Willfully Sinning

Q

I have a question concerning willful sin. I confessed Christ as my savior and believe in him for my salvation but sometimes my flesh gets the better of me and I sin; and I know it’s a sin while I’m doing it. Afterwards I feel absolutely terrible about it and confess it to The Lord and ask for forgiveness. Are we condemned if we willfully sin? I feel condemnation and I find myself asking for forgiveness multiple times for it because I truly am sorry. I want salvation so bad and sometimes I feel like he counts the willful sin against me and I won’t be forgiven.

A

You’re not alone.  In Romans 7:14-25 Paul confessed to having the same problem. If you read it carefully you’ll see that the Lord does not count your sins against you, but attributes them to the sin that still lives within you.

If you feel condemnation you know it’s a trick from the enemy because in Romans 8:1 Paul said there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The bad feeling you should have when you sin is the conviction of the Holy Spirit leading you to confess.  When you do, the Lord forgives you your sins and purifies you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  He can do this because He took all your sins to the cross and paid for them there (Colossians 2:13-14) long before you were born.

Therefore, there is no danger that you won’t be forgiven because you have already been forgiven.