“His Blood will I require at thine Hand”...the Wayfarer 1/19/14

“His Blood will I require at thine Hand”
1/19/14

“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

(Ezekiel 3:18)

Though it was my intent to return once more to the promises, and the warm fuzzy side of that which I preach for today’s dissertation, I find I was drawn once more to the warnings given, through the words of another old prophet, that are far from that warm fuzzy, but insist on reminding of responsibility instead, as have the past two messages given.

Like most, I bask in the warmth of the promises, and that love, that is available, the comfort of the security of those promises, and that love, both for myself and for those I attempt to influence.

I find, however, the necessity to return to the reminder of the requirement that must be met, in order to enjoy that promised love, and that warm fuzzy sought by most when searching the scripture for guidance.

As was Ezekiel, all Christians, who have truly accepted the minimum requirement of repentance, in return for the redemption of a soul destined for death and damnation if that repentance is not given, there is also a requirement given, through the Great Commission, to share the gift of that redemption with all we come into contact with.

This constitutes a necessity, not only to defend your own faith, as was the primary premise of the last of these dissertations, but also to take responsibility to extend the warnings, and rebuke, and the possibility of those promises, and that love to others as well.

This must be done carefully, with love, not judgmental attitude, nor with condemnation, given by you, but instead, with the condemnation of God himself alone, and is indeed a requirement for all of us professing Christianity.

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest them not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him; warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.”


(Ezekiel 3:17-21)

We are indeed our brother’s keeper! We have all been made watchmen, with a need to be alert and ready, to assist in the preservation of the true faith, and the need to assure that what is taken for doctrine is only the doctrine taught by Christ Jesus himself! 

This is why the need for Fellowship with other believers is critical to our own faith, and growth in that faith.

False doctrine abounds, preaching only that warm fuzzy, and that all is right with the world once you have accepted Jesus as intercessor; that sin is easily overcome, or no longer exists, once that step has been taken.

Paul himself lamented the fact that he too had failures, and stated that those failures were of the corrupt body inhabited, and not of the soul itself, but was still failure that required repentance.

Jesus warned us of offenses to come, and gave warning to those from whom they came. 

“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Woe unto the world, because of offenses! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence commeth.”

(Matthew 18:1-7)

Warnings that are to be given must be given through the teachings given.

Those teachings are absorbed, and are, in turn, clung to, throughout life by our children. 

If we fail to teach, we fail to warn!

Each person we come into contact with is, in the context of God’s opinion, a child.

How we treat God’s children determines the success or failure of our responsibility to assure that warning, and proof of love is given, whether accepted or not.

Any preaching only condemnation, without including the promise of God’s mercy and love, and the salvation and redemption available, will chase that child away from the possibility of ever comprehending and accepting that love. This constitutes an offense against that child, and against God himself!

A child is innocent when born, and grows and learns as life progresses.

It is either nurtured, and learns moral integrity, and familial love, or it learns that there is no such thing as love, and that we are merely animals, on our own, able to satisfy needs and lusts, only through strength or deception, and that the desires of the heart are to be found only in the material things of this world.

 It learns this from parents, and all others that are in contact with it in the formative years.

The same is true of those to whom we witness or fail to witness. They also, either see the love, and the benefits of having Jesus and his teachings in their hearts, or they see the falsehood of saying one thing and doing another, and the condemnation of the self-righteous who so loudly give that condemnation instead of the required love.

We are indeed our brother’s keeper, and must remember that fact in what is said and done.

Again, I encourage the reader to read Matthew in particular, and all of the gospels, to know and understand the things taught by Jesus.

I also encourage a search of all the scripture to see the interrelationship and unity that exists from the front cover of our bible to the back cover of it.

I caution all to take the totality of that scripture, and those teachings to heart in the actual context in which they are given, rather than listen to any who would change the meaning, by removing that context, to promote any other agenda than that of my Lord…that of the possibility and fact of redemption through repentance.

I close once more, preaching both the warning required, and the love that is promised, the life eternal that is promised, that warm fuzzy sought, but only available to those meeting that requirement of redemption through repentance.

I remain, as always, that same flawed human being, poor simple sinner, but a sinner saved by grace through faith in my savior, having long ago accepted that requirement for redemption through repentance, and continuing to practice that repentance daily, knowing that as long as I exist in this corrupt body the requirement for that repentance continues.

 I also remain the adamant advocate and soldier in the service of my Lord, continuing to search for any and all ways to better serve, until I find the perfection of that service through the exchange of this body for the promised incorruptible one yet to come.

2 Timothy 1:12 ¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer