1 Tim 6:20+21 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge" — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.   
	Throughout this letter we have seen the strong admonition of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. There is something extremely essential to realize in this aspect. These are charges put upon this young minister, and upon each one of us that require our whole-hearted obedience. Listen to the Apostle’s words of admonition. Be a good servant; discipline yourself; prescribe and teach; show yourself an example; give attention; do not neglect; take pains; be absorbed; pay close attention; maintain these principles; do nothing in a spirit of partiality; keep yourself free from sin; flee from these things; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness; fight the good fight of faith; take hold of eternal life; keep the commandment without stain or reproach; instruct; and guard what has been entrusted to you. 
	These are all action verbs with very specific intent. There is a responsibility, a deep, personal responsibility that rests upon each Christian. While Paul is specifically dealing with those aspects that are geared at ministry, these are, none the less, true for every Christian. As with every principle of God, the world has tried to dilute and to minimize the truth that we do have a responsibility that needs to be met in Jesus Christ. There are duties that are inherent in our life in Christ. These duties are personal and very expressly laid upon each heart by the Holy Spirit. Gal 6:4+5 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one shall bear his own load. 
So often, we try to get around our responsibilities as Christians. We try to shirk them upon others, including our spouses, our parents, our teachers, our ministers, and even back upon God Himself. We do not want to be held responsible for our actions. We do not want to face the consequences of our actions or inactions. We do not want to face decisions and choices that will cause us to choose the often necessary path of pain and suffering. We would rather hide our heads in the sand, to not know what is taking place, and then plead ignorance at the point of recompense. It is imperative, however, to realize that we can not escape our responsibilities in Christ. We can’t afford to fool ourselves with the malicious lie that we can just push them onto other Christians. As we read in Deut 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. 
	Each one of us will be standing before the Lord with the choices that we have made through our lifetime. Some of those choices will be dreadful, and most, Lord willing, will be honorable. The greatest choices, however, the overriding choices, will be concerning what we have done with regard to our testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please do not misunderstand and fear for our salvation. When we respond to the pre-salvation ministry of the Holy Spirit, and seek after that personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our very life, we are saved. That is no longer an issue. We are not referring to that final judgment day. Rather, we are dealing with the truth that we will answer to God for the manner in which we have lived our lives on this earth. In my heart, I feel that this will be a very personal time, just me and the Lord, just you and the Lord, as we reflect on the glory that was or was not evidenced in our testimony before man. God will be glorified. That reality does not hinge on us. But, there is the reasonable question of did our lives add to that glory? Did we truly respond whole-heartedly unto Him? Did we overcome to His glory? Did we follow through with hearts that responded to the admonitions laid before us in His Word? Those are the responsibilities that we face in Christ Jesus. Did we deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him, and only Him, with the every fabric of our body, soul, and spirit?
	Since this letter is written from one minister to another, we may try to somewhat shift this responsibility to our ministers. And, yes, those that minister will be held to a greater judgment of their lives because the care of the flock was entrusted to them. They will be held responsible for the manner in which they taught, in which they counseled, in which they shepherded, in which they proclaimed the whole counsel of the Word of God. Brother James is very specific as to this. James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. 
	As we see, James does specifically address the ministers. However, a careful reading clearly shows that there will be an account that each Christian gives unto the Lord. Notice the key phrase, a stricter judgment. This obviously indicates that there will be a moment of the finding out of the faithfulness of all Christians. This will be a time, not of punishment by God, but hopefully, glorious reflection in the entire honor that God received in the lives that we lived unto Him. If we find ourselves disappointed, it will not be in God, by any measure. It will be in our inconstancy when we did not obey, when we did not respond, when we let the oil burn out on our watch, when we let ourselves spiritually sleep, rather than being alert and on guard for His name’s sake.
Ezekiel puts into perspective, both the watcher and the watched, and their mutual responsibilities unto the Lord. Ezek 33:1-7 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman; and he sees the sword coming upon the land, and he blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. 'He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. 'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.' "Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. 
The Old Testament urges and warns about the need to know that we are personally responsible to God for our actions and choices. As Job recounts, Job 19:4 "Even if I have truly erred, My error lodges with me. We will not be able to claim ignorance. We will not be able to deflect the responsibility or shift the blame upon anyone or anything else. We will not be able to escape our inner humiliation. It will lodge within us. This is not a matter of God pointing us out as failures. This will be a deep morning between you and me and God, Alone. It will be our very own, private humiliation in that we will know that we did not live that entirely Christ-centered life that honored God on this earth. Just God and I will know, and it will be just me who faces that truth. Each of us, alone, will face the bitter distress of not having fully pleased God in these lives that He has given us to live in His Love. Prov 9:12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will bear it. 
	This age tries to diminish the need to take personal responsibility for our actions before God. It tries to take the tack that all our problems rest in the fact that our parents are at fault for the things they did or did not do in our upbringing. There are all kinds of psychological and sociological teachings that attempt to prove that we are not responsible for who we are or what we do. The philosophy is that we had no true choice in our lifestyle because we are a product of our environment. Blame the parents. Blame the school system. Blame the social climate. Blame the church. Blame the government. Just don’t lay any blame at my doorstep. It is not my fault! Contrary to popular opinion, which also can be blamed, this is not a new teaching. The Prophet Jeremiah faced this argument, this excuse in his day. Jer 31:29+30 "In those days they will not say again, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.' "But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge. 
	As well, listen to what the Prophet Ezekiel adds to this discussion. Ezek 18:18-21 "As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity. "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity?' When the son has practiced justice and righteousness, and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. "But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 
	Did you notice something in the midst of this admonition of Ezekiel? There is a hope that is ours. All is not gloom and doom. God has His plan and purpose that will be seen in all of our lives as we live our lives unto Him. "But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 
It is our responsibility to honor God on this earth. We need to learn His ways and His statues and desire to live fully in accordance with them. But the Lord knows that we are not able to do that on our own. That is why He has given us His Holy Spirit and His Word to guide and to direct, to teach us of His ways and to show us how to walk in His paths. The key is that we need to walk in those paths of righteousness. We need to face each day knowing that the choices we make are to be fully in line with that which pleases God and not ourselves. The responsibility is set in us, but the power and the provision and the means and the enlightenment of fully pleasing Our Hevenaly Father is set absolutely in Jesus Christ. 
	But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. 2 Cor 2:14-17. It is in thanksgiving that we do live this life. It is in thanksgiving that we are enabled to see our responsibilities as a Christian and acknowledge that we only want that which will honor God to be forth coming as the fragrance of Christ unto salvation and life. As we speak, let it always be in Christ in the sight of God. Let our tongues and our actions and our thoughts be always those which honor God and not deny Him in our lives.
	As the writer to the Hebrews declares in Heb 13:5-8, Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," so that we confidently say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?" Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. 
	When we face our accountability in the Lord with our hearts set on all that He has brought forth in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear. Any lack that we have, He will faithfully supply. Any loss that we incur, He will faithfully provide. Any emptiness, He will fill. We are to be honorable. We are to be faithful stewards. We are to be above reproach. We are to be the living witness and testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in all our interactions on this earth. Face that duty and face it in the confident assurance that God rules and overrules in all the affairs of men. Seek to live in the reality that He will have His way in our lives. Ask Him to implant the desire to become a man or a woman or a child who only serves to add to His glory in our obedient walk of faith. We are never too young or too old to glorify God in Christ, Our Lord, Our Savior, Our life yesterday and today, yes and forever. 
Listen once again to the Apostle’s active words of admonition. Be a good servant; discipline yourself; prescribe and teach; show yourself an example; give attention; do not neglect; take pains; be absorbed; pay close attention; maintain these principles; do nothing in a spirit of partiality; keep yourself free from sin; flee from these things; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness; fight the good fight of faith; take hold of eternal life; keep the commandment without stain or reproach; instruct; and guard what has been entrusted to you. So be it.    
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge" — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

	This morning’s benediction Ps 115:11-18 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, The small together with the great. May the Lord give you increase, You and your children. May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; But the earth He has given to the sons of men. The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; But as for us, we will bless the Lord From this time forth and forever. Praise the Lord! Amen.