Last updated on October 30, 2020
Question:
I have been struggling with sexual sin. I am 17. My parents are Christians. I have been sexually immoral — I had sex with my boyfriend. I prayed and asked forgiveness, I repented and we never did it again. But I am haunted by my past sin. I still feel guilty about it and I feel like I’m bringing a huge curse to our family. I don’t want my parents to suffer.
I struggle with porn and it’s kind of hard. I pray whenever I have time. I pray that I may be forgiven of my sin. I never did it again, but I feel like I am not worthy of God’s blessings anymore. I am anxious day and night about what would become of my family’s life because of what I have done. I feel guilty all the time. I need help, encouragement maybe.
How can I overcome this? And how can I break the curse that’s in my life and in my family? Please I desperately need help.
Answer:
There is no curse because God never stated that curses would be the result of forgiven sins. When a person sins, the responsibility for that sin falls solely on the person. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).
If you are not a Christian, then you need to truly become one to have your past sins forgiven. See: How to Become a Christian. If you are a Christian, the repentance of your sin (II Corinthians 7:10-11) and confession to God (I John 1:9) are what is required. After that, you have to trust God that He does as He promised. As it stands right now, you are demonstrating no faith in God keeping His promise.
In regards to guilt, of course, you feel guilty for sinning. I am more concerned about the people who don’t feel any guilt over sin — they’re the dangerous ones. Guilt has its place. It keeps us humble and it reminds us not to repeat our past mistakes.
But once you have obeyed God’s requirements and received forgiveness, you can look back and realize that you sinned in the past, but thankfully you are no longer that person because you’ve changed.