Christians: How often do you ask God to forgive you for the same sin because you do it over & over again?

Question

How do you explain your repeated pattern? If doubt your own sincerity in wanting to change, what do you think happens when you ask for forgiveness?

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Answer 1

God has forgiven me every time I sin so I am not worried. I can sin up until my death bed and still make it into Heaven, sucker. Hey, that's how the system is set up!

Answer 2

We as Christians recognize that we are sinners. We ask for forgiveness with earnest, and *still* we often repeat our sins. The repeated pattern is due to our corrupt nature. Sometimes we doubt our sincerity, and sometimes we mourn the fact that we have not yet changed although we yearn to do so.

If you aren't sure that you are sincere about asking for forgiveness, then ask for help from God to let go of the sin. I don't think that means you cannot ask for forgiveness, but I am a Protestant and not a Catholic.

Answer 3

I asked Him for forgiveness a long time ago. I believe with my whole heart that I am already forgiven.

When I sin, I repent of that sin and pray for guidance and understanding so as not to commit it again.

As far as repeating same sin...that is another story. I think every Christian should really take a hard look internally at themselves; just to make sure they're continuing on the path of righteousness. We are all flawed and sometimes all of us need a kick in the pants to keep us on the straight and narrow. Sometimes we have to come to the conclusion that we may need some outside help from fellow believers to fight off certain addictions that we may have. Addictions that may be the reason for our continuing the same sin over and over. I don't know. I do know it's always good to have to have others pray for you too.

Answer 4

Some sins I have to ask forgiveness quite often. These are not really bad ones, though. I make a priority of getting rid of really bad ones.
If you think it's possible to get through a day without sinning, just try it. Or maybe you aren't aware when you fall short?
The fact is, none of us achieves perfection this side of the grave. God knows this. By confessing and asking forgiveness as soon as possible, I get back to the right path. I try to make steady improvement, but I know and God knows that I'll fall short again.
Think about learning anything, not just how to live better. You gain skill, you reach higher levels, but as you do, you still fall short of doing the job perfectly. In fact, as you learn new skills, you have new ways to fall short. But normally you don't think about it that way. You think that you are getting better, but there is always room for improvement.

Answer 5

How often? As often as you need it. When a person returns to his sins, the Bible gives us the image of a dog licking up his own vomit. Why the repeated patten? Because sinners sin. That's what I am and that what you are. Its not about a lack of sincerity. I receive forgiveness not from my character or lack of it, its based on God's character and that never changes.

Answer 6

Christians are sincere enough to know that they never reach perfection here in earth. And I don't know if the repeated sin bothers me anymore than always having a new sin to confess. The only point is that we recognize our weakness, admit our sin, and go to Jesus as our loving father for forgiveness.

I am a parent myself and I know my own children. I know their personalities and their repeated weaknesses. It doesn't bother me that it repeated so much as when they fail to recognize it as something they need to work on.

Answer 7

Remember, we are imperfect, but because of Jesus willingness to pour our his blood in our behalf, we are free to approach God to forgive our sins, because we sin everyday and He knows that.
When we do pray, God wants to make sure we are really sincere & sorry for what we done, especially if it is a major sin like fornication, adultery, or murder, otherwise God will not answer your prayers if He knows we're not sincere. He is the reader of our figurative hearts.

Answer 8

If you are sincere, than Yes of course God will forgive you, but you can not have the mentality that its okay to sin becasue God will always forgive you.

Answer 9

You must ask forgiveness for your sins with sincerity. But you must also strive to correct yourself to not make the same mistake. Otherwise if you think you can just do something wrong and say your sorry, then do it again....well your not very sorry now are you.

Answer 10

I don't usually repeat the same sin. I ask God to forgive me of my sins every night when I pray and once I do that, I try not to do the same sin again.

Answer 11

Mate, this is a very good question. I can only answer for myself, tho... The fact is, everybody sins; everyone makes mistakes, we piss others off, somehow, whether we mean to or not. But the beauty of it is that when we confess our sins, either in prayer or through an honest self evaluation, God is faithful in forgiving us, just as it is written in the Bible. This isn't a justification to keep making the same mistakes, but to learn from those mistakes, analyze what impact that theyve had on your life and/or those you love, and realize that you can control your own actions or feelings through God's help, prayer, discipline and support from a network of friends who share your same values. Hopefully this helps.