I am responsible to God for my behavior. You are responsible to God for your behavior. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Because we have the ability to choose, we are responsible for the choices we make. Men and women must answer to God for what they do: “They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5). God asked Eve: “What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:13).

We are individually accountable.

“Each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

We may not blame someone else for what we have done, as Adam and Eve tried to do. God cut through their excuses and dealt with each of them individually.

God knows the extent of our responsibility: “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin, blamed Adam for their sins. The false doctrine of Original Sin has been accepted by much of Christendom. According to God’s word, however, each one is accountable for his own sins: “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).

“Each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Elders are accountable for how they shepherd the flock.

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account” (Hebrews 13:17).

We are accountable for everything we say.

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36, 37).

We must not underestimate the importance of what we say. God hears every word. “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

God’s name must be used with the utmost respect and reverence. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). Names for God and Jesus may not be used as expletives. Using God’s name in a frivolous or meaningless way, is also forbidden. When people use God’s name in an idle manner, they show a lack of respect for God in their heart.

But we will also be justified by our words. Jesus promised: “Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8). And Paul says: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).

May our “speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).

We are accountable for how we use our God-given resources.

This includes “redeeming the time,” which means making good use of our time (Colossians 4:5).

Stewardship involves responsibility and accountability. “After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19).

In the parable of the talents, Jesus teaches that we must make profitable use of the resources God entrusts to us.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey” (Matthew 25:14, 15).

All of our resources actually belong to God. He told Israel: “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). Since all of our resources come from God, we are accountable to Him for how we use them.

“Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also” (Matthew 25:16, 17).

The Greek word here for servants actually means slave. The master entrusted his goods to “his own slaves”. Not only was the money not their own, but they themselves belonged to their master.

They were not being supervised. Their master was away on a journey. They could have thought: “Why make an effort? This money isn’t ours anyway.” But they were “good and faithful servants” so they traded with their master’s money, and doubled it!

“But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money” (Matthew 25:18).

Amazingly, some people say: “You can’t expect much from me. I’m just a one-talent man!” They obviously missed the point of the parable! And, by the way, one talent of silver would be worth more than 20,000 euro today! So even the one-talent man was entrusted with a large sum of money!

“After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19).

The time is coming when we also must give an account for how we used the resources God entrusted to us.

The first two servants reported to their Lord with enthusiasm.

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matthew 25:20-23).

From this we learn several things. The master was pleased that the servants made a profit in accordance with their ability. The actual amount was not important. Even though they were slaves, because they had demonstrated their faithfulness, the master promised to make them ruler over many things. In a similar parable in Luke 19, the master makes his faithful servants rulers over cities.

The statement, “Enter into the joy of your lord,” means that the servant will be blessed because he pleased his master. The spiritual application is that the reward for faithful service to God is eternal joy and fellowship with Him in heaven.

What was the report of the third servant?

“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours’” (Matthew 25:24, 25).

“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 25:26_30).

We learn several things about this man. He obviously had a bad attitude toward his master. He was afraid, but fear was not his main problem. His master calls him “wicked and lazy” and tells him that the least he could have done would be to place his money where it would draw interest.

We must give account to God for how we use the resources He entrusts to us. God’s expectations are not unreasonable. He gives us responsibility only in accordance with our ability. He expects us to be good and faithful servants, not wicked and lazy.

If we are faithful, He will tell us, “Well done!” and we may enter into the joy of our Lord!

Many years ago a brother asked me if it is not contradictory that God judges us according to our deeds when we are saved by grace. I told him that how we respond to God’s grace is part of our deeds!

Paul says it depends on what we are seeking. God “will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self- seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness - indignation and wrath” (Romans 2:6-8).

What have we learned?

“Each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). We are individually accountable. Elders are accountable for how they shepherd the flock. We are accountable for every word we speak. We must give account for how we use our God-given resources.

By His marvelous grace, God gives eternal life to His faithful servants who persevere in doing good as they seek for glory, honor and immortality. Amen.

Roy Davison