RESPONSIBILITY

Denial of personal responsibility is pandemic in our culture. The Bible is very clear: each and every human being is responsible for their own decisions, behavior, and relationships. We are accountable to one another and to the laws of our society, but ultimately we are responsible to the God who will judge the living and the dead.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Genesis 3:12-13 . . . It was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it.

Adam’s first response when confronted by God for his sin was to blame someone else.

Matthew 27:15-26 . . . He sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. The responsibility is yours!”

In attempting to avoid his own responsibility, Pilate sent Jesus to the cross.

Numbers 1:50-51 . . . Whenever the Tabernacle is moved, the Levites will take it down and set it up again.

Some of our responsibilities may seem boring or dull, but it is important to God that we fulfill them wholeheartedly.

Galatians 6:7-8 . . . Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it.

We are each responsible for our own behavior and will bear the consequences-now and in eternity.

WHY IS RESPONSIBILITY AN IMPORTANT CHARACTER TRAIT?

Genesis 39:2-3 . . . The Lord was with Joseph and blessed him greatly as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

Genesis 41:41 . . . Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”

Responsibility will open doors of opportunity to us.

Jeremiah 31:30 . . . All people will die for their own sins.

Ezekiel 18:20 . . . The one who sins is the one who dies.

Galatians 6:5 . . . We are each responsible for our own conduct.

Responsibility is important because we will each be held accountable for our own actions.

WHAT ARE MY RESPONSIBILITIES BEFORE GOD?

Matthew 25:14-30 . . . To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given.

We are each responsible to invest our life and talents boldly for the Kingdom of God.

Romans 12:6-8 . . . If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.

We are responsible to use the gifts God has given for the good of the church.

1 John 4:7-17 . . . Since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

Our greatest responsibility is to love God by loving others.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS FOR WHICH WE ARE RESPONSIBLE?

Genesis 2:15 . . . The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it.

Psalm 8:6 . . . You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things.

We are responsible for the care of God’s creation.

HOW DO I DEVELOP RESPONSIBILITY?

Matthew 25:20-26 . . . The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of gold said, “Sir, you gave me five bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the amount.” The master was full of praise. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” . . . Then the servant with the one bag of gold came and said, “Sir, I know you are a hard man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth and here it is.” But the master replied, “You wicked and lazy servant! You think I’m a hard man, do you, harvesting crops I didn’t plant and gathering crops I didn’t cultivate?”

Galatians 6:5 . . . We are each responsible for our own conduct.

We develop responsibility by conscientiously obeying God’s Word and doing what is right.

Romans 12:3 . . . As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.

You can become more responsible by assessing how much responsibility you can handle, and then making sure that you handle it well.

Proverbs 3:11-12 . . . My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12:11 . . . No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening-it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

God will train you to be more responsible if you submit to his discipline and let him work in your heart and life.

SHOULD I BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THINGS WHICH ARE NOT MY FAULT?

Genesis 3:12-13 . . . “Yes,” Adam admitted, “but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “How could you do such a thing?” “The serpent tricked me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

Genesis 16:5 . . . Then Sarai said to Abram, “It’s all your fault! Now this servant of mine is pregnant, and she despises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of sleeping with you. The Lord will make you pay for doing this to me!”

Exodus 32:22-24 . . . “Don’t get upset, sir,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know these people and what a wicked bunch they are. They said to me, ‘Make us some gods to lead us, for something has happened to this man Moses, who led us out of Egypt.’ So I told them, ‘Bring me your gold earrings.’ When they brought them to me, I threw them into the fire-and out came this calf!”

Matthew 27:24 . . . Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. The responsibility is yours!”

Sometimes we try to pass the blame for things that we really are responsible for.

1 Chronicles 21:7-8, 17 . . . God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it. . . And David said to God, “I am the one who called for the census! . . . But these people are innocent-what have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people.”

Sometimes it does seem that God is punishing the innocent for the sins of the guilty, but he is not.

Numbers 14:20-23 . . . The the Lord said, “. . . But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land.”

Deuteronomy 21:1-9 . . . Suppose someone is found murdered in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, and you don’t know who committed the murder. In such cases, your leaders and judges must determine which town is nearest the body. . . . Then they must say, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did we see it happen. O Lord, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed. Do not charge your people Israel with the guilt of murdering an innocent person.”

Joshua 7:1, 4 . . . Israel was unfaithful concerning the things set apart for the Lord. A man named Achan had stolen some of these things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites.

Often the whole community shares responsibility for what an indivudual or group of individuals has done.

Numbers 14:24 . . . “My servant Caleb is different from the others. He has remained loyal to me, and I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will receive their full share of that land.”

Those who are clearly innocent should not be punished with the guilty.

Deuteronomy 24:16 . . . Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor the children for the sins of their parents. Those worthy of death must be executed for their own crimes.

Ezekiel 18:1-4 . . . Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Why do you quote this proverb in the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you will not say this proverb anymore in Israel. For all people are mine to judge-both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins will be the one who dies.”

In terms of judgment before God, a person is held responsible only for his or her own sins. God will not judge or punish you for someone else’s sins. But unfortunately sin has consequences that affect others. Sin almost always hurts others and not just the sinner.

PROMISE FROM GOD:

Matthew 25:29 . . . To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.

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