“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.” (Ezekiel 33:7-9)
The words the Lord spoke through Ezekiel the prophet regarding the watchman indicate thatHe has always made His will known. Therefore, the Lord cannot be accused and maligned as unjust or unfair for carrying out His judgment on Jerusalem or on anyone else for that matter. The Lord extended mercy to the people of Jerusalem and to Israel many times. He had sent several warnings to those living in Judah and in exile in Babylon. They had been warned repeatedly of the dire consequences of their rebellion and idolatry. The Lord, through His watchman, had called them to repentance. Nevertheless, they ignored all these warnings and continued to live in sinful self-indulgence. As a result, they brought on themselves all the loss and suffering they experienced.
Today the Church that Jesus established is the appointed watchman of the Lord. We are called to tell all people of His will, His judgment, His mercy, and salvation found only in Jesus. While it is true that the church today is functioning imperfectly in this capacity, the Holy Spirit is not. He continues to use the people of God in various ways to proclaim His grace and law.
The word the watchman brings is that all people are to blame for their own sins and their consequences. These consequences include the chaos, violence, and incivility that plagues our nation and our entire world. Sin produces financial loss, broken families, drug addiction, mental instability, criminal behavior, sickness, and death.
Many have decided that someone else is to blame for all their misfortunes, a view that appears to be popular these days with the strident denunciations of systemic racism. Racism is not the issue: sin is. Many times people blame God for their punishment as if it were undeserved. While it is true that suffering is not always the result of personal sin, all suffering is, ultimately, attributable to sin, the sin in the world as a result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
We as, the watchman, proclaim that all are sinners in need of a Savior. We speak the truth, the gospel that tells of the mercy of God and works to lead sinners to Him.