Thursday, July 7, 2016
A pastor was visiting his Sunday school classes one Sunday morning asking the children random bible questions. In the 10-12 year old class he asked one boy, “Johnny, who knocked down the wall of Jericho?” the boy replied: “Don’t look at me, I didn’t do it.” Although this is just another corny joke, it typifies a natural human tendency, that is, the inclination to “pass the buck.” On the day when we surrendered our lives to Christ, however, we received a new power to be able to dominate the old nature. In Christ now, we can be the accountable people God wants us to be. A case in point is the prophet Daniel.
In the 9th Chapter of the bible book that bears his name we read where Daniel understood, by the writings of the prophet Jeremiah before him, that the captivity God’s people were presently experiencing was coming to a close. In His prayer and supplication to God that the appointed day would come quickly, he uttered these words: “We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.” (verses 5-6) Did you notice all the “we’s”? No, Daniel did not personally commit these sins, his people did. Yet, he included himself and took the blame along with them as if he had.
The question is: “are we to blame when it is others around us who did the sin? In reply to this question, Pastor Adrian Rogers wrote: “Does God hold me accountable for the abortion in America? Yes! Does God hold me accountable for the pornography? Yes! For the drug addiction, alcoholism, materialism, humanism? Yes, He does!” A coach may say when his team wins, “We won” but if he’s a good coach will he say when his team loses, “They lost?” When my children were small and they caused me to be late to church, who was accountable, them or me? If my children now do wrong as adults, am I no longer accountable? Are they not my children now? If we are accountable we will never use Cain’s lame and wicked excuse when he asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Be sure of this: God knows exactly who did the actual sin and in the end we will all receive our just rewards or reprimands. Yet, we will always honor Him when we take our place alongside those we are associated with in any way, whether they are in line for praise or for rebuke. In Christ, we are all in this together.
Memory verse for the week: (Proverbs 22:1) “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”
