• Original picture by Papaioannou Kostas from Unsplash

Are you willing to take Responsibility
for your future?

This is a self study article - you are expected to read the recommended passages from your Bible as you read.

Academic knowledge in any field may be interesting but until it is applied to a particular situation it will not be of any practical use. If we know something we usually must apply that knowledge in some way for the benefit either of ourselves or others. This principle is important when considering our knowledge of God's plan of salvation which we have set out in previous articles in this series. On one occasion, after teaching his disciples certain principles about their way of life, Jesus said to them;

"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."

• John 13: 17

Having granted us the privilege of knowing about His way of salvation, God expects us to do something with that knowledge. We are told in His Word that we will one day have to account to Him for the use we have made of the knowledge He has allowed us to have. This is what we mean by 'responsibility'. That day of account will be when Jesus returns to the earth. At that time he will judge those who have become responsible to him because of their knowledge and understanding of God's plan of salvation. Those who have applied their knowledge well in their lives, and have lived in obedience to God, will live forever to the glory of God, in His future kingdom on this earth. But those who have not applied their knowledge will be rejected and punished. These are the matters which we explain in this article.

The natural state of mankind

We have learned from previous lessons that men and women are sinful and therefore naturally estranged from God. We can only be reconciled to God through the message of the Gospel (good news). Since most people do not understand that true Gospel, they live their entire lives subject only to their natural way of thinking, unaffected by God's Word.

Read Romans 8:5-8

Divine enlightenment

God's intention is to enlighten the minds and develop the character of those who respond to the call of the Gospel. This enlightenment comes from learning about God's own mind, to the extent that it is revealed in the Bible.

Read Ephesians 1:15-19 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The nation of Israel in the past is an example of the principle that, where God has given people an understanding of His purpose, He holds them responsible for their actions and way of life. God chose Israel as His own special people, delivered them from their years of slavery in Egypt, and enlightened them by giving them His laws. Through the prophet Amos, he told them:

"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

• Amos 3:2

Nearly 700 years before the time of Amos, God had set out through Moses how He would deal with His people Israel, because of their privileged position as His chosen nation. In Deuteronomy chapter 28 He recorded the blessings He would bestow if the people were obedient to Him, and the curses that would fall upon them for disobedience. The history of Israel from that time shows His ability to carry out what He said.

The same principle applies to enlightened people today. If we have learned and understood the Gospel message, God expects us to react to it, and He will require us to give an account of our response in the coming day of judgment when Jesus returns to the earth.

Read Deuteronomy 28 and James 4:17 and John 12:44-48; John 15:22

The Apostle Paul confirms this in his letter to the Christians in Rome:

"For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law"

• Romans 2:11-12

Responsible people will be judged when Jesus returns to the earth, which means that those who have died before that event will need to be raised from the dead.

Read Daniel 12:2; John 5:25-29 Jesus' first work when he returns will be to raise the responsible dead and, together with the responsible living, they will be gathered to the place of judgment. The way of life of each of them will be assessed and reward or punishment will result. Read

Read John 6:39-40 and Matthew 25:31-46 and Acts 24:15
Read Romans 14:10-12 and 2 Corinthians 5:10

Who will not be raised from the dead? The Bible makes it clear that not everybody who has ever lived will be resurrected. The vast majority of men and women have died in ignorance of the Gospel and will remain forever in the grave after their life has ended.

Read Psalm 49:20; Proverbs 21:16; Isaiah 26:13-14

In what state will the dead be raised? In the creation record we read that:

"... the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

• Genesis 2:7

There will therefore be no difficulty in repeating this process in respect of those who have lived and died before Jesus returns. The resurrected ones will not have been judged when they are raised from the dead, so they will not be raised from the dead as immortal beings; indeed, some of them will never be given eternal life because they have not chosen to obey the Gospel despite knowing about it. The resurrected ones will be raised from the dead with the same nature that they had before they died – that is, human and mortal.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:10

The Judgment

God has delegated the judgement of the responsible to his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is because he once bore our sin-cursed nature and was:

"in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin"

• Hebrews 4:15

He will therefore be able to understand and empathise with those he is judging (Hebrews 2:18). The Bible gives us some information about the judgment.

Read John 5:20-23 and 26-29; Matthew 25:31-46

Reward or punishment

It has already been made clear that both righteous and unrighteous will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. There will be joy for those who are accounted as righteous before the righteous and merciful judge. Some of the faithful of the past expressed their longing for that coming day of judgment because it is then that they will receive the reward of eternal life.

Read Job 19:25-27and 2 Timothy 4:6-8

The responsible but unrighteous, as we have seen, will be condemned and rejected and will receive the punishment of eternal death. (Matthew 25:46) The change to immortality

Jesus said that those who believed and obeyed him would not perish but receive everlasting life. The Apostle Paul explained that Christ, having already been raised from the dead, is the first of a new 'creation' of men and women who, at his coming, will like him be given immortality.

Read John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 plus verses 51-54

Conclusion

Only God knows who is responsible to Him, but if you have learnt from what you have read in this series of articles, you will almost certainly have sufficient knowledge to make you responsible. If so, then you will be among those who will be judged by Christ at his return to the earth. It is important, therefore, that you know what he requires of you and that you do your best to obey him.

This is urgent, because we now see in the world the clear signs given in the Bible, which indicate that Jesus' return is probably near, so preparation time for that coming is limited. In any event, none of us knows how much longer we will live, and time may not be on our side. One of the clearest signs is the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland which has resulted in ongoing tension in the Middle East, in which God's people Israel are key players. Despite these signs, we do not know exactly when Jesus will appear. He warned that his coming would take many people by surprise and he urged those who believe to be constantly on the watch for his coming.

Read Matthew 24:36-44; 25:13 and Luke 21:34-36

The only wise course of action is to make ourselves thoroughly familiar with God's teaching in the Bible, to understand fully God's plan for the salvation of humankind, and to obey Jesus' command to be baptised as a believing adult, and thereafter live in a way which will be pleasing to him and to God.