Every Act Counts
By Gary Henry on
brasstacks.org
2002012
Subject: deeds; faithful service
Introduction:
A.
When it comes to
right/wrong; issues of morality – just how clear is Scripture?
1.
Americans seem to
want to blur the distinctions and place everything in a “gray area.”
2.
Many refuse to
admit that there is a standard men must adhere to in order to be pleasing to
God!
B.
Just how
important are our actions? Eccl.
12:13-14
C.
In this world:
there are good people and bad people. There are people who lovingly obey their God & those who stubbornly
reject Him.
1.
Rom. 2:5-10; 6:16
– man serves one of two: God or Satan.
2.
We’re either
slaves of righteousness/sin.
D.
It is worth
asking how people get to be the way they are:
I. Our
characters are the accumulation of the decisions we have made.
A.
Have we ever
wondered how life would be had we been “dealt a better hand?” Had circumstances beyond our control
been different?
1.
This most often
comes around when we are dissatisfied with our present state in life.
2.
Tempting to do these
things.
B.
Yet…we are each
the product of decisions that we have made in the freedom of our wills.
1.
We have
voluntarily thought, spoken, and done things that have made us what we are.
2.
Our characters
are not built up from external circumstances – but from what we have
chosen to do with those circumstances!
a)
contrast Saul
with David: 1 Sam. 13:14; 15:28
b)
David was not better than Saul – because he had made better choices, not because he had better circumstances.
C.
We must accept
responsibility for what we have made for ourselves.
1.
We are what we
have chosen to be.
3.
We are self-made
persons.
a)
The self-made person is often the product of unskilled
labor.
b)
Gal. 6:7 –
we reap what we sow!
E.
Decisions &
choices have a cumulative effect. They tend to “snowball.”
1.
Even “little”
choices are more significant than we might think.
2.
Every decision
and every act change a person for better/worse. One is never exactly the same after making any choice.
3.
Future choices
have to be made by a person who has been shaped by the choices already made.
a)
think of Daniel
– Dan. 6:1-10
b)
with every one of
even the slightest deeds we are building up a character and a self that will
find it progressively more easy to act in certain ways and more difficult to
act in others.
4.
None of us is
standing still!
a)
With every choice
we are becoming more like God or more like Satan! See John 8:44, 47.
b)
Contrast Eph.
4:17-19 with Heb. 5:14.
II. It is sobering to think that every act counts.
A.
God will take
every act into account in His judging our lives.
1.
No decision is
too small or insignificant.
2.
Mt. 12:36
B.
When God judges
our lives – no excuses will count.
1.
No “That didn’t
count”; “Let’s start over”
C.
We may think
we’re being careless or haphazard – but the consequences of our choices are eternal and we are responsible for
them!
D.
Hell will not be
the arbitrary punishment of people who engaged in certain acts.
1.
It will be the end (goal, outcome) of those acts
– the inevitable consequence of actions we chose.
2.
Rom. 6:21
E.
God will not
“inadvertently” or “mistakenly” consign anyone to eternal punishment.
1.
Only those will
be there who demanded to be there by the choices they made.
2.
And few of those
will be people who set out to be wicked.
3.
“Sooner or later,
we must all sit down to a banquet of consequences.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)
F.
It is dangerous
and detrimental ever to say no to God Heb. 12:25
III. It is also encouraging to think that every act
counts.
A.
We can never say
our lives are helpless/hopeless – we can do something that will alter our
situation for the better.
1.
In spiritual
matters – there is really no such thing as a stalemate.
2.
We need the
youthful confidence of David – 1 Sam. 17:26
3.
We can made
choices that will truly alter the present situation.
B.
We can act in
faith that steps in the direction of goodness/truth however small or
insignificant do make a difference! Mk. 12:41-44
1.
God does not
require larger steps of righteousness than we can manage, only small steps
taken in faith.
2.
God is not
looking for people who can do everything – but for those who are willing
to do what they can!
C.
Heaven will be
the outcome if we learn to choose actions that tend in God’s direction! See again Rom. 6:21-23
Conclusion:
A.
Life is serious
business – it pays to live carefully – Eph. 5:15
1.
Let us be sobered
by the fact that each action reaches into eternity, and take responsibility for
the bad choices we have made.
2.
On the other
hand, let us be encouraged knowing that we can make a difference for good even
in “small” acts of faith.
B.
In all things,
let us be grateful for the opportunity to make better choices today. 1 Cor. 15:9-10
C.
Have you obeyed
the gospel? If not, why not?
D.
Made the decision
today!
E.
I N V I T A T I O
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