I have again focused my direction to the Lord's teachings and can honestly say I want and have begun to live my life the way Jesus wants me to. My first question is will I be okay now that I'm back on the right path? Secondly, if I've not blown it, should feelings of sorrow and guilt go away with time?

It is true that there is such a thing as an unpardonable sin. Jesus called it the "sin against the Holy Ghost." The passage in 2 Peter may be referring to this sin. But the sin against the Holy Ghost, for which Jesus says there is no forgiveness, has to do with persistent, willful, deliberate sin THAT IS NOT REPENTED OF. The one who has committed the "sin against the Holy Ghost" doesn't care if he has. That is why it has often been said, and said correctly, that if one is worried that he has committed the unpardonable sin, he hasn't.

You say that you committed the same sins again and again in the past. How often will God forgive you? Perhaps it would be helpful to remember the conversation Jesus had one day with the apostle Peter. Peter asked him, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus replied, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times" (Matthew 18:21-22). Obviously, Jesus didn't mean by this that you should keep count and that when the person sins against you the seventy-eighth time, then you should refuse to forgive him. He was saying, "There should never be a time when you say to a repentant brother, 'I won't forgive you.'"

If that is true about human-human forgiveness, how much more isn't it true of divine-human forgiveness! Listen to the way the prophet Micah describes God: "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance [that is, those who believe in him]? You do not stay angry forever, but DELIGHT TO SHOW MERCY" (Micah 7:18). That's the kind of God you have. He will never say to a repentant sinner, "I will no longer forgive you."

With that, let's look specifically at your two questions. Your first question: "Will I be okay now that I'm back on the right path?" I have to say that with this question you are looking in the wrong direction for assurance. You are looking to yourself and your improved behavior as evidence that things are now right between you and God. But what happens if you fall again? Does that mean you are not okay with God after all?

Much better is to look to the promises of God's Word, such as, "If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8). And why will God do this? Because of Jesus, who is "the atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 2:2). Your new life of walking on the right path may be EVIDENCE that your sins have been forgiven, but it is not PROOF of that. The proof is that God says so. Because of Jesus and his atoning sacrifice, your sins are forgiven, and because of that you are okay with him.

Which brings us to your second question: "If I've not blown it, should feelings of sorrow and guilt go away with time?" The answer to that question is, "Most definitely." But I need to add an "if" to that answer. It goes back to what I said in the preceding paragraph. Your feelings of sorrow and guilt will go away in time IF you keep looking in the right direction: to Jesus.

Keep reminding yourself that the Scriptures say, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). Then ask yourself, "Who am I?" Answer: "A sinner." If Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and if you are a sinner, what is the logical conclusion? Christ Jesus came into the world to save you. Your sins are forgiven. God has drowned them in the depths of the sea. He has blotted them out of his book. He remembers them no more. So, you don't have to either. Keep your eye fixed on Jesus who went to the cross for you. That's where your certainty is to be found.

Yes, you are a sinner. But above all, you are a forgiven sinner, because of Jesus. That good news will also inspire you and empower you to fight off temptation in the future. But if you fall, God is still there. Jesus promises, "Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away" (John 6:37). That includes you.