Here is a statement that not many Christians like to contemplate for very long, I am responsible, but I am not accountable. Now, this of course applies to us in our daily walk with the Lord, we are both responsible to Him, each and every moment, and accountable, for all that we do in every area of our lives, we are beloved children, servants, and co-heirs to the kingdom of heaven, (Romans 8:17) and we will be held accountable for all we either produced for the Lord or for our inactivity.
But the opening statement is different when we are speaking to the lost, we are responsible to tell them, in whatever way the Lord leads, of the salvation by grace through faith that God offers to all who will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we are not accountable for their response. The decision they make when they are brought to the cross of Christ is not our responsibility, they are accountable for themselves.
This is a key point in the reason for the apostacy that we are in today, not only the tickling of ears, (2 Tim. 4:3) not only false prophets and those coming who say they are Christ, which are growing each day, but the fact that many who claim to know Jesus as Savior have stopped completely in their attempts to reach the lost for Him. Instead they stay within their little group, the community clubhouse, where it is safe, where the lost have no opportunity to mock them, to deride them, to make them feel bad.
Such is the trap of Satan that was laid a few short decades ago, and now he is quite successfully pulling the exact same deceiving lie on the lost, “Stay home, stay safe.” I can easily see the pattern, the masks that are being worn are the ones these so-called Christians have been wearing for years, the mask of hidden identity, the mask of invisibility to the world that they are Christians. No witnessing to the lost, living their lives basically the same as the rest of the world, only taking that mask off, partially at least, when they are in the comfortable setting of their once-a-week obligation at the place they call church. These have been used to the mask for quite some time now, and so it does not bother them one bit to put one on.
They listen to the world instead of leaning on the everlasting arms.
I have not done any real in-depth research into this matter, but I am curious, those who understand their responsibility, those who know for a fact that they will not be held accountable for others decisions, those who will not wear a mask, not only because they understand the lie that is being perpetrated upon the world’s societies, but because of their unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, I wonder if they are being allowed into the churches that locked their doors, who practice social distancing, who politely ask their congregation to be thoughtful of the unwarranted fears of others who claim Christ as Lord and wear a mask.
They would have an entirely new group to witness to now, would they not, not on salvation issues for all perhaps, but of faith, of complete and total trust in the Lord in every area of their lives.
I am afraid that many who will not bow to the demands of our new masters, so to speak, may find themselves in quite a different place to witness very soon, though I sincerely hope I am wrong. A place to witness to those who have been brought there for other reasons than their faith in Jesus Christ. We may not only want to memorize this verse, but prepare ourselves to live it. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11)
