This is the ultimate trust -- do we trust God to know us completely and then, understanding that God knows our flaws, do we believe that God will lead us into the way of life? Or do we fear that God will punish us?
These are competing understandings of God. Different churches will give you different perspectives. You can support both from different verses in Scripture. Personally, I believe that the entire witness of Scripture speaks to a God who is intent on saving people from sin and will go to great lengths to do so. I do believe that some people, intent on resisting God, ultimately receive the eternity they desire -- to be without God. However, I believe this grieves God, who wants to lead people to life, to the way everlasting. God creates us and knows us, our very thoughts, and loves us enough to die on the cross for us.
Thanks be to God for grace and for love!
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