commentary by John Greene
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ – Ezekiel 33:1-6
What is our purpose as Christians? Ezekiel defines true Christians as watchmen.
When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. – Ezekiel 33:7,8
Ezekiel 33 gives a direct example of what obedience is. A lot of time has passed since Jesus gave His life as a ransom sacrifice. Religion has diluted what Jesus gave His life for. The truth has been so diluted that many Christians have decided that the grace of God means that obedience is not required. But does God’s grace really equal optional obedience?
Certain Christians have redefined themselves as once saved and saved forever without any need to return God’s love. The topic of obedience is clearly presented in the ‘New Testament’ and the importance of obedience cannot be understated. It is impossible to be included in the ranks of the faithful remnant if obedience is not part of a Christian’s life. Jesus was our example. (Hebrews 10:9; John 5:30; Philippians 2:8)
Matthew 7:21 illustrates this clearly in the words of Jesus: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (John 14:15, 21-24) Anyone that loves Jesus or the Heavenly Father will keep His words. Disobedience is a sign that a Christian lacks love. (John 15:10)
Obedience has become alien in the teaching of many churches and among myriads of professed Christians. This is in spite of the fact that even the disciples taught the necessity of faithful obedience. “Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29) His obedient children are His witnesses. (Acts 5:32; 1 Peter 1:14, 15; 1 Peter 1:22)
“Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” (Romans 1:5) ”Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death. (Philippians 2:5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:15) “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2:21-22)
If that truth isn’t direct enough, 1 John 2:4 reveals: “The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.” – 1 John 5:2 (1 John 3:18-22)
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” – Matthew 28:18,19
As Christians, we have been given implicit instructions, among them preaching the good news to the nations, yet many professed Christians choose to do nothing or live their life no differently than the rest of the world. Instead, they choose to have someone else do all the work or “hire it out” through their preacher. This shows a lack of love and appreciation for God’s Word on all fronts. Our purpose is discernment through accurate knowledge and obedience in our personal belief as well as proclaiming that truth in whatever way we can and wherever we are. Obedience is not optional. This isn’t as hard when you actually believe what you say and realize the importance of your work at hand. That is the key!
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Christian: The Act of Being a Watchman
Tags: Christian, love, disciple, Jesus, attitude, truth, instruction, preach, teach, watchman, land, trumpet, dilute, obedience, grace
commentary by John Greene
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ – Ezekiel 33:1-6
What is our purpose as Christians? Ezekiel defines true Christians as watchmen.
Ezekiel 33 gives a direct example of what obedience is. A lot of time has passed since Jesus gave His life as a ransom sacrifice. Religion has diluted what Jesus gave His life for. The truth has been so diluted that many Christians have decided that the grace of God means that obedience is not required. But does God’s grace really equal optional obedience?
Certain Christians have redefined themselves as once saved and saved forever without any need to return God’s love. The topic of obedience is clearly presented in the ‘New Testament’ and the importance of obedience cannot be understated. It is impossible to be included in the ranks of the faithful remnant if obedience is not part of a Christian’s life. Jesus was our example. (Hebrews 10:9; John 5:30; Philippians 2:8)
Matthew 7:21 illustrates this clearly in the words of Jesus: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (John 14:15, 21-24) Anyone that loves Jesus or the Heavenly Father will keep His words. Disobedience is a sign that a Christian lacks love. (John 15:10)
Obedience has become alien in the teaching of many churches and among myriads of professed Christians. This is in spite of the fact that even the disciples taught the necessity of faithful obedience. “Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29) His obedient children are His witnesses. (Acts 5:32; 1 Peter 1:14, 15; 1 Peter 1:22)
“Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” (Romans 1:5) ”Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death. (Philippians 2:5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:15) “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2:21-22)
If that truth isn’t direct enough, 1 John 2:4 reveals: “The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.” – 1 John 5:2 (1 John 3:18-22)
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” – Matthew 28:18,19
As Christians, we have been given implicit instructions, among them preaching the good news to the nations, yet many professed Christians choose to do nothing or live their life no differently than the rest of the world. Instead, they choose to have someone else do all the work or “hire it out” through their preacher. This shows a lack of love and appreciation for God’s Word on all fronts. Our purpose is discernment through accurate knowledge and obedience in our personal belief as well as proclaiming that truth in whatever way we can and wherever we are. Obedience is not optional. This isn’t as hard when you actually believe what you say and realize the importance of your work at hand. That is the key!