Personal Responsibility

What would be your response to your children if one of them was out with a group of friends and committed a crime?  They were caught and brought home by the authorities.  They could have chosen to do the right thing but because of the group they chose not to.  What would you say to them?  If I were to guess, I would probably think your response would be about the same as mine.  We would remind them and stress to them that regardless of what the group may or may not have done, they had the personal responsibility to do the right thing.

The same principle is true in any aspect of life including the church.  There is an interesting statement in Revelation 3:4, “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”  A few in Sardis exercised personal responsibility and did what pleased God while the others did not. How often is it that we hear the church isn’t doing anything?  What is meant by this statement?  Sometimes it is meant to mean that it is not doing what someone thinks it should be doing.  At other times it means it is not doing what some other church is doing.  Still at other times it means we are not doing in the collective (as a group) certain things.

It is true that Christians are to work together, “we are workers together with Him…” (2 Corinthians 6:1).  Those first century Christians who assumed personal responsibility in carrying out the will of God are working together with Him.  Were the apostles working together with Him when they took personal responsibility and went into different parts of the then known world teaching and preaching the gospel?  When individual Christians are doing the will of God they are working together with Him.  As to what other churches are doing, some are doing things that do not need to be done based on the principle of biblical authority (Colossians 3:17).

I do not know of a congregation of the Lord’s people that are doing all that could be done, and I know far too many that are going beyond what they should.  Programs and ministries (as sometimes called) can be very good and helpful in expediting the Lord’s will if the Lord hasn’t specified the exact execution of the word.  If the program is contrary to the will of God it then becomes a violation not and expedience.  We must remember that some expedient is a matter of judgment not a biblical mandate (baptistery, song books, church buildings, etc.).

A person should exercise extreme caution in what is said.  Most congregations are doing something and no doubt could do more for the kingdom of God, but just because it is not doing what some person thinks it should, or what some other congregation is doing doesn’t mean it does nothing.  Preaching the gospel is something, support of mission work, visiting the sick, seeking the lost, worshipping, encouraging, evangelism, benevolence are all doing something.

Perhaps the appropriate question should be, what you are personally doing in these areas.  Each individual Christian has a personal responsibility to do the Lord’s will.  The church will be successful in the Lord’s work when each individual member assumes personal responsibility to do what the Bible teaches him to do.  No program will succeed unless each individual assumes their personal responsibility in the program to assure its success.

Bill Cantrell