My Responsibility

Ezekiel 3

16 After seven days the LORD gave me a message. He said, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. 18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.
20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

Ezekiel is given a heavy burden. He is to proclaim the Word of the Lord, and if he fails to do so properly and people die, their deaths will be upon his head. Hmmm. Reminds me of what James writes in the third chapter of his letter:

1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

It is a sobering reminder of my responsibility as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.