Are You a Responsible Christian?

Well, brethren, good parents want to teach their children to be responsible citizens, don't they? Good parents want their children to learn to be responsible for their actions, to take responsibility. They want their children to learn to make good choices, to make good decisions, to make responsible choices, choices that will bring blessings upon them and all who associate with them.

Now, as a true Christian, as a true follower of Christ, what does your heavenly Father expect of you? What does God expect of you as your parent? What does He want you to do? What does He want you to become?

Now, I'm sure that we all believe that we, as God's elect, as called-out ones at this time, we believe we're called to develop godly character. In fact, Mr. Babcock alluded to that or mentioned that in his sermon at. We are to develop godly character. We are to become like God. We are to have His characteristics. Now, this sermon is all about developing character by learning to be more responsible, by learning to also take responsibility for our actions, for our choices.

So, ask yourself this, are you a responsible Christian? Are you a responsible Christian? Are you doing your duty as a Christian? And I look around and I say, and I must say that, yes, you are responsible Christians. I'm not here to beat up on you today. That's not my purpose. But is it wrong to ask the question? Are we responsible Christians?

Could we possibly do better? Should we not put a prod upon ourselves to do better? I know I have to. I speak for myself. I have to put a prod on myself. I may not be like some of you. Some of you may beat yourself up all the time. I'm not that way. I don't beat myself up all the time. So, I have to give sermons like this one to help stir me up. And hopefully it will be helpful and effective to many of you.

So, when I give sermons like this, it's just because it's a responsibility of a pastor. You know, I have to give sermons like this. And it is going to be a humbling sermon. There's no doubt about it. But it will address some important issues that we all need to consider, that we all need to think about. And we all need to have a right balance when it comes to our walk with God. What does God expect of us?

What does He expect of you? You know, God is not some harsh God who wants to beat you up. So stop beating yourself up. Perhaps you've been beating yourself up way too much. You know, that can be painful when we beat ourselves up like that. That's not the purpose of my sermon today. I'm not going to beat on you today, but I am going to talk the truth. I'm going to speak the truth. So, are you a responsible Christian? Are you doing your duty as a Christian?

If you are, then you don't have anything to worry about. If you're falling a little bit short, join the club. Your pastor falls short. So is it any wonder that you might too? We all do. So how responsible, how dutiful are you? What does it mean to be a responsible Christian? What does it mean to do your Christian duty? Now, brethren, when you're given a job to do, how well do you do it? We all have jobs to do. Some people do jobs very, very, very well. They're very conscientious. Again, they beat themselves up over wanting to do a good job.

But, frankly, there are others who don't. Is that any surprise? There are some people who don't do as well as they should, and they do need to put a pride on themselves. Fathers and husbands have many jobs to do. They are responsible for many, many things, as well as mothers and wives. There are so many things that we're responsible for.

Is that not true? Think about it. Just to have a household running smoothly. There are so many responsibilities that have to be taken care of. To have a household, to have a family. A single man and woman, you know, they also have many responsibilities. They have many things that they have to do to function in life and to have life go smoothly for them. So we all have many, many responsibilities. Even children have certain responsibilities, don't they? Now, the only exception is we tiny babies.

We don't expect much out of we tiny babies, do we? Now, we really don't. I mean, they can get away with most anything at a certain age. I mean, our grandson could do just about anything he wanted to. And, you know, what are we going to do? We're just going to try to soothe him and try to calm him down and try to make him feel better. And that's a fine thing.

But when he becomes older, then he becomes accountable. He becomes responsible and we'll expect more of him. And his parents will expect more of him at that time. So what does the Bible have to say about being responsible Christians? What are some of your duties as a Christian? In Luke 17, Christ gives us great insight into what he expects of his followers.

And this is from Jesus Christ himself, the Messiah, the one who died for us. What does Christ expect of us? Let's read Luke 17. Now, I want to start in verse 1 and I want to read some of the context, because I think we will get more out of this if we just... We'll get more out of it than we would if we just went to one or two verses. Notice verse 1.

Then he said to his disciples, It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come. In other words, don't be offending other people. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than he should offend one of these little ones.

You know, God really cares for his people. Christ is a good shepherd. He looks out for the sheep. Take heed to yourselves if your brother sins against you, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, I repent, you shall forgive him. Now, God is pretty balanced. He tells us that we ought not to offend, that we ought not sin, but then he says if someone does, then you need to forgive them. And he's the same way, because he forgives you when you sin. He forgives you. He's gracious. He's wonderful.

Verse 5, And the apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith.

So the Lord said, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you.

And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, come at once and sit down to eat. But will he not rather say to him, prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself, and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink? Now, that's common. That's customary. That's what people expect. If somebody has a servant, has an employee, they're supposed to look out for the needs of the master or the one that's in charge. They're supposed to cater to them.

Verse 9, does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?

He says, I think not. No, the master doesn't—he doesn't—the servant doesn't really expect the master to thank him because, as he says, it's something he should be doing regardless. Now, that doesn't mean it would be wrong to thank him because I think that would be wonderful to have an employee or a master that would thank you for doing what you're supposed to do. Notice verse 10. So likewise, you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, we are unprofitable servants. When you've done everything that you're commanded—say, you're an unprofitable servant—we have done what was our duty to do. We've done what was our duty so don't think that's so wonderful to do your duty. Don't think so highly of yourself just because you're doing what God expects you to do. We should be humbled by that. God wants us to be humbled by that. You've done what your duty was to do. Now, then it goes on to show that Christ cleansed 10 lepers and not—and only one of them came back to thank him for that. He went above and beyond the call of duty, you might say, because it wasn't necessarily expected that Jesus would heal everyone. He didn't have to do that. That wasn't something that was commanded him to do. But Jesus did it because he was a profitable servant. He went far above and beyond the call of duty, you might say, and he cleansed those lepers, he healed them all, but only one of them came back. Notice verse 15, and one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, were there not ten clans, but where are the other nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner, this Samaritan? And he said to him, arise, go your way, your faith has made you well, the faith of the Samaritan has made you well. I've often wondered if those other nine didn't get their leprosy back. I don't know that they did. It's just a speculation on my part. It's just, I wonder. Certainly the one who came back and gave God glory and thanked God remained healed. It wouldn't surprise me if they all remained healed, because God is gracious and God is merciful. On the other hand, if we learned that they ended up getting leprosy back, then we'll know why.

So I don't mean to speak for God, I don't really know. The Bible doesn't tell us. But here we see that God expects certain things of us. He has duties for us to do.

And when we just do those duties, we're still unprofitable. He wants us to go above and beyond the call of duty. And that looks to the person's heart. That goes into the heart, because people can do things out of duty. They can do it just because they're expected to do it, and they can beat themselves up and do it. But unless it's in their hearts, unless it's really in their hearts, you know, that's what really matters. God looks on the heart. God wants to see repentance there. He wants us to repent of those things that are wrong and evil within us. He wants us to become like Him. So, again, we are unprofitable servants if we do only our duty. Now, in these verses, we saw faith, thankfulness, and duty tied together. Faithful people, people of faith, are thankful people, and they do their Christian duty. In fact, they learn to go above and beyond their Christian duties. They learn to become profitable servants. Responsibility is doing what is expected and required. Profitability is doing what is extra. It's not anticipated. It is going above and beyond the call of duty. And by the way, the fellow who believes that he is exerting himself beyond the call of duty is apt to be a poor judge of distance.

Think about that one for a moment. If you think you're going way above the call of duty, it's very likely that you're a poor judge of distance. The word translated duty in verse 10 is the Greek word ophalo. O-p-h-e-i-l-o. So go back and look at verse 10 again. Likewise, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say we are in profitable servants, we have done what was our duty to do. We have done ophalo. That is your duty, ophalo. This word means to owe. It means to be under obligation. It means to be in debt. The words ought, must, and should are closely related to the meaning of this word duty. A person who has the duty ought to do it. That's what we ought to do. A person must fulfill his obligation. That's what's expected of you. You must do it. Some people don't like to ever hear the word must. I know of one person that said, never say must. She did not want anyone to say she must do anything.

But frankly, the Bible says that we must do these things if we are to be profitable servants and to go beyond just doing the duty. He should do his duty and he ought and should and must be responsible and take responsibility for doing his duty, for doing what is expected of him. Unfortunately, it seems that many don't look at duty the way God does. It is all too true that, generally speaking, many have the approach that duty and responsibility are what is expected of others. That's what duty is all about. It's what's expected of someone else. And they don't tend to necessarily look at their own duties, but they are very conscientious about considering someone else's duty, my wife's duty. Husbands sometimes focus on the wife's duty, but not on their own duties.

So we need to focus on our own duties.

Someone once said, a duty is a task we look forward to with distaste, perform it with reluctance, and brag about it after we've accomplished it.

And, by the way, an excuse is a statement given to cover up for a duty not well done.

Or not done at all. That's an excuse.

So now might be a good time to ask, does anyone have any right to expect you to do anything?

Does anyone have any right to expect you to do anything? Must you do anything?

Does your boss have any right to expect you to do anything? Is it okay for him to say, you must do this? Or I'm going to can you? Does he have that right?

Does your maid have any right to expect you to do anything? Does the law of the land or the courts have any right to expect certain behaviors and conduct from you? Does God have any right to expect you to behave in a certain way? Are you a man or woman who is under authority? Let's go to Matthew 8 and review what authority is all about. Matthew 8. Verse 5, Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. Now here's a good master. Here's someone who cares about his servants. He doesn't just kick him to the wayside and get a new one. No, he goes to Jesus Christ and pleads for his servant.

Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. I am not worthy, but only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go, and he goes. He does it.

And to another, come, and he comes. And to my servant, do this, and he does it.

Now when Jesus heard it, he marveled. He said to those who followed, to his disciples, who surely I say to you, I have not found such great faith. Not even in Israel. Here is a man who has great faith. He trusts me. He believes in me. He knows that I have the power to heal. All I have to do is say the word. Now that's what God's looking for. He's looking for a faithful heart who believes in him. Now that's what God's really looking for. Someone who trusts him. Someone who believes in him. Someone who has surrendered themselves to him and allows God to work in them. Now that's what God's really looking for. He's not so concerned about all the do's and don'ts. In some ways, he's looking at the heart. Sure, it matters whether we do or whether we don't.

But God looks on the heart.

Now let's look at some more scriptures that will help us better understand the concept of Christian responsibility and Christian duty. Let's go to Romans 15 verse 1. Romans chapter 15 verse 1.

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not try to please ourselves. This is Romans 15 verse 1. This is your duty. Those who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not try to please ourselves. This is Romans 15 verse 1. This is your duty. Those who are strong ought to bear with those who are weak.

They need to go out of their way to help the weak, to help the poor, to help those who need help.

A man never gets so confused in his thinking that he can't see the other man's duty. Again, we need to look at ourselves. This is something God says you need to do. You need to look after the weak. You need to look after the poor with whatever you have to do it with. If God has given you much, then much is required. If you don't have a whole lot, then God expects you to use what you do have to help others and not make excuses for not doing your Christian duty. That is your duty. Some folks who do their duty as they see it really do need to consult an eye specialist. Now, let me say that again. Some folks who do their duty as they see it really do need to consult an eye specialist. Again, it's not necessarily how we see it, it's how God sees it. You may think you're doing your duty. You may think you're doing everything that you should. Maybe that isn't the case. Maybe you have a blind spot. Now, again, don't beat yourself up over it. Just go do it.

Again, God is loving and merciful. He doesn't want you to beat yourself up over these things. Many people see their duty in plenty of time to dodge it.

They see it and they dodge it. They don't want to be responsible for it.

Many people spend more time trying to dodge duty than would be required to do their duty.

Think about that one. What are you? I know when I was a kid I used to dodge duty. I was a kid. My duty was to help clean up my room. I wanted to make my brother so mad at me that he cast me out of the room so I wouldn't have to do it. My job, I was sent up there to help him. He was an older brother. He was a great brother. I took advantage of him. I got him mad and he'd send me away. So I wouldn't have to do my duty. And had I just gotten in there and done my duty, then it would have been better for both of us. So I was too busy dodging my duty than taking care of my duty. In Romans 15 verse 25, down a few verses, but now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. This is what Paul says, for it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, in other words, the Gentiles have learned from the Jews, from the Israelites.

God chose the Israelites as a chosen vessel for him, and the truth was revealed through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob, of course, being Israel and the children of Israel. Notice the last part of verse 27. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. So Paul asked for donations, contributions that could be taken to the poor in Jerusalem, those who were needy. And he said it's the duty of the Gentiles, if they have the funds, to help, to support, to do their part.

And again, that word, ought, or I'm sorry, the word duty is the word ophalo.

It's translated in different ways. Oh, ought, bound is another way that it's translated.

In 1 Corinthians 7, verse 3, it talks about a husband and wife. 1 Corinthians 7, verse 3, let the husband render to his wife the affection, do her. This is the word ophalo. This is your duty, man.

You are to give to your wife the affection that's do her. And I know that we don't always do a good job of that, man. I know I don't always do a good job of that. I get busy with other things. My mind's on other things. I don't take care of it. I don't give my wife the affection always that she's do. I'm sorry for that. I wish I was better at that.

But that is my duty. That's what I owe her.

And likewise, also the wife to her husband. You know, it works both ways.

We both have duties to one another. Verse 4, the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. And do not deprive one another except with consent for a time. That you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

So, again, these are instructions. These are things that we should be doing for one another. A husband has certain dues that he's entitled to receive, and vice versa.

Because we have entered into a covenant with each other, we are committed to each other. We have duties and obligations. We owe each other. And so we should rise up and make sure that we're doing our part. And we should go beyond that. We should be profitable husbands and wives, going beyond our duty, but doing things willingly. Not out of duty, but willingly. That's what it's talking about, becoming a profitable servant, going above and beyond the call of duty. In Ephesians 5 verse 28, Ephesians chapter 5 verse 28, again, this word is used, ophalo. Ephesians 5 verse 28 is here, it says, so ought. This is the word ophalo again. So ought men to love their wives and their own bodies. He who he that loves his wife loves himself.

We ought to love our wives. We ought to go out of our way for our wives. We should learn to be affectionate toward them.

Now, undoubtedly, some wives feel some resentment when it is assumed that they are responsible for all the household chores, every last one of them. Now, hopefully we don't treat our wives that way. I think some men have. They would plop down in front of a TV set. The wife worked all day long. She came home. She made the dinner. She did the dishes. She vacuumed the floor. She did everything while the husband entertained himself. You know, I don't think that's the way it's supposed to be. So some wives feel some resentment when it is assumed that they are responsible for all the household chores.

You may remember the TV ad in which the husband is upset because he has ring around the collar.

Ring around the collar. And the wife has failed miserably to successfully remove the ring around the collar. Until, of course, she gets a better detergent, which solves all of her problems.

But is it really the wife's fault that the man has ring around the collar?

Maybe he needs to wash his neck more thoroughly.

Maybe it's his duty to wash his neck a little more thoroughly. In 2 Thessalonians 1, it also uses this word of phthalo. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 3. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 3. We are bound—this is the word of phthalo. We are bound, of phthalo. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren. This is what Paul says as an apostle, as a servant, as a shepherd. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren. As it is fitting, you know, I should constantly be thanking God for all of you, because, frankly, my joy, my job is a delight. At times it's troubling, but overall it's a delight because I work with people like you, people whom I love, people that I believe love me.

So it's fitting that I thank God always for you. I'm bound to do that. It's my duty. It's my obligation. And if I looked at you in any different way, that would be bad on my part. I'm to be a helper of your joy.

Because your faith grows exceedingly, your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. This is what Paul is saying to the church at Thessalonica. Is your love abounding one toward another? Could we have more love in this congregation? Could we love each other more? Could we go out of our way a little bit more for each other? Now, some of you, I'm sure, are doing a wonderful job of that. You're very generous. You give of yourselves. You spend yourself in serving the brethren. But perhaps some of you are holding back. Perhaps some of you are not putting that prod upon yourself. Perhaps you could do better. Again, don't drive yourself crazy about these things. Everything's in balance.

I know this can be overwhelming. Our duties can be overwhelming. I understand that. It sometimes gets overwhelming for me when I consider all the duties that I have. It gets overwhelming. But on the other hand, God expects me to try the best I can.

I know I fall short. I know that. But thankfully, I don't beat myself up with that. If I did, I'd be most miserable because I fail often. But I'm grateful for what I can accomplish, for what I can do in a positive way.

So we should have more love toward each other. It should abound toward each other. That's the kind of love that we should have for each other. We should be willing to do most anything for each other. You know, as long as it's within God's laws, we should be willing to do that for each other. That's the kind of church we're to be if we're to be a church without spot, without wrinkle.

In 1 John 3 verse 16, it says, we ought a phalo. It says we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3, 16, are you willing to lay your life down for each other? Are you willing to lay your life down for your brother, for your sister? 1 John 3 verse 16, by this we know love because he, that is Jesus Christ, laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. You know, we learned something about love by considering what God has done. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, and greater love has no man than this, that he lays his life down for his friends. If you don't know what love is, then think about what God has done. That's what love is. It's outgoing. It's sacrificing. It's doing something for others. But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? Stir up the love, brethren. Stir up the love in you. That's your duty. And not only that, you should do it willingly. And then you're going above and beyond your duty. You're doing it because you want to, because you really are love. You're becoming love. In 2 Corinthians 12, verse 14, again the word of Phthalo is used.

The children ought not to lay up for the parents. That's the concept in 2 Corinthians 12. We, as parents, need to give ourselves for our children. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 14. A good parent gives themselves for their child. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 14, Now for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you, for I do not seek yours but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. We should take care of our children, and we should be very responsible parents. You know, it's extremely sad when you read about, did you hear about this woman who had a baby? And she pushed the baby away. She was on crack cocaine. She had been up all night long. At a smoking crack the night the baby was born.

And an EMT came to a phone booth and found her there and took her to the hospital. She had the baby. She pushed the baby away. Now there's a parent who's not taking care of her responsibility. We need to take care of our responsibilities. It is our duty to take care of our children, our families, and to start being more responsible. Not that anyone would ever do that here. Of course not. Children shouldn't have to work to provide for their alcoholic fathers. Now that's not what, and I didn't have to do that, by the way. My dad was an alcoholic, but he took care of the family. He provided for the family. Some alcoholics don't do that. And the kids are expected to take care of him.

We should not neglect our responsibilities. We owe it to our children. We owe it to God. In 3 John 5, it shows that we are to be hospitable servants. We are to practice hospitality. 3 John 5, verse 8. 3 John, verse 5. Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren, and get this, for strangers. Not just for the brethren, but for strangers. Those who come among you that may not even be brothers, but they're strangers.

Who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God. Remember we talked about worthiness, a manner worthy of God. God wants us to be worthy. He says, if you are worthy, you will do well, because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth. So He's saying that we should be hospitable people, that we should help people and be worthy. Help people in a worthy manner. Extend yourself. Go out of the way. Do things for others. And as Christians, as true followers of Christ, we are to follow His example. We are to do as He has done. He was perfectly obedient to His Heavenly Father, and we are to strive for perfection. That is our duty. We are to become like Christ. We are to put on the mind of Christ. Our duty is to keep God's commandments. They are not suggestions, but they are indeed commandments. All ten of them.

And then there are the other laws, the statutes and judgments of God, that we are to be responsible for keeping. All of them. I know it's overwhelming. I understand that. We are all in this together. Thankfully, God is loving and God is merciful, and God knows you are going to fall short. God knows that. You know, you don't surprise God. He knows it. We all fall short. God loves us anyway, just like you love your son and daughter who fall short.

I mean, hasn't your son or daughter ever fallen short? Do you still love Him? Of course.

Of course you love them.

So the list goes on and on, doesn't it? The annual holy days. Where do you keep those days? I make no excuses for that. I don't believe in keeping Christmas or Easter or New Year, because they are pagan days. Pagan origins. They are not God's days. We keep the annual holy days that are God's days, that are the true days, the true days that God wants us to observe.

We observe them. It is our duty. We keep our festival tithe associated with that, so we can keep those days properly. We pay tithes. We pay offerings.

Because it's our Christian duty, as we understand God's word. God wants us to do these things. And that's a good thing. It is our due. It's what's expected of us.

By entering into covenant with God, we owe God many, many things. Others have not entered into covenant with God at this time, and they will not be judged presently in the same manner as those who have entered into covenant. You have entered into covenant with God. You are judged differently. God expects more of us. God does expect more of you. He expects more of me.

So we have to strive to do the right thing. And when we fall short, then obviously God is very forgiving, and God can certainly raise us back up. So God still holds people accountable for their sins, but presently they do not have the same calling that we do. They don't have the same reward either. You know, when you think about the reward, remember we are among the firstfruits of God. We are the called out and chosen of God. We are to be kings and priests in God's kingdom during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. We are called to rule and to reign with Christ first for a thousand years here on the earth, where we will be servants of God Most High. And we will be able to bring peace to a war-torn world, a world that has gone through the seven last plagues, the seven trumpets, all the destruction that's going to come upon the earth because of Satan and also because of God's wrath. But we will have an opportunity to rule and reign with Christ, and to whom much is given, much is required. Our debt to God does require responsibility on our part. As I said, we ought, we need, we must, we should take responsibility for our Christian duties. Since we owe an unfathomable debt of love to God the Father and Jesus Christ, we also should ask ourselves the question, how can we even begin to pay that debt? How can we even begin to pay that debt?

Well, in many ways we can't. It's impossible to pay the debt. It's a gift that God has given us.

But Jesus did explain that when we do what we do to benefit others is actually done to him. What we do to benefit others is actually done for Christ. So it is a way to show that we get it, to show that we understand that we also have love, that we have the love that God has for us by doing for others. In Matthew 25 verse 40, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

That's what God says, you did it to me. So is it important to get involved in a Ronald McDonald house? I think it's pretty important. They're God's children. If you can help out, then why not help out? Well, this same sense of indebtedness should carry over into our employment, to all of our responsibilities, to every aspect of our daily lives. It should carry over.

And remember that hard work and devotion to duty will surely get you a promotion. Unless, of course, the boss has a relative who wants the job. That's the world we live in. Is it not? We don't always get what we should. You know, life isn't fair.

We should just go about doing our duty, not expecting much in return. That's really the calling of a true Christian.

In Colossians chapter 3 verses 23 and 24, it says, whatever we do, we should do it heartily as to the Lord. Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians chapter 3 verse 23, And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ. You serve the Lord Christ. Whatever you do, do it heartily. Do your duty heartily. That's going above and beyond, isn't it? You're not doing it begrudgingly. You're doing it heartily, with your whole heart. You've become a profitable servant, because now you're doing it with your whole heart, and you're not holding back. Now, from the book, The Power for True Success, How to Build Character in Your Life, it says, An important aspect of responsibility is being personally accountable for our thoughts, our words, our attitudes, and our actions.

From the book, it says, These are to be consistent with the commands of Jesus Christ, because in the final judgment they will be exposed and evaluated on the basis of genuine love. It all gets down to love, really. God is love, and we are to become love. And that's how we're going to be judged. We're not going to be judged on every do and don't.

I mean, none of us are going to fulfill our responsibilities perfectly. We're all going to fall short. But God is going to look at your heart, and He's going to be looking to see if there's love there. If there's love there, then you're going to be all right.

If you're lacking in love, then now's the time to pray for it, to analyze it, to look at yourself, and to repent. To repent of not having that kind of love for each other. Now, 1 John 2. 1 John 2. Verse 4-6. 1 John 2.

1 John 2. Verse 4. 1 John 2. Verse 4. 1 John 2. Verse 4. 1 John 2. Verse 4.

1 John 2. Verse 4.

1 John 2. Verse 4. Verse 5. Verse 7.

1 John 2. Verse 7.

1 John 2. Verse 7.

1 John 2. Verse 7.

1 John 1 John 8. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God That's what God says we're supposed to do. That's our duty. Bring every thought into captivity. Is that going to take you a while? Is it going to take you a while to bring every thought into captivity? Yeah, it's going to take a lifetime. It's going to take a lifetime. And even then, you're not going to make it, are you? You're still going to fall short?

How about our responsibility for our words? Matthew 12, 36-37. What about the things you say? Matthew 12, 36. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

And in Psalm 34, verse 13, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile. God says bring your thoughts into captivity, bring your words into captivity.

Keep your tongue from evil, keep your lips from speaking guile. Be innocent, be pure.

How about your responsibility for your actions? 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Frankly, you appear before the judgment seat of Christ every day.

Because judgment has begun on the house of God. You come before the judgment seat every day. You don't have to wait for the return of Christ.

It's already here. You're being judged already. So we are responsible for our actions.

What about for our motives, for our attitudes? Jeremiah 17, verse 10.

Jeremiah 17, verse 10. If the Lord searched the heart, I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

And isn't Jeremiah 17, verse 9, the heart is deceitful above all things. Desperately wicked. Who can know it?

Passover will be here before long. This is a pre-passover sermon. Analyze yourself. Take a look at yourself.

I, the Lord, search the heart. I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. Your actions are important. Your choices are important.

1 John 4, verse 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought, that's again the word of phthalo. It's our responsibility, we ought to love one another.

If God so loved us, yes, he did love us, sent his Son for us, Christ gave his life for us. If God so loved us, we ought to love one another.

Brethren, we are responsible for many, many things. So many things that living life can be overwhelming at times.

And Satan certainly wants to wear out his saints, or wear out the saints of God. It is impossible to perfectly fulfill all of our responsibilities. Do you get that? I think you get that. It is impossible to perfectly fulfill all these things. But does this mean that we ought not, and again, ought is the word of phthalo.

Should we ought not try? Sure, you're fighting the good fight. You know, that's the best thing I can say about any one of you here today. You're here today, you're fighting the good fight. Some of you have been around for years and years. You've probably fallen short in many, many ways. You're probably ashamed of some of the things you've done. I know I am. I'm very ashamed of some of the things I've done in the past 30 years.

But you know, you're here. And I'm assuming you're here because you want to be here. You want to be in God's kingdom. You want to learn to be pleasing to Him. God looks on the heart. God wants to see whether you have love for each other.

We all, again, fall very short of God's glory. Sermons like this one are indeed humbling, as we all should clearly sense that we do fall short.

We're not perfect and we're not going to be perfect. I've said that many times. I hope that doesn't offend anyone.

Some people think they're perfect in this life. I don't think anyone here does. But some people think they don't even sin.

I've talked to people who don't think they sin. They obviously don't know what sin is.

Brethren, we are to strive for perfection. That is our duty. I make no excuses for that.

I make no apologies for that. We are to strive for perfection. We are to be humble servants.

We are to become profitable servants. We are to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Brethren, we know that we are saved by grace. Thank God for that. We are saved by grace.

It is impossible in the flesh to always behave in a responsible, godly way.

You know, we should understand that about each other. When one of us falls short, should that be a big surprise?

Not really. It's sad. I wish it didn't happen. But that's reality. We're still in this flesh.

So again, even so, nevertheless, let us all strive to do our Christian duty.

Most importantly, let us learn what true love toward God and man really is.

Stop shirking your responsibilities. There may be somebody here that's shirking a responsibility with a brother or with someone who's not. Maybe you owe money to somebody, and you're not willing to pay it.

And you're finding all kinds of excuses and reasons why you shouldn't have to pay it.

I mean, we answer to God for these things. Let's take care of our responsibilities.

Just as we expect our children to learn to be responsible, we do not expect them to be perfect.

God does not expect you to be perfect in this flesh, in this physical life.

Christ said, go and sin no more. That's what He told the woman.

But it's not likely that she went and sin no more. It's not likely.

He still loves her. It's still what He wanted her to do. It's still what He told her to do.

God does expect you to develop godly character by learning to do your Christian duties more faithfully.

So let's go about doing our Father's business.