Our Personal Responsibility

Richard Thetford

Christians have a serious responsibility to ensure that we continue to do only those things in which God has authorized. The apostle Paul said: “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12). Knowing that we will stand before God in judgment, we better make sure that we are doing ALL of the Lord’s will. Fathers today need to have the same kind of attitude that Joshua had when he said “...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:15). When we first decide to do the Lord’s will (Matt 7:21; 6:33), then we are on our way to being the kind of responsible individuals that God would want us to be.

For What Are We Responsible?

We are responsible for several things and these include but are not limited to knowledge, faith, words, teaching, conduct, influence, and stewardship. God may have overlooked the ignorance of long ago but He now commands that all men repent and be determined to follow Him (Acts 17:30). We are also responsible to gaining faith and the only way to do that is by “hearing” the word of God (Rom 10:17). James 2:14 says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” One that has a genuine Bible faith is one that will prove his faith by his actions (works). Since we will give an account for the things we say (Matt 12:36-37), it would behoove us to ensure that we say only those things that would be pleasing to God. We show that we are responsible when we become obedient to those who have rule over us (Heb 13:17). Our conduct is another area in which we can show how responsible we are. If we do those things in which we know are good and pleasing to God, then we are practicing our responsibility toward Him (James 4:17). Then of course our influence shows whether or not we have learned our personal responsibility (Rom 14:12-13). May we all strive to learn individual responsibility so we can be pleasing to God in all aspects of our life.