God Expects Much of Us

Members of the church of Christ, in the United States during the 21st century, have truly been blessed. These great blessings bring great responsibility to each of us. “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48) Let us understand our responsibility to God and to man.

The judgment shows our responsibility: Accountability toward God is seen in the fact of final judgment. “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12) All will “stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” (Romans 14:10) Our deeds, good or bad are open before God. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) If we fail to fulfill our responsibility to God we will answer for it on the Day of Judgment.

The journey of life reflects our responsibility: As we live this life responsibility is often seen. We see (1) responsibility toward government -- “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Romans 13:1) (2) Responsibility toward parents -- “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (Ephesians 6:1) (3) Responsibility toward elders in the church -- “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17) Make the world better by fulfilling your responsibility to God and man!

The joy brought by fulfilling responsibilities: Fulfilling responsibility is not a burden, but rather a source of joy. “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.” (Romans 14:7) God has blessed you with certain abilities. Happiness comes as you use those abilities for God. This was the case of the men who had received the talents. (Matthew 25) The use of those talents brought “the joy of the Lord.”

The justice of bearing our responsibility: Justice relates simply to that which is right. It is right to (1) use your ability to help save others (Mark 16:15-16), (2) use your money to help those in need (Galatians 6:10), (3) Use your influence for the cause of Christ (Matthew 6:13-16), (4) do what you can for Jesus. (Mark 14:8)

We are responsible for many things. Luke-warmness is the result of people failing to fulfill their responsibility and we should all know the consequence of being lukewarm. (Revelation 3:14-22) Let us all become children of God (Galatians 3:26-27) and be ready for every good work. (Titus 3:1)

By Charles Box

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