Continuing along this line of thought, I want to bring the second point. Today we'll be spending some time in the Old Testament. If you have a Bible, turn to Ezekiel 3. Just for a little context, at this point, Ezekiel is being commissioned by God as a prophet to deliver a message of warning to the people of Israel and Judah. This passage is part of God's commission. We'll start in verse 16.
"16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: there for hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not fro his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou has delivered thy soul."
This portion of Ezekiel is potentially one of the most sobering and convicting passages in all Scripture. The point I wish to bring out of this passage, as well as some others we will look through over the course of this post, is the fact that every believer will give an account for their stewardship of God's message of grace before God Himself.
God's first words to Ezekiel in this passage read "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman..." This illustration is not as relevant in today's world of security cameras and radars, but in Ezekiel's time, a watchman was a crucial piece of a city's defenses. Positioned in a tower or on a high portion of the wall, the watchman was given the opportunity and responsibility of seeing farther than the citizens of the town. If a storm or an enemy army was seen approaching the city, the watchman would shout a warning and the people could make whatever preparations necessary to ensure their safety, as well as that of their families and possessions.
What if the watchman was not alert? Those people were his responsibility. If the city was taken by surprise, the chances are pretty good that the watchman was at fault. Worse, what if he didn't care about the city's safety? What it he saw the approaching destruction and willfully chose not to warn the people? Such action (or lack of) would border on treason!
I realize that this passage and the illustration fo the watchman do not directly refer to Christians' sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Ezekiel's message was to God's people, the inhabitants of Israel and Judah. However, there are transcendant principles pertinent to our discussion here. I will deal with three such principles here.
First, like the ancient watchman, we have been given the ability to "see" farther than the vast majority of the people around us. Our extra "sight" comes from reading the Bible. God has given us His Word; in it is written the end of the story for unbelievers. Even a casual perusal of passages like Matthew 25 and Revelation 20 should fill us with trepidation at the destiny of those who reject Christ Jesus as Lord.
Second, we have the responsibility to sound the warning. If we honestly believe the Bible to be true, then we cannot ignore the fact that the majority of the world's population will stand before God and pay the penalty for their own sin instead of coming under the covering of Christ. Just like it would be unthinkable for the watchman to remain silent if he saw an enemy army approach his city, how much more unthinkable is it for believers to remain silent when we see the approach of a Godless eternity for the unsaved?!
Lastly, we will give an account for our stewardship of the message of God's grace. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul describes the reckoning every believer will have with his Lord. Verses 10-11 say,
"10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men: but we are made manifest unto God: and I trust also are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your conscience."
"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord..." We will stand before God and He will thoroughly review our lives; whether or not we used our time, talents, and opportunities to accomplish His will for our lives. A large part of this is our evangelism. Notice the phrase, "we persuade men". Paul "persuaded men" because he knew the "terror of the Lord". God will hold each and every believer responsible for every opportunity we miss to speak the gospel to those around us.
Don't misunderstand; every person must make his or her own decision to accept or reject Christ. They will stand before God and be judged for their own life, however, God will hold us accountable for those opportunities of which we did not take advantage. We can not afford to take this responsibility lightly.
