| Most Recently Posted Ask a Question | |||||||
| Q: | I am someone who is always struggling on whether God has granted me salvation or not. My question is: after Judas betrayed the Lord he seemed to repent. He was very sorry for what he did, yet we know he was condemned. Also the scripture says Esau sought salvation with tears and was sorry that he sold jacob his birthright. Yet scripture says God hated Esau. My 2 questions are why, after these two individuals expressed remorse were they not granted salvation? And is anyone beyond salvation? Please Help me. | ||||||
| A: | Judas was not saved because, though he regretted the consequences of his sin, he did not trust in God for forgiveness. In despair he ended his own life. In the case of Esau the passage does not seem to be directly addressing the issue of whether or not Esau was saved. The point is that after he had sold his blessing he could not recover it though he later regretted his act of selling it. There are two parts of true repentence: contrition or remorse over sin and faith which trusts God for forgiveness. Remorse does not justify, faith does. But the value of faith is not in the faith itself but in the merit of Jesus our Savior. The value of the faith does not depend on the strength of the feeling. It depends on the completeness of Christ's finished work. Christ is the Savior for all people. He has paid for the sins of the whole world. He has paid for your sins. God the Father has declared the sins of the whole world forgiven. He has declared your sins forgiven. When you feel doubt or anxiety, focus your attention on what Christ has done for you. If this troubles you often, this is something you need to talk to your pastor about. Regularly read some of the great passages of comfort such as Romans 3, 5, and 8 and 2 Corinthians 5. A book that provides an excellent collection of such passages is Answer to Anxiety by Herman Gockel. | ||||||
| |||||||