My heart feels hardened

[Bentz]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

 

[Ugly]

You're normal. Check the bible. Even the disciples had moments of doubt and they witnessed miracles performed by Jesus regularly.

 

[plainguy]

Bentz .... God's love for us is greater than all of our sins and fears. This is sometimes hard to accept because if we're honest with ourselves, we recognize that we don't deserve it. But it's not about us ... it's about Jesus Christ and Him paying our debt on the cross. God is gentle and humble in heart. Rest in Him ... and you will find rest for your soul. He Who promised is faithful and can be trusted in all things. God loves you now ... and He will always love you. He will see you thru your journey. Don't be afraid

 

[OtherWay210]

to Bentz :

Many go through what are experiencing . Because of the questions you've posed : leads me to believe

you don't know anything about your faith . You do not know what hell is, you do not know why we are here, and you do not know anything Christ taught.

The solution is to take time to study the Bible very carefully. Read more until you can retain it. Because the answers are there.

As you know now, ignorance is Not bliss . Its rather depressing .

 

[OtherWay210]

If you'd like to enter chat to talk about your concerns and try to find out what the Bible says ; then use the inbox function and contact me i can move to chat.

 

[OtherWay210]

Romans 10:13 - 18 explains we have teachers sent into the world .. But many set themselves as teachers, leading many astray . I dont totally blame people for feeling the way you do, the fault is on the fake preachers teaching their own message, and not Gods words.

 

[loveme1]

Keep Believing my dear... Grow in Grace and Knowledge of Christ.. we follow the Perfect King.. desiring to be perfect like our Father and do good because we are Saved by Our Gracious GOD through Christ our Lord.

all I can say is Keep Believing.

May GOD keep you and all of us always.

 

[Lucy-Pevensie]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

Hang in, you are under spiritual attack. This happens to most people at some point after being saved. The devil isn't happy to have lost you. But don't be afraid! You will get through this patch.

Deuteronomy 31:6
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

 

[MarcR]

After you have given your life to Jesus, you are His; and nobody or nothing can take you from Him.

Jesus desires that your joy might be full; but Satan will try to steal your joy if you let him.

 

[PennEd]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

Brave, honest post brother. I'd echo what others have said, that the enemy hates the fact that you ARE A CHILD OF GOD!!

Refrain from talking to those "Christians" that want you to feel condemned or feel shame for not fully understanding all of Scripture.

YOU are loved by your heavenly Father, AND your brothers and sisters in Christ. Keep your eyes, and heart outward toward Him, and doing His work by loving Him and others and spreading the Good News of His finished work on the cross.

 

[lancaster]

We as fallen creatures are appointed to destruction, but the Lord through his crucifixion has offered us clemency. What this means is that if I choose I can set back and let my fallen nature take me all the way to Hell or I Can accept the challenge of change for Christ and enter into the war for my own soul. Scripture says that it is a constant warfare between the flesh and the Spirit. Paul said, when I would do good, evil is present with me. When I made the decision to be a Christian I found by supernatural intervention Acts 2:38 and was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. I fasted four days and went to church and prayed at the alter and the Lord said to me, "Get up and have these 2 men pray for you; I am going to give you the Holy Ghost." That was my beginning in 1973.

 

[Depleted]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

So you're getting legitimate questions now.
-- "what if my past sins were too bad"
-- "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved"
-- "what if it isnt real"

What are you doing about those questions? Because God is real and because God is God, he's big enough to give you real answers.

He's not a dandelion that if you blow too hard, he'll scatter. He's God!

Learn about him. Study him. Seek answers, because those are legitimate questions. And that's why he gave us his Bible, so we can learn. This isn't an experience to feel, it's a relationship to grow in.

 

[star]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

By having these thoughts you should be confident that you are a member of the Body of Christ. Why? Because the devil leaves those alone whom he already has in his back pocket. It's the believers he sticks his forks into.

 

[preacher4truth]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

It's OK, you're going through trials, and the testing of your faith. God won't fold under critical questions and thinking from his finite creatures. Your questions are good, and assuredly all believers have doubts and questions they'd never be bold enough to ask.

Here is a series of videos that will help you. Please watch:

[video=youtube;eIGAjoqBhhU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIGAjoqBhhU&list=PL30acyfm60fVpGc7Eo--3S6w1kdhXY9Cb[/video]

 

[stonesoffire]

Just adding to these good posts..l

Now is when you become the warrior in the kingdom. It's the renewing of your mind with the written Word. Ask the Lord everything you want to know. He will lead you to His truth. It happened to Jesus too and He answered only what is written.

It can be exciting too when when you start to hear His Voice.

PennEd touched on an important truth. No condemnation. We are never condemned. That's the weapon of our enemy, never of the Lord.

 

[scatteredmusician]

It is hard not to trust in our feelings. Most people, when first saved, are on a “mountain high” – for a while. But you can’t live there and the valleys are inevitable, and these are what satan uses to bring us down and make us ineffective. If you really want an eye-opener as to how satan works, read CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. Most important though is to simply acknowledge that you lived a different life for a long time and habits get entrenched. It takes time to change so don’t beat yourself up, just put that thought aside, pray for help and go on, knowing God loves you so much and understands our weaknesses. Blessings.

 

[joaniemarie]

Hello there, not long ago, after my entire life of atheism, i heard the gospel and accepted it, prayed the sinners prayer and honestly felt changed: Sometimes i just had thoughts come to mind (to remove certain items from my house; trash them) and did so, they felt like orders rather than my own thoughts.

For weeks i felt great, and i completely understand the salvation plan. Especially recently however, i found myself reverting but most importantly have sparks of bad thoughts come to mind.

Sometimes i catch myself thinking "what if my past sins were too bad", "isnt hell too much of a punishment for the unsaved" or "what if it isnt real" even though i genuinely felt overcome by the spirit.

I prayed to God to be more like a child in my belief on Jesus, and to take up more space in my heart, yet these thoughts, even if for mere seconds before i shake them off, sometimes come.

I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

Is my heart just that hardened or is it normal? Im not reprobate, am i?

Welcome to CC Bentz., see you joined in Nov.2017 The other day someone also posted a similar question because the attacks we get from the enemy are very much the same. he wants us to doubt and question the finished work of Jesus in our lives by getting our eyes off of Jesus and onto self. This is normal and takes practice to learn how to recognize when it comes. We learn how to combat our feelings and old ideas and emotions and instead think on the new truths of what Jesus did for us when we got saved.



As Christians we are given instructions on how to resist the devil and he will be forced to flee. We humble ourselves by not believing our feelings and old ideas and instead believe Jesus and what He has already done for us. James 4:7
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]But He gives us more and more grace ([SUP][a][/SUP]power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).
[SUP]
7 [/SUP]So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.


How do we do this? The first step it to realize as a born again child of God you are not condemned. Jesus has given you His righteousness and that is your standing. Know who you are IN Christ. You are a saint and a son who is no longer condemned with the world anymore. The law of the Spirit of life which is IN Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus.
[SUP]2 [/SUP]For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.

When you daily begin to lay hold of that truth that you are no longer condemned even by those thoughts in your head you will start to find some relief. How we lived our lives before we got saved does effect us today but there is freedom to be had in Christ as we learn of Him in the Bible.

I consider the flesh and the way we used to think like a huge bell that rang for most of our lives day in and day out. We heard it and lived by it along with it's constant bonging sounds. We got used to it.

Then the day came and we heard about Jesus and He saved us and we were born again and given a new heart and a new mind. The old man died and the new man lives. The bell is dead., it is gone and it has stopped and is no longer there or ringing. Old things have passed away behold all things have become new. 2 Cor.5:17

[SUP]17 [/SUP]Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!



But unfortunately we will still hear and even feel the vibrations of that bell (that old man) because we still have this body. The challenge we face each day as born again sons is who and what do we believe? The flesh or the Spirit?

The Bible calls us to walk by the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Walk in the Spirit and we will not be tormented or lead by our flesh.

Not only that but the devil wants to keep us from being joyful in Christ because he knows the JOY of the LORD is our STRENGTH. We are encouraged in the Bible by God to have a STRONG CONSOLATION IN CHIRST. God cannot lie and He promises that Jesus is a steadfast ANCHOR for the soul. Read Hebrews 6:16-20 focusing on vs 18-19


[SUP]18 [/SUP]This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us].
[SUP]
19 [/SUP][Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot [SUP][a][/SUP]break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches [SUP][b][/SUP]farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil,


Our old way of thinking as well as the world.,flesh and the devil can effect our thinking. The devil assaults our minds with evil ideas and thoughts from the past., from the way we used to think and how we used to run our lives and how we used to spend our time.

he also assaults our minds. he's like a person who swears awful words of all kinds while in our presence. While the words are offensive to us down to our core., do we take responsibility for the person swearing in the room? No of course not they are not our words or our will.

Our new man detests those ugly words of the enemy as well as the reverberations of the old man. Romans 5-6-7-8 tells us about this battle., who shall deliver me from the body of this death? JESUS., HE will. Our calling is to BELIEVE Jesus has delivered us from guilt and the accompanying torment when He saved us and gave us the new man made in His righteousness.

Lay hold of this truth and walk it out each day and the lies and tormenting thoughts of guilt and shame will be gone. You will need to practice this daily because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Bible and the Holy Spirit tells us the truth so we fill our minds with the Word and we will grow in faith.

When we no longer believe the lies of the devil we are doing what the Bible says "resisting the devil" by having faith in what Jesus did for us instead., the devil's lies are seen for what they are in the Truth of God's word. We are no longer condemned because of Jesus and what He has done for us giving us HIS righteousness.

Then the lies and the devil will have no power over us and the devil flees just as the Bible promises because we believed the truth instead of the lie.

This takes practice for us Christians to daily look to Jesus and not to our feelings of self loathing. Jesus paid for all our sin and shame and guilt. We get our eyes off of self and instead on Jesus and the power of His resurrection that lifts us up from the dead.

The fight of faith is to believe that you are made righteous by faith and not by works. Jesus did it all and now we walk it out by faith. Be blessed and be free in Christ.

 

[JaumeJ]

Sometimes we all feel this way, I mean, according to the title of the op.

When we believe we sometimes allow ourselves to be deceived
by the reality that we know how believers and all should be in the
sight of God, and we become upset with just about everyone. This is
not a bad thing, it is simply knowing Jesus Christ is the way, and people
oft times are not showing how they are following Him, so we become (righteously) angry
but we do not sin......Think about this, did you ever hear Jesus Christ
"say" I love you to anyone? Yes, He did say that people would know us
bgy our love for one another, and we should love Him as He loved us
but in His teaching He loved by His being and His actions....you do the
same whne you feelthat way, unloving, cast that enemy away in the name
Of Jesus Christ.

Now I pray with anyone who will pray the same with me that you always
hav a heart of flesh pleasing toour Father in Jesus Christ. I pray this with all who
will pray it with me in Jesus Christ's precious name, and for His sake, amen.

I believe you have a wonderful heart, so do not let the enemy fool you
just bcause you do love and do not talk it.......this is the way
with all of God's children.

 

[Marcelo]

Bentz - I do understand that Jesus Christ alone paid the price for my sin, that i could only pay for mine by going to hell, yet these thoughts creep in.

By having these thoughts you should be confident that you are a member of the Body of Christ. Why? Because the devil leaves those alone whom he already has in his back pocket. It's the believers he sticks his forks into.

The lost don't worry about whether they are saved or not. So if you worry, this is a good reason for you not to worry!

 

[Angela53510]

Lots of good points in this thread. Do read your Bible daily? That is our spiritual food. God left us his Word, so that we would have answers to the questions you ask. I will also say, I have personally struggled with these questions in the early years I was saved.

When I felt condemned that my sins were too bad for even God to save, God gave me this:

’There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

When I fell and wondered if I was going to endure to the end, God gave me this:

”And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work will complete it at the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6

So, it is God’s work, not our own, although certainly we do need to seek holiness, and the power of the Spirit to live that way.

I didn’t find those key verses in my life by watching YouTube videos, or reading books. I got those verses when I cried out to God, and because I was already reading my Bible, God just had to show them too me, as an answer to prayer.

As for being hard of heart, if you were hard, you would not be here, seeking answers to these important questions. God brought you here, and he wants you to learn some spiritual disciplines, like reading the Bible, prayer and meditation. God will lead and guide you.

God bless you on this wonderful journey with Christ!