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Our Responsibility To Warn Others Ezekiel 3.17-21 Introduction:
How many times have we seen a family or individual on television speaking about
some personal tragedy? When asked
why they are telling their story they explain, “We just want to warn others so
they won’t go through what we have gone through.”
It is admirable but often time consuming and uncomfortable to warn
others. I)
Passages A)
Ezekiel 3.20-21 1.
The intention of the warning is to save the soul of the one in sin 2.
Also to save the soul of the one giving the warning by rendering obedience to
God. This idea should not be lost on
us as we often feel deflated if others do not listen to our warnings. B)
Ezekiel 33.7-16 1.
Verses 7-9 a.
Ezekiel is in the place of a “watchman” placed there by God and not personal
choice. b.
Duty to warn as instructed by God, it is His word c.
The warning is the key and not the result.
We often are afraid they may get mad but we should be concerned about our
obedience to God. C)
New Testament 1.
Acts 20 the warning to the elders of 2.
1 Corinthians 4.4 as my beloved
children I warned you 3.
1 Corinthians 9.16 Paul’s sense of
responsibility of preaching the Gospel was what motivated him to endure
persecution and rejection. 4.
1 Thessalonians 5.14 “warn those
who are unruly” II)
Two Examples A)
Galatians 2.11.12 Paul rebuking Peter 1.
Peter knew the Gentiles were accepted by God, Acts
10.34-35 2.
Paul rebuked him because he knew better. 3.
There are times we need to rebuke those that make the choice to sin. B)
Acts 18.24-26 Priscilla and 1.
His problem was ignorance, he did not know about the Holy Spirit.
Priscilla and 2.
Sometimes people are sincere but lack knowledge.
A new convert that takes the name of God in vain, purchasing a lottery
ticket, drinking alcohol, etc. C)
Lessons 1.
We must use discretion in correcting a person, Galatians
6.1ff 2.
In order to be effective it needs to be timely.
In the parables of the lost in Luke 15 I noticed a sense of urgency; the
shepherd with the lost sheep would not wait a long time to search for the lamb,
the woman with the lost coin searched “carefully.” a.
How long between Peter’s hypocrisy and Paul’s correction?
b.
How long did c.
When looking for something that is lost I find it best to look right away and
not some time later. III)
Application A)
All of us have the responsibility to warn others 1.
The sinner needs to be warned of the future judgment of God, Acts 2.40 2.
Our children need to be taught God’s law and judgment a.
Part of parenting is instructing and disciplining b.
To make sure they know what is right and wrong 3.
To warn our brothers and sisters in Christ a.
The soul that sins shall die, Ezekiel
18.20;Exodus 32.33 b.
Some sin out of ignorance and they need teaching c.
Some sin out of weakness and they need encouragement d.
Some sin out of rebellion and they need rebuking B)
Hindrances 1.
Not want to get involved, Ezekiel 3.20-21 a.
We can not pick and choose which commandments we want to obey b.
Don’t try to shirk your responsibilities by going to someone else.
If you know of someone doing something they should not you should go to
them. It is time to “man up” and
do your duty. c.
Some people will go to the preacher, another Christian, or the elders instead of
doing their duty. Passages such as Matthew
5.22-26; 18.15-17 places the first responsibility on the individuals
involved. 2.
Political correctness, Jeremiah
1.10,17,19 a.
Sin needs to be called sin and sin needs to be treated as sin.
b.
Have we become so politically correct that we can not bear to tell someone they
are doing wrong? 3.
Don’t want to make people mad. a.
Often the rest of talking to someone is anger and rejection. That
is what Jeremiah faced and what we will face most of the time. b.
After a while the other person may think about it and realize they were wrong
and you were right. In which case
you will have helped to save their soul. James
5.19-20 c.
In some cases the person may never talk to you again or never be as friendly but
you will have done your duty. James 4.17.
C)
Results of not fulfilling our duty to warn 1.
The lost will remain lost; not the lost will be saved. 2.
We will lose our children if we do not warn them of the consequences of sin. 3.
We will lose our brethren as they off into sin 4.
We will lose our soul. D)
Results of fulfilling our duty to warn 1.
The lost may be saved 2.
We will have taught our children 3.
We have gained our brother/sister 4.
We will have saved our soul Conclusion:
How badly do we want to see heaven? How badly do we want others to go to heaven?
If we want it badly enough we will do what God says.
We will obey the will of God and be baptized into Christ, we will worship
Him in spirit and truth, we will live godly lives, and we will do all our duty
before Him. |