“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)
“Evangelism is one of the primary missions of the Church. We are each called to be watchmen, to sound the warning to the lost, to share the gospel with them. In this passage in Ezekiel we see the urgency for spreading the gospel to everyone. And that urgency has to do with the consequences that will befall the people we neglect or who we reject: the torments of Hell for all eternity. A lot of people, even many who call themselves Christian do not like to think about Hell. Some may even think that there’s no such thing. Hell is only a story, a fairy tale meant to frighten kids so they will mind their manners and obey their parents. Or you might say as many Christians and people in the world say “God is so forgiving that He would never send anyone to Hell”.
This attitude of denial is quite common in our culture. Everyone likes to think that their deceased loved ones are all in heaven. This is especially true when the loved one is a child or is someone who has died tragically in a car accident or terrorist bombing or at the hands of a psychopathic killer. Naturally we like to think that the loved one, the innocent person has gone to heaven simply because of the violent, unexpected and tragic way they died. But the truth is we just do not know. It may comfort and help us to think this so we can go on, but we just do not know and the alternative is really very scary and disheartening. No one knows what is in store for those who do not have faith in Jesus. Who knows that maybe the person you greet this afternoon at the supermarket or in the restaurant might not be plunged into Hell before tomorrow morning. It is vital that we carry out the great commission and bring the gospel to the lost before it is too late.
I can’t think of anyone I would like to see go to Hell not even my worst enemy. I hope this is true of you. We who know the truth, we who see the danger are called to try to prevent anyone from going to Hell. We are the watchmen who must sound the alarm. We must go and preach salvation in Jesus Christ to the lost, in word and deed regardless of what they make think say or do to us, regardless of any discomfort it may cause us, or how foolish it looks. If we don’t go out and witness to the gospel to others, their discomfort will be far greater than any we could experience and it will be without end. If they choose to reject God, let it not be because we failed to carry out the warning.