re: “I accepted Christ as my Savior years ago, but I have not been without sin since that time.”
No Christian is without sin, even after confession of Christ as one’s Savior. We all share in that failure. And, I think I can speak for others who have posted here, that as Believers in Christ, when we become aware of sin in our lives, we do need to confess that, agree with God that we have sinned, then accept His forgiveness and move on in obedience to Him.
Re: “I feel that anytime I commit a sin I need to ask God to forgive me for not living up to His expectations. That certainly includes the big one, murder. If I commit suicide, how can I ask God’s forgiveness before I have to face him?”
Ok, I do agree that suicide does not usually honor God. However, there are a few exceptions - for example soldiers who knowingly throw themselves on hand grenades to save their fellow brothers in arms, or family members who knowingly sacrifice themselves to protect their families. It can be technically suicide, but they do it for the cause of saving the lives of others. Not for a selfish reason.
Some have argued that Samson, when he prayed and asked God the return of his supernatural strength in order to topple the posts that held the building structure together, so that he could kill many of the enemy, even though he know he would also die himself, that God honored that prayer.
Now, of course this seminary teacher did not commit suicide to protect anyone. He did it out of a terrible sense of guilt and shame. Can he be forgiven of that? Yes, I believe so because no where in Scripture does it say that suicide is an unpardonable sin.
Your reasonable question is that, well, how can one be forgiven of suicide if you can’t ask forgiveness? Your dead, therefore wouldn’t you stand condemned to Hell?
The answer is that we are all condemned already before God, prior to our accepting Christ’s forgiveness. We are all completely helpless to “save” ourselves from God’s wrath. Only He could provide the way of salvation. Only He could provide the forgiveness because we could never, on our own, remove the guilt of our sin by being “good enough.”
So, if our salvation did not depend on our goodness prior to our salvation, then it stands to reason that once we have been saved, that we keep our salvation, not because we remember and confess every possible sin (and, how do we know we didn’t forget one?), not because we “earn” His salvation through works (though He certainly expects us to live as His Children) - no, the answer is we are still helplessly dependent on His mercy and forgiveness that is our through faith in Christ. In Hebrews 7:24-25 it says,
“But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
In other passages it says that God removes our sin as “far as east is from the west”. God forgives all of our sins of the past, He forgives our present sins, and all those in our future - otherwise, none of us would be able to enter His Heaven.
Now, this doesn’t mean we can live any way we want and still be a Christian. If someone claims to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, yet shows absolutely no change or difference in their life, they never quit their continual lifestyle of sin - that person is NOT one of Christ’s. Living a continual, habitual life of sin means that person has never really accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
We are saved from God’s condemnation by His grace, His unmerited favor toward us, when we receive His Son as our Lord and Savior. We are kept in His salvation forever by that same unmerited favor. We are totally unable to save ourselves. This is why our salvation rests with Him.
As to this man who committed suicide, we cannot know his heart. We do not know his relationship with God beyond what we can see. Only God knows his soul and heart and mind. We need to keep his family and friends in our prayers.
Re: “If I can say I believe in Christ, and go right on committing sins until I die, and then ask for forgiveness, what was the point of the Commandments?”
I think I answered your question in the preceding paragraphs. All good questions.
Thank you both for your answers, they have helped.
I have to tell both of you that I’m glad this topic did not come up 8 moths ago.
6 months ago I was left almost completely disabled (bedridden), and in 24 hour, blinding pain.
I contemplated suicide many times in those first few months.
The pain, the belief that I was an unbearable burden to my wife, the utter hopelessness of the situation because of the monetary strain caused by Obamacare, and insurance. There many reasons for me to end my life, and very few not to.
The only things that pulled me away from that cliff, especially the first few times, was the absolute belief that it meant eternity in hell. Obviously worse than the pain I was and currently am in.
Eventually I also came to see the hurt the act would cause my loved ones, but when you think of yourself as a useless burden on those around you the feelings of others get lost.
Don’t misunderstand, the situation has improved a little. I found a new doctor (150 miles away), am getting some pain relief, and am learning how to walk again. I’m still facing this for the rest of my life, but there is the tiniest light at the end of the tunnel.
When I posted that I believed suicide was the only unforgivable sin, I didn’t do it to be judgmental of that Pastor, rather as a belief so firmly held that it may be the only reason I am still here today.
Then to have someone post that I must believe that Christianity was about good works, and that I must believe in purgatory, and indulgences because I believed this shook the bedrock of my faith pretty severely.
I absolutely do not believe in those things. My Faith has always been very black, and white. Even after accepting Christ, I still believed sin without forgiveness would condemn my soul to hell.
To me being a Christian is much more work than not being one. Not believing in anything requires no work. Being Saved has always required being aware of further sin, and bending a knee to God everyday, and asking forgiveness for not living up to his expectations for me.
I always thought I had a good handle on this, and could honestly answer the question of if I was going to Heaven.
I’ve actually had people post to me that because I believe there may be life in other parts of the universe, and that because I believe that science enhances my Faith, I wasn’t being a good enough Christian.
Or that because I choose to trust in God, and be happy, and not sit around and worry about the end of the world, and all these supposed signs that gloom and doom were upon us all the time, that I wasn’t being a good enough Christian.
Then all this tonight, not from you 2, but the other responses, let’s just say, now I don’t even know what it does, or doesn’t take to get to heaven, beyond what I already did.
Thanks again to both of you for your kind words, and attempt to clear the fog.