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Responsibilities and Duties |
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Your responsibilities and duties fall into four categories. They are duties to God, to your family, to your church, and to all people in general. These duties are not optional; you cannot choose to do some and not others. These are responsibilities that God has placed upon you, and you will be judged on how you kept them. They are His commandments. The responsibilities and duties I have listed are general and are not detailed. Nor is the list all-inclusive. The more you learn of the Word, the more responsibility you will be given. Don’t be alarmed by this list. You start by doing the best you can. God doesn’t expect you to be a spiritual giant at the moment of your salvation. To do all things takes growth. Every child of God is struggling to comply with God’s charges to him.
Our first and foremost duty is to God. We are to place Him above all else. He is to have our first loyalty. We have a duty to love Him, obey Him, glorify Him, and worship Him above all things and people. These actions are interwoven. It would be impossible to love God and not obey Him, or worship Him. Your worship of God involves honor and respect toward Him. When you worship, you submit to His Lordship. When you submit to God, you stand under Him. The biblical reference of submission is that of a military rank, such as soldiers standing under their leaders and following orders. He is your King, your Lord, and your Sovereign.
Your second greatest responsibility is to your family. Whether you are a father, husband, wife, mother, son or daughter, you have a role to fulfill. God has placed great emphasis on the family relationship. What follows is a shortened list of duties of family members. Husbands are to love their wives, to provide for them and to be the proper spiritual leader of the home. He is responsible for the spiritual upbringing of his children and ruling well in his home. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands and to love their husbands (Titus 2:4). Mothers are to help and support their husbands to fulfill his duties as a father. Children are to obey and respect their parents and to honor them. As you can see, you might fall into all three of these groups: spouse, parent, or child.
The next great responsibility is to your church. Support your church in every way you are able. Help your church in every need she has. Be a blessing in your church and not a problem. Love your fellow church members and love your pastor. Treat everyone with equal esteem and courtesy. Be a giving member. Be supportive of the weak. Submit yourself to the authority of the church. Don’t put your pride above any decisions your church may make. Do all that you can to build up your church.
The last responsibility, and the one most often overlooked, is to your fellow man. Administer to all men (saved or lost) your love for them in Christ. Do nothing which offends them or causes them to speak evil of God. You are an ambassador from God to the world. Be a good representative of God. These are the people who God loves and for whom Christ died. When you find wicked people, think to yourself, “There goes a lost soul who needs Christ.” We dislike their sins but we are to love the sinner. Share the salvation message with the lost. Live your life as a testimony of your faith and commitment to God. Do good unto them all. Pray for all.
(Gal. 6:10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
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Next: The Bible
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This page last updated January 18, 2005 at 10:10am
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