vs9, “Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul”.
My soul is the most important thing to me, and delivering it from death is my only ambition in life, my priority and my driving motive above all else. I can't perish in hell, spending eternity PAYING for sins, when God has made a way in Jesus Christ, not only to be forgiven, but to be GIVEN everything needful to honor Him until the end.
First, deliver your soul. You too are a watchman, if you are saved. God told us all, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). He didn't say, “You are off the hook. Pay some preachers, and they'll speak for you”, but everyone of us is called to live godly, to walk faithfully, and to honor God.
You may not be a public preacher, but if your life isn't about God's grace in Christ unto good works of love, then you are unfaithful and will be punished, though you say you're saved. John writes plainly, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8).
It is NOT enough to claim the privileges of salvation, unless you take newness of life, and the ability to honor God along with your forgiveness.
Secondly, I have a call as a pastor to preach FAITHFULLY, because MY soul is on the line. God said to Ezekiel and to me by him, “If” - “If you warn the wicked to turn from his way... you have delivered your soul” (vs9). If I'm faithful, then I have a reward. If I'm not, then I'll be punished. He continues, “When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die! And you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand” (vs8). It doesn’t matter what I say in private or how orthodox I am in my whispers among my friends. If I don't preach the whole counsel of God and teach men the right way, then they'll die, and I'll die with them. You know a tree by its fruit, and my fruit must be grace, through faith, unto good works. God says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”, so that grace believed manifests itself in behavior (Eph 2:8-10). I must have a gospel that takes the sinner from condemnation to life, without us giving God a thing, that RECEIVES life and consecration to God.
Do not be a hearer only, a person who says, “I'm saved, so I don't have to do”. Know your salvation is REVEALED by what you do.
Thirdly, if we TURN, then we will live. He says to us, “he who takes warning will save his life” (Ezek 33:5).
I have learned that the wavering and struggling church, or the faltering believer may RETURN to God. I see 5 of the 7 churches in Revelations 2-3 warned that if they don't repent, something bad and horrid would happen (Rev 2:4-5, 16, 20-23, 3:3, 15-16, 19). Jesus would fight against them, He'd spew them out of His mouth, He'd take away the candlestick, or He'd kill her children with death . It reads, “repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent”, “Repent or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth”, “unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death”, and, “repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you”, and finally, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent”, so that repentance is God's path to blessing. Repentance marks believers.
Sometimes, the pastor is warned of death, sometimes he is not. Christ told the pastor at Thyatira, “"Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works” (Rev 2:20-24). Thus, if he cares about his people, then he will repent, preach more faithfully, and save them by his own obedience. He won't compromise Christ to please them, allowing them to perish.
I see Eli's sons going to hell because he didn't RESTRAIN them. Scripture says, “he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress... Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them” (1 Sam 2:22-25). He told them right from wrong, but when they sinned, he spared the rod, thereby hated his children, and God cut them off.
Eli's fate is deserved, but if we hearken to God's call to repentance, if we turn from our wickedness, rather than hurting us as promised, He'll give the good that's promised. We shall live. He'll conquer our failures, give us victory, and we'll enter into paradise, simply by trusting the overcoming power of Christ. He reproves us to give us salvation, if we will receive it.
He tells us to turn, and He will receive us, bless us, and fix the bones that He has broken. David said, “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken my rejoice”, and He WILL do it by the “no condemnation” every believer has in Christ (Ps 51:8).
Lastly, if you are not a watchman, then I warn you right now. God says, “Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel” (Ezek 33:11). I stand before you saying, “Turn”, lest you suffer the wrath, while I’m rejoicing in heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment