Consistent Love

Luke111 said:

Is it true that in the right conditions and circumstances that I will betray someone? Is it true that just to a certain extent that I can be trusted and that I am not 100% trustworthy?

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Luke111 said:

Is it true that in the right conditions and circumstances that I will betray someone? Is it true that just to a certain extent that I can be trusted and that I am not 100% trustworthy?

Click to expand...

Luke111 said:

Is it true that in the right conditions and circumstances that I will betray someone? Is it true that just to a certain extent that I can be trusted and that I am not 100% trustworthy?

Click to expand...

Luke111 said:

Is it true that in the right conditions and circumstances that I will betray someone? Is it true that just to a certain extent that I can be trusted and that I am not 100% trustworthy?

Click to expand...

royal priest said:

Trustworthy people are very rare.
Proverbs 20:6
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?
Even if we've done the right thing, we need to ask ourselves if we did it for the right reason.
We are sinners, so yes, we are bound to do the wrong thing. We need to study God's Word and examine our actions and thoughts in light of that Word. Then we will see our sins clearly. And if we come to God with our sin, confessing and repenting of our sins of unfaithfulness toward Him and toward people, then He will forgive us and help us to repent. This is the reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world.
1 John 1:8-9
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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pescador said:

Your first paragraph applies to those who have not yet been born again, i.e., accepted Christ as their savior. Those of us who have accepted Christ are no longer sinners; we are God's children in Christ.

God has already forgiven Christians for all their sins, past, present, and future. If we continue confessing and repenting of our sins then we are denying the finished work of the Cross.

Your quote from 1 John 1 is interpreted incorrectly (as many do). John was writing the beginning of his letter to those people who were not yet Christians. 1 John 1:3 makes this perfectly clear: "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

Later in the same letter, addressing Christians, he wrote

1 John 2:12-14, "I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one."

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royal priest said:

It is traditionally understood that John's reference to this fellowship pertains, not so much to believers, but more specifically to the physical experiences of the Apostles as they fellowshipped with Lord while He was on the earth. Theologians interpret the passage this way because of the description of that fellowship. Only the Apostles would have "seen with their eyes" and "touched with their hands" the Word of Life (a reference to Jesus).
Regarding his address to "my little children", he says, " I write these things to you so that you might not sin." God's children commit sin and need instruction about dealing with sin and how to keep from sin.
One such instruction was given by our Lord when He taught His disciples how to pray. Part of which was a daily plea for God to forgive our sin and to keep us from temptation.
Our sin is not an indication that we are not Christians. Rather, the unbeliever is someone that stops hoping in God's ability to forgive and cleanse and turns back to the world.
But if we continually seek the Lord, then He will cause us to grow in our understanding and practice of being trustworthy.
Psalms 119:33-38
Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall observe it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain.
Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways.
Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You.

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pescador said:

I don't understand your thinking. John wrote, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you [obviously people who were not Christians] what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete."

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray they were not yet Christians, i.e., they had not yet been born of the Spirit. So, "forgive us our sins" makes no sense when all our sins have been forgiven because of Jesus' sacrifice of Himself.

I agree with you that "if we continually seek the Lord, then He will cause us to grow in our understanding and practice of being trustworthy".

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