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 An online correspondence course If the Christian life were the easiest life of all, men would flock to the banner of the cross. But it is not, and Jesus warned his disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." (Matt. 16:24.) Yet, the Christian journey is filled with joys which more than compensate for all of our self-denial. Still, we should be fully aware of the duties to be performed if we are to be saved. We would be ingrates indeed if we refused to accept the responsibilities God has given us while enjoying his divine blessings. Christian duties are not so heavy as one might think. Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:29,30.) John further teaches, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3.) However, the yoke of Christ may become heavy if it is worn in the wrong way. Jesus intends that we serve him willingly and joyfully. As one comes to love Christ more and more, the service he renders to him becomes more a pleasure and less a duty. For example, worship is a duty. If we consider it only an onerous obligation and not a privilege, it will become burdensome. Yet, the devout Christian will find that because he loves his Heavenly Father and desires to worship him, his duty is transformed into pleasure. Again, giving to the Lord of one's financial means is a duty. One may say, "How little can I give and still be saved?" If he approaches his responsibility in this way, it will be difficult because he will begrudge every penny that he gives. On the other hand, if he truly loves the Lord he will say, "How much can I give because I love him?" He derives pleasure from giving and regards it as a privilege rather than an obligation. THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS. On one occasion a lawyer asked Jesus, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt. 22:36-40.) These commandments are so great because they involve our two major relationships -- with God and with our fellowmen. All other commandments relate to these. For example, we are told to seek first the kingdom of God. (Matt. 6:33.) But if we truly love God with all our heart, soul, and mind we will naturally do this. We are forbidden to steal. (Romans 13:9.) But if we love our neighbor as ourselves we would never think of taking what belongs to him. The commands to love God and neighbor involve our responsibilities to them. Let us consider some duties stemming from our love for God. WORSHIP. When tempting Jesus, Satan asked Christ to worship him. To this the Lord replied, "It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (Luke 4:8.) True worship is the reverence and veneration offered by our actions and thoughts to God. We may worship him publicly in company with other Christians, or we may do so privately as in personal prayer. Christians should worship in both ways. One's private worship will include his study of God's word and his communion with God in prayer. No Christian should neglect or forsake these acts of consecration as they are our means of drawing closer to our Heavenly Father. However, some mistakenly think that private worship can be a substitute for our worship in the company of other Christians. It is not. In Hebrews 10:25 we are enjoined, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching." This refers to the Christian assembly for worship. If we allow other things to interfere with our public worship, we are neither performing our duty nor exercising the privilege of venerating our Father. Our assembly for worship should be with the regularity that characterized the early church. The scriptures indicate that Christians in apostolic times assembled each first day of the week for this purpose. (See Acts 20:7.) But if we worship with fellow Christians only occasionally, or even only once or twice a month, when we are able to assemble more often, we do not please God. Our love for him should be so great as to make us want to worship. The Christian who must be prodded to worship his Creator is greatly deficient in spirituality. STEWARDSHIP. One of our great obligations to God is faithful stewardship. A steward is a manager of the possessions of another. Human beings are inclined to regard their possessions as exclusively theirs. Actually, God owns everything. The Psalmist said, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1.) Even our souls belong to God. "Behold, all souls are mine." (Ezekiel 18:4.) Paul teaches, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your Spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19, 20.) Since we belong to God he is the actual owner of all of our material possessions, our talent, and even of our time. Every action must be taken in light of the question, "Am I using my stewardship well?" If we squander our money upon worthless things, we must account to God. If we waste our ability when it might be devoted to worthwhile service, we stand condemned before our Master. If we throw away our time, we are misusing our stewardship. One duty which is actually a part of this stewardship is that of giving of our means to further the work of Christ. The New Testament does not fix an exact percentage to govern our giving to the Lord's work. It does reveal those principles which should regulate that giving. We are to give according to our prosperity. "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." (1 Cor. 16:2.) We must give purposefully and cheerfully. "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:7.) However, the real secret of acceptable giving is seen in the example of the Macedonian Christians of whom Paul says, "that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality." (2 Cor. 8:2.) Why did they give liberally from their poverty? Because, Paul adds, they "first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." (2 Cor. 8:5.) They had learned that true stewardship is not simply in giving one's possessions to the Lord, but in giving one's very being to him. And having thus dedicated themselves to his service they found it easy to give liberally of their meager things. SERVICE. "And who is my neighbor?" This is the question that a lawyer once asked Jesus when he had told him to love his neighbor as himself. Jesus replied by relating the parable of the good Samaritan. (Luke 10:30-37.) The lesson of the parable is that being a neighbor means rendering service to others, whether they are friends or total strangers. To love one's neighbor as oneself, therefore, is to be a servant to man, and especially to those in the body of Christ. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." (Gal. 6:10.) Jesus taught the apostles the meaning of service when he washed their feet on the night of his betrayal. (John 13:2-11.) He was showing them that if he, their Master, would perform the most menial task, there is no service so lowly that they should not perform it. As Christians we may serve in countless ways -- by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, extending hospitality to strangers. Opportunities to serve are always present, but we must be alert to seize them. Only God knows the number of souls that have been won to him because sinners saw Christ reflected in the humble service of children of God. One of the best ways to win the lost is to put Christianity into action through service to others and giving an example to follow. EXAMPLE. This suggests another responsibility of the Christian -- to set an example in godly living. "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself." (Romans 14:7.) Each person has an influence upon others. If it is not for good, it will be for bad. No man can isolate himself and say, "What I do is my own business," because what he does will affect others, whether he likes it or not. Jesus showed the importance of our influence when he taught, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:13, 14, 16.) Our lives must be pure and chaste to reflect only credit to the name of Christ. TEACHING OTHERS. A great responsibility owed one's neighbor is that of teaching him the gospel. Salvation is through teaching. Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44.) In the next verse he showed that this drawing power is exercised through teaching. "It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God." Every Christian should be a teacher. When the Jerusalem church was persecuted "they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word." (Acts 8:4.) One reason that the gospel spread so rapidly was that each Christian felt a personal responsibility to teach the lost. The Hebrew writer criticized his readers because "when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God." (Heb. 5:12.) Of course, all cannot preach publicly, but all can in their own way share with their families, their friends, and their neighbors the story of the cross. In no way can one demonstrate his love for his neighbor more than in revealing to him the way of salvation. If you love him, teach him. Circle the letter representing the correct answer: 1. Jesus said that his yoke is: (a) hard; (b) easy; (c) grievous. 2. If a Christian has great love for God, he will regard worship essentially as a: (a) duty; (b) obligation; (c) privilege. 3. The greatest commandment is to: (a) love one's neighbor; (b) be the servant of all; (c) love God. 4. Private worship should include study of God's word and: (a) washing feet; (b) prayer; (c) the Lord's supper. 5. We should publicly worship God: (a) occasionally; (b) on Easter; (c) regularly. 6. The early Christians worshipped: (a) once a month; (b) every first day of the week; (c) whenever other things didn't interfere. 7. A steward is: (a) a manager of things belonging to another; (b) absolute owner of property; (c) a renter. 8. The Macedonians gave liberally because: (a) they knew it was their duty; (b) they were afraid not to; (c) they first gave themselves to the Lord. 9. As we have opportunity we are to do good to: (a) just our friends; (b) those who help us; (c) all men. 10. Jesus gave the apostles an example of service by: (a) washing their feet; (b) preparing their meal; (c) inviting them to his home. 11. Jesus called his disciples the salt of the earth and: (a) the spice of life; (b) the apple of his eye; (c) the light of the world. 12. Those who are responsible for teaching the lost are: (a) preachers of the gospel only; (b) elders and preachers only; (c) all Christians. Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Then place an (X) before those statements which contain a conclusion which may be drawn from from this parable:
Match the following statements which contain thoughts which Jesus said about service with the passages in which they are found by writing the correct scripture before the corresponding statement:
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