It’s the divine mandate of those who hear and have God’s message to share it with our countrymen. As followers of Jesus, this of course means sharing the good news of the gospel: God’s love and forgiveness are freely available in Christ by grace. But it is also our divine mandate to share the bad news of immorality, selfishness and ungodliness: God’s wrath.
It is too easy for us to just share the popular side of God’s Holiness (His Love) without sharing the less popular side of His Holiness (His Justice). Too many churches have camped out only on the happy, inoffensive side of God’s message and His character. Too many Christians have forgotten what it means to be salt and light. We have neglected standing up for justice and righteousness. We have conveniently forgotten how God has judged nations throughout history for their neglect of goodness. We have shoved to the back of our minds the reality that our nations embrace wickedness in the name of liberty. We have chosen to ignore the truth that God is a God who is to be feared.
Believers, we are watchmen. Watchmen must speak the truth, whether popular or not. We must stand up for justice and truth. We are not responsible for the results. We cannot force others to listen and believe, but that does not negate our responsibility to speak the truth. If we do not warn our countrymen, however, then we do become responsible for the results! If we do not speak for what is right, blood will be on our hands.
Christians, we are grateful for God’s grace and His love. But are we fearful of His power, His might and His justice? We should be…we should be.
Once again a message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’ “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.” ~Ezekiel 33:1-9( NLT)
People cannot appreciate grace until they understand their depravity.