Isaiah 48:17, NIV I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. For who is God, but the LORD? But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Read More I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,And will glorify Your name forever. Beware that wrath does not entice you to scoffing;And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside. He came from the Punjab in India. How Is Representing Christ a Great Responsibility? And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' In part four (51:30-1:01:42), Tim and Jon talk about God's response to humanity's rejection of his blessing and the entrance of curses into his good world. The Bible teaches the concept of personal responsibility: "The one who sins is the one who will die. Since, by faith in Christ, we are Abrahams heirs, blessed with Abraham the believer (Gal. By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. #1 "But the one who does not know and does the things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows." It seems from this passage and others like it that just as there will be varying degrees of reward at the Judgement for the fruit borne by believers, there will be varying degrees of punishment for those who have heard the truth but reject it. The Book of 2 Kings records how Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, was under siege from Benhadad, the king of Aram. O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? But we must not stop there: I will bless you and so you shall be a blessing. As I said, this is ultimately fulfilled in Abrams descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ. I love what the late Adrian Rogers once said about a person being saved; It is not your responsibility to save someoneit 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). This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent (2 Kings 7:9). God could have said, Ill be your God and you can stay in Ur. Have you ever sat through a history, science, or even a math class and thought, When will I ever use this? Thats 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). Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;The number of His years is unsearchable. Deuteronomy 24:16 This is a powerful and infinite Kingdom principle that will have ramifications into the New Heavens and New Earth that will come after the Judgment. Galatians 6:5 For each will have to bear his own load. The gospel call isnt a nice option if you decide that maybe Jesus can help you be happy. Leaders see strength in their followers. The Bible is clear that we are to honor our parents and love our families. "For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Leviticus 5:17 If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity (Lev 5:17). 1 Corinthians 3:8 - Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. Only when we think biblically about life will we act biblically and be holy people. When you drove your car, you trusted that the mechanic fixed the brakes properly. I dont 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. Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau (Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13)? And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.". In Proverbs 24:11-12, King Solomon warns us to protect others in harm of danger or sin. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! 15:19). As I emphasized last week, salvation is from the Lord, not from man. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?. Some parents dont want their children to go to the mission field, because they want them and the grandchildren nearby. The gift is also an investment, one which we are not meant to keep for ourselves but use for Kingdom purposes, aware of the eternal consequences of either growing that investment or burying it. Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 1,163 helpful votes Not Helpful Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Meanwhile, as we yield, Christ works his power in and through us for his glory, for our good, and for the good of others who will cross our paths. "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your help makes me great. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. But Jesus did mean that if our closest loved ones stand between us and Him, our choice is clear: We must follow Christ. The principle of stewardship is a common theme in Scripture, whether it is concerning financial stewardship, or, as in this case, stewardship of knowledge and understanding. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Whatever You Do, Do It To The Glory Of God. Tweet. With wisdom comes great responsibility. (2) Gods call often requires difficulty. Enjoyed This Post? Should not shepherds feed the sheep? In Proverbs 24:11-12, King Solomon warns us to protect others in harm of danger or sin. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted . These words of Jesus are quite different from the famous Spiderman quote, which says, "With great power comes great responsibility." The only way you can follow Gods call is by taking God at His Word. The more they understand and the more authority they have been given, the more they will be expected to do Gods will on behalf of his Church. He was living as a pagan idolater in a pagan city, Ur of the Chaldees, when God called him and made a covenant with him. Hypocrisy eventually comes to light, and this is the kind of bad news that spreads rapidly. They said to one another, We are not doing right. We should evaluate the greed of our culture by what the Bible says about contentment and generosity. Any earthly goods they could trade for security in the Kingdom of God will produce eternal returns. "He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me on my high places. #3 and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. This seems a restatement of the previous point, emphasizing that when God gives, it is to be considered a trust. Perhaps youre thinking, Its kind of scary to make a radical break from the world and to step out in faith, especially when you know you might encounter trials and hardships. They knew very little back ", "forgot to address your question, "How do you people dress and feed yourselves?" You have contacts here, and well use those to further My purpose. No, God told him to leave his familiar surroundings and his extended family and head off to some unknown destination. The core of holiness, or separation, is not outward, but inward. Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. When we read the Bible, we come across truths we can apply to our circumstances. Abram left familiar surroundings, family, and friends and went out by faith to an unknown destination and future. But when I read this account in Acts 13, I cannot help but think of James and John in Luke 9, when they responded to the Samaritans disrespect of the Lord by desiring to call down fire from heaven to consume them (v 54). Because of the magnitude of your iniquity. I am the LORD. We are held responsible for what we know. But what about those who believe without having seen Jesus? This passage comes in a section on watchfulness and seems to be directed specifically to those whom Jesus has entrusted the carrying on of his work of feeding his sheep. NIV But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. Related: 25 Bible Verses about Attitude Towards Work, #6. How Should Christians View the Quiverfull Movement? Abram would have been in disobedience to the sovereign God if he had not obeyed. #5. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. With great love for Christ comes great opportunity, all according to his will and by his power. #9. If you have received the blessings of Gods salvation, you are under the responsibility to do all you can to be the channel of that blessing to those who have not heard. Verses 1-3 are symmetrical: There is a command from the Lord (Go forth) followed by three promises: I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great. Then there is a second command, rendered as a future tense in most versions: Be a blessing (NASB margin), followed by three more promises: I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. Ephesians 6:4, ESV Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Beware that wrath does not entice you to scoffing; And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside. As Paul put it, If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied (1 Cor. Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! 1 Corinthians 3:8. Much Love & Blessings, If you had the cure for cancer and didnt share it with others wouldnt that be criminal negligence? 12 Important Bible Verses About Responsibility. #4. All rights reserved. With this command are three more promises: First, God promises to bless those who bless Abram; and, second, to curse those who curse him. You said, Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. This verse isnt precisely about that issue but we do know that all have sinned and fallen far short of Gods 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..