Many people feel stuck in their past even when they respond properly because the still struggle with two questions, Allow me to deal with the first:
1
. What should I do if I don’t feel forgiven?
We must remember that our emotions are only reliable to the degree that they reflect biblical truth. After we have confessed our sin to God and to the appropriate people, we need to focus on what God’s Word has instructed us to believe about our status before Him, and what our Lord has done to make that status possible. We do that by remembering three things:
1) God is a forgiving God – Ps 103:12
2) Jesus focused on forgiveness even while dying on the cross – Luke 23:34; 23:43
3) God promises to forgive His children as soon as we come in repentance and faith – 1 John 1:9
On of the purposes of the Lord’s table, is to remind us as believers that our sins are forgiven because of 4 fold work of Christ in His Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and at Pentecost. We need to choose to live in the promises of God’s forgiveness whether our emotions accept that reality or not. Guilt is a motivation for seeking forgiveness, and is not to be a force to destroy our lives.