He made sure all the sins you would commit would be covered under the blood. God didn't miss one sin or sinful person, every sin was died for. Now the yes. The only time a person is not forgiven is when they die and have no breath left in them and they have not received Jesus as savior. God made provision for all mankind to be saved and if a person wants to reject the sacrifice of Jesus and depend on their own good works thinking that their good works are better than the body of Jesus then this is when their sin is not forgiven, the sin of rejecting the one and only sacrifice to save them. Many people are going to say you must repent. Repentance is not a work it is simply changing your mind about what you think. Nothing more. Any born again Christian will change their mind about the things they do, however they still do them knowing that they should not. To repent from this is considered a work not to mention we all change our mind about the sins that we do however we still do them so the repentance thing is incorrect. We are not to be sin conscious anyway since our sins were forgiven before we were born. 1 John 3:9 says that those in Christ, born again believers don't sin. Why, because it is our spirit that is born again not our flesh. Our spirit is who we are and not what we do. It is our spirit that lives forever. Any way I hope this helps. Rest assured once your are saved you are saved. You are the righteousness of God in Christ and Gods righteousness remains forever. The bible does not as far as I know say how once we are righteous can be made unrighteous. :)
Julie Favazza
Supporter
Here is where I believe the church has it wrong. We have been taught all that you to do is believe He is the Risen Messiah. The Bible verse taught so often is John 3:16 which says this: “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.” But the Bible also tells us even Satan and his demons believe. But, for so long the church has given this verse as the “salvation” verse. This is deceptive and dangerous to many who are lost that are seeking. It has become the “one time all time” favorite. BUT if we continue reading past Verse 16 then we see there is a continuation to that verse. Verse 18 follows up the first step with... ““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”” this clearly shows that not only do we need to believe in Him, it must be a total surrender of ourselves which comes with a contrite repenting heart so that God can pour us out of our sinful nature and pour into us His Holy Spirit. If we continue on the same path we were on prior to this repentance, we have now begun the process of denying the Holy Spirt. If we deny the Holy Spirit, we do not bear fruit. And if there is no growth (fruit) then tree that was originally planted withers and dies. And if we claim to children of God but deny His Spirit, we are ultimately committing the unforgivable sin of blasphemy.
Ricky Lawwill
Supporter
In response to can you reach a state of non forgiveness, Paul lets us know of a dangerous state of being and calls it the reprobate mind. Romans 1:26-28. Paul seems to imply there is a place of rejection by God. The word reprobate in the Greek mean to reject, worthless, a castaway. It would seem this type of individual would have a real struggle finding forgiveness from God.
Mark Vestal
Supporter
No. Everything we ever did and will ever do was forgiven when Jesus Christ died on the cross for the final payment of all of our sins. 2 Cor 5:19 "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." Eph 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" Eph 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Eph 1:14 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" Col 2:13 "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;" If you could be not forgiven then the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross had no effect on the world's trespasses. Rom 5:20 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: "
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