DEVOTIONAL 2/28/2021
Ezekiel 3
18 When I say unto you 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 from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
The verses above are rarely discussed or not discussed enough in Christian circles. When we delve into the verses, we cannot help but tremble. The verses sum up the fundamental duties of every Christian after being saved and the conditions of most of humanity.
The first group of people include the ones that live wicked lives. They harm themselves and other people without caring about consequences. They do things that are contrary to the law of the God Almighty. They may even deserve the harshest punishment from the Lord. Yet, at the event of being preached to, they receive the gospel and turn away from their sins. Their souls are then secured for eternity. Many do cover their ears from the truth and perish because of their stubborn hearts.
The second group are the ones that try to live righteous and decent lives. They make many efforts to avoid the wrong path. People around them consider them as righteous. However, for some reason, they commit iniquity, small or large. All their previous righteousness is now in vain and "...shall not be remembered...." (Ezekiel 3 20) It is sad that despite their understanding of God's law and long-term sacrifice to live to the standard, they succumb to the acts that condemn them forever. Only if they repent, they can be again candidates for heaven.
The third group are failed watchmen. The LORD called Ezekiel watchman as in verse 17
Ezekiel 3 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Actually, every Christian that is born again is a watchman because born again Christians understand their sinfulness of men and the necessity of salvation by Christ's sacrifice. We have the responsibilities to warn people of their sins and ignorance of salvation by grace.
Failure to do so is dangerous to the souls of born again Christians.
The last group are very rare people. They are successful watchmen who can keep themselves pure from the contamination of the filthy world and are active in spreading the good news of Christ during the period of grace. During the time of the Old Testament, prophets such as Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, who feared not for their lives and warned children of Israel of their sins, belonged to this last group of people.
Remember to be qualified for heaven, the requirement is nothing less than of the last group we discussed above.
Sam Christian
Feel free to share and no attribution required.
Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Collinsdictionary.com, http://www.hemingwayapp.com/, and Google Docs.
Some ideas from this writing might be influenced during the attendance at Deeper Life Bible Church.
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