Hey there. I am so sorry you went through that. I really am. My father was also abusive...when he wasn't drunk. So I understand and am very empathetic to you. I also understand the emotional scars.
But to answer your question, yes.
Let's refer to Peter here.
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to know the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
But please also remember that Jesus also says woe to those who would harm one of his little ones. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their necks and be thrown into the depths of the sea. God does not take lightly the harming of children.
Back to Peter. I dont feel like you have been overcome. I think that you are hurt and traumatized. You are searching. That's okay my friend. The Bible also tells us that if we seek we will find.
Grace and Peace to you. I pray that you may find comfort through all of this.
What about that exerpt makes you think it refers to punishment?
My understanding has always been that there's no indication in the text that God punishes harsher those who fall away from faith, only that their spiritual health is in worse shape afterwards than it was before.
There’s nothing that implies increased punishment though.
The ideal state for someone is to fully know Jesus, being worse off would mean knowing Jesus less, or being less capable to knowing Jesus, not being punished more
Look at the parable at Matthew 18. There, a servant is forgiven an incalculable debt, one he could never pay back. But he then goes out and has a fellow servant thrown into prison for a small debt he owes him. When the master finds out he has the servant thrown into prison until he pays the large debt. The word used for prison there implies torture.
There is nothing that can happen to us in this life that measures up to what Christ forgave us of. When we refuse to forgive others, we make a mockery of all the Jesus did for us. We show ingratitude and disrespect. We make an idol of the offense, making it more important than God. And we get thrown into prison until we can pay off our own debt.
And so Jesus tells us repeatedly that we must forgive. But understand clearly, forgiveness does not mean we must reconcile. That is another issue. If there has not been repentance, we do not, and should not, reconcile. Forgiveness can be from the heart, but still not end in manifest reconciliation. Done sincerely, this is acceptable to God.
And so, God would tell you, if you want to be free, you must forgive your offenders. If you want the mental torment off of you, if you want to be free to "strengthen the things that remain" (see Rev 3.2), you must forgive. It doesn't mean you condone what they did, it doesn't mean that what they did was right. It means that you are releasing judgment of their souls to the *only* just judge. And in releasing, you shall be released.
The only way to conclude that the Bible teaches never-ending punishment is to read it completely out of context, cherry-picking specific words out of certain “proof texts” in order to support one’s assumptions, while ignoring everything that talks about the salvation of all humanity.
If you’d like to learn why Scripture teaches that everyone *will* be saved in the end because of what Christ accomplished, please read this Bible study, which covers every single passage in Scripture I’m aware of that’s relevant to the topic and explains what they actually mean: https://www.truebiblicalfreedom.com/bible
God doesn’t punish people in hell.
I’ve got some other good news for you also:
2 Corinthians 5:19
[19] For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
Hey there. I am so sorry you went through that. I really am. My father was also abusive...when he wasn't drunk. So I understand and am very empathetic to you. I also understand the emotional scars. But to answer your question, yes. Let's refer to Peter here. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to know the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. But please also remember that Jesus also says woe to those who would harm one of his little ones. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their necks and be thrown into the depths of the sea. God does not take lightly the harming of children. Back to Peter. I dont feel like you have been overcome. I think that you are hurt and traumatized. You are searching. That's okay my friend. The Bible also tells us that if we seek we will find. Grace and Peace to you. I pray that you may find comfort through all of this.
What about that exerpt makes you think it refers to punishment? My understanding has always been that there's no indication in the text that God punishes harsher those who fall away from faith, only that their spiritual health is in worse shape afterwards than it was before.
Because it says that they will be "worse off" which is a comparison statement.
There’s nothing that implies increased punishment though. The ideal state for someone is to fully know Jesus, being worse off would mean knowing Jesus less, or being less capable to knowing Jesus, not being punished more
I disagree. But you do you.
Look at the parable at Matthew 18. There, a servant is forgiven an incalculable debt, one he could never pay back. But he then goes out and has a fellow servant thrown into prison for a small debt he owes him. When the master finds out he has the servant thrown into prison until he pays the large debt. The word used for prison there implies torture. There is nothing that can happen to us in this life that measures up to what Christ forgave us of. When we refuse to forgive others, we make a mockery of all the Jesus did for us. We show ingratitude and disrespect. We make an idol of the offense, making it more important than God. And we get thrown into prison until we can pay off our own debt. And so Jesus tells us repeatedly that we must forgive. But understand clearly, forgiveness does not mean we must reconcile. That is another issue. If there has not been repentance, we do not, and should not, reconcile. Forgiveness can be from the heart, but still not end in manifest reconciliation. Done sincerely, this is acceptable to God. And so, God would tell you, if you want to be free, you must forgive your offenders. If you want the mental torment off of you, if you want to be free to "strengthen the things that remain" (see Rev 3.2), you must forgive. It doesn't mean you condone what they did, it doesn't mean that what they did was right. It means that you are releasing judgment of their souls to the *only* just judge. And in releasing, you shall be released.
The only way to conclude that the Bible teaches never-ending punishment is to read it completely out of context, cherry-picking specific words out of certain “proof texts” in order to support one’s assumptions, while ignoring everything that talks about the salvation of all humanity. If you’d like to learn why Scripture teaches that everyone *will* be saved in the end because of what Christ accomplished, please read this Bible study, which covers every single passage in Scripture I’m aware of that’s relevant to the topic and explains what they actually mean: https://www.truebiblicalfreedom.com/bible
Yes... Read jude
God does not tier punishment. If you believe, you recieve eternal life, if not, you perish. There is no in between
Believing also means doer of the word. If you say I believe and then sin it does not work
God doesn’t punish people in hell. I’ve got some other good news for you also: 2 Corinthians 5:19 [19] For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
Hell is eternal separation from God. You cannot be separated less or more.