I'm Responsible For Me Series

I'm Responsible For Me

John 21:20-25

It has been said that we are the sum of the choices in our life. Certainly there are things that happen to us outside of our control , but we still choose how we will respond.

Jesus' last message in the gospel of John to Peter is one of personal responsibility. This has been a struggle for mankind since the beginning of time. When God came to Adam and Eve in the garden after they sinned Adam told God, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree and ate.” Eve said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” The very first humans struggled with personal responsibility for their actions

and here we are thousands of years later with people who say the credit card companies sent me the card and now I'm in debt and its the cruel banks fault. Nothing new under the Sun

Here in this passage Jesus has just told Peter to go and feed his sheep and he also told him the type of death he was going to die, and when Peter sees John sitting there he ask Jesus a question

“Lord what about this man?”

Peter has just been given this great task from the Lord and told by Jesus “follow me” and even told how he was going to die and Peter wants to know about John

Is John going to have to die for the gospel also? But look how Jesus answers the question in verse 22, “If it is my will that he remains until I come what is that to you? You follow me!”

It couldn't be any clearer what Jesus is saying, to put it simply he tells Peter to mind his own business because Gods will for John is between God and John and Gods will for Peter is between Peter and God

wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone put this very simple principle into action

Paul said,

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in [his] brother's way.

Throughout scripture the message of personal responsibility is taught and yet here in this passage we see Peter worrying more about John than he is himself which is why Jesus re-directs him

When we spend our time more concerned about what everyone else is doing we neglect the things that we should be doing. When Jesus was teaching his disciples during the sermon on the mount he said

Mat 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Mat 7:3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

There are three points of application that I would like to draw from this passage this morning that I believe will help all of us in our walk with Christ

I'm responsible for my actions

Everyone of us here today are responsible for our own actions . Two times in his short response Jesus uses the word “You:” to Peter. He says “What is that to you and you follow me!”

Its not the banks fault if we are in debt,

Its not our parents fault for our situation in life, its not the governments fault its not even the devils fault What was it that Paul wrote in the book of Romans that we read earilier

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

We are not going to give an account for our parents, for our friends, for our children we are each going to individually stand before God and give an account of what we have done with this life that God has so graciously given to each of us.

When David sinned with Bathsheba and committed adultery before he could be forgiven and get on with his life he had to come to that point where he said “I have sinned”

2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

When the Prodigal son came back to the Father he said

Luk 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Notice the word “I” in these two different occasions

Jam 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: