The Responsibilities of the Believer
The Responsibilities of the Believer
Our children can be so frustrating…
They want all. the. things. – electronics, designer clothes, time with friends, the perfect bedroom, to be left alone, our undivided attention right now and so much more. Yet, when it comes to handling the few responsibilities we ask of them – they are not interested. Make their bed? Why? Clean the kitchen? I have too much homework. Do their homework? The teacher didn’t explain it. Take out the trash? Life is so unfair! And so on and so on. You get the idea.
Do you think God feels the same way about us?
Ouch! That stings a little doesn’t it?
Let’s compare….
We want all the good stuff – His grace, unconditional love, mercy – lots and lots of mercy, peace, comfort, blessings, all His promises, His presence and everything we ask of Him. Yet, when it comes to our responsibilities as believers we ask why, we declare we are too busy, we blame others for our shortcomings and declare how unfair God is.
Yikes! Do you think God is frustrated with us?
Let’s dig in a little.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul lists in chapters 1-3 all the blessings we receive as believers. They include being chosen, adopted, accepted and forgiven. He says we have insight into God’s will, an eternal inheritance, the seal of the Spirit, God’s mercy & love, His wisdom & knowledge, divine power, spiritual life, and the promise of eternal kindness. Oh, there is even more – we are blessed with the knowledge that God’s plan for us is good, unity with believers, heavenly citizenship and access to God through Christ.
And then in Chapters 4-6, He lists our responsibilities as Daughters of the King. Let’s do a quick check to see if we are fulfilling our responsibilities or making excuses instead.
We have a responsibility to…
· Maintain unity of the Spirit (4:3-6) - as believers, we are one in Spirit. It is our duty to work hard at maintaining unity, centered around our belief in Jesus.
· To use our abilities for the church’s benefit (4:7-13) – we have been given spiritual gifts and we are to use those to serve. We all have a part. We are to participate, not just spectate.
· To personally grow and mature, helping others do the same (4:14-15). When we are spiritually immature, we are gullible and easily victimized. As we are becoming spiritually mature, we are transforming into who God is calling us to be.
· To put away our old, sinful ways (4:17-24; 5:2-14). – We are to strip off our old dirty clothes (no longer doing what we used to do) and put on the righteous white robes of Christ’s righteousness.
· To speak honestly and purely (4:25, 29) – Paul calls for believers to speak the truth to each other, because we are united in Christ. Proverbs identifies the lying tongue as one of the 6 things God abhors. (Prov. 6:17)
· To do what the Spirit leads us to do (4:30) – We should never ignore or reject the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Instead, we should seek His guidance on what we should think, read, watch, say and do.
· To imitate God (5:1) – We are to follow the example of God’s actions. We aren’t to just “act” Christ-like, we should be growing to become more like Christ – experiencing transformational progress.
· To walk in love (5:2) – Love is sacrifice. Jesus demonstrated that on the cross. We should demonstrate this sacrificial type of love as well.
· To find out what is acceptable to the Lord (5:10) – THIS! This is so important. Please don’t miss this one. You see, it doesn’t matter what our mom taught us, or what our friends think or even what our opinion is on a matter. What matters is what is acceptable to God. It if is not acceptable to Him – it should not be acceptable to me.
· To make the most of our time (5:16) – Yikes! Stay with me. This is a clear indication that we have lost our way. Satan loves for us to be busy; it keeps us distracted from our relationship with Jesus. Verse 16 tells us that we are to redeem the time. That means that we are to take advantage of opportunities to advance Christ’s purposes in this world. Time is passing quickly. We should be going about our Father’s business.
· To be filled with the Spirit (5:18) – We should yield to the control of the Holy Spirit. It is a moment by moment, repeatable action. I love what Corrie Ten Boom said, I think it explains what this looks like. She said, “Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.”
· To submit to one another (5:21) – this is voluntarily placing oneself under the authority of another. We often misunderstand this word, submission. To understand it better we can study our submission to governmental authorities (1 Peter 2:13), submitting to our elders (1 Peter 5:5), the church’s submission to Christ, and a wife’s submission to her husband. When we struggle with this word, we may find we are struggling with control issues. The bottom line is if God says it, that settles it.
· To have marriages that honor God (5:22-33) – Marriage is hard. It takes a lot of work, grace, mercy, and patience. In the verses listed, there are instructions to the wives and to the husbands. We are to obey these instructions.
· To honor God in our families (6:1-4) – Not only should our children obey their parents, but as parents we should treat our children in a way that they will want to obey. We can show respect to our children when we are talking, correcting and even disciplining.
· To demonstrate integrity in the workplace (6:5-9) – Integrity is what we do when no one is looking. God sees all we do. He knows when we are dishonest or unethical in any way. And if we are in authority over others, we should be servant leaders.
· To stand strong against the forces of evil (6:10-18) – We have a responsibility to stand strong against Satan’s attacks and there are 9 verses listing out the armor of God that we should wear to do battle with evil. We should review these scriptures often and start sharp on all the tools God has placed in our arsenal.
Can I encourage you to print this post or make you a list of these responsibilities that have been laid out for us to follow. Living a life of obedience to God’s word is how we demonstrate our love for Him. (This list is not conclusive. These are merely the responsibilities listed in Ephesians.)
Let’s stop acting like spoiled children - wanting God’s blessings but not fulfilling our responsibilities. Instead, let’s rise up and honor our Savior by choosing to do what He has instructed. Let’s start with repentance and then proceed with obedience. What a great way to celebrate Easter.
I am thankful for you!
Pam
Note from Pam:
Thank you for reading this blog post. It is my prayer that God will use my words to encourage you to engage Jesus in an intimate relationship. I love working with women one to one and in groups to help them remove their blindspots and move forward in true freedom and leadership. I would love to come alongside you and help you step into God’s plan for your life. If that is of interest to you, let’s chat. Just click here.
I love you and am thankful you are here. Let’s ask, “Master, what matters?” and let’s engage Him and experience the more He came to offer.
Pam
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