You Are Your Brother's Keeper

Genesis 4:9 “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”

You are familiar with the narrative of Cain and Abel.

Cain was angry at God because God had rejected Cain’s attempt to satisfy God. Cain wanted to do things his way instead of God’s way, and God rejected him.

Because he was angry at God, Cain murdered his brother, Abel, and infamously, he asked God if he, Cain, was responsible for keeping track of his brother. Am I supposed to keep up with my brother? Cain cruelly and disrespectfully asks God.

God’s answer to Cain was yes. Cain was responsible for Abel.

Genesis 4:10–12 “And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.”

Cain was responsible for Abel just as you and I are responsible for all men and women with which we engage. Abel’s blood cried out to God, and God told Cain that Cain was responsible for that blood. Just as Cain was responsible so are you and I. Notice what Paul says in the Book of Acts.

Acts 20:26–27 “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

Abel’s blood cried out to God because Cain was responsible for it, but no one’s blood could cry out Paul’s name. Paul was guilty of no one’s blood. Paul was responsible to all men just as Cain was responsible for Able. In the same way, we are responsible to others. We are our brothers and sisters keepers. It is a serious responsibility.

Today, I am going to show you how you are responsible to others, and it is a serious burden that every Christian must bare. Are you going to be receptive to the Holy Spirit today? This is a touchy sermon, and because of our notions of American exceptionalism and rugged individualism, many American Christians do not want to own the responsibility of being our brothers and sisters keepers.

Don’t get mad at the messenger today. If you want to get mad, take your anger up with the One who gave me this message because it is in His authority that I bring it. I am going to show you how you are your brother’s keeper.

1. You are guilty of another person’s blood if you do not share the gospel.

Acts 20:26–27 “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”

Paul said he was innocent of the blood of all men because he shared the whole counsel of God.

Paul shared the gospel with jailers and inmates, with hypocrites and heathen, with princes and governors, and with those in power, and Jesus commanded all of us to do the same.

Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

Romans 10:13–14 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Why did Jesus command us to share the gospel? Because we are our brothers keepers. There are no ifs ands or buts.

In a general sense, we are commanded to share the gospel with everyone, but, specifically, the Lord leads us to individuals with whom we are to share the gospel.

In Acts 7, Stephen shared the gospel with the Jews who were getting ready to stone him. Reading carefully, I believe that Stephen had been groomed for that particular moment. In Acts 8, Philip was led by God to specifically witness to the Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts 10, Peter was led to share the gospel with Cornelius the Italian. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were led to share the gospel with the Philippian jailer.

In each case, specifically, these men knew they were responsible for those that God put in their way. The jailer, eunuch, and Cornelius were all saved. The Jews who stoned Stephen were sealed in their rejection until the Church Age is over, and just as these men were led to individuals, the Holy Spirit leads you to individuals too.

There are those with whom you are led specifically to share the gospel, and you are guilty of those persons blood if you do not.

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

If you do not share the gospel with the person or persons God specifically calls you to share the gospel with, you will be responsible for that person or persons blood, and you are a sinner for not doing what you were led to do, and when you appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will suffer loss.

As a Christian, that is what will be judged in your life when you appear in judgment. Sin will not be judged because your sin was judged at Calvary. Notice what the Bible says.

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

1 Corinthians 3:14–15 “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Paul could say that he was innocent of all men’s blood because he was obedient to Christ’s command. He knew he was responsible for the people with which he came in contact, and so are you and I.

Can you say what Paul said? Are you innocent of the blood of others, or do you have blood on your hands? From hell, is the blood of a lost soul crying out because you did not share the gospel with them?

When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone that God had laid on your heart? If you cannot remember when, rest assured that God knows, and those things will be brought to memory as you are judged standing before Christ.

Adrian Rogers used to say it like this:

“There are two types of Christians. Those who are sharing the gospel, and those who are backslidden.”

“Well, Jimmy, I do not know what to say.” You do if you have been saved. Plus, Jesus told you not to worry about what to say.

Luke 12:11–12 “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”

You will not stand blameless in judgment before Christ if you do not share the gospel. As a matter of fact, you will suffer loss in the kingdom to come. What does that mean? I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. I am sure it has something to do with the rewards, but I know that God’s desire is that none of us suffer loss.

If you do not share the gospel, Christ will let you know just how responsible you were for the blood of those with whom you come in contact.

2. You are guilty of another person’s blood if you, in your liberty as a Christian, are a stumbling-block before others.

Now, I am going to go ahead and tell you that some of you are not going to like this because I did not like it as the Lord gave it to me.

1 Corinthians 10:23–24 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.”

Romans 14:13 “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

Christians are responsible to each other and the lost. It is an absolute Biblical truth.

As a Christian, I have complete liberty.

That does not mean, necessarily, that I can exercise that complete liberty. Why? Because I am bound my responsibility to each one of you that are in the body of Christ and bound my responsibility to the lost that are looking at my life to see Christ.

Even if I have the right and freedom to do something does not mean, necessarily, that I can do it. If I do something even in my Christian liberty that creates a stumbling-block for others that causes them to sin or to reject Christ, I have sinned, and I will be accountable for their blood because I am responsible as a Christian for each of you and the lost.

1 Corinthians 8:9–11 “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?”

Specifically, Paul is talking about meat offered to idols. He told the Corinthian believers they had the liberty to eat it, but if eating it caused the weaker ones, the lost ones, to perish, they should not eat it. Even though I have total liberty in Christ, it is not always prudent for me to show or practice that liberty.

Christian responsibility must override American rights. Do you understand what I am saying? The responsibility I have toward others as a Christian trumps my rights as an American.

I have said this a lot recently, and the reason is that the Lord was preparing me for this message.

Getting saved is the last independent decision you should ever make. Your life should be completely surrendered to Christ, and if it is, you will realize that on occasion exercising your rights and freedoms as an American is not nearly as important as not becoming a stumbling-block.

It is a matter of perspective, and it is a matter of God’s Word.

Do you consider yourself an American-Christian or a Christian living in America? How you answer that question will tell you a lot about yourself if you honestly examine yourself.

1 Peter 2:11–12 “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

If you view yourself as a Christian living in America, you will embrace the responsibilities you have to those around you. If you view yourself as an American-Christian, more than likely, you hold your American rights as being more important than your Christian responsibility.

I am going to give you the two examples God has laid on my heart. You can do with it what you want but be receptive to the Holy Spirit.

A. Freedom of Speech

Living in America, I have the freedom and liberty to say what I want.

I can say what I want when I want to say it. I can get on Facebook and just let it rip, and I have complete liberty to do it, but as a Christian, before I say anything or post anything on Facebook, my Christian responsibilities to others outweighs my American right to say what I want.

Christians get caught up in the mob mentality of social media. Justice is irrelevant. Outcomes should not be determined by law. Outcomes should be determined by public opinion and whoever can speak the loudest the longest must be right.

Dear friend, if you fall for that nonsense, you are not upholding your Christian responsibility. Yes, you have the right to get on Facebook and say whatever you want about someone, but your Christian responsibility should keep you from doing that, and it will if you are not making independent decisions but letting Christ guide you in making all decisions.

I know of this situation in a local public school where some parents got upset at a teacher, and I do not know if the teacher was guilty of the allegations, but I do know that teacher is entitled to due process. Parents were coming out of the wood-works executing this teacher publicly on Facebook with even some Christians joining in adding their two cents to the eternal record that is social media. I even had some people asking me about certain ones who joined in the public mockery of justice by asking me if I thought that was Christian behavior.

Dear friend, it is not Christian behavior, and if you engage in that kind of activity, and it damages your personal witness, the witness of this church, or the witness of the body of Christ, you have sin in your life that you need to take care of, and if those posts cause a lost person to stumble, I hate to be you when you appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, you will still be saved, but you will suffer loss.

Do you know what you should do in that situation? Before you do anything, you need to pray. You should, then, go to the teacher or whoever. If you are not satisfied go to the school administrator. If you are not satisfied go to your schoolboard member but never should you engage in a public lynching on Facebook that creates a stumbling-block for others.

Your responsibility to others overshadows your freedoms as an American. Here is what the Bible says about it.

1 Peter 1:14–16 “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Before you post anything or join in any nonsense on social media, consider those words written by Peter. In all manner of conversation, we must be holy.

B. Freedom to carry a gun

Now, I do not want any of you to go out of here saying that I said you should not practice free speech or that you should not own a gun. I am not saying that, but I am saying your responsibility to others is more important that your rights as an American.

I have the right to own a gun, and in Tennessee, I can carry a gun almost anywhere I want.

If I wanted to do so, I could strut up to this pulpit every service with two six-shooters strapped to my side, but as a Christian, my responsibility to others keeps me from doing so.

I know this church where the ushers were taking up the offering with guns strapped to their sides. I guess they were trying to build up the offering. The preacher and the deacons asked them to conceal their weapons, and they did, but openly displaying those firearms in church has the potential to be a stumbling-block for some lost soul looking for the love of Christ that is supposed to be found within the body of Christ, the church.

I am not telling you not wear or bring a gun. It is your right as an American citizen, but more important in the eternal scheme of things is your responsibility to be Christlike toward all of those with whom you come into contact.

Do you remember what Jesus said as He was being led out of the Garden of Gethsemane?

Matthew 26:51–52 “And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”

It is unfortunate that we live in society where violence is so prevalent. It is pathetic that our children face the possibility of violence everyday when they leave home and go to school or to anywhere else. It is insane that we have to think about protecting this church in case some deranged idiot comes in with a gun.

In the desire to protect each other, we must not let the visible presence of those firearms become a stumbling-block to others. Do you understand what I am saying? Yes, I have the freedom to own and carry a firearm, but my responsibility to those around me overshadows my individual right to do so.

Are you an American-Christian, or are you a Christian pilgrim just passing through the United States of America? You are responsible to those around you. There is a physical and material responsibility you have, but most importantly is your spiritual responsibility that you have to all those with whom you come into contact.

Going forward remember this. Getting saved was the last independent decision you should ever make. From that time forward, every decision should be made by Christ who is living in you through the Holy Spirit.

Now, whether or not I create a stumbling-block in front of someone, each person is individually responsible for his or her decision regarding Christ, but I must do everything I can in every part of my life to show those lost persons Christ through my life, my thoughts, and my words.

We are responsible to those around us.