BGEA: I'm afraid that God will punish me after I die for all the sins I've committed. How can I get over this fear?

I don't talk about it much, but I'm secretly very afraid of dying. I'm afraid that God will punish me after I die for all the sins I've committed. How can I get over this fear? — T.E.

The only way to get over this fear would be for you to know that God had forgiven every sin you had ever committed or ever will commit. If you knew God had completely forgiven you, then there wouldn't be any reason for you to have fear of death any longer, would there?

But is this possible? Yes!—and the reason is because Jesus Christ has already taken upon Himself the punishment you and I deserve. You see, you are right about one thing: You and I deserve to be punished for our sins. God is holy and just, and even one sin would be enough to banish us from His presence forever. The Bible solemnly warns, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

But the Bible doesn't stop there! It goes on to tell us that God loves us—and because He loves us, He sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins. We deserve to die and be separated from God forever—but Jesus Christ took our place. He was without sin, but when He died on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He took the punishment and hell we deserve.

And that is why you don't have to fear God's punishment any longer! What must you do? The Bible's answer is simple: Believe Christ died for you, and then receive Him into your life. Trust Christ and invite Him into your life today—and when you do, God has promised to forgive you, completely and fully.

13 Comments

webannie says 5.21.2013, 03:29 a.m.

Someone may say, "Well, God does not 'really' want us to fear Him does He; we should just love and worship Him right?" Why then would God tell us to fear Him, walk in His ways, love Him, serve Him,

Elizabeth says 4.28.2013, 3:45 p.m.

Please helpi just gave my life back 2God after yrs of bk sliding. I'm finding my self constantly wondering if what i just did will make God hate me. I'm afraid he will not forgive me if i make a mistake why do i feel like this. Please help

Bill says 4.12.2013, 10:39 p.m.

2 Corinthians 5:8 For true believers to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Get on your knees tell God you are lost and sorry and thank him for Jesus and ask him to forgive you, then follow up with a pastor fear God not death.

matthias says 4.5.2013, 12:05 a.m.

The name Jesus cant be spelled without u because he died for u

Susan says 3.27.2013, 02:27 a.m.

Sophia, we all struggle with different dears. I a, constantly anxious and scared The Lord doesn't know where my heart is. I struggled with many things-but you cannot let that consume you. Give praise to him and live your life by the Ten Commandments

heath says 3.25.2013, 10:40 a.m.

I have continually sinned against God to the point that my heart has become so calloused and hard that I find it hard to believe Jesus died for me. Anyone please help me if you can.I don't want to go to hell please help me.

R says 2.18.2013, 5:42 p.m.

I am scared to die. I feel like I don't deserve it. I always question myself if I am really ready to go or not. I struggle with this daily. I don't know if I'm really ready to go or not. Dying scares me to death. How do I over come this fear?

M says 5.12.2012, 2:06 p.m.

Sophia, I deal with the same thing, to a point, at least. I'm always afraid that I'm not really a Christian if I mess up a couple of times. I think God might give up on me. Just know God can help you and you're not alone.

Krystle says 4.11.2012, 9:28 p.m.

Sophia, God can see your sincerity and he knows that you are doing your best not to sin. God loves all of us and he sent his son which has paid for our sins in full. Do not let fear rule you! Trust in Gods Mercy. He's always there!

Connie says 1.1.2012, 9:53 p.m.

Instead of beating yourself up for what you've done or almost did, thank God that you have that conviction that the holy spirit brings. Imagine if you didn't know right from wrong? Sometimes we need to give ourselves more credit :) keep striving!

for Sophia says 4.25.2011, 8:09 p.m.

I grew up in a church where they said Jesus gave his life for your sins. And then after that, they ruled in fear by saying if you make one TINY mistake you are gonna DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! Jesus will hate you and throw you away because you are not GOOD ENOUGH! I was only 12. As I grew older I realized that that type of church uses fear to control all it's members. I eventually escaped that insanity and left God for a long time, or so I thought. He never left me. I still have a hard time with this concept of free gift/Jesus saves and I try to live a good live but oh my one slip and that's is you are going to HELL. Why? I recognized the sin and stopped doing it. That is what Christ said to the woman who was accused of sin. He said, "go your way and do it no more" not OK you are useless flush her down to HELL. If you walk around in fear of making on tiny infraction of some rule you can't even figure out then what is this free gift good for? You will end up with physical illness and die before your time with this kind of stress. DON"' let ANY so-called Christian tell you repeatedly that you are gonna go to some horror of a place because you made a mistake. God made us fallible, mistakes are for learning, without them what is the use of being alive? We would be totally perfect or automatons. I think God loves us unconditionally, if not then why follow Him? People love conditionally and that is where a lot of personal suffering come from. Myself, I have had it with fake Christ.

George says 2.16.2011, 7:10 p.m.

You seem to forget that God has forgiven you and will continue to forgive you, if you ask him to. How many times will He forgive you? The Bible says to forgive 70 times 7, but what it really is saying is that God loves you and He knows your heart. If you are sincerly repentent, you only have to ask Him to forgive you and trust Him!

Sophia says 2.13.2011, 7:41 p.m.

This has been a fear that has been wearing me down for months. i am saved and have been for 3 years. But for about a year ago I had backslidden before I returned last summer. At first I felt at peace but gradually this fear kept growing. I am afraid that I will commit a sin and forget to confess it or even if I do confess, if I am not completely sure I meant it I feel at peace but end up praying (begging really) for forgiveness again and again until I think I am sincere enough. I keep messing up even though I try not to. It's the same sins usually like saying something wrong out of anger or thinking something really bad. I am always afraid that God is angry at me and I am afraid that he is tired of me. But I would like to add that if anyone sees this and has any further advice then please let me know.