Every Act Counts
Categories: Sermon Outlines, Topical Sermon OutlinesINTRODUCTION:
A. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
B. Our age tends to blur distinctions and throw everything into a “gray area” – but in the Scriptures matters are more clear-cut.
C. In the world there are good people and there are bad people: those who lovingly obey their God and those who stubbornly reject Him
1. Romans 2:5-10
a. Two destines await mankind
b. Our destiny depends on our actions
2. Romans 6:16
a. Our action show who we serve
b. We serve only one of two masters
D. It is worth asking how people get to be the way they are
DISCUSSION:
A. OUR CHARACTERS ARE THE ACCUMULATION OF THE DECISIONS WE HAVE MADE
1. When we are dissatisfied with our present state in life, it is tempting to blame circumstances beyond our control – we tend to think we would be better off if we had been “dealt a better hand.”
2. Yet, in all the important ways, we are each the product of decisions that we have made in the freedom of our wills
a. We have voluntarily thought, spoken, and done the things that have made us what we are.
b. Our characters are built up not from our external circumstances, but from what we have chosen to do with those circumstances.
1) Contrast Saul with David.
a) 1 Samuel 13:14
b) 1 Samuel 15:28
c) The kingdom was to be taken away from Saul because of his bad choices
2) David was better than Saul – because he had made better choices, not because he had better circumstances
3. We need to accept responsibility for what we have made of ourselves.
a. We are what we have chosen to be.
b. We are self-made persons.
c. Unfortunately, the self-made person is often the product of unskilled labor!?!
d. We reap what we sow – Galatians 6:7-8
4. Decisions and choices have a cumulative effect – they tend to “snowball”
a. Even “little” choices are more significant than we might think.
b. Every decision and every act change a person for better or worse – one is never exactly the same after making any choice.
c. Future choices have to be made by a person who has been shaped by the choices already made – Daniel 6:10
1) “as he did aforetime”
2) Choices build a habit of life for Daniel
d. With every one of even the slightest deeds, we are building up a character and a self that will find it progressively easier to act in certain ways and more difficult to act in others.
1) We are building habits by our actions
2) We are building good habits by our actions
3) We build bad habits by our actions – some of these will hard to quit
5. None of us is standing still
a. With every choice we are becoming more like God or more like Satan
b. John 8:44, 47
c. Ephesians 4:17-19 compare this with- Hebrews 5:14
B. IT IS SOBERING TO THINK THAT EVERY ACT COUNTS
1. God will take every act into account in His judging of our lives.
a. No decision is too small to be significant.
b. Matthew 12:36
c. 2 Corinthians 5:10
d. 1 Corinthians 4:5
2. As children on the playground, we may have said “That didn’t count” or “I had my fingers crossed” – but when God judges our lives, no such excuses will be accepted.
3. We may think we are merely being careless or haphazard, but the consequences of our choices are eternal and we are responsible for them.
4. Hell will not be the arbitrary punishment of people who engaged in certain acts.
a. It will be the telos (end, goal, outcome) of those acts, the inevitable consequence of actions that we chose.
b. Romans 6:21
c. Every action has consequences
5. God will not “inadvertently” or “mistakenly” consign anyone to eternal punishment.
a. Only those will be there who demanded to be there by the choices they made.
b. And few of those will be people who set out to be wicked.
c. “Sooner or later, we must all sit down to a banquet of consequences” (Robert Louis Stevenson).
6. It is dangerous and detrimental to ever to say no to God – even once- Hebrews 12:25
C. IT IS ALSO ENCOURAGING TO THINK THAT EVERY ACT COUNTS
1. We can never truly say that our lives are helpless and hopeless – we can do something that will alter our situation for the better.
a. In spiritual matters, there is really no such thing as a “stalemate.”
b. We need the youthful confidence of David-1 Samuel 17:26
c. We can make choices that will truly alter the present situation.
2. We can act in the faith that steps in the direction of goodness and truth, however small and seemingly insignificant, do make a difference- Mark 12:41-44
a. God does not require larger steps of righteousness than we can manage, only small steps taken in faith.
b. God is not looking for people who can do everything, but for those who are willing to do what they can!
3. Heaven will be the outcome if we learn to choose actions that tend in God’s direction- Romans 6:21-23
CONCLUSION:
A. Life is serious business – it pays to live carefully – Ephesians 5:15
1. Let us be sobered by the fact that each action reaches into eternity, and take responsibility for the bad choices we have made.
2. On the other hand, let us be encouraged knowing that we can make a difference for good even in “small” acts of faith.
B. In all things, let us be grateful for the opportunity to make better choices today- 1 Corinthians 15:9-10
C. Remember, every act counts – even the little ones!