“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
TEXT — Genesis 2:16-25
Message
Someone aptly observes the indispensable interrelationship between responsibility and accountability. He says, “The twin sister to autonomy and freedom is responsibility and accountability. You cannot have one without the other. If someone is given an area of responsibility, not only must they be set free to do it, they must also be held accountable for what they do. Accountability clarifies freedom.”
This passage illustrates how these two important life concepts played out at the very beginning of creation. After completing the creative work, God gave man freedom and all that will make humanity fulfil the divine purpose of creation. But God warned the man, the overseer of His creation, that his freedom has limitations and the responsibility comes with accountability. Man was permitted to freely use any of the garden’s resources for his benefit except “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Unfortunately, man blew the great opportunity to enjoy unlimited freedom and eternal fellowship with God.
Adam listened to advice from outside of the original voice of God. How often many of us forget the abundant mercies and goodness of God? How too often we seek advice and counsel outside the word and will of God? The disobedience of Adam led to the inevitable loss of the nature of God and death sentence on humanity. Through his fall, the human race fell with him.
Have you abused the privilege of free choice God gave you? Before the day of accountability knocks on your door, you can retrace your step, repent and escape the consequences of the wrong choice. God’s merciful gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord is an offer no one must reject. It is yours for free NOW!
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
God gives me the grace to be faithful