CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY
Text: Hebrews 6:9-12
Introduction: Responsibility is a sense of duty and obligation to self and other. Responsibility means accountability, being trustworthy and diligent. It also means accepting duties of roles. Never before has there been a greater need in the church for Christian’s to step up and accept their responsibility as part of the Body of Christ to the local New Testament Church. In a day of Smorgasbord Christianity in which so many show little if any allegiance and commitment to the local church we need to understand what are our responsibilities.
I. It is your responsibility to belong to a local Bible believing Church
A. Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
B. Christ built the church as His instrument for carrying out the Great Commission.
C. Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
D. R.G. Lee when asked "Can I be a Christian without joining the church?": replied, “Yes, it is as possible as being: A student who will not go to school. A soldier who will not join an army. A citizen who does not pay taxes or vote. A salesman with no customers. An explorer with no base camp. A seaman on a ship without a crew. A businessman on a deserted island. An author without readers. A tuba player without an orchestra. A parent without a family. A football player without a team. A politician who is a hermit. A scientist who does not share his findings. A bee without a hive.”
E. There is no instance of New Testament believers ever refusing to belong to a local church. Joining the church was the normal thing to do, immediately after conversion. The person who has settled the matter of salvation as the Bible teaches should be baptized, following Christ’s example and command, and join a Bible-believing and Bible practicing church.
F. Hebrews 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
G. Ephesians 5:25 …Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her
H. Alone I cannot serve the Lord effectively, and he will spare no pains to teach me this. He will bring things to an end, allowing doors to close and leaving me ineffectively knocking my head against a wall until I realize that I need the help of the Body as well as of the Lord. - Watchman Nee, Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 3.
II. It is your responsibility to faithfully support the ministry of your local Church
A. Malachi 3:10 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
B. The average born again church member contributes approximately 2.2% of his total income specifically to the Lord’s work. It is interesting to not that more than twice as many born again adults gave no money to a church last year (18%) as tithed to a church (7%).
C. I Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first [day] of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as [God] hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
D. II Corinthians 9:6-8 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
E. We should give as we would receive: cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers. – Seneca, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 3.
III. It is your responsibility to faithfully work within the organization of your local church.
A. Ephesians 4:8,11-12 Therefore He says: "He… gave gifts to men… And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”
B. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by making disciples who worship and obediently serve Christ.
C. There are those that are willing to serve God, however they get caught up in secular or para-church organizations, and think that this is just as good as the church of the living God. You hear them say, I can serve God just as well in the YMCA, the scouts, the league, the lodge, or this or that organization, as I can in the church.
D. While many of these organizations are good and noble, they are not the instrument or vehicle that God has ordained by the blood of His only begotten Son to carry out His mission in the world.
E. Ephesians 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
F. Serving in the church is one of the most fulfilling purposes God created you for.
G. Psalm 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
H. The success of ministry at any church depends on every member discovering and using their unique gift(s) and utilizing those gifts in active service for Christ.
IV. It is your responsibility to faithfully fellowship within your local church
A. Hebrews 10:24-25 … let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
B. Let us…not stay away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encourage each other.
C. A Baptist preacher once said, “"One of the really surprising things is that weather has so much effect on religion. A lack of attendance at church is always listed as one of the reasons for religious failure. A great percentage of folks will not attend church when it is raining, snowing, when it is hot or cold. In the southwest part of Ohio it is estimated that it will rain about ten Sundays a year, snow on at least three and it figures to be hot twelve Sundays, cold for at least nine. This makes thirty-four Sundays these folks cannot attend church. They will have company visiting their home on about eight Sundays and will be away visiting for about another eight. This makes fifty Sundays a year these folks cannot attend church. It leaves two Sundays a year they do attend–Easter and Christmas, if it doesn’t rain or snow." - copied
D. Nehemiah 13:11 “…Why is the house of God forsaken?”
E. It was one of the Wesley’s, I think, who said that the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion. We are forbidden to neglect the assembling of ourselves together. Christianity is already institutional in the earliest of its documents. – C. S. Lewis, Leadership, Vol. 2, no. 1.
F. "I am an Empty Pew. I vote for the world as against God. I deny the Bible. I mock at the preached Word of God. I rail at Christian brotherhood. I laugh at prayer. I break the Fourth Commandment. I am a witness to solemn vows broken. I advise men to eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow they die. I join my voice with every atheist and rebel against human and divine law. I am an Empty Pew. I am a grave in the midst of the congregation. Read my epitaph and be wise." --McCartney
V. It is your responsibility to bring others into the body of Christ and your local church.
A. Earlier we said, “The purpose of the church is to glorify God by making disciples who worship and obediently serve Christ.” The local church accomplishes disciple making when each member becomes involved in personal evangelism.
B. Luke 14:23 …Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
C. Every member is to be preacher or proclaimer of the gospel. It is not just the pastor’s job on Sundays. Our message should be going out every day of every week, as we go to work, to school, to shop, or to play.
D. Scripture makes it clear that the local church is the primary means by which God accomplishes His work in the world.
E. I Timothy 3:15 I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
F. Even though we may have a hard time sharing our faith and, yes, some people have a gift for sharing, the Bible clearly indicates that evangelism is for everyone; in fact, it is considered to be a fruit of the Spirit! Most of us associate the fruit of the Spirit with Galatians 5:22-23, where Paul describes fruit as godly character. But Paul indicates that fruit also involves leading unbelievers to Christ (Romans 1:13, 1 Corinthians 16:15). Considering that Jesus called us to produce lasting fruit (John 15:16), that we glorify God by being fruitful (John 15:8; Colossians 1:10), and that God despises unfruitfulness (Matthew 21:10,43), Christians cannot relegate the activity of evangelism to a group of “specialists.” Everyone is challenged to be prepared in and out of season to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) as well as to give an answer to everyone who asks us for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). The responsibility for evangelism, then, is for all believers who are instructed to bear fruit and are challenged to be prepared. It is not an issue of personality type, nor should it be an issue of personal comfort. It is an issue of obedience. – Jeffrey J. Schutz, “A World in Need: The Multiple Dimensions of Christian Relevance in Society,” Focal Point, summer 1997
