What are your “responsibilities” as a Christian?
It’s hard to listen to the news today without hearing about “rights”. We have “civil rights”, “equal rights”, “women’s rights”, “human rights”, and even “animal rights”. Everyone is demanding to have his or her rights. Conversely, few of these people stop to think of the other side of that coin and that is what are his or her “responsibilities.” Rights and responsibility go hand in hand. There can be no separation of the two. To separate them would be to create an unhealthy and dysfunctional person or group.
In the church today there seems to be the same problem. We talk about “our liberty in the Lord”, “freedom in Christ”, “Christian Liberty” and “Freedom from the Law”. These are all true and we should talk about them. Grace is free but it did not come at a cheap price. It came at the expense of the most precious commodity in the universe, the blood of Jesus Christ. We should enjoy the freedom God has given us. We should also deal with everything that goes with that freedom. We are freed from the power of sin but we were not set free and abandoned to our own ways.. According to the Bible, as Christians we have responsibilities to live up to. Christianity is not spiritual welfare!
We are saved by grace through faith. There is nothing we could have done to earn our salvation. It is a free gift from God. While we are in this world we have a mission to carry out. We have been left some orders to obey. The same Bible that talks about Grace, Freedom, Forgiveness and that home in Heaven also tells us what our responsibilities are in this world. Let’s examine some of the major area’s that the Bible defines responsibility for the Christian. God uses people in His work...
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...universe. 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” 2 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of royal priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
This is what some call the BIG PICTURE. You are a “Child of God” whose “Citizenship is in Heaven” who is called to be an “Ambassador for Christ” because you are “Forgiven” you are a member of a “Royal Priesthood” that has been given an important mission. With all of this being said to us, how can a Christian sit by and do nothing? Not only is it totally unbelievable it is totally unscriptural and totally disobedient.
...lvation is achieved differs significantly among the various Christian groups, for example, the Catholic Church believes that salvation is attained through good works such as acts of charity and almsgiving, while the Anglican Church as a deeper focus on personal faith and acceptance of Jesus as the Savior. The concept of salvation is a driving factor in the formation of ethics and morals in the Christian faith, as individual desire to receive eternal life in heaven underpins many actions and choices that they make, such as the choice to attend church or participate in aiding the poor and helpless.
Obeying God’s commandments is where we obtain this freedom. Many people feel that having to live by “these set of rules” (the ten commandments) is debilitating but as a matter of fact, it is sin that is crippling us. Plantinga (2002) stated that “Sin traps people and makes them wilt; godly obedience liberates people and helps them flourish” (p. 74-75). In Exodus 19:4-5, it says to “obey my voice,” the commandments were not given to us to rescue us, but because we have already been rescued. “God rescues people and then lays down the law,” said by Plantinga, perfectly reflects these thoughts. Grace is a tremendous word that is used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor granted to undeserving people. MacArthur (2014) writes in God’s Sufficient Grace that, “We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8) and in grace we stand (Romans 5:2). Grace upholds our salvation, gives us victory in temptation, and helps us endure suffering and pain. It helps us understand the Word and wisely apply it to our lives. It draws us into communion and prayer and enables us to serve the Lord effectively. In short, we exist and are firmly fixed in an environment of all-sufficient grace”
As members of society, or even just being human beings, these rights are ours. They are fundamental and crucially important. In order for mankind to achieve self liberty, a government or organization is necessary, but only through government that is chosen by and representative of the people of the society. Through this government that provides power to the people, liberty is preserved by protecting rights, giving a voice to the general society, and if need be, creating a way to keep in check or remove a corrupt government.
...pute about what rights we have in the absence of a theory of what makes attributions of rights valid. We may be led to the issue also by a philosophical interest in understanding how and why a collection of rights fits together. The job of the kind of theory I am after is to provide a general organizing idea or principle that makes sense of talk of rights and explains how and why certain attributions of rights can be declared valid and others cannot.
Human rights are the inborn and universal rights of every human being regardless of religion, class, gender, culture, age, ability or nationality, that ensure basic freedom and dignity. In order to live a life with self-respect and dignity basic human rights are required.
World Religion is an important course of study, because people have the opportunity to learn from an insider, as well as outsider, concerning different beliefs, practices, deities, and perspectives of other religions. The Bible records the deities and religion practices in the Old Testaments, which concerned the Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Babylonians. The New Testaments, on the other hand, populated with “many gods and lords.” Paul’s letter written to the Corinthians express the understanding of knowing that the idols did not represent a real God. Paul writes, “For although there may be so-called gods in the heaven or on earth- as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”-yet “for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and from whom we exist and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through who are all things and through who we exist” (1 Cor. 8:5-6, EVS). In other words, the sovereignty of God is what rules the heavens and the earth concerning the humanity of different religions.
The Kingdom of God has a similar meaning. It exists wherever God's will is at work. And God's will is at work wherever people are faithful to the command ...
God and the Bible’s teachings are used as a framework to find meaning in life and purpose of human presence. Purpose resides in every human’s potential to strive for peace, seek equality, nurture relationships and the environment to achieve harmony with the earth (Valk, 2012). “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25:5). The Holy Spirit, known as God’s active force and His power in action (Lk 1:35), is used as a guide by Christians to ascertain and determine what is right. “We choose to act based on good thinking, scripture and prayer, and the Holy Spirit helps us discern the right alternatives” (Shelly & Miller, 2006, p. 89). In seeing others as the image of God, choosing what is right from wrong is influenced by beliefs cultural background and respect for one another. In this religious culture, the tendency to do wrong is seen as sinfulness. However, it is the admission of sin that leads Christians to Jesus Christ to find and experience God’s forgiveness (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The recognition of sin and eventual redemption strengthens the relationship with God which directs a life of service to humanity (Shelly & Miller,
On the other hand, Christians have responsibilities. Being filled with the Spirit, believers can walk in humility, contentment, purity, faith, love, as well as being a light to a world that is blind (Alderman 94). Jesus commands believers to “make disciples of all nations immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh [Holy Spirit]” (Matthew 28:19 TLV). Christians have to live in the Spirit to achieve this. “For the flesh sets its desire against the Ruach [Spirit], but the Ruach [Spirit] sets its desire against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17 TLV).
Rights delineate a space around individuals that must be respected. The study of rights is a struggle to understand how rights may be prioritized, and in what cases the interests of someone may overcome the rights of another. Gewirth and Nagel are both asking whether there are rights which may not be overridden, even in the case where it seems that overriding them would serve some greater common good. They call these rights ‘absolute.’
...h we should follow and recognize our purpose of life: to serve God. Christ gave us spiritual freedom through His death and Resurrection in hope that we use this freedom to willingly choose to follow Christ.
A right is an entitlement each individual has to something. We are entitled to these rights because the laws in the land we live in ensure those rights. We have both moral rights and legal rights. Rights enable an individual to pursue their interest. Legal rights ensure that a person has a right to act a certain way or is entitled for others to treat them a certain way. Individuals also have moral rights. Moral rights are typically thought of as universal and are not limited to any
…rights which are inherent to the human being ... human rights acknowledges that every single human being is entitled to enjoy his or her human rights without distinction as to race, [color], sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. [To add on, human] rights are legally guaranteed by human rights law, protecting individuals and groups against actions that interfere with fundamental freedoms and human dignity (Human rights for
In every religion there is a distinctive understanding of value and duty, of right and wrong, and of good and bad. Modern Christianity is no exception and believes in each of these things. Christians know there is only one God and he created and rules over all things. They know that it is through Gods grace and love that we may have eternal life. That love and grace does not come without a price. The price is a life that is lived for God. It carries with it certain ethical and moral responsibilities to the community and all mankind. Those moral and ethical responsibilities are the backbone for society.
"…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 This commandment, given by Christ to his apostles, was one of action. First they were to go into their homes, or Jerusalem, then to their community, or Samaria, and then finally to the ends of the earth. The Christian church of today, however has lost sight of that directive. For too many years now we have sent thousands of missionaries abroad while ignoring the mission field next door. While many may witness in our homes few move out into the community, especially when that community is in an urban area. Joshua 8:7 says "…take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand." Now more than ever this call to "take the city" must followed by believers. The current population of the world is 5,983,000,000 (World POPClock, 1:57 p.m., April 28, 1999). Of those estimated 6 billion people, two thirds of them will be living in cities by the year 2000 (Giradet 1). By ignoring the call to evangelize the cities for Christ, upwards of 4 billion people my be lost.