I asked in Bible discussion but thought I would ask here also

[ThereRoseaLamb]

Rose,

Can I ask, how was he able to get out of it, or did the scammer just eventually leave him alone? Feel free to PM me if it's too personal. I have often thought of this story and I hope he was able to get through it unscathed.

It's a sad state of the world that many people out there are going to take advantage of a Christian's core principle to help others. They will gladly use this against you, and no means of doing so is off-limits -- including the stolen/copied pictures of those who look innocent, young, and especially attractive in all the ways our flesh will notice.

Many Christian men are longing to feel needed or as if they are fulfilling the role of leading/helping the "fairer" sex, and these scammers know exactly what to say to prey upon that.

Many Christian women are longing for a Christian man to pay attention to them -- and lonely hearts seem to be the easiest victims of all.

As a single person on this forum, it's important to me to not only keep others company in what can be a very lonely existence for many, but to also try to help safeguard people from the ever-growing multitude of online scams.

In a day and age where just a few messages can thoroughly ruin a person's life, I think it's very important for people to be aware of these tactics -- and to stay on high alert when there are obvious warning signs.

It has been so long that I don't recall what happened. I believe the scammer was banned. It was some time ago. You are right though, lonely hearts are the easiest to scam. But the worst part is, scammers know that. And they see you coming a mile away. I believe that has happened more than once here where you and I and Magenta sounded alarm bells and people wouldn't listen. I don't if it's the same story but I recall one thread in particular we just knew something wasn't right. But for some reason, no one was listening. Finally they were banned but not before several men were seduced by her fake story. Of course it goes both ways, but young women in particular need to know it's very dangerous to talk to any man you don't know online. Too many times that has turned out very badly.

 

[BillyBob]

The OP did not indicate in any way that another person was involved, it only ask should we confess sin to God only! I'm not sure how the post became a minor/adult or male/female question............

 

[seoulsearch]

The OP did not indicate in any way that another person was involved, it only ask should we confess sin to God only! I'm not sure how the post became a minor/adult or male/female question............

The OP's profile states that she is a new member here and a 14-year-old girl.

Unfortunately, there have been problems across the years with older men messaging young girls here, and a few started letting other members know.

Now of course, some of these Christian men are wonderful and truly want to help. But sometimes, adults here are messaging teens due to much less noble reasons. And I'm not meaning to single out men, as of course it could be in reverse -- it's just that for me, all the instances I've heard of involved older men trying to talk to young girls.

I think it might be even more of a problem now since we rarely have teens on the site anymore. Back in the day, they got more answers from their own peer groups, but now, it's almost all adults who are answering them.

For some longtime members, it's become kind of a standard greeting to warn teens to be aware and report any suspicious activity immediately, as Maxwel took the time to do in Post #3 and beyond.

 

[maxwel]

While I am not Catholic and certainly don't subscribe to the idea of being forced to confess one's sins to a priest, the Bible clearly says:

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective." -- James 5:16

There are definitely times when people need to confess their sins to one another. I personally would not be close friends with or have close spiritual ties to anyone who believes that they should only "confess their sins to Jesus."

Why?

How many people caught up in alcohol, drug, porn, abusive actions and sexual addictions successfully break free by "only confessing their sins to Jesus"? There's a reason why most successful interventions involve confessing to other human beings (along with Jesus.)

Confessing some sins only to Jesus means a lot of people able to hide their sins, and when things are done in secret, there is often little to no incentive to change. We've had many, many men (and some women) confess openly on this site that one of the reasons their porn addiction raged out of control is because they had no (human) accountability partners.

I had a beloved mentor when I was younger who told me about a pastor who started out dabbling in sexual sin, but he kept it to himself, "confessing" only to Jesus. Eventually it grew to the point where he was cheating on his wife with any woman he fancied. But because he confessed only to the Lord and saw that "people were still getting saved" at his church, he felt that "God was still working through him" and either "overlooking" his sin or "extending grace to him" -- therefore, he did even nothing to change. If anything, he took on even more extra-marital affairs.

My mentor didn't explain how it happened, but she said that one day, "God pulled the curtain back," made the spectrum of his sin public, and he lost everything -- his reputation, his church and good standing, and wife and family.

It's possible it might not have gotten this far if he had confessed to the elders at his church and submitted to proper discipline and accountability.

Some people will need others to hold them accountable the rest of their lives if they are stay in control.

So yes, while I think some things are ok to confess "only to Jesus," there are definitely times when we need to tell a trusted spiritual friend, mentor, or leader (preferably of the same gender,) or it could very lead to personal ruin.

You bring up some really good points, so lets consider how all these different issues might fit together.

A.) We have two issues, two categories, at play:
1. Confession for divine forgiveness of sin... to God.
2. Confession for some other reason... to humans.

B.) Divine Forgiveness of sin:
Most Christians will agree, without needing a deep dive into scripture, that for divine forgiveness FROM God, we talk directly TO God, as He is the only one who can FORGIVE SIN.

C.) Confession for some other reason:
There are also some lesser reasons to confess our sin. These entail confessing to other humans for various reasons.

D.) So what are the normal reasons we'd confess to other humans?
1. We'd confess to another human when we've WRONGED someone and want to RESTORE THAT RELATIONSHIP. So we say we're sorry, confess our wrongdoing, and ask for forgiveness.
- This isn't the kind of confession that saves you from divine judgement, but it IS the kind of confession that restores human relationships, and by so doing, is usually a big part of restoring a faltering walk with God.
2. We might also confess to another human when we need ACCOUNTABILITY or COUNSEL.
- As soulsearch mentioned, sometimes a trusted person to confide in (a counselor or accountability partner) can be a great help to keep us on the right path.

Conclusion:
1.) All of these things can be found directly in scripture, and they're all important.
2.) Like many things in scripture, they make more sense when we place them all side by side, and compare them.



.

 

[j55]

While I am not Catholic and certainly don't subscribe to the idea of being forced to confess one's sins to a priest, the Bible clearly says:

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective." -- James 5:16

There are definitely times when people need to confess their sins to one another. I personally would not be close friends with or have close spiritual ties to anyone who believes that they should only "confess their sins to Jesus."

Why?

How many people caught up in alcohol, drug, porn, abusive actions and sexual addictions successfully break free by "only confessing their sins to Jesus"? There's a reason why most successful interventions involve confessing to other human beings (along with Jesus.)

Confessing some sins only to Jesus means a lot of people able to hide their sins, and when things are done in secret, there is often little to no incentive to change. We've had many, many men (and some women) confess openly on this site that one of the reasons their porn addiction raged out of control is because they had no (human) accountability partners.

I had a beloved mentor when I was younger who told me about a pastor who started out dabbling in sexual sin, but he kept it to himself, "confessing" only to Jesus. Eventually it grew to the point where he was cheating on his wife with any woman he fancied. But because he confessed only to the Lord and saw that "people were still getting saved" at his church, he felt that "God was still working through him" and either "overlooking" his sin or "extending grace to him" -- therefore, he did even nothing to change. If anything, he took on even more extra-marital affairs.

My mentor didn't explain how it happened, but she said that one day, "God pulled the curtain back," made the spectrum of his sin public, and he lost everything -- his reputation, his church and good standing, and wife and family.

It's possible it might not have gotten this far if he had confessed to the elders at his church and submitted to proper discipline and accountability.

Some people will need others to hold them accountable the rest of their lives if they are stay in control.

So yes, while I think some things are ok to confess "only to Jesus," there are definitely times when we need to tell a trusted spiritual friend, mentor, or leader (preferably of the same gender,) or it could very lead to personal ruin.

Jeremiah chapter 17. Jesus knows who is sincere and who trying to con him. Proverbs, prayers of the wicked are abomination to God. There is only one judge, and that is Jesus. They must hold themselves accountable. We can't force alcoholic to convert to Christianity and repent.

Malachi chapter 2. Priests are messenger for God. They nourish people, and warn them about sins. Priests don't have power to forgive sins. Only Jesus can forgive sins.

1 Peter chapter 3. Lot of folks won't come to repentance. Reprobates are the issue. They are habitual simners and refuse to repent to Jesus. John 16:8. You need holy Spirit to convict you of sin. Revelation chapter 20. During the milliumum, some people will get eternal life. And some people won't. The spiritually dead have Spirit of slumber and Reprobates have unclean Spirit.
2 Corinthians chapter 4. Reprobates
Romans chapter 11. Spiritually dead.
Two different groups.
We either hold our selves accountable, or Jesus will do it on judgement day.

Proverbs chapter 5:21-22.
For your ways are in full view the Lord, and He examines all your paths. The evil deeds of the wicked ensure them, the cords there sins hold them fast. If they don't want to listen to God's word and change from their wicked ways. Jesus will hold them accountable on judgement Day.

We either hold our selves accountable, or Jesus will do it on judgement day. Apparently, we have our disagreement s. Im not going to debate or argue about this. I planted seed for God, and im moving on to other subjects.