Yet if you have warned the wicked...

Ezekiel 3:1621 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

¹⁶ At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. ²⁰ Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”

In yesterday’s text we saw that God gave Ezekiel the words to speak by having him eat the scroll and how in the same way we as believers need to fill ourselves with God’s word, through study and devotion, so that we too can speak as He call us. In today’s text we see the weight of the responsibility of Ezekiel’s commission as a prophet. God says: “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” Again we see, as we did yesterday that God does not hold us accountable for the results, He says: Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.

As believers, followers of Christ, we too have been given a commission.        Jesus says: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) In Mark 16:16-18 it says: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”       Our commission is to preach the gospel, to make disciples. Jesus acknowledges that the world may not receive our message. He says: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

The prophet Ezekiel, because he lived under the Old Covenant, was given a harsh message of coming judgment on those who did not repent. For us, we are to preach the gospel, the good news. The good news is that even though there is a coming judgment, Christ has already paid the price for the sin of all mankind. We are not commissioned to speak and exercise judgment to and on unbelievers. We are to speak the words God gives us through the Holy Spirit. We are to share the good news of redemption, reconciliation and restoration in and through Christ. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5,  “when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”, so should our testimony be Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  Look at what Paul says in verse 2 again, this time in the Amplified version:  for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection].  Entering into philosophical and theological debates and discussions will do nothing to persuade unbelievers. Paul says:  “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

What did Jesus say would be the result if we are faithful to preach the good news, to preach Christ and Him crucified?  “ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  That demonstration of the Spirit and of power, not our persuasive words, is what will change men’s hearts. As we saw yesterday, it is the Holy Spirit who; will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…(John 16:8) Look at the reason for the conviction and judgment. John 16:9-10 says: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.       They are convicted because they do not believe in Christ.

Romans 10: 13-15 says: “whoever calls on the name of the Lord  will be saved.” ¹⁴ But how will people call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher (messenger)? ¹⁵ And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent [for that purpose]?       We, Jesus disciples, followers of Christ, are those messengers, commissioned for God’s purpose, to preach the gospel, to share Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection].  We are not responsible for the results. But even though the world may not want to hear our message, though they may tell us to stop and be quiet, we do not answer to the world. We answer to God and to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The weight of responsibility on Ezekiel the prophet was indeed heavy and while we may not be held responsible for the blood of sinners because we are saved by Christ, He has called and commissioned us to do His work. Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15)

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit thank You for revealing the redemptive and restoring power of the cross to me. Thank You for allowing me the privilege of being called and commissioned to share the good news. Holy Spirit empower me to faithfully share Jesus Christ and the power of the cross to the world. Thank You that I am not responsible for the results. May I be found faithful to walk in the commission You have given and may the world see the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that their faith would be in You, God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.   Amen