I have a few questions for fellow Christians. I will start with my background. I am 40 years old and married with two very young beautiful children.

My parents have both been wonderful people, unfortunately my Father passed away recently. He was a very strong Christian and really walked the walk.

I have been a luke warm Christian unitl recently I am working on changing that. I have struggled with addiction my whole life. Opiates, nicotine, porn, and different sexual fetishes. I have cleaned up my life significantly since marrying my wife 9 years ago today.

I asked Jesus Christ into my heart again and I've been repenting for my sins. I'm listening to Christian music,  podcasts, praying, and trying to be a better man. Every night I pray with my five year old daughter before she goes to bed. I tell her how much Jesus loves her before I tuck her in. My son just turned 1 I will do the same with him. We are looking at local churches to start attending.

A few things I'm worried about. Do I need special deliverance because I am an addict? I still chew tobacco I want to quit. Do I have unclean spirits clinging to me because of my promiscuity? Different sects of Christianity seem to handle this differently.

What exactly would constitute special deliverance?

Christ told the woman taken in adultery to go thy way and sin no more. He didn't say she needed different or special deliverance compared to the other people in the scriptural accounts.

It seems as though you're making good progress and striving to accept Him and be more Christ-like in your thoughts and deeds. I'd say to keep doing that.

You do not need any kind of special repentance. That is like telling God that his grace is not enough. Accept his forgiveness, wholeheartedly, and carry-on.
Unclean spirits will not follow you around.

‭‭‭‭I John 1:9 NKJV‬‬
[9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

‭‭Romans 10:9 NKJV‬‬
[9] that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 8:1 NKJV‬‬
[1] There  is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

‭‭Ephesians 2:8 NKJV‬‬
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it  is the gift of God, ‭‭Ephesians 2:9 NKJV‬‬
[9] not of works, lest anyone should boast.

If you believe what is written in the Bible, you need nothing else for salvation other than faith that Jesus Christ had paid the price for your sins. There is nothing we can do to earn our righteouness.
Live for Christ and rest in the peace that He has made you right with God the Father.

I appreciate that man thanks. That's the same thing my dad would tell me.

Thank you!

Thank you!!

Have you been baptized?

You must put in the effort to stop sinning.

keep knocking seeking and you will find.  God wants that daily walk.  the more you walk with Him and get involve with a good church and mens groups the stronger you will become.  Jesus said he came to restore our relationship with the Father and in the same breath our relationships to each other.  just keep leaning in and be active in your church studies.  soon you willl learn to hear God's voice and walk according to the Spirit.  Then you don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  Nothing past that relationship, and knowing His love for you, will you ever have the power to overcome the obstacles in life.  when you do develop that personal relationship, by reading, worship and study and fellowship with stronger believers, those things that haunt you will be addressed with you and the Holy Spirit. some will be no big deal and some you will have to struggle with to learn just how to receive the grace from god to get free.  This is a wonderful journey bro,  get with people that love the Lord and Love the ones around them.  When you fail,  repent and try to see how god wants you to see a solution.  He will guide you and teach you how to be an effective man, husband, priest and covering for your family.  if you struggle with whatever, when you get good relationships, you can share your struggles and flaws and get strength and accountability from your brothers in Christ.  you will pray for each other and help each other with these burdens.  The more you get Him in you the easier everything starts to come into alignment.  the word says to resist the devil and he will flee.  honestly some resistance to the devil usually is enough lol.  most people agree with him instead of resisting.  Blessings brother.  HE is the source of Life,  where else can we go?  Blessings

You are only saved once. You can’t crucify Jesus over and over. You can’t be lukewarm.

Get in the Word. Go to a Bible teaching church, not some one that reads a few verses and yacks the rest of the time.  Pray and study. Have a Bible study time with your family. Most Christians have no clue what’s in the Bible.

Matthew 20:16
King James Version
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Revelation 3:16
King James Version
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

There are no perfect Christians; however, as time goes on the Holy Spirit...that still small voice will direct your path.  Listen to him.  When you sin, the Holy Spirit will convict you and you will be aware of your sin.  That is the time to repent and seek his guidance.  You will be fine, just stay on the path and do not be distracted from it.  Read the word daily, attend a good church and don't hesitate to talk to other Christians.  Even the Apostle Paul struggled between the opposing influences of the flesh and the spirit.

Great posts here, Brother! As my FB, wrestling, and judo coach used to tell me: "LISTEN UP!"

Get a personal relationship with that 33 y/o carpenter from Nazareth. THAT is what counts.

With THAT in your game plan, all else will fall into place--trust us--you'll find a good church, fellowship, sharing, caring....meaning in this life and the one that follows.

We're approaching a week in human history that literally rocked he world! And it still does!

It culminates next Sunday when that carpenter, teacher, son of the one true and living God rose from the dead.

As my coaches would tell us when the going got rough: "Shake it off! LET'S GO!"

Look--you say you've got 40 Summers under your belt--well, I've got you beat--I'm closing in on 40 more.

Been through a lot in this life--the best and the worst-- best was marrying the most beautiful girl on planet earth 55 years ago (how she daily still puts up with me--total mystery--but, then again--THAT is God--a total mystery to us.) SEEK HIM!

Like the philosopher walking along the ocean's beach who was contemplating God and the mystery of the Trinity, he saw a little boy digging a hole in the sand and then running to the waves to then throw a seashell full of water into the small hole. Asking the child his goal, the tyke replied: "I'm going to put the entire ocean into that hole I'm digging." The deep--thinker laughed and said: "Why that's impossible!" The little child looked up, smiled and said: "It's no more possible than you--a created human--to contemplate the Trinity--your Creator," and the child vanished! A MYSTERY!


We, His created creatures--through that veil of mystery-- we love, honor, cherish, follow and respect, our Father in heaven through his one son, Our Lord and Savior--redeemer of sin and saver of eternal souls--Jesus.

Once you're baptized, you are "made anew" and re-born. Confess your sins, be repentant, sin no more, and believe.

ALL of your past then will be totally forgotten by God--why dwell on the past? As a lawyer and family counsellor distraught clients would often ask: "Why did s/he do that?" Then the tears would flow, guilt, rage, anger, recrimination.... My simple answer: "We don't know WHY they did that--we're not God. All we know is that all the tears, all the time, all the distress and even all the money in the world cannot change the past. We have to live for the present and future and forget the past." And that is what God does--completely forgets our past sins--once HE forgives, your sins are totally forgotten about. Erased. Like they never were.

Closing words from our Men's Group at my Church, where we struggle to help ourselves, help each other, help our congregation, help our community through re-roofing home, drying flooded basements, sheltering abandoned children and aged parents, even re-homing stray dogs and sometimes horses:

"WALK WITH GOD!"

...you're on the right path...

I did when I was really young. I plan on doing it again.

If it was in the proper form, it's a one time sacrament.

Indeed. My boys were baptized as infants and they can never be unbaptized, they are sons of the covenant now and forever more. Our pastor has a statement that should apostasy loom or your feet stray from the path may your baptism hound you ceaselessly until you return.

Try some ancient faith churches such as The Roman Catholic Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church(Orthodox Church in America aka OCA, Serbian Orthodox Church, etc...) and see if any of those speak to you. The ancient faiths are considered 'right worship' as they have changed little from the way the first Christians worshipped. Fasting, repentance, confession, etc. I can't speak for the RCC, but the EOC is considered a hospital for sinners.

This quote from an important Early Church Father sums up the Eastern Orthodox Church nicely:

St John Chrysostom: Church is a hospital for sinners

“The Church is a hospital, and not a courtroom, for souls. She does not condemn on behalf of sins, but grants remission of sins.

Nothing is so joyous in our life as the thanksgiving that we experience in the Church. In the Church, the joyful sustain their joy. In the Church, those worried acquire merriment, and those saddened, joy. In the Church, the troubled find relief, and the heavy-laiden, rest.

“Come,” says the Lord, “near me, all of you who labor and are heavy-laiden (with trials and sins), and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

What could be more desirable than to meet this voice? What is sweeter than this invitation? The Lord is calling you to the Church for a rich banquet. He transfers you from struggles to rest, and from tortures to relief. He relieves you from the burden of your sins. He heals worries with thanksgiving, and sadness with joy.

No one is truly free or joyful besides he who lives for Christ. Such a person overcomes all evil and does not fear anything!”

Posted by THROUGHTHEGRACEOFGODORTHODOXCHRISTIANITY on JANUARY 3, 2016

Christ is your special deliverance. All those things we fail at are covered (Romans 4:2-8).

This.

I just want to point out a couple of things; First, what I highlighted in your post, are all works. You're relying on what you can do instead of resting on what Christ has done for you. If your salvation metric is yourself then you will always be in despair. You must repent and believe. That is the basic command. You don't need some special deliverance. Repenting is turning from your sin that you love and focusing on who Christ is and what He has done. Believing is having confidence and trusting in Him and His promises. That's why it's important to stay in His Word daily to learn and strengthen yourself in them. Pray about finding a local church to fellowship and worship in. Stay in prayer. It's not always some formal thing, it can just be a conversation. It's about building a relationship. You can't build a relationship with someone if you never or only occasionally speak to them.

Christian here (just Bible church, not a denomination).
I think that the Bible doesn't use special treatment for addicts. We all have our sins that we struggle with more than others. Don't think that because you're not immediately having immediate success that you aren't saved or something is wrong.

Hey there brother, the thing about the addictive mind is that addicts tend to think very low about themselves. The wrongs they have done seem to become amplified which eats away at your self esteem and resolve. Jesus died for our sins thousands of years ago and as soon as you accepted Him as your savior you were washed clean. To my knowledge Jesus never indicated that one sin was worse than another but he taught us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' c 38This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:37-39)  Focus your attention on this teaching and ask Jesus to defend you against His enemy. Remember Jesus already defeated Satan with His resurrection. When I have negative thoughts I try to pray and thank Jesus for already defeating Satan and I thank Him for being my savior.

In one of His parables he was approached by a father asking Him to save his son and Jesus says if you believe he will be saved and the father says he believes and then asks Jesus to help him with his unbelief. Never fear asking for help believing. Jesus walked on earth and felt what we felt and knows how difficult it is to believe with the heart when the world is showing disbelief to our other senses. Ask Him to help you. Also remember that when we ask for forgiveness we are forgiven, when we question our forgiveness it is because of our weakness so pray for the healing of our heart so that you can feel your forgiveness.

Here is a link to some of Jesus's teachings-written to explain His meaning. It really helped me understand what Jesus meant by His words.
Jesus's Sermon on the Mount

Happy Easter!

Concur.

Simply put, I don't think anyone here can answer your questions with certainty.  Speak with a priest on how you can reconcile with God.  If you're not sure where to start, feel free to PM me your general area and I'll do my best to find you a good one.  

Now for my opinion: Has your promiscuity made you more susceptible to attacks?  Most likely.  Do you have unclean spirits clinging to you because of that?  Probably.  You are right to be worried about getting "right with God," but be careful not to despair because that is even worse than your addictions.  Have faith and hope.  Be joyful and give thanks for your awakened conscience because it is a gift from Him.  God wants to save you.  Apostolic Christians would agree with me that there are tremendous graces that flow on the whole world during this time of the year.  Take advantage of that.

My Rosary today will be for you and your family.  Also, if you'd like a Rosary, PM me your address and I'll put one in the mail.

Jesis kicked it with sinners. Im sure He is proud of your turnaround. I am too.