Don Stewart :: What Is Our Personal Responsibility Toward God and His Word?

What Is Our Personal Responsibility Toward God and His Word?

Ten Reasons to Trust the Bible – Question 2

We have one final question. If the Bible is what it claims to be, God’s authoritative Word to humanity, then what is our personal responsibility toward God and His Word? What exactly should believers be doing?

1. We Must Know God’s Word in Our Mind

First and foremost, we must know and understand God’s word in our minds. This takes time and study. There are no shortcuts. Unless we intelligently understand what the Bible is saying, there is not any way we will understand who God is, or what He wants from us. When asked about the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus said:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)

It is important that we obey this command. We must love God with our mind.

2. We Must Place the Word of God in Our Hearts

It is not enough to have an intellectual understanding of the Bible. There are many individuals who have an incredible amount of knowledge of the things of Scripture, yet none of it has penetrated into their hearts. It is only an academic exercise. It is crucial that the Word of God penetrate our hearts. David wrote:

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

The truth of the Word of God must become part of our being.

3. We Must Demonstrate God’s Word in Our Lives

The Bible calls us to be obedient to the authority of God’s Word. However, the obedience is based upon a genuine freedom that belongs to God’s children. The psalmist wrote:

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

We should do those things that are pleasing to the Lord.

4. We Must Proclaim God’s Word to Others

Finally, the Word of God must be proclaimed to others. It is not enough that we keep it to ourselves. Jesus said:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

It is crucial that believers take each of these four steps seriously. In doing so, we can honor the Lord in the manner He so richly deserves.

Summary – What Is Our Personal Responsibility Toward God and His Word?

If the Bible is what it claims to be, God’s Word to the human race, then we have four basic responses toward it. They are as follows:

First, we should know it. We should learn as much as we can about what it teaches about God and ourselves, as well as His plan for the world. Consequently, it is our job to know and learn His Word.

Second, we should place what we learn in our hearts. The truth of Scripture should become part of our thought life. As Scripture emphasizes we should meditate upon His Word day and night.

Third, we should live its truth in our lives. What we know and what we think should be lived out in our actions.

Finally, we should pass this truth along to others. The message of God’s Word needs to be shared with a needy world.

These four things are something that all believers should continually practice.