Does God Punish Believers and Are We Eternally Forgiven?

Concerning if God punishes us, I will like to explain a couple of things so that we can have knowledge about Who God is and about What God does.

Most times, God has been portrayed to us as a Big Giant Mighty Man wearing a Sparkling Sunshine White Robe sitting on a Mighty Throne who has made the Earth his Footstool therefore whenever he shakes the Footstool (Earth) Flood happens, if he hit the Footstool with any of his legs, Earthquake happens and peradventure if he sneezes, there will be Storm, turbulence, hurricane all in the name of the Commercial terminology ACTS of GOD and whenever we sin he punishes us with Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes etc.

No, that’s not our God. No. That is not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus never portrayed God like that to us. Jesus at many times called God the Father.
Below are bible references where Jesus called God Father.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” –John 14:1-2

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” — Matthew 7:9-11

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? –Matthew 6:26

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom”. –Luke 12:32

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! –1 John 3:1

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. — Romans 8:15-16
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God being a Father is not a tyrant neither is he wicked; he is a loving and caring Father. God is our Father. We must learn to see God as our Father.

Hebrews 12: 4-13
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a Father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

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Now, we have to understand that there is a clear distinction between Punishment and Discipline.
Congratulations, it is a good news. God will never punish you.
Why? Because (y)our sins are forgiven
Colossians 1 vs. 13-14
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. NIV
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Now, we need to understand that our past, present and future sins have been forgiven. It was done away with by one Sacrifice, Christ perfect sacrifice, Christ obtained Eternal Redemption for us and Jesus Christ took the Punishment on the cross, he paid the price for (y)our offences with his Blood.

Hebrews 9 vs 12
12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption
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BUT
GOD disciplines us. Why? Because He is our Father and we are His Children thereby making us not rebellious but rather obedient children.
Discipline is Correction, Punishment is Condemnation.

Remember,
Romans 8 vs 1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
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Now, the fact that you know God has Forgiven you all your sins (Past, Present and Future) doesn’t give you the right to sin. The truth remains, God will not punish you because he is not counting your sins against you
2Cor 5 vs 19
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

David knew this and prophesied concerning us, our generation in
Psalm 32 vs 1-2
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2
NIV:Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
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God keeps no records of wrong, He said

Hebrews 8:12
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Isaiah 43:25
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Jeremiah 31:34
No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

If God, our Father could say these, we can rely on His words, we have confidence in Him, we now know that our sins are forgiven, and they are forgiven eternally.

Psalm 103:12
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Ephesians 1: 7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Glory to God!
Blessings

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