Forgiveness

It all happened so quickly. I moved away from the "remaining in Him" part. Yes, I still believed that Jesus is the Son of God. It was the part about "doing as He says" that had become difficult. I chose to become detached from the Vine, and I shut myself off from friends, family, community and church.

After several weeks in this social vacuum, I knew something was not right inside. Feelings of abandonment and rejection began to trigger pain. My life spiraled into a hell of drugs, booze and sex. I started thinking about death. Part of me wanted to just call it quits, but another part knew that I had come too far to give up.

You are not a failure. You are a Christian in recovery who failed. Satan wants you to forget what you have accomplished so far and to focus on a few moments of inappropriate behavior. Jesus wants you to focus on Him!

"I am in a Bible study and I feel I should give up this privelege."

No way! That is Satan talking to you again. Stay in the Word.
Pray and commune with God. Ask for forgiveness and then accept His grace and mercy.

• Ask the LORD to forgive and cleanse you of your error.
  Isaiah 1:18
  Come now, let us reason together,"
  says the LORD.
  "Though your sins are like scarlet,
  they shall be as white as snow;
  though they are red as crimson,
  they shall be like wool.

The following quote contains "principles for Christian living" that are taken mostly from the 'wisdom' literature of the bible: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

1 Corinthians 6:1-7 NJJV

Do I need to forgive someone even if it doesn’t seem that he is sorry?

Luke 17:3-4 answers that question this way: "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” Jesus said that without genuine repentance there is no forgiveness. One example of this principle is when he says:

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10).