Absolved Responsibility vs. Responsibility: What the Bible Says About Your Choices

ALIVE IN LOVE – Episode 7 “Do My Choices Matter?” | Rediscovering Faith Podcast

Have you ever said, “It must have been God’s will”?

It’s a common response, but it reveals a deeper question many people are asking:

 – Do my choices actually matter?
 – Is God in control of everything?

How you answer this shapes your entire Christian faith, your view of God’s will, and how you live your life.

The Bible tells one unified story:

  • Creation – God creates a world built on love and relationship
  • Brokenness (Sin) – That relationship is fractured
  • Restoration (Jesus Christ) – God restores what was broken

This shows us something essential: God’s desire has always been relationship, not control

If you believe God determines every outcome, it can lead to passive faith:

  • “Everything that happens is God’s will”
  • “My choices don’t really matter”

Over time, this removes personal responsibility and weakens spiritual growth.

The Bible says God is love and love invites, not controls.

This means:

  • Your choices matter
  • Your decisions have real impact
  • Your life is not pre-scripted

Throughout Scripture, God calls people to respond. You are not a puppet; you are a participant in God’s story. Instead of blaming God for everything, we begin to take ownership. Sometimes we ask, “Why is God doing this to me?” but often, our current situation is shaped by our past decisions.

The biblical response is to take responsibility, repent (change direction, grow and move forward. This is how real spiritual transformation happens.

Responsibility doesn’t mean independence. God initiates, empowers and sustains, but we respond! This is a relationship with God, not a scripted life.

Your foundation determines how you live. If you have a control mindset, it leads to passive faith. If you have a love mindset, it leads to an active, growing faith. So, yes, your choices matter more than you think!

Listen to the Full Episode: Absolved Responsibility vs. Responsibility on the Rediscovering Faith podcast, where we explore how to understand the Bible, grow spiritually, and live out an authentic relationship with God.

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Alive in God’s Love

Understanding the Story God Is Telling Changes Everything!
Listen to Rediscovering Faith Podcast Episode: The Story God is Telling

In the powerful episode of Alive in Love, we explore the big picture of the Bible and uncover the true story God is telling from Genesis to Jesus. Many people struggle with understanding Scripture because they’ve built their faith on isolated verses instead of seeing the unified story of the Bible.

Join Pastor Evan as he breaks down the Bible into three essential movements:

Creation – God’s original design rooted in love, relationship, and connection
Brokenness (The Fall) – How sin fractured our relationship with God, others, and ourselves
Restoration (Redemption through Jesus Christ) – God’s ongoing plan to restore relationship through Jesus

Discover why God’s heart has always been about relationship, not rules, and how misunderstanding sin as only rule-breaking can distort the entire gospel message. Instead, when we recognize that sin is ultimately broken relationship, and salvation is about restored relationship with God through Jesus, a whole new level of love, life and freedom can arise!

Having clarity on a few key points can make a huge impact in the way we think, feel and act:

  • The meaning of the gospel and why it matters today
  • How to understand the Bible as one complete story
  • Why faith is relational, not transactional
  • How Jesus reveals God’s love and restores what was broken
  • What it means to live out your purpose as part of God’s story

Have you ever wondered:

  • “What is the gospel message?”
  • “How to understand the Bible for beginners”
  • “Big picture of the Bible explained”
  • “Creation, Fall, Redemption meaning”
  • “How to have a relationship with God”

If this has helped you see the Bible more clearly, continue the journey with the Rediscovering Faith podcast—where we explore how to experience God deeply, understand Scripture clearly, and live out authentic faith in everyday life. Begin with this episode: The Story God is Telling

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Family Discipleship Resources

Children’s Bible Study Guide – Pairs with Sermon  “Heart Honesty” Exodus_Week_6_Children
 
Children’s Bible Study Guide – Pairs with Sermon “I am my own Pharaoh” – 
 
Children’s Bible Study Guide – Pairs with Sermon “God’s Visitation” – 
 
Children’s Bible Study Guide – Pairs with this week’s Sermon  – “Becoming Fire” –
 
Children’s Bible Study Guide – Pairs with Sermon “Uniqueness to Sojourner” – 
 
Children’s Bible Study Guide – Pairs with Sermon “Providence, Power, Politics” –


Exodus Week 1

We are excited to consider the ways of God found in the book of Exodus. As you read and engage in the Scriptures of Exodus, may your hearts be receptive to the voice of God revealing to you the nature of your actions.  When and how are you acting as a pharaoh – exerting your power of position, influence, title, money, etc. – to enslave others to your ways or your work? When and how are you like the Israelites needing to be freed from the enslavement of the pharaohs? No matter which one you identify with the most, we are all in need of being delivered.
 
We are believing God to move in mighty ways among His people as He delivers us from unhealthy beliefs, actions and ways of operating so that we might honor Him before all men.


Growing Together

We are excited to provide weekly discipleship materials to help you continue thinking about the sermon and continue exploring and interacting with the passage throughout the week.  For we know that hearing a sermon is only the beginning.  Practicing what we learn is a requirement for spiritual growth.  May you be encouraged to not only be hearers of the Word, but doers!
 
As you interact with the scripture on Day 1, take time to consider the text.  If you come to the end of the week and still have unanswered questions written in the margins from your observations, please send them to Pastor Evan at ebryder@gmail.com.  He looks forward to helping you grow deeper in your understanding of who God is and why He longs to be in relationship with you!