sooo new to christianity literally less than 2 months.

Hi all. I am a new Christian as you can see from the title. I am up and down at the moment, one moment I am happy and content in my beliefs and the next I wonder if I have truly been saved. It's a scary feeling to believe in god and not know if I will go to heaven when I die. I am having trouble with a couple of things that I know are sins ( smoking , drinking,) and I don't know how to overcome them. I don't drink everyday, but I do enjoy drinking socially, smoking on the other hand I am a pack a day. I feel like like I won't get into heaven because I drink on occasion and because I smoke. Any words of advice?

Welcome to CC, CuriousChristian.

I would encourage you to stop smoking right away.

First of all brother, you have made the most important decision that any human being could ever make. If you have truly believed in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and have accepted Him as Lord there are a couple of things that should be very sunk into your heart and mind.

The first being that you understand the price that it took for you to be forgiven, which was the blood of the Son of God. That alone is the biggest demonstration of love in all of the universe.

The second thing is that you understand that your sin separates you from God eternally. Therefore it was Jesus's sacrifice that has given you the right to have a relationship with the Father.

The third thing that we must all understand is that as Christians, if we sin consciously knowing it is a sin then we separate from the power of God in our lives and by doing that God can't use us in the full potential He would like to.

But another thing is this. Before we were Christians we did anything we wanted without feeling guilt, or shame or anything like that. A very good signal that you have become born again is that you are being convicted by none other than the Holy Spirit. He is the one who tells you don't do this don't do that. And it is through His word that He will tell you what to do in any specific situation.

Now, walking in light of all of this:

Ephesians 6

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Galatians 5:16

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Being a Christian is a minute to minute thing. It is a constant battle. And it is a battle that we can't do on our own. We can only overcome sin with the power of the Holy Spirit. That is when we agree with God that whatever He is convicting us of is sin, and we acknowledge that it is both harmful to ourselves and displeasing to Him.

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So in conclusion, draw close to God in scripture and in prayer. Fill yourself with His word, and remember His promises every second of your life. It only took one second for you to be born and it only takes one second for you to leave this body, which could come at any time. We must seek to please God in all that we can in between those two seconds, but we can't do it on our own power. We NEED Him.

John 15:5

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

God bless you brother.

And remember this, the spiritual controls the physical. If your deliberate actions, thoughts, and feelings are evil then be careful. But if the fruit of the Holy Spirit is flowing out of you then rest assured in your salvation.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. Adrian, you have helped me come to terms with what I was assuming I had to do. Its very hard and equally as scary being new to christianity. As I said there are times of great happiness in my new found faith and there are times of wonderment and sadness, i've been told it only gets harder for the first few months as the devil and his demons will tempt me with all of my known weaknesses. Thank you for sharing those verses with me I shall use them often in my prayers. I do have one more question though, at the end of your response you said "and remember this, the spiritual controls the physical. If your deliberate actions, thoughts, and feelings are evil then beware" it's not my actions or feelings that are evil, but I sometimes struggle with evil thoughts, not intentionally but randomly, how do I avoid those thoughts? I have so much to learn, it's a bit daunting honestly.

Thank you and God bless you

There is no way to prevent a thought from entering your mind. The key is how you handle that thought once it's there. If you dwell on a bad thought, entertain it in your mind, consider it, etc... that's a problem. often time that is what can lead to sin, doubt, confusion and so on. But if that thought comes to you and you catch it and choose to not dwell on it, or better yet, try to replace it with a good thought, of counter it with scripture if possible, then you're doing well.
Its like the bible says, 'resist the devil and he will flee from you'. Notice the bible doesn't say 'if you're a christian the devil won't come to you'. but rather instructs you on what to do When it happens.
If you're much of a reader i suggest The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis. Its a fictionalized book, but the insights into what goes on spiritually, the way the mind operates, sin, etc. I think its a good book for new believers to help understand how things operate. Hope this helps.

Curiouschristian welcome to Christian Chat
God Bless U

Curious Christian-
I just wanted to share with you that Jesus is a deliverer. If you truly put God first and surrender yourself to him completely, he will set you free. I have found that hanging out with the old crowd makes it harder to live for God if you haven't defeated your habits. Surround yourself with those that are where you want to be in the christian realm. Stay in the Bible and pray! Try learning a scripture during the times that you would normally drink or smoke. Replace bad habits with good ones! Hang in there! You can do it!

i think all believers have been in your shoes when they first started out or at least i was. but the best advise i can give you is don't be led by your emotions. since your older then i am im sure you have noticed that you can be feeling great one second and then feel sad in the next. if you are led by your feeling and not by God and his truth then you will always feel the way you do right now. as for the smoking and drinking i would like to tell you Jesus has already set you free from those addictions all you have to do is walk out in the freedom. my mom was a smoker since she was 11 and she is now 45. because of jesus my mom hasn't picked up a cigarrett in over a year. i saw her try every thing they have out their to quit but the only one who helped was God. lean on him and pray that is the only thing that will ever help you and congradulations im glad to have you as a brother in Christ.
God bless

You are very welcome, and thank God not me, it's all for His glory. Ohh, those thoughts are only temptations, those are the wiles of the devil. It is how you respond to those thoughts that make a difference. When you start having bad thoughts just call on God, read His word, worship Him. That is what I personally do and it works 100 percent of the time. And yes, it is very hard at first. But always remember this.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

I really recommend you to read the book of james, followed by the book of ephesians. It will make you grow so much.

I know just how you feel! BUt listen; if you weren't Born Again, would you be tripping on the outter appearance of sin? (smoking/drinking) When I was Born Again, I was challenged by John 8:44 and after a few minutes of wrestling with the concept of being called a child of the devil, I got mad and yelled:" I am NOT a chilkd of satan's. I am a child of God's-bought and paid for by the Blood of Jesus Christ!" ANd after that little fussin, I never doubted or accepted doubt again. And the really cool thing, is that several days later I read:
"..they overcame him by the blood of The Lamb, and the word of their testimony...." Revelation 12:11
Just stay in The Word. When you fall; be quick to repent. Do not ever give up-He wont! Read. Pray. Do. And find a Bible believing church.
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Welcome to CC, and God bless you!

Welcome to CC. Unlike others I am not going to tell you that drinking occasionally and smoking is a sin, much less something that would keep you from entering heaven.

Hello:

I would worry less about vices like that and more about them as opposed to your health. You have one liver and the lungs are fragile. Cut down if you can.

As far as heaven is concerned, get to know the Creator through the Scriptures. Questions are natural and there are many resources that can help. One good one is this link:
Light of Scripture The Nature of All Things

It's a good article on the basis of reality from a Christian perspective. It let's you know what's going on.

If God's Existance vs. Science and Evolution is ever in question, check out the videos from Dr. Walter Veith here: (AWESOME STUFF!!!)
YahTube: Walter Veith - Amazing Discoveries

Or if you have other questions - just ask.