The Watchman

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
In Ezekiel 33:1-6 God spoke to the prophet concerning the obligation of the watchman. The Lord said if He brought a sword on the land if the people appointed someone as watchman when he saw the sword coming he was to blow the trumpet to warn the people. The Bible says in verses 4 and 5 of the above mentioned chapter, "...whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul." The meaning is clear! Whoever gives heed to the watchman's warning "shall deliver his soul." Whoso ignores the warning will be taken away. Then in Ezekiel 33:7-9 the Lord told Ezekiel "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." What an awesome responsibility to be a watchman. It is no wonder that the Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 2:15-16, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" Who indeed is sufficient for the awesome responsibility of the watchman.

It is a shame that there are those preachers who do not take their obligations as watchmen seriously. God has given to preachers all that He is going to give in the Word of God. It is imperative that the preacher preach the Word of God only. Oh, I know that we can use modern illustrations, etc., but we should only do so to illustrate the revealed Truth of the Word of God. As a minister of the gospel, especially when I was a pastor, I tried to get the mind of God for my sermons. It didn't matter the outcome. I remember once while pastoring in Aberdeen, South Dakota, we had a family who attended several of our services after they first went to their Lutheran services. One particular Sunday, their daughter was to be confirmed in the Lutheran church. I can't remember if I was aware of the confirmation service but I think I was. In any event, God laid it upon my heart that day to preach on not obeying the doctrines of men but rather the commands of God. They did come to our service after their daughter was confirmed and as I preached my message, I saw the mother's countenance change. She apparently took great offence at what I was preaching that Sunday morning. Needless to say they never came back. I felt somewhat devastated that they would no longer attend our services because of what I preached. I only preached what the Lord Jesus said in the Word of God. (See Matthew 15:9 and Mark 7:7)

I speak to whosoever may want to be a witness for the Lord Jesus. We must as the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 10:16, "be ...wise as serpents, and harmless as doves," and we must as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:15  speak "the truth in love," But it is not wise to speak less than "...all the counsel of God." (See Act_20:27) 

Having said all thus far, if there are any readers of this blog who have never repented of their sins, let me say to you what the Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:20-21, "I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." It makes no difference if you think of yourself as a good person. You might be but repentance is not optional it is God's command to all! (See Acts 17:30) If you have repented but have never obeyed Apostle Peter's command in Acts 2:38, find someone to baptize you today. (If you don't think that baptism is part of God's plan, see 1st Peter 3:21) The Lord Jesus has promised to fill you with the promised gift of the Holy Ghost. (See Acts 1:8 and Acts 2:1-4) And Peter said in Acts 2:39 that "the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."