The Duty of Man
Scripture Reading - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
In our previous session we spoke about “The Lord’s Requirement” which spoke specifically about three things. The article stated that everyone whether priest, preacher or people should live justly, show mercy toward others and walk humbly before God. The study verse of Micah 6:8 was taken from the Old Testament and we have a similar message taken from the book of Ecclesiastes. It is interesting that the messenger refers to himself as the preacher but many people greet him as King Solomon of Israel. Some mistakingly think one’s title is higher than one created character from God. Thus, it is better to focus on who God created (called) you to be over whatsoever title you temporally hold while upon this earth because in eternity you will be remembered for who you are in God’s Sight, not man’s categories (catalogs). One thing is for sure that King Solomon, the preacher, was considered to be one of the wisest king’s on the earth for his day. Why, was he considered so wise? It is basically because God gave him very much wisdom and understanding with a largeness of heart such that he was wiser than all the men of his day.-Refer to 1 Kings 4:29-34 Of course we (ihlcc) must note even with having the large advantage of supernaturally receiving God’s wisdom and understanding King Solomon, the preacher, still committed a grievous sin against the Lord his God. King Solomon chose to follow the sins of strange women (his wives) just as many preachers allow strange women to pull them away from God through fornication. You would think that this old trick by satan once revealed would be ineffective in our days but since man is weak and foolish it (the temptation to fornicate with other women) still works today. It would seem if pride is high and the flesh is strong the spirit man is weak and sin will abound. Why is this? It is because God’s holy chosen people are not doing “the Duty of Man”. Whether a king of a nation or a preacher calling for repentance or a person in the congregation of a church we are all called to do “the Duty of Man”. The word “duty” basically means something that one is morally bound to do. Another definition could be something a person is legally obligated to do (fulfill). Yes, and furthermore depending upon your position (calling, title, occupation) your duty will change. Obviously the president of a nation has a larger duty to the people he/she serves than the self-employed handyman who fixes small problems on certain houses. These duties will vary from person to person depending on your position and rank but it will also vary by your moral convictions. Specifically today we are discussing the believer in God because this “duty” is designed around God’s Holy Word. Notice the first step in completing “the Whole Duty of Man” is to fear God. To fear God is an Old Testament word for revering the Lord. Yes, when we fear God we have the utmost respect for God’s power and His Person. The man and woman that fears God has a deep sense of honor for God’s Word, God’s Preachers, God’s Prophets and God’s People. Those that fear God basically have a devoted heart for God. In other words we must sincerely believe in God with all of our heart. In today’s language we must believe that Jesus Christ is the Holy Son of God who died for all our sins and rose again from the dead to justify all those who believe on Him and our Heavenly Father God. Right now in our day this amounts to being a Born Again Christian. Once you have the first step (Loving God) in your heart the second step proclaims “Keeping God’s Commandments”. This is basically stating for each Believer to be a doer of God’s Word. Yes, in the Old Testament the worshippers of God often revere the main commandments of Moses as their sole way of life. However, in the New Testament Jesus (The Word of God) is our way to life. Yes, doing God’s Word is our sole responsibility because it keeps us in favor with God because we are doing what He instructed us to do. Keeping God’s Word is a moral conviction of our heart because the Lord is right there on the inside of us leading and guiding us by way of His Holy Spirit. We (ihlcc) like the fact that the preacher kept it simple instead of a 25 point sermon he basically stated two things. Fear God and keep His commandment and that is “the whole duty of man”. Now we (ihlcc) could sum it up this way without taking anything away from the preacher’s intent. Love God with all your heart so that you can love all people and do God’s Holy Written Word in agreement with the Holy Bible and God’s Spoken Word in your heart. Now it goes without saying that those two should agree because our God is a God of unity (agreement). God Is One Loving Spirit with the same loving words of wisdom and understand (a loving voice) to all His children in Heaven and His children upon the earth. Remember, your duty (loving burden, responsibility, occupation, career) and mine (ihlcc) is to whole-heartedly worship God inwardly with our heart (spirit and soul) and outwardly with our words, giving and actions. If we take God’s Heart to love people and couple that with taking God’s Word to minister (help) those same people we shall accomplish “the Whole Duty of Man” in Christ Jesus. Amen!