God said, “Son of Adam, I made you to warn the people Israel. When I tell you My word, you must give the people My warning. Suppose I announce an evil person will die. If you don’t warn that person to stop his sin, then that evil person will die because of his sin. I will judge you responsible for his death. But if you warn an evil person and he doesn’t stop sinning, then he will die because of his sin. But you will save your soul.” Ezekiel 33:7-9
Americans love independence. We love freedom, we love making our own choices about many things – where to work, where to live, what food to buy, what clothes to buy, we choose our friends, etc. We don’t want to give that up.
Independence means we are free to do what we want, but it also means we are not dependent on anyone, and no one is dependent on us. Someone needs our help? Too bad! I am independent. I don’t have to help them. I can if I want, but no one can tell me what to do. I am free! I am independent!
I think we all know that is not a good thing. God doesn’t give us freedom to do anything we want. You should not murder, steal, insult God, or break any of the other commandments. Also, we know that God tells us to love each other, so we can’t refuse to help people. We may have some freedom to do what we want, but we are not completely independent.
The prophet Ezekiel was not independent, either. God told him that he had a responsibility to warn people about their sin. That was his job as prophet. He must preach the Law and tell people to repent. If he didn’t, then God will judge Ezekiel guilty of not doing his job and hold him responsible for the death of the sinners.
We might think, “I’m not a prophet, so that’s not my job.” True, maybe you are not a prophet or a pastor, but you are a Christian. God tells you, Christian, to love your neighbor. If our neighbor is stuck in sin and doesn’t believe in Jesus, and we say nothing and let them die and go to hell, is that love? No!
The loving thing to do is talk to them, warn them of their sin, and tell them about the freedom and forgiveness that Jesus gives us. We should not think we are independent and have no responsibilities. God saved us and gave us this wonderful news to share. He gave us this responsibility for our neighbor, to make sure they know about the salvation that God gives. Share His message with someone you know today!
