Self-Determination
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Kingdom Self-Determination
OR
Christian Independence
Joshua 24:13-15
I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The Christian is called to a life of self-determination.
The Christian is called to a life of self-determination.
“self-determination” is making a choice for yourself.
(Webster) the right of the people of a particular place to choose the form of government they will have; the freedom to make your own choices
(Webster 1828) Determination by one's own mind; or determination by its own powers, without extraneous impulse or influence.
This might seem completely the OPPOSITE of what we find in Scripture, but it IS there.
God has always expected His people to choose for themselves. Deut. 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
NOTE: This choice is whether to OBEY or NOT to obey. More pointedly, we get from Ezekiel the concept that I will be judged as an INDIVIDUAL as to whether I truly obeyed or not.
Ezekiel 3:17-21; 14:12-20; 18:5-20
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.
“Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
But if a man is just
And does what is lawful and right;
If he has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife,
Nor approached a woman during her impurity;
If he has not oppressed anyone,
But has restored to the debtor his pledge;
Has robbed no one by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
If he has not exacted usury
Nor taken any increase,
But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity
And executed true judgment between man and man;
If he has walked in My statutes—
And kept My judgments faithfully—
He is just;
He shall surely live!”
Says the Lord God.
“If he begets a son who is a robber
Or a shedder of blood,
Who does any of these things
And does none of those duties,
But has eaten on the mountains
Or defiled his neighbor’s wife;
If he has oppressed the poor and needy,
Robbed by violence,
Not restored the pledge,
Lifted his eyes to the idols,
Or committed abomination;
If he has exacted usury
Or taken increase—
Shall he then live?
He shall not live!
If he has done any of these abominations,
He shall surely die;
His blood shall be upon him.
“If, however, he begets a son
Who sees all the sins which his father has done,
And considers but does not do likewise;
Who has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife;
Has not oppressed anyone,
Nor withheld a pledge,
Nor robbed by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor
And not received usury or increase,
But has executed My judgments
And walked in My statutes
He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;
He shall surely live!
“As for his father,
Because he cruelly oppressed,
Robbed his brother by violence,
And did what is not good among his people,
Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
“Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
There is a difference between choosing obedience and deciding what CONSTITUTES obedience. 1 Cor. 4:17; Matt. 28:19
I can say, “I love God and want to obey Him”…. but how can I know that I have truly obeyed?
I must know the terms and conditions God sets. We know there was a common doctrine and practice that seemingly ALL 1stCentury Christians were expected to understand and follow.
For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
Thus, we read and study our Bibles (specifically the NT) to determine what this common doctrine and practice was/is.
Many things are left up to our choice to decide how we fulfill the command. The importance is on fulfilling it, but we can appreciate that God has given us options to do so.
When Jesus says, “Go […] and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19 ), He does not limit us to the travel options of the first century. We can GO however we decide to go, as long as we truly GO!
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
This is useful for our interactions with others.
Some respond to the issue of authority by saying, “we can’t serve God like they did; if we have to do that, we have to live like them!”
Some say we cannot understand Scripture unless we understand the cultures of the ancient world in total detail.
It is not necessary for us to know and live through everything those in the ancient world knew and lived through for us to obey God. We can fulfill His commands in multiple ways through our individual obedience.
The Mosaic Law made most decisions for the believer
The Mosaic Law made most decisions for the believer
In obligations toward God.
Focus emphasized Deut. 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Sacrifices for sin designated Lev. 4:1-5:13 ; 6:24-30
Seven Annual Feast days designated Exodus 12,23; Numbers 9, 28, 29; Leviticus 23
In obligations toward neighbors
Focus emphasized Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
This governs all other ways we can fulfill or break this commandment:
Crime
Murder
Adultery
Divorce
Raising Children
Clothes
Buying and Selling
Loans
Etc...
Christians are called to a Greater degree of self-determination
Christians are called to a Greater degree of self-determination
In Obedience Acts 2:38; Matt. 25:31-46
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Most commands in this verse will be the same for all (confessing the “name”, baptism, gift of H.S.); but it depends upon the individual as to what is to be repented of.
Our struggles are different. We might find great challenge in repenting from a sin that is relatively easy for others to stop.
I have to be willing to look at the fruits of my life without bias and give up ANYTHING that hinders my walk with Christ. God leaves this up to ME to decide what that is and and carry out the necessary changes.
FINAL REWARD – Matthew 25:31-46 “Inasmuch as YOU…”
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In Conduct Lk. 15:18; Jas. 1:26-27
GUILT
I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
Prodigal son took responsibility for his own wickedness. His guilt was needed to push him to repent and return to his father.
This was a decision he came to by himself- not something forced upon him by his father. He made the freewill decision to return, and his father granted that.
PERSONAL PURITY
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
God does not tell us WHEN to visit orphans and widows, WHICH orphans and widows to visit, or HOW to go about visiting them. He expects us to figure these things out and fulfill the command.
In Growth Phil 2:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 7:1-4; Matt 23:23
WORK OUT “own salvation”
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
This speaks toward the proper growth and development of a Christian. Too many are faithful only when someone is around (whether that someone is a friend or close relative).
God does not want us to be dependent upon someone else’s faith to be saved. In terms of salvation, we stand on our own two feet!
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Who are we married to? Romans 7:1-4
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
We are married to Christ in order to bear FRUIT to God.
We cannot bear fruit if we think that following God is ONLY about rules and regulations. If this is all that being a Christian means to us, we cannot bear good fruit.
I can “fulfill” every command by letter, but never serve God truly from the HEART.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
In Participation Gal. 3:28; Ecc. 4:12; Eph. 3:8-11,20-21; Col. 3:18; 1 Pet. 2:12; Rom. 13:1-6; 1 Pet. 2:18; Eph. 6:6; 1 Tim. 5:16; Gal. 3:27; Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 11:18-28; 15:14; 16:1-2; Jas. 1:6-7; Acts 12:12
Remember that in BALANCE, no Christian is alone!
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
There are great benefits to our close fellowship and association.
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
“IN CHURCH” – Eph. 3:8-11 , 20-21
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Family
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Social
having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Civic
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.
Economic
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.
not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Spiritual
If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Assembling
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Lord’s Supper
For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Singing
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
Giving
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
Praying – James 1:6-7
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
Understand your individual worth to God! 2 Tim. 4:6-8; Rev. 3:1-4
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.