Freedom Requires Responsibility

One of the hindrances to the body of Christ, the Christian church is that too many people think that once they are saved from their sins there is nothing else for them to do. I want to discuss in the article the notion that Christian Freedom requires Christian responsibility. The article is inspired at least in part by comments made to me by a cousin of mine. He stated that we make a mistake when we tell people that they are sinners saved by grace. He also stated that many Christians today do not believe in sacrifice. First, what does Barry mean when he says that it is a mistake to tell people that they are sinners saved by grace? You too may have heard this many times in your life. Is this true? When I say we are sinners saved by grace, I am speaking in the present tense. This means that I am still a sinner after I have confessed my sins, given my life to Jesus Christ, and become a member of a local congregation. I have changed my legal standing with God, but my character, my thinking, my emotions, and my behavior remains the same. I am still a sinner. We may consider the greetings of Paul in his letters. Paul begins his first letter to the church at Corinth with these words: “Paul called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:” (1 Corinthians 1:1-2, NASB). When we look at these two verses it becomes apparent that Paul considers himself and the members of the church to have changed. Let us examine these changes and see how the change requires new responsibilities. When we first meet Paul in the scriptures in Acts 7-9 he is persecuting the church. He is confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, and he is converted. God sends Ananias to minister to Paul in spite of his objections. God tells Ananias that Saul is an instrument chosen by God to preach the Gospel and he will suffer because of his preaching (9:15-16). Paul is forgiven of his sins. In addition, he is called to preach the name of Jesus to people of all ethnic groups and all socio-economic status. He is not a sinner, rather, he is an apostle of Jesus Christ called by God and given responsibilities by God. In verse two Paul does not call his audience “sinners saved by grace.” Instead he calls them the church that is sanctified in Christ and their calling, that is, their responsibility is heed to their calling to be saints. They are now set aside to live a new lifestyle of disciples observing the commands of Jesus (see Matt. 28:18-20; John 8:32). They are to have a new mindset and new behaviors (Rom. 12:1-2). They can no longer be the same, because they have believed in Jesus, received His Spirit and walk in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4; 7:6). They are in Christ and the old things have passed away and they are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). Paul describes the new life in Christ throughout his epistles; especially Ephesians 4 describes the change that has taken place in Christians and their responsibilities as they live out their new life in Christ Jesus. The second word that Barry, my cousin, mentioned to me was “sacrifice.” Today, our world is one in which people are taught to get for themselves. They are to expect the best things in life to be made available to them immediately. People believe in giving as long as they are receiving from others. However, the word “giving” seems to escape us when it is our time to give. If and when we see someone giving we want to celebrate that person. It’s as though they are doing something extraordinary and above the call of duty. Now, this may be true for people in general, but it is not so with the people of God. The way of God has always been that His people are to meet the needs of those in the community who do not have the things that they need. One example is seen in the law of reaping the harvest. ‘“When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien, I am the Lord your God’”” (Lev. 23:22, NASB). Giving to those in need is a part of the Christian lifestyle that Paul writes about in Ephesians 4:28. “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Christians are people who have been set free from the penalty of sin which is eternal death. By God’s grace they are made new people with new expectations and responsibilities. In the Old Testament these new responsibilities are given through the Law of Moses. In the New Testament they are explained perfectly in the teachings of Jesus Christ. God gives us the Holy Spirit by His grace so that we are empowered to be to be free from the power of sin and to live out our calling to be saints of God. God’s will and His law are summoned up in the two great commandments to love God and one’s neighbor found in Matthew 22:36-40. In summary I offer these ways that we are to carry out our responsibilities as Christians. First, we are to acknowledge Jesus as both Savior and Lord. We are to cultivate this relationship through learning and obeying His commands. We learn through Bible study and prayer, which is communication with God, on a regular basis. These two disciplines can take place in private settings and in gatherings of small groups and the larger church setting. In addition to our relationship to God we are to cultivate our relationships with others in the believing community. Third, we have the responsibility to witness to those outside the community in both word and deeds. The Gospel is to be proclaimed by both the clergy and the laity alike. Jesus commands His disciples to be salt and light in the world so as to make others aware of Jesus’ sacrifice for sins and His teachings that brings about a productive life according to the will and purpose of God. So, church let us wake up and get up and go about carrying out our responsibilities as saints of God.