Personal Empowerment I. Introduction A. In discussions of authority, we generally talk about authority in terms of relationships with other people: God’s authority, the authority of the Word, authority in the church, authority in the world, authority in the home B. This is well and good, but we often neglect another important aspect of authority: the authority granted to each and every human being in the sight of God C. We thus do well to explore personal empowerment 1. What authority has God given every human being, and how do we know that? 2. How much authority has God given humans, and what are they supposed to do with it? 3. What limitations, or guidelines, exist for humans in their exercise of personal empowerment? II. God’s Empowerment of the Individual A. As a reminder, Romans 13:1-2: God is the source of all authority; any authority that exists comes from God B. Based on what we see in Scripture, we can say God has created each person to reflect His image, and each is empowered to live and make decisions about what they will believe, feel, and in many cases do 1. Genesis 1:26-27: created in God’s image 2. Romans 6:14-23: all choose whether to be a slave of righteousness or slave of sin 3. Acts 2:14-36, 3:12-26, 13:16-41, 17:22-31: the Gospel was to be preached, appealing to people to come to believe that God accomplished His purposes in Jesus 4. Acts 13:45, 17:32: for various reasons, many who heard rejected the message, and they had the ability to do so 5. John 12:47-48, Acts 17:30-31, Romans 2:5-11, 14:10-12, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-11: a day of judgment is coming on which God will judge everyone for what they have done in the body: the basis of judgment demonstrates that people are liable for their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, and if liable, they must have some level of authority over them! 6. In the positive, 1 Peter 4:10-11: God has made each person and each has something to contribute, something they can do and are empowered to do 7. We must speak of all people here, even those who find themselves under various forms of compulsion a. Matters of thought and feeling are involved, as seen in Matthew 5:20-48, Galatians 5:22-24; no compulsion or coercion can be fully imposed on thought or feeling b. Those in some kind of slavery might have their actions circumscribed to some degree or another, yet even there is a choice whether to comply or not (cf. Ephesians 6:5-9) C. This same disposition is seen throughout Scripture: God gives instruction to His people, and He encourages them to follow it; they decide to follow or they decide to refuse and rebel; God brings them under judgment for their decisions; in this is the story of both testaments! D. In this way we see how God has empowered each individual human with both the capacity and the authority to make decisions regarding their thoughts, feelings, and actions III. Personal Empowerment and Spiritual Influence A. Much of our difficulty in discussing personal empowerment stems from the never-ending arguments in Western Christianity regarding divine sovereignty and human freedom 1. Augustinian Calvinism has proven very influential, especially its views about double predestination, that God has already determined the fates of everyone 2. For most of the days of “Christendom” most believed in some level of predetermined fate 3. In many respects there has been an overreaction to such fatalism, and too much emphasis in many places is given onto human freedom, as if humans have few limitations or influences, as if most of what they experience is by their own agency B. The first challenge stems from that expectation of determinism: the widespread belief that God has some specific plan for our lives which we must somehow discern 1. The original view comes directly from Augustinian Calvinism: God’s sovereignty, to them, required every molecule to be in its proper place and be subject to His will; thus, whatever happens in one’s life is what God intended to have happen 2. Even after such a narrow view of God’s sovereignty was questioned, and human volition accepted to at least some degree, the question remained: does God have a plan for our lives which we must ascertain and follow to be pleasing to Him? 3. It is true God has foreknowledge (Romans 8:29-30); God’s will for our lives is our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3) 4. If God absolutely does not want us to do a thing, it will not happen! 5. Nothing gives us the impression that God’s sovereignty demands that we have to somehow decode God’s specific purposes for us: God gives us the liberty to choose many aspects of how we will live, and exhorts us all to glorify Him through those decisions C. The second challenge involves the amount of power spiritual forces might exert in our lives: did the devil make me do it? Did the Spirit compel me? 1. The Scriptures speak of the Spirit directing people, like Ezekiel; they also speak of the influence of Satan and his minions 2. According to Ephesians 2:1-3, we all served Satan at some point! 3. We have every reason to believe that spiritual forces influence people; nevertheless, spiritual forces do not coerce or compel people, and people will be judged for the thoughts, feelings, and actions in which they participate (Romans 2:5-11, 14:10-12, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-11) D. Another challenge comes from a view which gives humans almost total agency, as if there is no spiritual influence in their lives 1. As a reaction against the “superstitions” of past days, many now imagine that spiritual forces do not exist, and thus whatever happens is entirely up to human agency 2. Even some who profess belief in God have no confidence in the continuing work of spiritual forces 3. And yet Romans 8:26-27, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8: we are at war with spiritual forces of darkness, who wish to tempt us; the Spirit still prays for the people of God 4. Spiritual forces are still at work for good and ill, and we are deluded to think otherwise! E. As in all things, balance: God has His purposes, the forces of evil do their thing, yet humans must also do what they are to do 1. Acts 2:23: God foreordained that Jesus would be killed: Judas, Herod, Pilate, etc., were all in place, and yet we have no indication they were working as divine automatons; we could imagine that Judas, Herod, Pilate, etc., would have done such things “naturally” anyway! 2. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: Satan tempted Paul with a “thorn in the flesh,” but Jesus used it to humble Paul to help him learn a lesson in faith, that power is made perfect in weakness in Christ 3. In all of these things we see that God has His sovereign purposes, and His foreknowledge encompasses all which spiritual and physical creatures will do; the freedom of choice of the creation is not impaired, and all will be held liable in judgment IV. Personal Empowerment and Our Fellow Man A. We have seen the interactions between spiritual forces and human freedom; but what of interactions of humans? 1. Each person has a level of personal empowerment; some people have been given more authority than others 2. And yet we have the challenge from the elementary school playground: “he made me do it!” 3. How is power exerted over people? Who bears what responsibility? B. Our language is often unhelpful, for on the whole, no one “makes” anyone do anything 1. People can apply a lot of persuasive pressure, play on fears, etc., to encourage others to do what they want them to do 2. Yet, unless a person is physically constrained and physically forced to do a thing they do not want to do, what is done is still by choice 3. This leads to an understanding of boundaries: people act on the basis of the influence of others, perhaps, or in response to others, but only very rarely truly forced to by others C. The framework of judgment is especially helpful in discussing boundaries: establishing responsibility through liability 1. Romans 2:5-11, 14:10-12: everyone will stand before the judgment seat of God in Christ 2. Hebrews 13:17: elders are to be respected and honored because they will have to give an account before God 3. Thus, the greater the authority, not only the greater the responsibility, but also the greater liability: such a one will have to give an account of how he or she managed the authority s/he was given 4. To this end the question must come for everyone: for what will I be judged before God? (Romans 14:10-12) 5. That for which I am judged is my personal responsibility, and the boundaries of that responsibility; that for which others are judged are no longer my personal responsibility, and thus beyond my boundaries 6. In its own way this is liberating: we are not judged what others do (James 4:11-12) D. Do boundaries mean we have no responsibility toward others? 1. Boundaries help us understand where our personal liability ends and that of others begins, but it does not presume we have no responsibility toward others 2. Matthew 25:31-46: we will be held responsible for whether or not we have provided for others in their need 3. Hebrews 10:25: we will be held responsible for whether we have encouraged others 4. While we may not be responsible for the decisions others make, we are responsible for how we are influencing them with our words, our example, and our behaviors 5. These, after all, are the means we influence the behavior of others: what we do in such commissions (or neglect in omission) is our liability; it may help to explain the deficient behaviors of others, even if it does not excuse them E. We will be held responsible by God for what we have done ourselves, how we have influenced others, and how we have used the authority God has given us to shepherd others! V. Conclusion A. We have explored personal empowerment B. God has made each and every human being with a certain amount of autonomy and personal authority C. Such a person exists in a matrix with all sorts of influences, spiritual and human, positive and negative D. Each person will be held responsible by God for what s/he has thought, felt, said, and done; a person will not be held responsible by God for what others have thought, felt, said, and done E. Nevertheless, since we all have influence on others through our words, example, and deeds, we will be held liable for how we have influenced others, and how we have used the authority God has given us to shepherd others F. And what would God have us do with our personal authority? To entrust it back to Him, and submit ourselves fully to His purposes (Galatians 2:20)! G. May we all submit to God’s purposes in Christ and obtain the resurrection of life in Him! H. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: According as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). God has all authority; God empowers those whom He will for His purposes. Many are given authority on account of their roles and responsibilities in life. Yet God has also empowered each and every person with a measure of authority over their own lives. Each is empowered with gifts from God and ought to use them to serve one another. May we use all authority we are given to the glory of God! 2: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Many have minimized man’s freedom in order to magnify God’s sovereignty. This has led many people to wonder if God has some specific will for their lives which they must uncover through prayer and/or effort. They agonize over whether they ought to go here or there, or do this or that, or pursue this or that relationship. God does have a purpose for each and every one of us: our sanctification! God is most concerned about whether we will glorify Him in where we go, or in what we do, or in our relationships. May we glorify God in all we think, feel, say, and do, and trust in Christ in all things! 3: So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:12). “He made me do it!” We understand when small children speak in this way, but unfortunately we often still use this kind of logic as we get older. If we would live healthy lives in Christ, we will learn to discern our responsibilities based on our liability. We will all give account of how we have thought, felt, and acted before Jesus. We will be held responsible for how we have thought, felt, and acted. Others will be held responsible for how they thought, felt, and acted. We will not be held responsible for how others have behaved, but we will be held responsible for how we have responded to them. May we all recognize where our responsibilities and obligation ends and where others must decide for themselves, and live accordingly! 4: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me (Galatians 2:20). God has given each of us a measure of authority, but what would God have us do with that authority? While we lived in the world we used it to glorify ourselves and advance our interests. In Christ, we are to surrender our authority back to God and seek to live for God. We are to do all things to glorify God in Christ and to advance His Kingdom. May we submit to the will of God in Christ in all things and through Him obtain that which is truly life!