I've had some thoughts lately, and I had some personal revelations as well. This is the truth that I want to share, for someone who may need it:
You are NOT your sin.
You are NOT doomed to hell because you fell back into sin (even when you promised God many times you wouldn't do it again)
You are NOT a failure because you fell back.
If you have accepted Christ as your savior, you have just accepted His gift of eternal life. Like God says, you are no longer bound by sin!! (Romans 6:14).
So what happens after we are saved? What are we supposed to do? God instructs us to turn away from sin and do our very best to live like Jesus did. This is called sancitifcation, and it is the life-long process of turning away from sin. Not only that, He wants a relationship with us!! He wants us to live a life full of love and compassion for others, as well as for us to preach His gospel.
But, what happens if I committed a sin I used to do before I was saved? I used to think that because I fell back into sin and bad habits, i just lost my salvation, even though i stopped and repented. I used to have that doubt. You cannot lose your salvation. The only way is if constantly keep committing that same sin without repentance. (i go more into depth about this here) God knows our hearts, He knows when we are trying to stop and when we have hardened our hearts to Him.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
"9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."
What happens if I had sex before marriage? Can I not go to heaven?
Notice how this verse says "fornicators" instead of "those who have fornicated". He is talking about those who are committing those sins, not those who have already committed them. Your past sins are blotted out because of your faith in Jesus!!! If you have repented, It is no longer being held against you.
"11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
Sure, sometimes we slip up. God doesn't want us to sit in guilt and not get back up. Guilt and shame do not come from God. We must pray, fast, and keep our spirits covered by the armor of God. Fight the good fight. I struggled with this for a very long time, just sitting in guilt and shame and not progressing because i was afraid of God, and i wanted to hide from Him. He loves us, He doesn't want us to be ashamed. But, He will convict you out of love for you. That conviction comes from the Holy Spirit, which helps us in our path to repentance.
"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
I hope this helps, whoever you are. Even though I don't have all the answers, and may not be able to always explain things clearly, Jesus is here to help you, and He loves you!!
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