DAILY BIBLE READING: Ezekiel 3, 4; Hebrews 11: 21-40
TEXT: Ezekiel 3:20
“Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because thou has not given him warning, he shall die in his sin and his righteousness which he hath done will not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand”. Ezekiel 3:20 (KJV)
Today, more than ever, we need the word of God that comes from His servant. There is the usual thought that “I am saved, preach to the sinner” but today more than ever, we need to pay heed to the word of God that He sends to us through His servant. Also, we need to as Christians, speak the word of God to other Christians! We cannot assume that God’s word is only for the lost, it is also for the saved and we must diligently speak it to the righteous without fear or dilution.
I can imagine Prophet Ezekiel wondering when God spoke these words to him “…If Thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous man sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also, thou hast delivered thy soul…” Ezekiel 3:21. These words were to the righteous man, that he may not sin. I can imagine how important those words might be for a righteous man at the threshold of sin. God goes further by saying that the messenger saves his own soul by delivering the message which he is sent. Not only does he save the righteous from certain death, his obedience to speaking God’s word is also salvation for his own soul.
In that same chapter, a few verses prior, God had spoken to the Prophet about correctly warning the wicked to turn from wickedness, I have refrained from focusing on that because, that is what we all do! It is so easy to neglect the seemingly righteous when there is a word of warning from sin. We wonder, ‘how do I tell this fervent brother that has been really generous that the Lord needs him to be careful of greed…’ that is why it is really important that we pay careful attention to this topic. That Righteous person needs the word as much as the seemingly sinful person. It is easier to fall while standing than it is to fall when one is already on the ground. We remember the scriptures say to us that “…Let him that thinketh that he stands take heed, lest he falls…” 1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV).
Speaking God’s word to that righteous brother is a way to help him ‘take heed’. When we speak God’s words to those he sends us to, we don’t just save them, we are also saving our very souls as this scripture clearly points out. There is no greater reward than knowing that by sheer obedience, we saved a soul from certain destruction.
Prayer: Oh Lord, help me to be courageous in dispensing your truth even to the righteous. Let me not because of fear dilute the concentration of your word to those who are seemingly righteous.
Rev. Julius Oluwole