Personal Responsibility

[abide]

Ezekiel 14. 13-20 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof and will cut off man and beast from it.
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it they should deliver their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord.

• Job 1. 5. It was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about (no one knows what the feasting entailed.) that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it they should deliver their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord.

 

[Christ_empowered]

Hmmmm....

I also think of Sodom+Gomorrah. Had there been some righteous people in those cities, their righteousness could have staved off the wrath of God. And...times in the OT where people would fast and such to put off the bonds of oppression for people in general.

Good post.

 

[Eugene]

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it they should deliver their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord.

Sister abide, I read in Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Eze 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

What comes to mind is the offense of the people including Aaron making a molten Calf. Moses here was righteous and lived as were the Levites.
Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Later in Num 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, and Deut 32:50 Moses as a result was not allowed to enter the promised land, and was told to go up and die at mount Nebo. Noah, Daniel, and Job evidently were delivered due to their righteousness among the people. Spared were Caleb and Joshua also.

 

[abide]

Sister abide, I read in Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Eze 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

What comes to mind is the offense of the people including Aaron making a molten Calf. Moses here was righteous and lived as were the Levites.
Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Later in Num 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, and Deut 32:50 Moses as a result was not allowed to enter the promised land, and was told to go up and die at mount Nebo. Noah, Daniel, and Job evidently were delivered due to their righteousness among the people. Spared were Caleb and Joshua also.

That is why I highlighted vs 14. Each person has to accept personal responsibility.

 

[Not_Now.Soon]

If I remember right the context of Ezekiel 14 was about how wicked Isreal had become. It was saying even with if those three rightous people were in Isreal they could not help save anyone else from the coming disaster except themselves. Including their own families. That said not too far further Ezekiel 18 has a message about personal responsibility.

 

[smaller]

There is a basic personal responsibility lesson about "righteousness."

Romans 3:10
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Where is this written? Psalm 14:2-3. And by Isaiah, here:

Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Isaiah even included himself, in the above, and saw it, here:

Isaiah 6:5
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

God had always purposed to send for His Own Righteousness, in Christ.

Paul didn't claim he had any righteousness of his own.

Philippians 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

and Paul likewise affirms that the "righteousness" of Christ is something we WAIT to put on.

Galatians 5:5
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Believers who think they are this, now, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ" have no clue what that really means, because none of us have had this put upon us, in FULL. When we do, there will only be Christ, and us 'in Him.' But this remains hidden to us currently.

Col. 3:
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 

[Edward]

My only righteousness comes from the Lord, Jesus. I've always been a stickler for responsibility and honesty though.

Nowadays, it seems like no one has personal responsibility. Nobody wants to own up to it, but everyone's quick to point fingers.

 

[Edward]

There's always a way to find fault with oneself. Just be honest with yourself.

 

[Wrg1405]

Job was performing an intercessory role. By offering burnt offerings he was undertaking to consecrate/sanctify them.
This role was performed before the Mosaic law by the father of the household. He acted as a priest for his household before God.

Interestingly enough if you read Job 42:10

Job 42:10
And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Job prayed for his friends and looked what happened. The following is from the NKJV bible study notes.

Since Israelite law required a thief to restore double for stealing “an ox or donkey or sheep” (Ex. 22:4), it was ironic that the Lord gave Job twice the amount of livestock he had before (see v. 12). Clearly, the Lord was not admitting that He owed Job anything (see 41:11), but He was expressing His benevolent mercy.
42:12–17 Job’s restored prosperity should not be seen as compensation for his piety (see 41:11). After Job had given up his demand for his former prosperity, the Lord could give it to him as a free gift. This conclusion shows that the Book of Job does not totally reject the principle of divine retribution but only its false application.

I like Edwards quote above. He is spot on. What makes me sad though is that we could say that not only about non Christians but also Christians.

Some Christians can pervert the righteousness of Christ and absolve any personal responsibility because they think "well that's me, I do this and don't do that but I have the righteousness so it doesn't matter"

I myself do not get that. I know I should not do this but I don't and I know I should do this but I don't and I hate that part of me and I lament over it.

What I do know though and I think those with the wrong attitude don't know, is that we will be called to account for our actions and will be held responsible.

Jeremiah 17:9-10
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”

1 Corinthians 3:12-15
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Romans 14:12
Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.

We need to hold ourselves accountable to God, hold our hands up and acknowledge when we get it wrong, say sorry, ask for help to be more like him and walk in the ways he as asked us to. To me that is what he wants us to do.

I think when we do that he will be responsible to us and for us.

 

[Eugene]

we will be called to account for our actions and will be held responsible.
Romans 14:12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.

Dear Brother Wrg1405, I just put this forth for your consideration. As we read of Jesus as judge in Rev 1:12-16 walking among the candlesticks in Rev 1:20 & Rev 2:1. This is ongoing at this present time and we read His judgment in Revelation Chapters Two & Three.

As believers we stand today before the Judgment Seat of Christ with such exhortations as "You have left your first love" in Rev 2:4, and repent in Rev 2:5 along with the condition of not continuing to have the place we had in reward unless we do repent. Whereas the portions of the One Church of Smyrna and Philadelphia are commended and have crowns according to Rev 2:10 & Rev 3:10.

A similar thing was accorded Israel where on the ephods of Aaron the tribes were listed in order of birth I wrote of in this following post.
http://christianforums.net/Fellowsh...christians-be-ready.65592/page-2#post-1221146
When we are finally in Jesus' presence our reward will be with Him, along with the "Well done" of Mat 25:21.

 

[Wrg1405]

Dear Brother Wrg1405, I just put this forth for your consideration. As we read of Jesus as judge in Rev 1:12-16 walking among the candlesticks in Rev 1:20 & Rev 2:1. This is ongoing at this present time and we read His judgment in Revelation Chapters Two & Three.

As believers we stand today before the Judgment Seat of Christ with such exhortations as "You have left your first love" in Rev 2:4, and repent in Rev 2:5 along with the condition of not continuing to have the place we had in reward unless we do repent. Whereas the portions of the One Church of Smyrna and Philadelphia are commended and have crowns according to Rev 2:10 & Rev 3:10.

A similar thing was accorded Israel where on the ephods of Aaron the tribes were listed in order of birth I wrote of in this following post.
http://christianforums.net/Fellowsh...christians-be-ready.65592/page-2#post-1221146
When we are finally in Jesus' presence our reward will be with Him, along with the "Well done" of Mat 25:21.

Hi Eugene. First I want to say thanks for considering me as a dear brother. I also consider you the same. You are a loving, kind, compassionate gentle brother.

I have to be honest though. I'm not sure what you are trying to say me. Yes I agree with "well done" and I did think about mentioning that in my post. Despite my failings my desperate hope is to hear those lovely words. I used to hang on to "oh Bill all that you did was straw and stubble but I suppose I must let you in" but my focus has changed.

So if you can you can impart your wisdom to me as a 5 year old child, then this 5 year old child is eager to hear.

Love my brother.

 

[Eugene]

Brother @Wgr1405, when you alluded to Rom 14:12 requiring to us giving a personal account to God I was attempting to show that our judgment is as sons, and it is going on at this present time. God’s ongoing work in our lives to be conformed to the image of Jesus continues, but will all the Church achieve that coveted place Paul sought to win Christ as we’re told in Php 3:8?

According to Rev 7:14 a great multitude of the Church came out of great tribulation (some in Rev 3:10 are kept from it). In the beginning Ephesus did well but then left off and turning from that love they first had and are warned of their impending judgment of being moved to a lower place and having their candlestick removed out of its place, except thou repent; this is every bit akin to the tribes of Israel being moved in honor on Aaron’s breastplate of judgment.

I'll say this, and that is when we see our Savior who gave all to bring us in as brethren there'll be rejoicing as thunder. When I do attempt to give the cup of water it is not to gain but out of love. And then my failures are not in fear, but being presented with my need, and that will only be satisfied as I yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Love in Jesus.