Don’t Blame Me!
(Responsibility)
(Gen. 2:8-17)
A soldier fighting over in Iraq received a letter from his girl friend that
said she was breaking up with him.
To make matters worse she also asked him to send the picture she
had given him when he left…because she wanted it for her bridal
announcement in the newspaper.
Well of course the soldier was heart-broken and told his friends about
his terrible situation.
So his whole platoon got together and brought all their pictures of their
girlfriends, and put them in a box and gave them to him.
The soldier then put her picture in the box with the along with the rest
of the pictures and a note that read “I’m sending your picture back to you please remove it and send back the rest …For the life of me I can’t remember which one you are.”
We love revenge don’t we?
And because we like revenge we think God is that way as well. We have this picture of God hovering over us with these lightning bolts aimed at us ready to unleash His anger on our life at the first little mess…
But the reality is that God wants us to be saved and that He has allowed us to take responsibility for our eternal destiny.
You see… From the beginning mankind was created to be a
responsible being.
And the story of Adam and Eve illustrates this principal very clearly.
They were placed in the garden to dress and to keep it.
And they were allowed to eat of any of the trees in garden…
except for one.
Genesis 3:3 says
"but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has
said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest you die”.
See they had a responsibility to avoid that tree… not to even touch the
tree.
But they ate from that tree anyway
And spiritually speaking,
they died that day.
Why did they die?
Because they did not accept the full responsibility that God had given
to them.
They disobeyed God's plain command.
Recall that Adam even tried to push off the blame, to abrogate his
responsibility to Eve.
But like Eve, Adam was also responsible for his own actions.
I read a story about a young lady that had just finished a Red Cross
first aid course.
A few weeks later, as she walked in town, she saw a car accident.
People had fallen out of the car… They were bleeding
They were moaning & groaning…It was a terrible sight.
And as she viewed the scene, she became panicked.
She didn't know what to do…
Then, suddenly she remembered what she had been taught in class…
So, she put her head down between her knees, and she didn't faint.
Ridiculous, you say?
Yes, but it is typical of a lot of people facing responsibility.
You know it is much easier to blame someone else
To put your head down—not to look, not to hear.
Not to get involved— To avoid responsibility.
But we have a great need in the church…
We need people who are willing to accept responsibility.
We need men who will stand up and be God’s men!
We need men who will serve as Leaders, as Teachers and examples.
And we need ladies to be the virtuous woman we read about in
Proverbs 31, who will set an example for the younger ladies and girls
to follow
We need workers and we need examples
We need people who get things done
Not who make excuses for why it was not done.
There is always lot of work to be done in the Lord's Vineyard.
John 4:35 says: “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the
fields, for they are already white for harvest”
Today I would like us to consider some thoughts about our individual
responsibilities.
You know a sense of responsibility is seen in the concept of Law!
Romans 4:15—"For where no law is, there is no transgression."
That is the same as saying—"No Law, No responsibility."
But a study of the scripture makes it obvious that man is under
obligation to obey the Law of God.
Romans 2:13—"For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of
God, but the doers of the law will be justified."
Take away the Law—and man has no obligations before God!
So, the very existence of the Law demands that humanity be
responsible!
And a sense of responsibility is seen in the promise of Judgment.
Ask yourself this question:
Upon what basis can God bring man into Judgment?
The answer is that man has to be a responsible being—
In order to obey God's laws.
We each one can make a choice
And so each of us are responsible for our choices
And as with our own children, if we disobey—punishment is promised.
(And unlike many parents… God ALWAYS keeps His promises)
The promise of Judgment someday in the future says that we are
responsible beings.
It proves that we are responsible for obeying the Law of God.
And that we will give an accounting.
Acts 17:31 says — “because He (God) has appointed a day on which
He will judge the world in righteousness…”
And in Romans 14:12— we read “So then each of us shall give an
account of himself to God”. ."
Over and over we are reminded of the coming Day of Judgment
And that is further proof of our individual accountability and
responsibility.
So what is a responsible person?
How would you describe a responsible person?
A careful study of the scripture shows us that it is a person who thinks
in terms of maximums, not minimums!
You see God does not call us to minimums, but to maximums.
Matthew 5:48 says “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father
in Heaven is perfect”. "
2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to “bring every thought into captivity to
the obedience of Christ”
Does this sound like minimums or maximums?
Striving for perfection and control of every thought.
That is not a minimum; it is the pursuit of a maximum desired result!
One day a man saw car stalled in traffic
It was a very dangerous situation…
He got out and offered the man a pus..
After several blocks— he stopped—
But the car still would not start.
So he began pushing again,
Before too long they stopped and the driver got out
"What's wrong asked the man that was pushing?"
"I don't know; guess I need a little more pushing."
The man who was pushing began to wonder now.
"How far do you want to be pushed?"
"Well, I am on my way to Florida."
"Do you expect me to push you all that way?"
"Would you mind— it would be okay by me."
You know some people would like to be pushed, petted, and
pampered right into heaven.
Instead of seeing how much they can do—
They want to see how little they can do.
But…those who think in terms of Maximums are the responsible
Christians.
We do not define a responsible person as one who does the least he
can to get by.
Remember the Macedonian Church in II Corinthians chapter 8?
What did Paul say about them in their giving?
He said they went “beyond any expectations, eve beyond what was
considered to be their ability”
They thought in terms of maximums!
And
A Responsible Christian is one who takes charge of his life.
He is a doer, not just a hearer or a talker.
James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves”.
And in 1 John 3:18 we read “My little children, let us not love in word or
in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”
Christians are responsible for doing… not just talking about it!
People who take charge… and do the work!
Also a responsible Christian is a decision maker!
Joshua 24:15 Joshua makes the statement “ “choose for yourselves
this day whom you will serve” and he concludes by saying “”But as for
me and my house , we will serve the Lord”.
See… we need to make choices—right choices—
We need to be decision makers!
We need to make and keep commitments.
And the responsible Christian will make the best decision he or she can.
They will see the right thing to do and decide to do it!
We are responsible and we can make the choice!
And if it is necessary to stand alone—they will do it!
Joshua & Caleb stood against the whole congregation.
The responsible person will too, if that is what is called for.
We see then, that God created us to be responsible individuals.
The responsible Christian also realizes that neither God, nor others,
can or will do his work for him.
I, and I alone, can do what God expects of me.
When the "one talent" man failed to shoulder his responsibility
He was fearful and he hid his talent.
And he was called a wicked & lazy servant. (Matthew 25:26)
Can you imagine God calling us “lazy” on the Day of Judgment?
You see… responsibility is two-fold:
Galatians 6:2 reads “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law
of Christ” and verse 5 continues “for each one shall bear his own load.”
I have a responsibility to those around me —
to help—to serve, to bear their burdens.
But, I also have my own responsibilities that only I can bear.
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You know there are those people who would like to make us very
dependent upon them.
They would like to do our thinking for us.
They would like to tell us what to do.
They would like to control our lives.
The problem with this is:
We become a slave to that person.
It is no longer me.
We cease being our own person
As children of God we need to be our own person—be responsible for
our own things,
Responsible for the use of our time and money.
And while it is true that we are to be in subjection to the Elders
And that wives are to be in subjection to their husbands
We are each one responsible for our own decisions.
And we cannot blame the Elders or our mates for the choices that we
make.
That is a lesson that we as parents try to teach our children
And it is a Biblical lesson…
Brethren…Christians Must be Responsible People!
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Prayer:
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As we examine our lives:
Can we honestly say that we are a responsible person before God?
Are we thinking in terms of Maximums or Minimums?
Are we doers?
Are we decision makers?
Are we bearing each others burdens?
Are we bearing our own burdens?
You see only the faithful, responsible person will make it to heaven.
And remaining in sin is not being responsible.
Continued rejection of the invitation of Jesus is not being responsible,
Not living the Christian Life at our maximum is not being responsible.
I Corinthians 15:58 reminds us “ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”.
Today, if you are not living as a Christian,
You have a decision to make …
Will you, like Joshua, decide that you are going to follow the Lord?
Will you accept the responsibility and be immersed for the remission of
your sins?
Or, if once you accepted that responsibility, but have not been
responsible in following up with your duties
Whatever your situation… God calls you home… and your Christian
family is here to help you in whatever way we can.
Whatever your need. Won’t you come now while we stand and sing?
By: Earl Ash
Date: 12/17/2006