The Believer's Responsibility
The Believer’s Responsibility
Believers during all eras of history have had the opportunity
and responsibility of witnessing to the Word
of God. We of the Church Age have our specific “assignment”
too. In Philippians 2 the Apostle Paul reveals
to us what the condition of the world is and what our
responsibilities toward it are.
Philippians 2:15, 16:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of
God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world;
Holding forth the word of life. . .
This passage is addressed to the Church. Believers are
able to live blameless and harmless lives because they
are the sons of God.
What circumstances does God say surround His sons?
They live “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.”
As believers, we are right in the middle, set like a
hub, with every opportunity to shine as lights in a contorted
and distorted world.
In order to shine as lights, we must first know the
light which is found in Christ and in the knowledge of
God’s Word.
John 12:46:
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever
believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Christ was that light but now we are as shining lights
holding the Word of God forth as it is in truth the Word
of Life. You need not ask a person if he is saved. The
Word says to simply hold forth the Word of Life that
they may see. The Word is in itself the witness.
Think of the privilege that is ours even to reach one
person in a lifetime with the gospel of Light. The person
we reach may be a key person in a community or in a
whole area. The person you reach for Christ may be the
one person who will in turn win hundreds of thousands.
Someone once witnessed to and won the great religious
saints of all times; yes, someone who was holding forth
the Word of Life. It is a believer’s opportunity and responsibility
to hold forth The Word in a crooked and
perverse world.
In order to effectively hold forth the Word of Life,
we as believers must first know and then practice the
knowledge told in II Corinthians 5.
II Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.
I was taught to believe this Scripture meant that when
Christ came within a man then that person was a new
creature. This is not at all what verse 17 of II Corinthians
5 says. Read it again. “Therefore if any man be in Christ
[in Christ]. . . .” This verse does not say anything about
Christ being in a man, as does Colossians 1:27: “. . .Christ
in you [in you], the hope of glory.”
The miracle of the new birth means Christ in you.
However, Christ in you does not automatically put Him
in your mind, you in Christ, you in fellowship. Romans
12:2 states that we ourselves have to put on Christ and
God’s Word in our minds: “be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind.” Philippians 2:5 stipulates, “Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
II Corinthians 5:17 is speaking about the believer who
has renewed his mind, who has been transformed by the
renewing of his mind according to the Christ who lives
within. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature.” It is one thing for God to abide in you, it is
quite another thing for you to abide in Christ. When you
are in Christ, when you have put Christ in your mind,
then you have power in manifestation.
John 15:7:
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
You become a new creature as you renew your mind
according to The Word. “Old things [in the mind] are
passed away.” Old desires, old longings and old temptations
disappear. “Behold, all things are become new.”
II Corinthians 5, after telling us as believers to renew
our minds, tells first of our being reconciled to God and
then of our responsibility to witness to all men.
II Corinthians 5:17, 18:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.
And all things [when we have renewed our minds,
when we are in Christ] are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation.
We are reconciled to God by Jesus Christ. We lost our
spiritual connection with God by way of Adam. Because
of Adam’s disobedience, sin passed on to all men for all
are dead in trespasses and sin. But Jesus came and
repaired the broken line; Jesus made the proper connection
again. “All things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
ministry of reconciliation.”
Once we are reconciled to God by Jesus Christ, then
God gives to us the ministry of reconciliation. Then our
job as believers is to reconcile.
What does the word “reconcile” mean? It means to
bring back together that which has been separated. God
has given to you as a believer that ministry of bringing
back to Him those people who are removed. Our responsibility
is to tell of the great opportunities every man has
in Christ Jesus. We are to simply show forth the love of
God; show people that Jesus Christ died for them and
was resurrected over nineteen hundred years ago. We
must demonstrate the power of God, manifest what a
believer has in Christ, show how great Christ is. That is
the ministry of reconciliation. What a ministry we have!
II Corinthians 5:19:
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
When Christ abides in your heart, you have the ministry
of taking His Word and reconciling people to God.
Isaiah tells of the dire need of people to be brought
back to God.
Isaiah 53:6:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all.
“All we like sheep have gone astray.” Everyone at
one time is lost. Reason: “We have turned every one to
his own way.” We lost the way because we have turned
to our own way. God had to do something about the
dilemma into which we got ourselves so He reconciled
us to Himself through Christ Jesus. How? By “laying on
him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.” God laid all our sins
and all the sins of every other person on Jesus. The
believer’s great responsibility is the ministry of reconciliation—
putting back together that which has been
broken or separated—between God and man. We are to
hold forth the Word of Life to all, for all have gone astray.
We have already been reconciled to God; now it is our
responsibility to hold forth His Word “in the midst of a
crooked and perverse nation.” When we hold forth the
Word of Life, we shine as lights in the world. This is
our ministry of reconciliation. This is our responsibility.