When we sin we get into trouble. It’s best to obey those commandments, I believe. It also gives us peace of mind.
The Ten Commandments preceded the covenant; in Genesis, they are used for judgment. That doesn’t matter; the Mosaic Covenant has been made obsolete. What is being experienced appears to be the chapter-and-verse numbering system. I’ve replaced them with outlines, and am considering making the NT available online after it is read. The scripture used is the ASV, and it will be free.
What do you mean….God AND Jesus ? Jesus is God
Scripture gives a sharp and searching answer to that question. Trustworthiness, in the biblical sense, is not a matter of temperament or reputation but of truth and obedience flowing from a heart aligned with God. The Hebrew root ’āman (to be firm, faithful, reliable) gives us both “faith” and “faithful.” In other words, the one who trusts God and the one who is trustworthy before God are the same kind of person, one who stands firm upon truth.
In Proverbs 12:22, it says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Trustworthiness begins with truth. God is the model: “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). The Lord’s own character defines reliability. What He speaks, He performs (Ezekiel 12:25). To be trustworthy, therefore, is to mirror His constancy, to make one’s word a reflection of His unchanging nature.
Jesus embodies that perfectly. He declared, “I am the truth” (John 14:6) and said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). When people trusted Him, it was because His words and His works agreed, His promise matched His power, and His motives were pure. Yet when they refused to trust Him, it was because their hearts were darkened by unbelief, not because He lacked credibility (John 3:19–20).
A trustworthy person, then, is one whose inner life and outer speech agree. As Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37). The trustworthy man is consistent, steady, not double-tongued, not self-serving. He fears God more than men. The Apostle Paul said that “it is required of stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). The Greek word pistos means both “faithful” and “trustworthy.” It describes someone dependable because he lives under the eye of God, not the applause of men.
Paul could say, “We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2). That is biblical trustworthiness, transparency before God, integrity before men, truth without manipulation.
Trustworthiness also shows itself in stewardship and responsibility. Jesus said, “Who then is the faithful (pistos) and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household?” (Matthew 24:45). The trustworthy one is not perfect, but faithful over what God entrusts to him. “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). Faithfulness in small matters reveals the heart of reliability.
And the root of all trustworthiness is the fear of the Lord. Psalm 111:7 says, “The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are trustworthy.” We become trustworthy when our conscience and conduct align with His righteousness, when our word stands firm because His word governs it.
In short, Scripture teaches that a person becomes trustworthy not by reputation or charisma, but by walking in truth, fearing God, and keeping his word as sacred. Trustworthiness is not an achievement but a reflection — the reflection of the God who cannot lie, and of Christ who was faithful unto death.
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). That is the heart from which trustworthiness flows.
See Vine’s dictionary and any lexical data, it’s free, no strings attached.
Do you have a Bible program software? If not, are you interested?
J.
Sin is things that bring trouble into our lives. If I rob a bank, I go to prison. It’s best not to sin.
Scripture is good, but don’t lose track of the single fact that sin brings trouble into our lives. If you rob a bank, you go to prison.
I believe that, too, but some believe Jesus is the son of God, and I can’t absolutely say they are wrong. In the Bible, sometimes God is speaking and sometimes Jesus is speaking.
I asked you if you have a Bible program or software that WILL help you with your questions @BobEstey.
What has this to do with “sin and/or robbing a bank?”
J.
Your post was extremely long. There were many things I could have addressed. I’m just trying to make the point that if we sin, we suffer.
People can argue that we are no longer under the law, but it doesn’t change the fact that if we sin, we suffer. That’s why it’s sin.
Look again at your topic, brother @BobEstey. I answered you from Scripture concerning your original question, yet now you’re drifting off into talk about law, sin, and suffering.
I know you from Christian forum, and I just want to remind you, the topic was, “How do we get people to trust us?”
Cheers.
J.
But my post and the topic are one and the same thing: we earn people’s trust by obeying the commandments - not sinning.
Hmmm-
@BobEstey, your zeal for obedience is admirable, yet your conclusion is not entirely grounded in the syntax or theology of Scripture. You stated that “we earn people’s trust by obeying the commandments.” That sounds noble, but biblically and linguistically, it misplaces the focus of πίστις (pistis) and ἀγάπη (agapē)-faith and love-as they function in Scripture. Let’s examine this carefully, with the text itself as our teacher.
The phrase “we earn people’s trust” assumes that human trust is a reward we can secure by moral performance. Yet Scripture never uses obedience as the instrumentum (means) by which trust is earned. Trust, in biblical grammar, is not earned but produced by truth and love demonstrated in integrity under God’s authority. The Hebrew root ’āman (אָמַן)-from which we derive amen, means “to be firm, faithful, trustworthy.” It describes reliability of character, not transactional merit. God is called “the faithful God” (ha’El ha’ne’eman, Deuteronomy 7:9) not because He “earned” trust, but because His nature is intrinsically steadfast. Likewise, we do not “earn” human trust by rule-keeping, but reflect divine trustworthiness by walking in His truth.
Your question answered, right?
Christ Himself said in John 8:29, “I always do those things that please Him.” His obedience revealed His union with the Father, yet His trustworthiness was not measured by compliance with external law but by perfect oneness with divine truth (aletheia). The Greek peithō (to persuade, to win confidence) is the verb used for engendering trust. In Galatians 1:10, Paul asks, “Am I now seeking the approval (peithō) of men or of God?” The question shows the distinction: obedience to God does not automatically translate into human trust, because human perception of righteousness is often warped. The Pharisees “obeyed commandments” outwardly yet were called “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27). Their scrupulous obedience did not earn trust; it destroyed it, because their obedience lacked sincerity of heart.
You see, brother, ethos (character) and nomos (law) are not identical. In biblical anthropology, obedience to nomos reveals trust in God, not a strategy for gaining human trust. Trustworthiness flows from inner transformation, not from legal conformity. Jesus summarized the commandments in Matthew 22:37–40: love God (agapēsei) and love your neighbor. Obedience without love produces compliance, not credibility. As Paul wrote, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to be burned, but have not love (agapē), it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).
In Latin theology, the verb confidere (to trust) derives from fides (faith). Fides in the Vulgate never describes a human commodity earned through moral effort but a divine gift received and reflected. “The just shall live by faith” (fide, Romans 1:17), not by law-keeping. Hence, if one seeks to be trustworthy, the path is not self-justifying obedience but Spirit-led integrity. The fruit of the Spirit (karpos tou pneumatos) includes pistis (faithfulness, Galatians 5:22). That word pistis functions in Greek both for “faith” and “faithfulness,” meaning trust both given and kept. It is not transactional but relational.
Even the Lord Jesus “did not entrust (episteuen) Himself to them, because He knew all men” (John 2:24). This verse shows that human trust cannot be “earned” even by perfect obedience. Christ Himself, though sinless, did not expect trust from corrupt hearts. Instead, He revealed divine faithfulness regardless of human response.
Thus, your equation, obedience equals trustworthiness, is grammatically and theologically incomplete. Hupakoē (obedience) indeed proves faith genuine (Romans 1:5), yet pistis remains the root, not the result. We do not gain trust by obeying law; we manifest trust by living out faith that works through love (Galatians 5:6).
If you desire a scriptural synthesis, it would be this-
We become trustworthy (ne’eman, pistos) not by legal obedience but by truthful integrity grounded in love.
Obedience is fruit, not foundation.
Trust arises not from our perfection but from visible consistency with divine truth.
Therefore, the biblical answer is not “we earn people’s trust by obeying commandments,” but “we reflect God’s trustworthiness by walking in truth and love.” As John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). That is the grammar of divine trust, truth lived out, not law performed.
Bit long winded but I trust you get the “gist” of the matter and a better understanding re “How do we get people to trust us?”
J.
It isn’t about obedience. It’s about staying out of trouble. I don’t want to go to prison or experience any of the other unpleasant aftereffects of sin.
Brother @BobEstey your concern about avoiding the consequences of sin shows that you understand how destructive sin truly is, yet Scripture calls us to something far deeper than simply staying out of trouble. You have reduced obedience to a form of moral risk management, but the Word of God presents obedience as the fruit of love, the evidence of faith, and the reflection of divine trustworthiness, not a strategy for self-preservation.
Let us reason together from Scripture. The Greek word hamartia means to miss the mark, not merely to break a rule and face punishment. Sin is relational rather than mechanical. It separates man from God, not only because it brings consequence, but because it shatters fellowship with the Holy One. When David confessed in Psalm 51 verse 4, “Against You, You only, have I sinned,” he was not afraid of earthly punishment but grieved over the loss of intimacy with God. His prayer for cleansing was to regain fellowship, saying in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”
Jesus said in John 14 verse 15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” The Greek order matters here. The word for love, agapate, comes before the verb tērēsete, meaning you will keep. Obedience flows out of love, not fear. The motive is affection, not avoidance. Obedience that comes from fear is the obedience of a servant who fears the whip, but obedience that comes from love is the obedience of a son who fears grieving his Father.
Paul teaches in Romans 2 verse 4 that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. True holiness is not the result of running from punishment, but of being transformed by grace. In Titus 2 verses 11 to 12, Paul says the grace of God that brings salvation teaches us to deny ungodliness. The Greek verb paideuousa means to train or discipline. It shows that grace itself trains the believer toward holiness, not fear.
In Hebrew thought, the phrase yir’ah YHWH, the fear of the Lord, means reverent awe rather than terror. It means to hold God in such honor that sin becomes unthinkable because His glory outweighs every temptation. Joseph in Genesis 39 refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife not because he feared prison but because he said, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God.” His trustworthiness came from loyalty, not self-interest.
The early teachers of the Church understood this well, saying that righteousness comes not from fear of punishment but from love of justice. The Gospel does not merely save us from trouble, it recreates us into new beings who hate sin because they love Christ. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 14, “The love of Christ compels us.”
If obedience is only about staying out of trouble, our righteousness becomes self-centered and fragile. But when obedience flows from love, holiness becomes worship. Jesus said in Matthew 5 verse 8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” He did not mean blessed are those who avoid trouble, but blessed are those whose hearts are aligned with divine truth so deeply that sin loses its appeal.
So brother, it is not about avoiding punishment, it is about being conformed to Christ. The trustworthy heart does not measure righteousness by consequences but by communion with God. The real consequence of sin is not prison but distance from His presence. That is what Adam lost and that is what Christ came to restore.
Therefore, the goal is not to live safely but to live faithfully, steadfast and true, reflecting the God who cannot lie. The one who obeys because he loves will indeed be trustworthy, for his obedience flows not from fear of trouble but from fellowship with Truth Himself.
Hope this is helpful.
Cheers.
J.
I would point to Matthew 4:17:
Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
I would also point to Psalms 118:20:
This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
Do you find anything deep here?
Fun fact: whenever you click ‘Ai summarize’ on a Johann post a cyborg is born. 
@inmate031523
I can simplify it if you like, brother, no need for any cyborgs this time.
J.
Jesus according to the flesh- is the Son of God, He refered to Himself as Son of man.
Bob that is correct, sometimes Jesus spoke as a man, and sometimes He spoke as God. Because He was the God-man….100% God and 100% man
I look at Jesus as God in flesh.