why continue

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fbl9

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i came across this from 2St.Peter 2:20-21"For if after escaping the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ,they are again entangled therein and overcome,their latter state has become worse for them than the former.21For it were better for them not to know the way of justice,than having known it,to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them."…so i fell into the sins of old,now after reading this i almost think i have no hope whatsoever of being saved…like i am now doomed to live in these sins till i die and judged as unworthy…just what does these verses say or implicate to the believer…
 
fbl9 said:
i came across this from 2St.Peter 2:20-21"For if after escaping the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ,they are again entangled therein and overcome,their latter state has become worse for them than the former.21For it were better for them not to know the way of justice,than having known it,to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them."…so i fell into the sins of old,now after reading this i almost think i have no hope whatsoever of being saved…like i am now doomed to live in these sins till i die and judged as unworthy…just what does these verses say or implicate to the believer…
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The interpretation I have typically heard given to that scripture is that a person having been instructed in the faith and then turning away, has no excuse before God’s judgment. The sinner cannot be protected by the argument of invincible ignorance. (Please note that this interpretation comes from a non-Catholic source, so take it with a grain of salt.)

That said, until you draw your last breath, it is never too late to repent, be reconciled, and be free from your sin. That’s exactly what the sacrament of reconciliation is there for. Talk to a priest. Don’t delay. God’s grace is waiting for you, my friend.

Paul
 
I wish I had another verse handy, but all I can say is that the only perfect person to walk the earth was Jesus. The rest of us fall sometimes. The important thing is that we get back up and turn back to God with hope and increased love for God and all he’s done for us…especially giving us the graces to turn back to Him.
 
T700 said:
The interpretation I have typically heard given to that scripture is that a person having been instructed in the faith and then turning away, has no excuse before God’s judgment. The sinner cannot be protected by the argument of invincible ignorance. (Please note that this interpretation comes from a non-Catholic source, so take it with a grain of salt.)

That said, until you draw your last breath, it is never too late to repent, be reconciled, and be free from your sin. That’s exactly what the sacrament of reconciliation is there for. Talk to a priest. Don’t delay. God’s grace is waiting for you, my friend.

Paul
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it does sound a lot better than my interpreation of these verses,actually that was yesterdays “cross” me is much better after recieving the sacrement of reconcillation and the Eucharist today…however i did want to hear thought on these verses though.
 
Remember who is writing this letter: Peter is a man who followed our Lord, was so proud of his love and loyalty to Him, told Jesus He was wrong when He told him that he would deny Him three times. Peter fell short, denied him three times as had been predicted, and ran away to hide with the other apostles when he was being crucified.

However, as soon as he saw Jesus had risen, no tide or current could keep him from the love of Our Lord. The passage you are troubled by is written by one who knows there is hope for those of us who have stumbled as long as we are heartily sorry and do something about it.

The key here is comparing Peter to Judas - who, instead of repenting, allowed despair to rule him and consequently took his own life. The righteous man falls 7 times and get back up (proverbs 24:16) and the key is in getting back up.

Hope that helps,
 
This passage is talking about those who turn their back from the true Faith and never look back, not those who fall into sin and then repent. God always leaves the door open to us to come back to him, that is the message of the prodigal son.
 
I am very sorry that you find such pessimistic fodder in the words given to us to learn from. It seems to me that the most important part of finding the sense in any passage is to read the chapter before and the chapter after it. Context is the single most important detail of deciphering the words of any chapter of the bible.
You said…“so i fell into the sins of old,now after reading this i almost think i have no hope whatsoever of being saved.” The Catholic church teaches very specifically on this subject. We are not saved once, but we work for a lifetime to be saved. Acts of mercy, faith, and contrition help us along the way. Please don’t give up because a verse or two has led you astray so… remember the rest of the teachings of Jesus that give us saving grace and everlasting life.
Best wishes.
 
You always have to know that God wanted us to be sinful, so that He could glorify His mercy in our recovery ( Romans 11:32 ). What are your sins? Sexual? Financial? As long as there is true regret, and true seeking of Lord’s will, you are on the way of grace.
 
From the Haydock Bible Commentary
Ver. 20. For if flying, and been happily freed from the pollutions, the abominations, and corruptions of a wicked world, be upon your guard, and take great care not to be entangled again in these dangerous snares and nets, lest your latter condition (as Christ said, Matthew xii. 45.) be worse than the former, lest you be like a dog that returns to his vomit, or like a sow that is washed and wallows again in the mire. (Witham)
 
OpheliaOfAcadia said:
I am very sorry that you find such pessimistic fodder in the words given to us to learn from. It seems to me that the most important part of finding the sense in any passage is to read the chapter before and the chapter after it. Context is the single most important detail of deciphering the words of any chapter of the bible.
You said…“so i fell into the sins of old,now after reading this i almost think i have no hope whatsoever of being saved.” The Catholic church teaches very specifically on this subject. We are not saved once, but we work for a lifetime to be saved. Acts of mercy, faith, and contrition help us along the way. Please don’t give up because a verse or two has led you astray so… remember the rest of the teachings of Jesus that give us saving grace and everlasting life.
Best wishes.
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i know that salvation is not a “one time” thing,that it is an ongoing work."…continue in the good work the Lord started in you…"but when i sin i am no longer continuing in that good work which was started,also it is known the Lord does nothing in vain.
 
COPLAND_3 said:
This passage is talking about those who turn their back from the true Faith and never look back, not those who fall into sin and then repent. God always leaves the door open to us to come back to him, that is the message of the prodigal son.
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are you saying then ;as an example when i was living sin (i am a cradle catholic) then i repented of my sins and in doing so i also rejected the church and jioned an non-denom church so in this state i was in a worse postion then when i was living sin…
 
Sinke said:
You always have to know that God wanted us to be sinful, so that He could glorify His mercy in our recovery ( Romans 11:32 ). What are your sins? Sexual? Financial? As long as there is true regret, and true seeking of Lord’s will, you are on the way of grace.
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from memory so it isn’t exact or know where the exact quote is from…“it is through sin that God’s mercy is shown,so should we continue in sin as to have more mercy…NO” just for your curiosity or perhaps help my sin is of the flesh…
 
are you saying then ;as an example when i was living sin (i am a cradle catholic) then i repented of my sins and in doing so i also rejected the church and jioned an non-denom church so in this state i was in a worse postion then when i was living sin…
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Your post is obscure having no puncuation and so on, so forgive me for not being able to say yes or no, I want to be sure that I understand what you mean.

It sounds as if you are asking if someone is a Catholic, who then goes astray into sin, and then somewhere along the way joins a non-denominational church, would they be worse off than before. Is that what you are saying? If so, then my answer is, that there are so many exceptions that can come into play. First of all God is Judge, and only He knows our hearts. If a Catholic eventually converts to Protestantism, then they are held accountable according to how well they understood what they were doing. If a person goes from being Catholic to Protestant and they did not fully understand their Catholic Faith for whatever reason, and say they were persuaded to become Protestant out of searching for God, then I am sure that God will see it as the Just Judge that He is and that person would be fine. But, if a person who is a Catholic and out of spite for God and His Church then turns to heresy knowing exactly what he or she is doing, then that person would be judged much differently than the former, and that person could be in worse condition than before if they refuse to repent.

Does that make sense?
 
thanks for your reply COPELAND 3…sorry about the grammar…it isn’t one of my best subjects…(lol thought,you must not be a 1611KJVist,cause if you were you would have a clear understanding of my posts,given the 5000 grammar errors in that bible)yes that was what i was getting at…then one could say then who St. Peter was writing of are people,who known the truth,then left for error…not one who knows the truth but fails in weakness,yet repents and like others say gets back up again.
 
Don’t be discouraged, fbl.

The Bible is a unified whole. To take that passage from 2 Peter as a denial of hope disregards the many places where we are told that salvation is for anyone who believes and obeys. If Jesus told that same St. Peter that we are to forgive our brother seventy times seven, do you think He won’t do so? Do you think that St. Peter didn’t remember that, or the forgiveness he received after denying Jesus three times, while he was writing?

As for it being worse when you turn away from the truth, I think you can find a good analogy at any AA meeting. Those who achieve some measure of sobriety, then go back to drinking will always tell you it was much worse than before. “AA ruined my drinking,” they will say.

I’m a convert to Catholicism, and the Church has “ruined my sinning.” I now know for sure, when I fall into sin, that I am denying Christ as St. Peter did, especially mortal sin. Before, I had all kinds of denial-based reasons to sin… Thank you, Lord, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation!

Hope this helps, and God bless you,

Ruthie
 
I think he’s just saying that those who become Christian and then reject God anyway are in a worse state of sin than those who are ignorant of Christianity, which fits nicely with the Catholic teaching of different degrees of sin.

If you repent you are forgiven. However, since you are a Christian and (presumably) not ignorant of morality, your temporal punishment (whether on earth or in purgatory) will be worse than if you had never heard of it.
 
fbl9 said:
i came across this from 2St.Peter 2:20-21"For if after escaping the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ,they are again entangled therein and overcome,their latter state has become worse for them than the former.21For it were better for them not to know the way of justice,than having known it,to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them."…so i fell into the sins of old,now after reading this i almost think i have no hope whatsoever of being saved…like i am now doomed to live in these sins till i die and judged as unworthy…just what does these verses say or implicate to the believer…
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fb19,
As Mother Angelica would say, “Do you think your sins are greater than God’s love for you?”
Naturally, you must repent. We all sin everyday. That is why we repent everyday. Ask the Lord to help you overcome what ever your struggling with. I’ll pray for you too.
Don’t lose heart, Jesus loves you.
Don’t let the enemy pull one over on you.

God is greater,
jean8
 
Peter is referring to Jesus’ words spoken in Luke 12:

And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?
43
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
44
Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
45
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ 9 and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,
46
then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
47
That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
48
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. **Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. **
 
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