Why do i feel like im never good / pure enough

[Imperfect]

this feeling i despise. i hate sinning, the thought of sinning, and thoughts of sin. it makes me feel dirty and hell bound.

try to repent and turn from a sin, but actually turning and staying turned is a struggle within itself. we are not going to be perfect, so if we repent from our sins, how do you NOT commit that sin again? that is a very steep hill. i understand the road is very narrow and few find it, but sheesh... tiring and stressful.

 

[JimJimmers]

Imperfect, ask to be filled with The Holy Spirit! Jesus talked about it in Luke. Instead of just saying you'll try harder, pray the promises in The Bible. Like, it says, "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." Don't just say, "Okay", ask Jesus to let your mind be like His. -JIM

 

[duewell]

intent. that which i do, i do not want to do and that which i want to do i don't do. we all struggle with the thought of repeat sinning after we repent. some things we would never do again and yet others seem to slip by from time to time. the very fact that we struggle with it shows our intent. an unrepentant sinner does not struggle with this problem. how many times must i forgive my brother ? 70 x 7. its when you are sorry for what you are doing and how you desire to not do it again that matters. even if at times you fail. a child who wants and tries to be obedient but fails is corrected and forgiven. the disobedient child is corrected and punished.

for the most part worrying about sin when you don't want to sin can become a circular argument that will lead you to near insanity. in all the history of the earth, only one person was perfect the entire time they were here. have faith in Jesus and you will be led to the narrow gate.

duewell
mark 4 v 11-13

 

[Imperfect]

Imperfect, ask to be filled with The Holy Spirit! Jesus talked about it in Luke. Instead of just saying you'll try harder, pray the promises in The Bible. Like, it says, "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." Don't just say, "Okay", ask Jesus to let your mind be like His. -JIM

i have prayed many times to be filled with His Spirit and lead me to do His will and give me His strength, etc.. ive come a long way from where i use to be, but i feel like this is a race where the finish line is almost unreachable which is discouraging.. but that could be satan talking in my ear telling me i will burn for my impurity.

intent. that which i do, i do not want to do and that which i want to do i don't do. we all struggle with the thought of repeat sinning after we repent. some things we would never do again and yet others seem to slip by from time to time. the very fact that we struggle with it shows our intent. an unrepentant sinner does not struggle with this problem. how many times must i forgive my brother ? 70 x 7. its when you are sorry for what you are doing and how you desire to not do it again that matters. even if at times you fail. a child who wants and tries to be obedient but fails is corrected and forgiven. the disobedient child is corrected and punished.

for the most part worrying about sin when you don't want to sin can become a circular argument that will lead you to near insanity. in all the history of the earth, only one person was perfect the entire time they were here. have faith in Jesus and you will be led to the narrow gate.

duewell
mark 4 v 11-13

thats what im talking about. i feel like i may put too much stress in sinning (which gets to be too much in more ways than 1), but then when i try to be casual about it and not worry and think about it so much, i feel like im not doing / trying enough ... then start questioning where my heart is, even tho i know i have a good heart with good intentions.

 

[Radius]

Hey Imperfect. I too struggle with some sin from time to time. I fall off the wagon only to hop right back on some months and months after repenting. Not many sins, but a few "thorny" ones. It's a struggle.

The best thing I do is pray and ask for God's strength. God said He would be our counselor and comforter. When I feel like reaching for a beer, for instance, I go into instant war with my flesh. I say, "Hey my wife is out with the baby, I have the whole house to myself I can go get some beer and have some fun on angersports." But then I am reminded of what I ought to be doing, and the war ensues. Today I won. And once you win a few battles it gets easier and easier.

God Bless you brother and keep fighting!

 

[Radius]

i have prayed many times to be filled with His Spirit and lead me to do His will and give me His strength, etc.. ive come a long way from where i use to be, but i feel like this is a race where the finish line is almost unreachable which is discouraging.. but that could be satan talking in my ear telling me i will burn for my impurity.

thats what im talking about. i feel like i may put too much stress in sinning (which gets to be too much in more ways than 1), but then when i try to be casual about it and not worry and think about it so much, i feel like im not doing / trying enough ... then start questioning where my heart is, even tho i know i have a good heart with good intentions.

Another thing that helps me is when I think about eternity. We only have ONE shot at doing things for Christ on this earth. When God is wiping away every tear (and I assume we will be crying because of the way we lived our lives) I don't want to be reminded of choosing MY way while I was living. It is so worth it to deny the flesh, no matter who much you may want to do the sin, and be able to live on in eternity knowing you did what God wanted you to do instead of yourself. You can actually look forward to the "well done my good and faithful servant" instead of being ashamed.

Every timeyou fall into a sin you are saying YOUR will be done, not God's Will. You are essentially saying you LOVE that sin more than God. That always gets me to think twice about sinning.

This war of sin and the spirit will be waged until the day we die. It is a constant battle and ongoing and you win some and lose some. But we must make strides towards the goal. One step at a time.

 

[Imperfect]

Another thing that helps me is when I think about eternity. We only have ONE shot at doing things for Christ on this earth. When God is wiping away every tear (and I assume we will be crying because of the way we lived our lives) I don't want to be reminded of choosing MY way while I was living. It is so worth it to deny the flesh, no matter who much you may want to do the sin, and be able to live on in eternity knowing you did what God wanted you to do instead of yourself. You can actually look forward to the "well done my good and faithful servant" instead of being ashamed.

Every timeyou fall into a sin you are saying YOUR will be done, not God's Will. You are essentially saying you LOVE that sin more than God. That always gets me to think twice about sinning.

This war of sin and the spirit will be waged until the day we die. It is a constant battle and ongoing and you win some and lose some. But we must make strides towards the goal. One step at a time.

i have a similar reminder.

see me, im competitive and i have turned my competitive nature to my spiritual efforts. i always like to keep the mindset, "if you give in to this sin, then you have been defeated."

but every now and then, that mindset slips my mind and i my strength gets dented and like a cracked roof, the water starts falling through, and the more that falls through, then the more that falls through, so you have to do even more work to patch up that wound.

 

[Radius]

i have a similar reminder.

see me, im competitive and i have turned my competitive nature to my spiritual efforts. i always like to keep the mindset, "if you give in to this sin, then you have been defeated."

but every now and then, that mindset slips my mind and i my strength gets dented and like a cracked roof, the water starts falling through, and the more that falls through, then the more that falls through, so you have to do even more work to patch up that wound.

Lol we must be brothers, (and we are in God's Family!) because I am exactly the same way. I get stubborn about committing the sin and don't want to "lose" to it.

 

[Imperfect]

Lol we must be brothers, (and we are in God's Family!) because I am exactly the same way. I get stubborn about committing the sin and don't want to "lose" to it.

yea man, but i have the same mentality as you to, tho. i also go by, "whats more important, God and eternity, or this sin", and that adds strength to your competitiveness. they feed off of each other.

 

[maxwel]

Imperfect,

You will get completely perfected one day... after you're dead.


As long as you have this mortal body, with cursed blood in your veins, you will struggle.

It IS possible to overcome things; it IS possible to grow closer and closer to God; it IS possible to have more peace.
But when you overcome a sin, you will only notice another sin... some smaller sin you hadn't seen before.

The Apostle Paul was a great man, and a very Godly man, and he had the same problems.
They never went away... not completely.
That's what duewell was referring to in his post above; he was talking about Paul.

Stay in the word, and stay close to God, and he'll guide you and strengthen you.

How long have you been a Christian?

 

[Imperfect]

Imperfect,

You will get completely perfected one day... after you're dead.


As long as you have this mortal body, with cursed blood in your veins, you will struggle.

It IS possible to overcome things; it IS possible to grow closer and closer to God; it IS possible to have more peace.
But when you overcome a sin, you will only notice another sin... some smaller sin you hadn't seen before.

The Apostle Paul was a great man, and a very Godly man, and he had the same problems.
They never went away... not completely.
That's what duewell was referring to in his post above; he was talking about Paul.

Stay in the word, and stay close to God, and he'll guide you and strengthen you.

How long have you been a Christian?

my whole life, my grandmother and her family are pretty big into christianity. stubborn in faith. but they also are not from this country. shes from a country and era where God was 1st and foremost and there was no other way. period.

compared to today with so much sin and people doubting God, you can tell she is not from this country and definitely didnt get molded in this era.

but i didnt become born again in the spirit til about 2 1/2 years ago and not baptized a few months after being born again in the spirit. since then, i see things through a microscope and walk on egg shells since im more aware.

 

[cfultz3]

And Paul came to a conclusion. I thank God because of Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we serve God's Law (Love) with the MIND (our spirit). But, with the flesh, the Law of sin (the one which keeps condemning people). Don't get me wrong, we cannot be perfect (sinless) until that which is Perfect comes back. But, until then, we continue to be led by the Spirit and when He convicts us, hearken to Him and repent (ask for forgiveness and turn). Scripture tells us that we are to die to our flesh. If we are to die to it as to what we hearken to, then we are to become alive to our spirit so that through the Spirit we not only find Life, but we might walk our life pleasing to God. Every slave needs a Master: flesh (Law of sin rules) or Jesus (Law of God rules).

 

[marrion]

yes imperfect I too am beginning to find out just how narrow this road is.one thing I am finding out is that we may be the cause of many of our struggles by the things we allow our eyes to see and our ears to hear.our five senses are a gateway to our soul and depending on how we manage them we can find ourselves plain sailing or fighting for our lives at any given moment.sometimes the movies we watch and music we listen too can trigger a serious battle between the flesh and the spirit.I believe that's why Jesus said whatever it is that causes us to sin we should remove it.Most of us should know our trigger points so we can ask God to help us discipline ourselves in these areas and as a result we will become less prone to these attacks of he enemy.i believe this is why Jesus also tells us to love not the world or the things of the world because the world consists of the lust of the flesh the pride of life and the lust of the eyes.The Lord delivered me from my addiction to rap music and he helped me to stop watching worldly movies.i try and watch only christian based movies.Next on the list is sports.you'll be surprised how much worldliness the devil can cram in during one football or basketball game.another question to ask ourselves is how can we die to the flesh if we are consciously or unconsciously consistently feeding it?

 

[Imperfect]

yes imperfect I too am beginning to find out just how narrow this road is.one thing I am finding out is that we may be the cause of many of our struggles by the things we allow our eyes to see and our ears to hear.our five senses are a gateway to our soul and depending on how we manage them we can find ourselves plain sailing or fighting for our lives at any given moment.sometimes the movies we watch and music we listen too can trigger a serious battle between the flesh and the spirit.I believe that's why Jesus said whatever it is that causes us to sin we should remove it.Most of us should know our trigger points so we can ask God to help us discipline ourselves in these areas and as a result we will become less prone to these attacks of he enemy.i believe this is why Jesus also tells us to love not the world or the things of the world because the world consists of the lust of the flesh the pride of life and the lust of the eyes.The Lord delivered me from my addiction to rap music and he helped me to stop watching worldly movies.i try and watch only christian based movies.Next on the list is sports.you'll be surprised how much worldliness the devil can cram in during one football or basketball game.another question to ask ourselves is how can we die to the flesh if we are consciously or unconsciously consistently feeding it?

dito. this is exactly what makes it harder. this country is full of sin everywhere you look. this country glamorizes sin. and that is also what leads me to believe we are extremely close to His return.

hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.


i like to compare our spirit with what we eat / bodies.

you have to take care of your body like you do your spirit.

if you like to keep your body fit, what do you do. you watch what you eat and work-out / exercise.

spiritually, we cant listen to dirty music that glorifies sinning, we cant watch sinful shows, movies, etc. we have to filter what we take in our minds just like we filter what we take in our bodys.

and the #1 weapon satan uses against humanity IS music. music goes straight to our mind, the source, you have control over somebodys mind, you have control over their body.

our mind and body likes certain sounds and when you add ill advised lyrics to the nice rhythm / sound of the beat, it becomes brain-washing. even if you are not paying attention, sub-consciously, we are always taking everything in.

 

[Radius]

yes imperfect I too am beginning to find out just how narrow this road is.one thing I am finding out is that we may be the cause of many of our struggles by the things we allow our eyes to see and our ears to hear.our five senses are a gateway to our soul and depending on how we manage them we can find ourselves plain sailing or fighting for our lives at any given moment.sometimes the movies we watch and music we listen too can trigger a serious battle between the flesh and the spirit.I believe that's why Jesus said whatever it is that causes us to sin we should remove it.Most of us should know our trigger points so we can ask God to help us discipline ourselves in these areas and as a result we will become less prone to these attacks of he enemy.i believe this is why Jesus also tells us to love not the world or the things of the world because the world consists of the lust of the flesh the pride of life and the lust of the eyes.The Lord delivered me from my addiction to rap music and he helped me to stop watching worldly movies.i try and watch only christian based movies.Next on the list is sports.you'll be surprised how much worldliness the devil can cram in during one football or basketball game.another question to ask ourselves is how can we die to the flesh if we are consciously or unconsciously consistently feeding it?

lol I gave up rap too, more or less I probably matured out of it, but giving up watching sports? Never haha.

 

[Imperfect]

lol I gave up rap too, more or less I probably matured out of it, but giving up watching sports? Never haha.

yea i still listen to rap but im more selective with it.. a lot more selective and i have my guards up when i listen to it and try my best to make sure to make a conscious effort to not let it phase me. come to think of it, its like a battle just listening to it lol.

i listen to more soul and R&B even jazz tho. i like some gospel music. i would eventually like to gravitate toward listening to gospel full-time. that would be good for my soul.

and sports.. right. i think thats going too far. but like my grandmother said, "sports is the devil".. just like the mother in waterboy says.

sports is ALL my grandfather knows and it always made my grandmother sick to watch it and that it was always on her TV. i use to laugh at her when she would call sports the devil, but now, i understand. sports is a HUGE distraction. could you imagine what america / the world would be like if everybody was as passionate about Jesus as they are their hometown/ favorite sports teams?

not to mention all the sexual images that come with the advertising and marketing scheme for sports.

 

[KrissyT]

We are all sinners, and yes it is good to try real hard not to sin over and over again, but sometimes we are unperfect. But try and remember Gods gift was free, and if you asked him to be your Lord and Savior you are his child and we do not need to try over and over again to earn this gift, because it was given free. Nothing we do can make us perfect. My opinion is to ask God just to help you in his strength not our own. Keep on walking with God and let him know you are trying..He knows our hearts more than we do our own.

 

[skyttyl]

I've also ran into this recently. There isn't a single human example of a perfect sinless walk; even after salvation, in the Bible, or in the world. Paul shot his mouth off and was crucified, Simon Peter struggled with the transition between the law and grace, and even Abraham; the father of the covenant sinned several times. When he went into Egypt, he was afraid someone would kill him and take his wife because she was so beautiful, so he convinced her to say that she was his sister, which was a half-truth. He let fear of men get to him and not hold to his faith with God to keep him safe. All three times, the Pharaoh called her to court her, and God had to intervene to keep the marriage bond from being broken. Also, when Sarah offered her handmaiden to produce the promised son God said he would give Abraham, he took her up on her offer. Furthermore, Sarah, his wife was his half-sister too, meaning he's transgressed several parts of the law already, but God stuck by him nonetheless. Why? By faith, Abraham called on God and declared himself God's servant, and God answered. He knew how sin had eroded the human condition, but he took Abraham as he was and he taught him how to walk uprightly. Yeah, he messed up now and again, but God stayed with him through it all, and every promise he made Abraham, he fulfilled through us; the children of faith.
The walk of a Christian is a walk of faith in God; a relationship with God so strong that we see the truth in all things. We still walk around in this flesh, so temptation is what we will face daily. What I can suggest to you is to always remember what is most important about the Christian walk: it is your relationship with God. Make sure you're reading your Bible so that you will become wise in the Lord, but also make sure that you are setting time down that you can talk and have fellowship with God. Pray to him; rejoice in his promises he has given us and that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life, and remember what he has done to win you. He didn't do all that to lose you now. His love for us is very strong. Keep your mind on God and he will deal with your sinful ways, just as he has with Abraham, Paul and Simon Peter.

And I know it's a little late to be answering the direct question, but here it is anyway. lol You feel like you're not good enough because you aren't. None of us are. The gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus is just that; a gift. We don't win it neither do we earn or deserve it. It was given to us; a bunch of people who will never, under our own power, measure up to the standard that we must be to deserve it, so God paid the price for our follies/sins and gave us His just reward so that we would be saved. Jesus loved us so much that he willingly gave us the right to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven and be with our God for eternity so that all of us, undeservingly as we are, could have that reward.

A fair warning: None of this was done so that you should stay in sin and walk in the way of the flesh, and still make it to Heaven. Paul was very clear that sin will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, but it was done because God knows that our flesh is filled with sin and as long as we try, God will take care of the rest of our sins for us. Just remember; the important thing about our walk isn't that we don't sin; it's that we have a relationship with God, so make sure that that is your focal point in your faith. God bless.

 

[Imperfect]

I've also ran into this recently. There isn't a single human example of a perfect sinless walk; even after salvation, in the Bible, or in the world. Paul shot his mouth off and was crucified, Simon Peter struggled with the transition between the law and grace, and even Abraham; the father of the covenant sinned several times. When he went into Egypt, he was afraid someone would kill him and take his wife because she was so beautiful, so he convinced her to say that she was his sister, which was a half-truth. He let fear of men get to him and not hold to his faith with God to keep him safe. All three times, the Pharaoh called her to court her, and God had to intervene to keep the marriage bond from being broken. Also, when Sarah offered her handmaiden to produce the promised son God said he would give Abraham, he took her up on her offer. Furthermore, Sarah, his wife was his half-sister too, meaning he's transgressed several parts of the law already, but God stuck by him nonetheless. Why? By faith, Abraham called on God and declared himself God's servant, and God answered. He knew how sin had eroded the human condition, but he took Abraham as he was and he taught him how to walk uprightly. Yeah, he messed up now and again, but God stayed with him through it all, and every promise he made Abraham, he fulfilled through us; the children of faith.
The walk of a Christian is a walk of faith in God; a relationship with God so strong that we see the truth in all things. We still walk around in this flesh, so temptation is what we will face daily. What I can suggest to you is to always remember what is most important about the Christian walk: it is your relationship with God. Make sure you're reading your Bible so that you will become wise in the Lord, but also make sure that you are setting time down that you can talk and have fellowship with God. Pray to him; rejoice in his promises he has given us and that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life, and remember what he has done to win you. He didn't do all that to lose you now. His love for us is very strong. Keep your mind on God and he will deal with your sinful ways, just as he has with Abraham, Paul and Simon Peter.

And I know it's a little late to be answering the direct question, but here it is anyway. lol You feel like you're not good enough because you aren't. None of us are. The gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus is just that; a gift. We don't win it neither do we earn or deserve it. It was given to us; a bunch of people who will never, under our own power, measure up to the standard that we must be to deserve it, so God paid the price for our follies/sins and gave us His just reward so that we would be saved. Jesus loved us so much that he willingly gave us the right to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven and be with our God for eternity so that all of us, undeservingly as we are, could have that reward.

A fair warning: None of this was done so that you should stay in sin and walk in the way of the flesh, and still make it to Heaven. Paul was very clear that sin will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, but it was done because God knows that our flesh is filled with sin and as long as we try, God will take care of the rest of our sins for us. Just remember; the important thing about our walk isn't that we don't sin; it's that we have a relationship with God, so make sure that that is your focal point in your faith. God bless.

well i think that about sums it up.

btw, did this thread make you create a profile here?

 

[Hizikyah]

I always pray for the strength and will to do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh. I think it great that your consciousness tell you not to sin, I fell the same and I think it is a sign yahweh is changing ones "heart".

Romans 2:11-15, "For there is no respect of persons with Yahweh. For as many as have sinned without the Law, will also perish without the Law, and as many as have sinned in the Law, will be judged by the Law-- For not the hearers of the Law are the hrighteous in the sight of Yahweh, but the doers of the Law are the righteous. Indeed, when Gentiles who do not
have the Law, do by nature things required by the Law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have
the Law; Since they show that the requirements of the Law are written in their hearts, their conscience also bears witness, and their thoughts now accuse or else try to defend them."

As I feel we are in these days:

1 Timothy 4:1-2, "Now the Spirit speaks very plainly, that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons Speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared as with a hot iron."

Thank Yahweh He has not:

Romans 1:28, "And so, since they did not like to retain Yahweh in their knowledge, Yahweh gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not proper."

Reprobate Mind: A mind void of righteous judgment.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all compete, but only one receives the prize? So run your race that you may lay hold of the prize, and make it yours. And everyone who competes conducts himself temperately in all things. Now they compete to obtain a perishable crown; but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man who beats the air. No, I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."

Revelation 22:12-15, "And behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work will be. I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who keep His Laws, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and worshipers of gods and everyone who professes to love, yet practices breaking the Law."

Stay strong.