responsibility

What would have happened if Satan wasn’t in the Garden?

August 6, 2011

Question: I was scanning around the web and found your article on the Tree in the Garden. Some brothers get together for breakfast and fellowship one day a week before work. This week we had both an elder and minister, two deacons, and another brother. We occasionally discuss issues that I would not normally talk about…

Why is God holding us responsible when it is He who made us?

August 4, 2011

Question: Why does a perfect God, who knows all and sees all, create imperfect beings in the first place, then curse those people and all the people thereafter? Then we who were born into this world without a choice must obey all these things, meet every week, and if we don’t adhere to His commands,…

Who Is Responsible?

July 24, 2011

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/WhoIsResponsible.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 6:1-10 I. One of the issues that has divided brethren is that of doing good. A. The question is who is responsible? B. One side argues that it doesn’t matter, so long as the good is done. The other side argues that you cannot give away a responsibility God has…

If we all start out innocent, then why doesn’t everyone make good choices?

May 16, 2011

Question: God makes all people the same, right? All people start out the same as a little baby, in innocence. So why is it that some people decide to follow God and some don’t? One might draw from that question that maybe it’s because God is pushing some people more than others to follow Him.…

How can God judge me when I didn’t ask to be born?

February 8, 2011

Question: Let’s say I place you in a room and gave you a written exam where if you answered correctly you would have eternal life, if you answer wrong you would suffer eternal punishment if you didn’t answer by not taking the exam you still get a 0% and that is still a failing grade.…

Does God Send People to Hell?

August 21, 2010

by Jesse M Kelly via Preceptor, p.12 – Vol.57, No.6, June 2008. While discussing the subject of “Hell” with a lady acquaintance one day, she said to me, “I just cannot conceive of a merciful God sending one to Hell to suffer eternally.” We readily agreed with her. God doesn’t send people to Hell. He…

How do I find balance in my life?

March 9, 2010

Question: How should a Christian go about getting the things in their life in order? I know the entire counsel of God deals with the things of life, but I need a basic starting point. I am 25 years old, have my own car, live in my own place, and have a job that allows…

Why don’t my parents treat me as an adult?

March 8, 2010

Question: I am planning to drive to a large city for a big lectureship at a congregation there. I have never driven in a large city. I am in my early twenties and still live in my parents’ house because I don’t have the money to rent an apartment. I am a recent college graduate.…

What about people who spend their whole life following the wrong religion in ignorance?

August 15, 2009

Question: People are born into other religions and live their entire lives thinking that they are following the correct religion. They live life doing good deeds but follow their own religion. How does God view these people? Thank you for the web site and the learning that it provides to people such as myself that…

When a child is raised to be violent, who is responsible, the parent or the child?

August 14, 2009

Question: I recently stumbled upon your web site and enjoy it very much. I have a question of my own though that hasn’t been answered fully for quite some time now. There are many children who are brought up into violent families such that they learn to imitate their parents and as adults follow a…

How do I get a more disciplined life?

February 27, 2009

Question: Hi, I am 17 years old and have been a Christian since I was 8. I have a problem and don’t feel comfortable enough to discuss it with anyone I know personally. Ok, so here is my problem: my parents never punish me for anything. I really am not a bad kid and I…

Why has God withdrawn His favor and let me fail my last exam?

February 7, 2009

Question: I’m a poor fellow with tons of frustration. Sir, I did well in most of my exams and my teachers remarked highly of me. I know all expect extraordinary performance from me. Though I’m not brilliant, I’m not bad and did well. But sir, from the last month, I’m getting poor grades from my…

February 16, 2008

Greg Litmer via That Ye May Grow Thereby. We live in a day and time when no one seems to want to take responsibility for their own actions and very few want to hold individuals accountable for what they have done. If a person commits a crime, it is society’s fault. If a person engages…

Will God hold me accountable for my son’s sinful life?

July 15, 2007

Question: I am a Christian woman who is very distressed over my 19-year-old son who has suddenly turned to underage drinking and sexual fornication. Have I committed these sins against him, by not using wisdom with whom he was hanging around? Will God hold me accountable for my son’s rebellion? I am weighed down heavily…

What does personal accountability mean?

May 19, 2007

Question: What does the term personal accountability mean? Answer: The phrase is not used in the Bible, but we sometimes speak about our personal accountability before God. By this, we are referring to the fact that each one of us must give an account to God regarding the things we personally have done. “So then…

Can one person put a curse on another?

August 22, 2006

Question: A friend asked me about someone putting curses on others and what does the Bible have to say about it? Could you share some thoughts in this regard? He feels like he is cursed by what his great-grandfather did years ago. Answer: Your question doesn’t deal with a matter of one person cursing at…

What is our responsibility or accountability to God and ourselves?

June 8, 2006

Question: What is our responsibility or accountability to God and ourselves? Answer: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Look to Yourselves

January 14, 2006

by Ron Drumm Have you ever noticed how easy it is to see the faults of someone else? Most of us know how to point the finger at the person who has messed up. Taking responsibility and accepting the blame is not what most of us think about when something goes wrong! In the church,…

Is it wrong to have a job that encourages others to sin?

April 24, 2004

Question: Is it wrong to have a job where you are not sinning yourself but may be causing someone else to sin? Answer: “Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32).…

Raising Children

October 13, 2003

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. This generation is full of unusual ideas about how to raise children A. Many are leftovers of failed experiments that continue to hang around. 1. Don’t spank children a. It is a form of child abuse or could lead to it. b. It is unnatural to restrict children 2. Ignore children – you have your own…