Christian Crier
Here are my top 7 Bible verses on responsibility. Can you think of one?
Bearing Your Own Load
Galatians 6:4-5 “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.”
Paul is telling the Christians in Galatia that we are all responsible for our own work and not our neighbors. Every one of us “will have to bear his (or her) own load.” He isn’t talking about not helping anyone else because in a previous verse he writes that we are to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2) but he is writing these verses in the context of chapter 6 where we are to share what we have learned from others (Gal 6:6) but we must reap what we ourselves sow (Gal 6:8). We are all going to be held accountable or responsible for our own actions or inactivity for that matter; for our sins of commission as well as our sins of omission.
Giving an Account to God
Romans 14:10, 12 “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
I was sharing the gospel with a young man some time ago and he says that he is the way he is because of the way his mother raised him but I remembered this verse that after you have grown up and became an adult, you are responsible for your own actions. I told him that he can’t blame his mother forever and he will certainly reap what he has sown. We will all have to give an account to God someday for this life and all will have to “stand before the judgment seat of God” and every one of us will have to “give an account of himself to God.” When you are standing before God on that day you can’t say “Wait God, let me go get my mother because she’s partly to blame.” She will have her turn and she will stand alone so know this, we will all stand alone before God but for those who have trusted in Christ, He will is our Advocate and our sins have already been forgiven so we won’t have to be judged for those.
Responsible for Other’s Stumbling
Romans 14:15-16 “For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.”
I believe the idea here is that although I believe drinking wine is not sin, I would never offer wine before a brother or sister in Christ who came to dinner to eat with me. I don’t drink but neither will I judge those who do. Why would I want to do that? This would be especially true if they were a recovering alcoholic. I don’t want to do anything that would cause my brother or sister to stumble into sin or to do something that they thought was sin in front of them. I am responsible for that which intentionally causes my brother or sister to stumble.
No Offense, No Problem
Second Corinthians 6:3 “We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry.”
Paul was very concerned that we don’t make non-essentials essentials for others. That is, what we might feel is wrong for us should never be made to be wrong for others if the Bible is silent on it. That’s why Paul wrote to “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Cor 8:9). You see a lot of this in both 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Paul was careful about causing others to stumble and wrote that “if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall” (1 Cor 8:13). Again, if we believe it is offensive to someone, then it is better to do without, whatever that is.
No Concealed and Carry Permit
Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
We had a man who attended our church for a time but he finally quit coming. Our church elder asked him why. He said that he was not a sinner. I told the elder that’s too bad because Jesus came to die for sinners. The Apostle John clearly wrote that “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8) and “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). This verse isn’t precisely about that issue but we do know that all have sinned and fallen far short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23) and that if someone tries to conceal or hide their sins, God says that person surely wont’ prosper but whoever it is that “confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Your Calling and Election is Your Responsibility
Second Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”
The command to make your calling and election sure is a command, not a suggestion so how do you make that calling and election known for sure? Peter tells us just prior to verse 10 to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:5-8). Peter says that if these qualities are increasing, you can be more certain of your calling and election “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” This is your responsibility and no one else’s.
Your Responsibility at Work
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
The Wisdom of Solomon tells us that “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Eccles 9:10) because you are, as Paul tells the Colossians, “serving the Lord Christ” and not really man. You are responsible for what you do at work and Christians can leave either a good witness or a bad example and shame the cause of Christ by doing shoddy work or slacking off on the job.
Conclusion
I love what the late Adrian Rogers once said about a person being saved; “It is not your responsibility to save someone…it is their response to His ability” but I would add that it is all of our responsibility to tell others about Christ and the only way that they can be saved (Acts 4:12). If we don’t tell them, then who will? If you had the cure for cancer and didn’t share it with others wouldn’t that be criminal negligence? Take your responsibility seriously. Jesus clearly commanded all believers to go into all the world and make disciples of all men and women (Acts 1:8; Matt 28:18-20). This imperative command is all of our responsibility. I would hope you would take it seriously.
Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon
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