B
Blue155
Guest
Is forgiveness something that happens instantly? For both the sinner and the saved? How long does it take for one to repent of a sin they are struggling with?
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You've heard of the strange excuse people offer for doing things because it "makes them feel alive." So, my initial thought is once either the sinner, or the saint, stops considering it as a way of life. And, if forgiveness is something that is conditional, then it doesn't seem that it should happen instantly. But, on the other hand, if it is unconditional, as I've heard tell of grace, then it would already be in abundant supply, in store, waiting for the occasion of the asking, and that involve returning for it. I don't think we should separate the Greek 'repentance' from the Hebrew 'return' as these two form the whole new man.
I understand forgiveness to happen simultaneously with genuine repentance,
and I am also aware it is common for a long struggle to precede repentance.
Consider the case of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
You are asking about two different things.
Forgiveness is instantaneous. Repentance takes a small amount of time. Coming to the place of repentance can take a lifetime… or more.
NO! even for born again Christians, it is not automatic or instant to forgive someone. should it be? yes! if someone was treated very badly, the instinct to be vengeful may take over 1st. a whole day may pass by before forgiveness is acted on. i'll say that the Holy Spirit will be nudging someone to forgive immediately but that doesn't always come to fruition.
I see this:
I, early on, stood in belief to God in risen Son. Yet had not understood it and heard from others things like
I need to repent again after I told God, I need God and God took me in to teach me new in love and mercy to all as he had done for me in Son as risen for me and all the world first.
I replied to that preacher in that church. What? I thought you said Christ went to that cross to take away sin all sin for us all to believe and be set free?
Answer from that person as a preacher was. Have you sinned this week? I replied yes. then he said you see you need to repent again!
In other words, if I can learn to not sin again, then I will not need to get forgiven again!
Then I asked, is Son coming back here to earth to die all over again willingly to shed more blood? Or is it done? John 19:30
there is no forgiveness without the shedding of Blood. Now is that done once for us all or not? Hebrews 10:10, please read all of Hebrews 10
He stated in John 19:30, "it is finished"
So I asked God what is finished? Then the new life journey began in and through me to see
Everyone, at the cross of Son for forgiveness are reconciled, as forgiven,. those in the past before the cross, those there at the cross and all of us after the cross, that is done!
Son took all sin out of the way, so we can enter the Thorne of grace and ask God, the Father of Son, personally, to teach us new in love, the same love and mercy of Son for us all first.
The impact is: What needed to get done, got done in Son first, reconciliation
2 Cor 5:16-20, please read the whole Chapter. That had to get done first, before any new life could ever get imputed to anyone with Father and son living in them personally to be taught true love to all. 1 John 2:27
Decide, Believe, recieve and see new as you go along the way to see, standing in trust to God Father by Son. This truth remains from Father in risen Son, to have forgiven us and not stop. I put past behind me. and am taught by God personally to see how to not do those mistakes again, even those that do them again and again, God continues yes in this forgiveness. These, people in Faith learn to let go of self effort to do, being under Law seeing they can't do it perfect ever.. These stand in trust to God to make them new and stop trying doing it as have tried to not do it, finally see they need God to lead, Now by Faith have let go of themselves and see new humbly. So Christ did nothing or said anything without Father's lead in his earth walk before the cross and resurrection. Our turn to learn how by Faith trust Father in the Faith in risen Son for us all to stand in, thank you Farther fro this mercy, woe is me Isaiah 6:1-7
God imputes, Therefore, people, either, receive or continue to try to do what no other flesh but Son's has done first, for us all to be saved, (not in the flesh) in God's Spirit and Truth thank you
John 4:23-24
Forgiveness happens when the person repents of the sin not wanting it anymore.
Which repenting means to turn away from the sin.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
If a person holds unto sin the blood of Christ cannot wash it away.
For that is not repenting for they are not turning away from the sin.
God knows the heart.
You cannot repent of the sin after you do the act but will not let it go.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
2Ti 3:4 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Some people do not come to that truth but hold on to sin but think they have salvation.
If we sin we have to get rid of it and not want it anymore for it to be forgiven.
Who knows how long it takes for one to repent of a sin they are struggling with.
It should be repented of right away but who knows how long they will hold on to it.
Hello Blue155, I assume that you are asking how long God takes to forgive a penitent believer/saint, yes
It seems to me that His forgiveness in such a case is immediate .. e.g. 2 Samuel 12:13 (however, the penitent sinner, though forgiven and cleansed of his/her sin by God may, nevertheless, still face certain temporal consequences because of the sin that they committed .. e.g. 2 Samuel 12:14 (It may be helpful to read 2 Samuel 12:1-23, as well Psalm 51).If, on the other hand, by "sinner", you are referring to someone who is not a Christian/who is not saved, while this kind of forgiveness happens sometimes in Scripture, it is normally experienced on a temporary basis. Also, God does not fully forgive and cleanse an unbeliever of "all" of their sins, like He does for believers when we sin .. e.g. 1 John 1:9 (because unbelievers are not covered by the shed blood of the Savior, and apart from that, there is no basis for the redemption and forgiveness of sins .. e.g. Hebrews 9:22, 10:4 cf Romans 5:8-10).
As far as how long it takes a believer to repent of their sins after committing them, that "should" happen at the very moment that the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the sin that we've committed (though I suppose a number of factors, which could certainly include our emotions if they are still raw, could cause a delay in doing so).
Our friends at GotQuestions.org have written extensively on the topic of forgiveness. Here are a couple of their short articles for you to consider. BTW, the second article below includes a video with the same text as the article, so you can listen and/or read it, whatever your preference may be
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy (David)
p.s. - if by repentance and forgiveness you mean on the horizontal plane/man to man, the Lord has many things to say about that too. For instance,
Luke 17
3 “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
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Hello @Blue155, I think that it is also important to point out that while God's forgiveness of sinners is fully completed at the moment that He forgives us, our "feeling" forgiven may take time, a long time beyond that sometimes, in fact.
This is why it is so important for us to listen carefully to/believe in/trust Him by standing on the promises that He made to us, and by always taking Him at His very word, because one of the reasons that He forgives us is to make us useful (as Christians) again. This is always difficult to do if we choose to listen to/believe our "feelings", instead of God/His word (Satan uses our feelings as a way of getting us to doubt both God and His word, so whenever we sense that this is happening, we need to fight back against what Satan is trying to convince us of (by his lies/deceptions/half-truths, that he magnifies by using our feelings). This we do principally by continually growing in the knowledge and understanding of the truth/God's word, and then by taking any thoughts that oppose His truth, "captive", by REFUSING to believe them .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5 cf James 4:7.
IOW, one of the things that God's forgiveness provides with is a way for us to get up and walk away from wallowing in our misery over sin, and to get back, then, to the business of "fighting the good fight" instead
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - here's a quote from Joni about this, a woman and athlete who did not allow her injury (she has been a quadriplegic for decades because of her diving accident) to interfere with her life and keep her out of the battle
This is why it is so important for us to listen carefully to/believe in/trust Him by standing on the promises that He made to us, and by always taking Him at His very word, because one of the reasons that He forgives us is to make us useful (as Christians) again. This is always difficult to do if we choose to listen to/believe our "feelings", instead of God/His word (Satan uses our feelings as a way of getting us to doubt both God and His word, so whenever we sense that this is happening, we need to fight back against what Satan is trying to convince us of (by his lies/deceptions/half-truths, that he magnifies by using our feelings). This we do principally by continually growing in the knowledge and understanding of the truth/God's word, and then by taking any thoughts that oppose His truth, "captive", by REFUSING to believe them .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5 cf James 4:7.
IOW, one of the things that God's forgiveness provides with is a way for us to get up and walk away from wallowing in our misery over sin, and to get back, then, to the business of "fighting the good fight" instead
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - here's a quote from Joni about this, a woman and athlete who did not allow her injury (she has been a quadriplegic for decades because of her diving accident) to interfere with her life and keep her out of the battle
Repent at receiving eternal life, is about a 'change of mind, heart'..from unbelief to belief.
The Book of John shows this.
This happens in an instant. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.
This is different to 'faith without works is dead'.. which is about how you use this faith for the profit of others. Having received eternal life, what is the response to receiving?
Salvation vs service
Different things
a ubiquitously wonderful teaching post!Hello @Blue155, I think that it is also important to point out that while God's forgiveness of sinners is fully completed at the moment that He forgives us, our "feeling" forgiven may take time, a long time beyond that sometimes, in fact.
This is why it is so important for us to listen carefully to/believe in/trust Him by standing on the promises that He made to us, and by always taking Him at His very word, because one of the reasons that He forgives us is to make us useful (as Christians) again. This is always difficult to do if we choose to listen to/believe our "feelings", instead of God/His word (Satan uses our feelings as a way of getting us to doubt both God and His word, so whenever we sense that this is happening, we need to fight back against what Satan is trying to convince us of (by his lies/deceptions/half-truths, that he magnifies by using our feelings). This we do principally by continually growing in the knowledge and understanding of the truth/God's word, and then by taking any thoughts that oppose His truth, "captive", by REFUSING to believe them .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5 cf James 4:7.
IOW, one of the things that God's forgiveness provides with is a way for us to get up and walk away from wallowing in our misery over sin, and to get back, then, to the business of "fighting the good fight" instead
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - here's a quote from Joni about this, a woman and athlete who did not allow her injury (she has been a quadriplegic for decades because of her diving accident) to interfere with her life and keep her out of the battle
So, God loves us own Condition(s) otherwise get out is that what you are saying?