Hey guys, I have gone from Christian forum to Christian forum, posting these things..so I'm just going to post all my previous things, just so i can hopefully cover as much ground as possible in whats going on in my life right now.
Someone please help me
Then I'm troubled by my constant feelings of being unforgiven, as if praying to the Lord and confessing my sins to Him aren't good enough, like I need to actually confess my sins to the public and make restitution for the Lord to actually forgive me. I'm stressed out and tired, I don't feel any joy in this.
what does repentance entail? Is it really as simple as turning around and no longer doing what I once did? does repentance not entail restitution?
How does one show you are sorry? and who are you asking for forgiveness? is it God or the person you wronged? (sorry for being so persistent)
I'm still feeling a wee bit troubled, I just want a straight forward answer (not that your answers haven't been good) but MUST I make restitution to be forgiven by the Lord? I have done too much to be able to ever adiquitly make restitution, and the big sins of my past are sins that would harm the persons in question emotionally, no other way.
I'm struggling so much right now. I feel so downtrodden right now, its not even funny. Whats even more frustrating is that I have no place to just cry out in my misery except for here. I'm so depressed, angry, irritated, doubtful, i'm in a spiritually dark place. I don't feel forgiven by God, i do not feel comfortable, I do not feel happy, I feel desperate as hell. I feel like all my foundations are being shaken apart as the guilt of my past claws at my conscience. I have destroyed my life so much with the evils of my heart, I can't stand it anymore. I don't want to be here, I don't want any of this to be. I am keeping up a shallow prayer life, that keeps me "following" the Lord....but I'm so shaken, and my mind is so caught up in this misery. I curse the day that I ever let myself slip into such and evil place, and I will never be able to rid myself of this...this...sickness. I have become the product of all my bad decisions.
...I cant explain how much I wish I could just poor out my emotions into this...the urges to curse every other word, to just.........I'm not sure how much longer I can truly keep up this charade.
Originally Posted by Matthew Henry Commentary
Penitent confession and acknowledgment of sin are the believer’s business, and the means of his deliverance from his guilt.
This is what Matthew Henry had to say on that very famous verse about the confessions of our sins. I've been struggling with accepting forgiveness. Most people said that, that verse pretty much meant that you confessed your sins to God, and repented (to turn away..to stop performing that sin) yet Matthew uses the word "penitent" instead. Is this to mean that Matthew Henry believed that on top of repenting, and confessing, you also had to perform some sort of penance in order to have been absolved from sin by the Lord?
I would greatly appreciate any insight, as this is greatly troubling me.
I can't help but wonder. If the law says that you must turn yourself in, or be go to jail for certain crimes that you commit, if you where never caught..are you sinning each day that you don't turn yourself in?
What if turning yourself in, and confessing the sin to the person would cause more harm than it would fix?
Someone please help me