The responsible Christians

[Nehemiah 10:28-31]

An employer was looking for someone to work for him. Since many volunteers gathered he interviewed them one by one. Then this was a conversation with one of the applicants (Internet):

Employer: “This must be done by someone who can be responsible.”

Applicant: “Then I am that person. If something went wrong at my last job, everyone said it was my

responsibility.”

It's ridiculous. Unfortunately, this humor is a reality. We, the irresponsible Christians, are now taking a position in the church and serving the Lord and His church.

In the book “Who are They anyway, co-authored by BJ Gallagher and Steve Ventura, the authors talk about 'professional victims' who shift their responsibility at every critical moment. One of the key questions gives three answers on how to turn a “professional victim” into a “responsible person”. The shortest answer is that you can never change the person. The long answer is that you can only change yourself. And the longer answer is even though you can only change yourself, you can take the lead and influence somethings to others. The authors also solve the alphabet of "ACCOUNTABILITY" and suggest what we need to do to implement responsibility (Internet):

A: Acknowledge the situation

C: Courageously face the difficulties

C: Communicate with positive language

O: Own the problem … and the solution

U: Understand others’ viewpoints

N: Negotiate solutions that work for everyone

T: Take on new responsibilities

A: Act, don’t simply react

B: Be willing to reassess and renegotiate

I: Influence others and collaborate

L: Leave the ‘poor me’ victim mentality behind

I: Initiate thoughtful and deliberate solving

T: Take pride in your results

Y: ‘Yes’ leads to success

Are we avoiding responsibility type people or responsible people?

Today, I want to learn from Nehemiah 10:28-31 three things that the responsible Christians should do, under the heading “The responsible Christians”.

The first thing that we, the responsible Christians, must do is to separate ourselves from the worldly things.

Look at Nehemiah 10:28 – “"The rest of the people--priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples ….” Why did the Israelites separated themselves with the Gentiles in Nehemiah's days? The reason is because of “all this” (9:38). Look at Nehemiah 9:38 – “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.” The phrase “all this” refers to the fact that the forefathers of the Israelites had often been transgressed and punished in the past. So now, because of all this, the congregation of Israel made a binding agreement in writing, and the leaders of Israel, the Levites and the priests, all sealed the document (v. 38). The list of the names is found in Nehemiah 10:1-27. It’s like we are signing our promise and responsibility to God by resolving that we won’t be like our ancestors who had committed sins against God and who had received the punishments. Then, what was the promise that the Israelites made to God? It was to obey God's law (v. 28). As the Israelites congregation was experiencing the revival of the Word at the Water Gate, they determined not to transgress like their forefathers by disobeying the God’s law but to keep and observe all the commandments of God. To what extent did they resolve, they decided that the Israelites would swear that if they didn’t keep the commandments of God they should be cursed (v. 29). To make a decision to obey God's commandments, this is truly the fruit of revival.

What did the Israelites put into action at that time? It was to separate themselves from the neighboring peoples (v. 28). The reason was not to defile themselves by the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors. Look at Ezra 6:21 – “So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel.” Does spending time with fellow faithful Christians help us in our Christian life or spending time with unbelievers help us in our life of faith? As you know, when we have a lot of fellowship with believers, it helps us in our life of faith. But what if we spend a lot of time with unbelievers and enjoy the worldly things together? They will be barbs in our eyes and thorns in our sides. Look at Numbers 33:55 – “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.” But the sad reality is that so many church members have "thorns" on their sides and live their faith. They live in faith without separating themselves with the worldly things, so their life of faith is painful and there is no growth of their faith. No matter how long they attend the church, their faith isn’t growing. How can we expect our faith to grow when we aren’t separate ourselves from the worldly things?

I heard the news that one day, a tourist bus carrying many Korean old people here in the US and going to a casino was hit by a fire truck and one of them died and about 50 people were injured. I still remember hearing that the news pointed out that the gambling degree of the elderly in Korean town is getting worse. Why aren't many people getting out of gambling, alcohol, nicotine addiction, drug addiction and sex addiction? Why are you addicted? In an article from the Korean Anti-Drug Campaign, I found some reasons for being addicted (Internet):

The first cause is the social environment.

It is said that the socio-environmental prevalence of materialism and the high number of people who are aiming for money are also a factor in promoting poisoning during gambling. It is especially difficult to break up when exposed to adolescents who lack self-regulation. In addition, ‘dreaming of one big success’ which is socially ill, is a major influence on gambling and lottery addiction.

The second cause can be attributed to personality factors.

Usually a thrill-seeker is easily addicted. This is the case of "addictive" personality people who need an endless new, intense stimulus.

The third cause is depression.

Depressed patients are susceptible to gambling addiction.

The fourth cause can be said to be reality escape.

The reason why escaped reality people are at high risk of addiction is that they are introverted and quiet, often have few friends and weak social activities.

Another thing is that there is a medical cause.

Gambling addiction is called "pathological gambling" or "gambling mania" in medical terms. This is not a habit that can be fixed by an individual's will, but a kind of impulse control disorder. In other words, because the desire for gambling is so strong that they cannot control their own behavior, they are known to start from alcohol or drug addiction. There is no fatal effect on the body, but it is a kind of brain dysfunction.

If they fall into a gambling poisoning state, characteristic symptoms appear.

That's tolerance appears.

Once they fall in love with gambling, that's all they think. To get the same excitement, they need to spend more and more time gambling and more and more money. In the end, they won’t blink your eyes at any amount of money.

Another scary symptom is symptom of prohibition, and most gamblers feel that they are having trouble at some point.

If they have serious problems at home or at work, they may decide to temporarily restrain themselves. But these efforts are often failed due to prohibition symptoms. If they don't gamble, they are nervous and anxious. Then from the moment they gamble, the unpleasant feelings disappear and they are excited again. If these symptoms are repeated, they will reach a stage where they cannot quit without them knowing.

We must take seriously these problems of addiction that are emerging in society. How can we, Christians, who are responsible for separating ourselves from the things of the world, separating ourselves from these wickedness? We shouldn't step in from the beginning. But what if we have already stepped in and tasted them? Look at 2 Corinthians 6:17 – “Therefore come out from them and be separate ….” The Korea Anti-Drug Headquarters says: ‘It's hard to stop yourself. Once you're addicted to gambling, it's not easy to stop yourself. It is because, like other addictions, if you stop gambling you will have withdrawal symptoms such as depression, anxiety and insomnia. It is similar to a alcoholic who is looking for alcohol again. Therefore, gambling symptoms should be treated aggressively as soon as possible. Addicts never recognize gambling as a disease. People around you, such as your family, must force you to be treated’ (Internet). To get out of addiction, we need to be able to protect our hearts. It means that we must get rid of a life of letting our physical bodies to control our hearts and that we must reform so that our hearts and our souls control our physical bodies. In order to do so, we must enrich the Word of God in our hearts. As we seek “knowledge and understanding” (Neh. 10:28), we must understand the commandments of God and observe them. And we must live a life of faith that separates ourselves from the worldly things. We must earnestly pray to Jesus, the Doctor, who came to cure sin-addicted mankind.

The second thing that we, the responsible Christians, must do is

we must be responsible for the marriage of our children.

Look at Nehemiah 10:30 – “and that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.” How hard is it to marry our children these days? Dr. Sun-Hee Bae, a senior researcher and family doctor at the Korea Family Counseling Education Research Institute, said in an article titled, ‘It’s not to push our children to get marry, whether they won’t marry or will marry late’ (Internet): ‘My daughter is almost thirty but she isn’t thinking about getting married. So I am worried and I say the words of marriage. Then she gets very angry. I am afraid that it will become a fight. So if I decide to leave her alone, I am worried that she may lose the opportunity to get marry and may live alone rest of her life. When I think about my daughter's marriage, I wake up at night. What should I do as a mother?’ Most parents with unmarried children at this age group seem to have this concern. Perhaps it is natural for parents to think and worry about their children marriage, marrying them to the right person at the right time because it is their primary responsibility and duty. That’s why there is a saying that marriage is the greatest filial duty. To that extent, parents have a lot of concern in their children's marriage and sometimes tend to cling on it. How important is the parent’s responsibility to marry their children? It's never easy. As the parents who are raising the children, it is a big responsibility to marry them.

The Israelites’ second decision in keeping the God's commandments was to take responsibility for the marriage of their children. They decided not to marry their children with the Gentiles. This was a pledge of the Israelites not to intermarry with the Gentiles, but also a repentance movement of returning to God according to the God’s words given to Moses in Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (Park). Look at Deuteronomy 7:3-4: “Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.” Marriage between the God’s people, the Israelites and the Gentiles, was a great problem among the Israelites in Ezra and Nehemiah's days. Look at Ezra 9:2 – “They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” As God’s holy children, the Israelites’ leaders took the lead in this sin of mixing with the Gentiles. If we now speak of these Israelites' commitments to children's marriage, we Christian parents are determined not to marry our children to unbelievers. Why should we? The reason is because it is God's commandment. Look at 2 Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” Why did God give us such commandment? What is the will of the Lord? The reason is to prevent our children from being tempted by unbelievers and leaving God to worship idols (Deut. 7:3-4). How many people are there around us who married unbelievers and left the churches they used to attend? But the question is whether it is possible to marry our children to other believers. I still remember that when I was working in Korea, a sister in Christ asked me whether it is possible for the Christian singles sisters in Christ could get marry because statistically they were more Christian single sisters in Christ than single brothers in Christ. It may be difficult statistically. We may also present many other difficult problems in our human minds. But the important thing is to marry our children by faith, not statistically.

We are to be instructed in the “marrying children” of Abraham, the father of faith. When Abraham chose his daughter-in-law, he told his servant Eliezer not to get a wife for his son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites (Gen. 24:3) but go to Mesopotamia (v. 10) and chose from his country and his own relatives (v. 4). This shows how carefully Abraham considered his son’s marriage. He obeyed God's commandment in Genesis 24:7 – “The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.” Like Abraham, we must also carefully consider our children’s marriage. Regarding their marriage, we must act as directed by God, and we must refuse to marry our children with unbelievers. Nevertheless, there are some of our children who are married to unbelievers because of money, honor, status, and appearance, and others. If we let our children to marry because of these things and if our children marry as they are led by their own greed, then their families will not stand firmly in the Lord. The families without the truth and not being claimed by God should be concerned about the danger of falling.

The third and the last thing that we, the responsible Christians, must do is to keep the Lord’s Day holy.

Look at Nehemiah 10:31 – “As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.” Determining in the revival of the Word, the Israelites in Nehemiah's day committed themselves to follow God's law by separating themselves from the Gentiles. In the meantime, they determined not only no to marry their children with the Gentiles, but also to keep the Sabbath day holy as the fourth of Moses' Ten Commandments said (v. 31). How did they commit themselves to keep the Sabbath day holy? They determined not to buy wares or any grain on the Sabbath day when the people of the land of Canaan would sell them on the Sabbath day or a holy day (v. 31). Another thing was that every seventh year they determined to forgo working the land and cancel all debts (v. 31). In other words, for the first year of the seventh year, the land would be left uncultivated (thus the land becomes fertile). In addition, they resolved to cancel the debts of the debtors in that year. Therefore, the debtors once again had the hope and opportunity to build a new economic foundation. As a result, the gap between rich and poor had narrowed in society. Dr. Park Yun-sun said: ‘This does not condemn the sale itself, but prohibits the commercial acts taken to hinder the rest of the body or hinder the spiritual worship.’ Here, the rest of the body doesn’t refer to a state of inactivity and of doing nothing. Resting on that day means that the body and the soul enjoy God and enjoy peace together without suffering from the affairs of the world (Park).

How should we observe the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day? As I grew up I grew up learning that I shouldn't spend money on Sunday. Also, I shouldn’t study too on Sunday. This problem has changed in the seminary. While listening to one of my professors, I thought it was okay to use money on Sunday, that is, to buy and sell. Then, after becoming a senior pastor, I stopped buying and selling on Sunday. How should we keep the Lord’s Day holy? This is what the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) Book of Church Order (BCO) 48th says: “It is the duty of every person to remember the Lord’s Day; and to prepare for it before its approach. All worldly business should be so ordered, and seasonably laid aside, as that they may not be hindered thereby from sanctifying the Sabbath, as the Holy Scriptures require” (48-3), “The whole day is to be kept holy to the Lord; and to be employed in the public and private exercises of religion. Therefore, it is requisite, that there be a holy resting, all the day, from unnecessary labors; and an abstaining from those recreations which may be lawful on other days; and also, as much as possible, from worldly thoughts and conversation” (48-4). How challenging is this? Are we become accustomed to preparing the Lord’s Day in advance? On the contrary, aren’t we trying to do everything that we couldn't do during the week on Sunday? Therefore, aren’t we keeping the Sabbath day holy as the Bible requires? Shouldn’t we refrain from entertainment on Sunday, but is it becoming more common for us to have fun on Sunday? The 12th President of the United States, General Zachary Taylor, was to be inaugurated as President of the Constitution on March 4, 1849, and he refused to take office on Sunday. This was because keeping the Sabbath day, that is Sunday, was the command of God that preceded the inauguration of the president (Internet).

Ashley Smith, a 26-year-old widow who was taken hostage by the legal gunman murderer Brian Nichols (33), read Reverend Rick Warren's book The Purpose-Driven Life” to Nichols. As she was reading that book “Day 33 – How real servants act”, this was how Ashley Smith tried to convince Nichols: Taking me hostage was according to God's providence, and preaching the gospel in a prison that you would go because of your act of murder might be your purpose of life.’ After hearing this, Nichols, the killer who lost his mind, returned to his heart, and soon released Ashley and surrendered (Internet). Isn’t this the life of the responsible Christian? Yet, too many of us, the Christians, don’t seem to live our lives as responsible believers. But Jesus died on the cross in order to be responsible for our salvation, such sinners like us who are not responsible. Did Jesus need to be responsible for our salvation? Was he responsible for us who aren’t separated from the worldly things, who aren’t responsible for the raising of children, who aren’t keeping the Lord’s Day holy? How shall we Christians live?