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What if you repent for doing something bad, and yet you still do something bad?
Can you repent over and over and still go to heaven? and also will god still forgive you?
  Short answer:

You wrote, "Can you repent over and over and still go to heaven? and also will god still forgive you?"
Yes, you can and should repent over and over but...
only if you've already repented from a *life of ongoing sin* and it was done at God's leading. After that, if you've trusted in the attoning death of Jesus Christ to pay the sin debt that you owe God, your forgiveness is guaranteed no matter how many times you've failed Him. (Comforting to know that it's all about Him and His power and not my ability to be consistently "good"!)


Long answer:

Books have been written on the subject and churches and denominations have split over the answer to your question. I'll try to give you a relatively short answer on what I believe scripture says about the subject.

For the context of your question I think it's most important to focus not on the issue of individual acts of wrong doing ("repent from doing something bad") but on the greater context of repentance. It's not so much what you do bad but rather *why* you try to refrain from doing certain things. The entire Bible is about God's program for bringing mankind back into a perfect relationship with Him. That's a really big picture and its the picture we need to focus on in understanding the greatest principles of repentance. It's clearly God's priority so it should be ours, too.

First, no person truly repents completely on their own. We can think that we're repenting but unless God is working in us and placing the urge to repent in us then it's all a losing game. In that circumstance (without God's leading) one tries to be good but it never quite works out for long. We're just going through the motions and it doesn't really count for anything.

So I suggest looking at the bigger picture. Understand that true repentance is ***God*** leading you to do this (repent); giving you a sincere desire to both lead a life that is pleasing to Him AND a desire to know Him better and better as time goes on so that you become closer and closer to Him, more and more dependent on Him. When you are in that situation then the individual acts of sin ("doing something bad") decrease in relevance. What's of greatest importance then is that the greater part of your life is devoted to Him ("Love the Lord your God", Jesus said) and that the price of the sin you've already committed (and will commit) is paid in full.

People that are saved by God's grace through faith in the attoning death of Jesus Christ will still sin just as Abraham of the Old Testament did. But, just as Abraham was saved anyway from spending eternity separated from God because he was devoted to God and trusted God overall, so also are people going to Heaven that still sin in spite of their sincere devotion to God. It's not the indvidual acts but rather the focus of your life that is *most* important to God.

Maybe it's best understood in the following way. If you are repenting from doing bad things because you somehow want to be good enough to enter Heaven then you're wasting your time. If you think you're saved but keep on sinning and repenting and the fact that you're sinning really doesn't cause you any grief, I'd suggest that you're probably playing a losing game with God.

On the other hand, if you find you're repenting from doing bad things because you love God and are devoted to Him through Jesus Christ, and it breaks your heart when you sin because you know that you've greatly disappointed God and hurt Him through your bad acts, then you should just keep repenting with a goal of never ever doing that bad thing again. Remember you're not perfect; just don't use that fact as an excuse. God will work with you until you get it right.

If you do die before you get it right, God won't hold it against you because you long ago *repented from a lifestyle that didn't focus on Him* and trusted Christ for your salvation (pay that sin debt). Again, all at His leading.

It's a heart issue rather than a legal one. Are you trying to please God because He deserves the best from you (the heart issue) or are you trying to please God to work your way into Heaven (a legal issue and one doomed to failure).

There's hundreds of related things that I haven't touched on but I do pray that I've answer your questions.


May God bless.
Jim

Hello my name is [blank]I have just recently become very religious. I want to repent and purify my soul. Since I have sinned & i believe I have desappointed god.I feel if i repent I can feel better about myself and start over as persay.How do I go though repention? I feel kinda silly asking, but can you please help me.Thank you very much if u can write back and help.god bless you & your family.
  Hi, Michelle.
I guess I'd start with a new email address. Black witch?
But, seriously, thanks for writing. Your search could very well be the highlight of your life.
A quick answer about repentance can be taken from the gospel of Luke in chapter 3 where Luke shares information on the ministry of John the Baptist who preached repentence very strongly.

John said,
"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."
"The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your pay."

So John addressed the theme of actions in our lives. Maybe it's summarized by saying we should think about what's best for others before what's most convenient for ourselves then act appropriately. Our actions are important.
Jesus and Paul expand greatly in explaining true repentance. Jesus' words are naturally much more important than Paul's but everthing Paul says in scripture only goes to underscore his correct understanding of Jesus' words and repentance.
Yes, our actions should reveal a heart committed to doing things that are pleasing to God and place more importance on helping others rather than making our own wants and needs the #1 priority.
Yet, many people are "good people" and their lives seem to meet this description of repentance but the God of the Bible has no place in their lives. So, obviously there is more to this situation in your life.
Repentance is also responding to God's touching of your life in a most positive way, seeking to get to know Him better. Talk to Him regularly. Ask Him to guide your actions. Read the Bible a lot.
Finally, since you are really feeling that need for repentance (let's call it a desire to start living for God, for now) you should immediately (as in, right this moment) respond to God's getting involved in your life by acknowledging that in your life you've already committed ton's of sin (like all of us) and ask Him for His forgiveness in Christ. You're right in saying you've disappointed God and feeling this way is an excellent indication that God is at work in your life.
Because of Christ's death on the cross God will immediately give you forgiveness for your past and future sins.
Don't wait until your life reflects the changes that repentance brings about but knowing that you're a sinner and you want to make things right between you and God, pause in the process to seek forgiveness in Christ now.
May God bless you in your life. It's an essential part of true repentance.
Jim