Verses about backsliding?

[mikekle]

I was thinking about this earlier, I had heard once before there is a verse that talks about how much worse the afterlife will be for people who have backslid in their faith/religion, something about ‘7 times worse’…??

 

[mattp0625]

I was thinking about this earlier, I had heard once before there is a verse that talks about how much worse the afterlife will be for people who have backslid in their faith/religion, something about ‘7 times worse’…??

I am not certain, but there are over 100 verses about repentance or penance.

I prefer the verses spoken by Jesus in the gospel or Peter in Acts.

 

[MaryHelp777]

I was thinking about this earlier, I had heard once before there is a verse that talks about how much worse the afterlife will be for people who have backslid in their faith/religion, something about ‘7 times worse’…??

Always focus on God’s Mercy, with trust.

The Bible says, “Hate sin.” And also about others, “Judge not.”

 

[bmullins]

I was thinking about this earlier, I had heard once before there is a verse that talks about how much worse the afterlife will be for people who have backslid in their faith/religion, something about ‘7 times worse’…??

The only verse that pops into my mind is the one where it talks about having demons cast out of you.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45 RSV-CE

In this verse Jesus isn’t as much talking about ‘backsliding’ as he is talking about the difference in his ministry and that of his audience (the Pharisees). The Pharisees do exorcisms too, we see that in scripture… they cleanse the people… but they leave a vacuum inside of them. That’s the old way of doing things. The old covenant, vs the new one that Jesus offers… in which he doesn’t just expel the demons but also fills the person with the Holy Spirit. The place isn’t empty, it’s filled with God himself.

Note 12:28 “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

He warns that just casting out a demon without “metanoia” leaves you vulnerable to not only fall back into those sins, into that “possession” but to even go further down, seven times worse.

 

[mikekle]

He warns that just casting out a demon without “metanoia” leaves you vulnerable to not only fall back into those sins, into that “possession” but to even go further down, seven times worse.

I wonder why ‘7 times worse’ was chosen in this regard? If you are just a sinful person, how could you get 7 times worse…commit 7 times worse sins or…?

 

[bmullins]

I wonder why ‘7 times worse’ was chosen in this regard? If you are just a sinful person, how could you get 7 times worse…commit 7 times worse sins or…?

7 in scripture always indicates completeness, a fullness. Perfect. In this case… if you continue to let the demons in, eventually it will lead to a fullness of possession. As we would say today “as bad as it gets.” A person who continues down this road over and over will eventually be “past the point of no return.”

 

[littlestsouls2]

St. Alphonsus wrote a powerful sermon on relapsing sinners. Here are a few of the verses from this sermon:

" Be not deceived, God is not mocked." (Gal. vi. 7.)

“Behold, thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee.” (John v. 14.)

“And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” (Luke xi. 26.)

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, seeking rest, and not finding, he saith: I will return into my house, whence I came out.” (Luke xi. 24.)

He includes some encouraging words:

“The Lord once said to St. Bridget, that, to those who bear with fortitude the first punctures of the thorns which they experience in the attacks of the senses, in avoiding occasions of sin, and in withdrawing from dangerous conversations, **these thorns are by degrees changed into roses.” **