“But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life.”
“And the word of the LORD came to me saying,
(The Book of Ezekiel 33: 1-5 NASB)
“Son of man,
speak to the sons of your people and say to them,
‘If I bring a sword upon a land,
and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,
and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people,
then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning,
and a sword comes and takes him away,
his blood will be on his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning;
his blood will be on himself.
But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life.”
If you are a person who BELIEVES IN JESUS, how would you summarize the Gospel?
To be certain, there would be/should be MUCH you would/could SAY about why you CHOOSE to BELIEVE in the message of JESUS CHRIST. In fact, as a BELIEVER, it becomes your duty, your ‘walk’ (and mine) to go, to make disciples to the nations, to baptize the people in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Spirit.
If we who BELIEVE IN JESUS.
However, what if you are a person who DOES NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS as the Son of Man & the Son of God? What if you have heard the Gospel but CHOOSE to NOT BELIEVE in the message of JESUS CHRIST?
To be certain, if you are such a person, then you are living life here on earth, striving to enjoy all the pleasure that’s possible during the days of your life.
To be certain, if you are a person who does not want/need to be bothered with thoughts of JESUS CHRIST, then you may also be the type of person who is NOT EVEN SURE IF THERE TRULY IS A GOD who controls life, breath, & death.
If you are a person who DOES NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS, then your eternity remains in jeopardy, and you are one mere breath from eternity in hell.
If you are a person who DOES NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS.
JESUS CHRIST, THE SAVIOR & MESSIAH SPEAKS THE TRUTH—
“He who believes in Him is not judged;
(The Gospel According to John 3: 18-21 NASB)
he who does not believe has been judged already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
This is the judgment,
that the Light has come into the world,
and men loved the darkness rather than the Light,
for their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does evil hates the Light,
and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
But
he who practices the truth comes to the Light,
so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
- As a student, we have heard of attacks on nations, of skirmishes, and of wars. As a student, we have studied and learned. We can recall times when nations and people were attacked by an enemy who desires only to TAKE LIFE, to make sure that DEATH COMES TO ALL & that NO ONE SURVIVES TO LIVE.
- As a student, we have heard our teachers retell the historical narratives, and as a people, we are to learn from those who came before us.
- As a student of the Word of God, as CHRISTIANS, we have heard, we have studied God’s Word & as the PEOPLE of GOD, we are to re-tell, to share, to testify about the SAVIOR WHO BROUGHT GOD’S SALVATION TO OUR SOULS.
- As a BELIEVER, as a CHILD of GOD, we are to witness to the nations, to the people, to the individuals WHO DO NOT YET KNOW THE SAVING GRACE JESUS OFFERS.
Truly, as ONE SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, we are to be an AMBASSADOR for JESUS CHRIST.
“But if the watchman sees the sword coming
(The Book of Ezekiel 33: 6-9 NASB)
and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned,
and a sword comes and takes a person from them,
he is taken away in his iniquity;
but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’
“Now as for you, son of man,
I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel;
so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me.
When I say to the wicked,
‘O wicked man, you will 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 required from your hand.
But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way
and he does not turn from his way,
he will die in his iniquity,
but you have delivered your life.”
To be certain—
- GOD has called us to testify.
- JESUS HIMSELF gave us HIS GREAT COMMISSION & has clearly told us to proclaim HIS Good News.
“And there is salvation in no one else;
(The Acts of the Apostles 4: 12 NASB)
for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
The Holy Spirit leads us to Gospel opportunities & gives us the words we are to say as we witness, telling others how we were dead, but now we are alive.
- We are SAVED.
- We have been CHANGED.
- We are no longer dead in our sins & we are NO LONGER THE SAME.
It is our duty, our charge, our task assigned—TO TELL THE WORLD ABOUT JESUS!
WE REPRESENT THE KING OF KINGS & LORD OF LORDS!
To be certain—
If we have given our heart to JESUS & keep silent, then that is sin.
The blood of the lost ones who we are ENTRUSTED TO TELL remains on us.
For we know from Ezekiel, the prophet of God—
“But had he taken the warning,
He would have delivered his life.”
So, we who BELIEVE in JESUS, are commanded & commissioned to GO TELL—
“Say to them,
(The Book of Ezekiel 33: 11-14 & 15b NASB)
‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD,
‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live.
Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!
Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’
And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens,
‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression,
and as for the wickedness of the wicked,
he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness;
whereas
a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’
When I say to the righteous he will surely live,
and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity,
none of his righteous deeds will be remembered;
but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die.
But when I say to the wicked,
‘You will surely die,’
and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness,
. . .
He shall surely live;
He shall not die.”