The Duty Is Ours

I want to talk a little bit about the word Duty. 

Its definition can be simplified to this, one person’s obligation to another. In the context for this article, it is our duty to God.  We who are saved by the one true living God have a duty to give our all for Him. The one who saved us by His grace and sustains us every day by His mercies deserves nothing less than all we have to give. 

The Title I used today comes from this quote attributed to John Quincy Adams.  “Duty is ours, results are God’s”.  I’m sure others have said similar things, but it expresses the idea that while individuals are responsible for fulfilling their duties and obligations, whatever they may be, they should trust that the ultimate outcomes are in God’s hands. It likely came from this verse. 

1Corinthians  3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Our duties to God.  Every Christian should be doing these things: Praying, reading and meditating on scripture, fellowshipping and serving. All of these things done for God’s glory will benefit the whole church if we are all working to that same end.  Some Christians may claim that they have it all figured out, I am not one of them. 

We are all a weak and needy people, and the big problem is we don’t know how weak we are. We need God in all of our duties.  I am a husband, so I have a duty to my wife.I am a father, so I have a duty to my son. I am an elder in a church, so I have a duty to the people in my congregation.  And on and on, you can fill in the blanks for yourselves. 

I can’t fulfill any of these duties on my own, and if I ever think that I can- then that’s a sure sign pride has taken over and I need to repent and put everything back on Christ. This is what this small section of Scripture is about, our duties to God. 

Romans 12:1  -I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Romans 12:2 -And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

• We have a duty to take every thought captive by the word of God. 
• There is a way that seems right to man and a way that is right by God. 
• The way that seems right by man will ultimately lead to your destruction. 
• The way that is right by God will lead you to Glory. 
• We find the way that is right by God in HIs sacred book the Bible. 
• This divinely inspired book is given to us to use as a guide for our Christian lives. 
• The renewing of our minds lends to us being transformed and this is done through the word and the holy Spirit. 

To take this Holy book lightly or flippantly is to rob God of the Glory due to Him. We can’t just come to the Bible for a short time on Sundays and expect to be made holy. We have to diligently listen to the word preached. We have to read it in our homes with intentionality. We have to teach it to our children. And we have to do it all with a sense of urgency. 

Renewing our minds means we have to keep coming back to this book over and over again. It takes work to be in the word. Like I said Sunday mornings is not enough. And I think if you truly have been saved by God, you’ll want to be in the word more. You’ll crave reading the word and talking about the word and preaching the word. And by preaching broadly I mean proclaiming the word. Telling others about Christ and his saving work on the cross. We must drive out all of the worldly opinions that take us away from the one who saved us. God gave us this book not just to read but to live out.

To know God more is every believer’s duty. That is what our acceptable worship should look like. Lives that live out the book. Lives that work to tell others this wonderful gospel.

The Obtaining of truth is easy.

Living out the truth obtained is hard. 

It’s a hard path but it’s worth it.