“When I say to a wicked man ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” – Ezekiel 3:18

Ezekiel has been speaking about how a watchman’s duty is to warn the people and the people’s duty is to listen to the warning. We are unable to make a sinner repent, but can only warn of the judgement in store for those who insist on living in rebellion against God.

People without the Lord are lost.
Those without Christ are not only sinners, for all have come short of God’s glory, but are lost and doomed to an eternity of punishment.

God commands Christians to care.
The NT counterpart to Ezekiel’s figure of speech is that of the Christian going out to witness about the work of Christ and the necessity for people to repent. To do this, we must have the kind of compassion Jesus had when he looked at the multitudes and saw them as sheep without a shepherd.

Of course the job is a big job. A discouraged person of another century asked the Duke of Wellington, “Are Christians really obligated to tell the message of Christ to all the world?” The Duke replied, “What were the marching orders of your commander?” The man replied, “He told us to take the message to everyone.” The Duke then responded, “If those are the marching orders of your Commander, you have no alternative.”

To be indifferent to the spiritual needs of others and fail to tell them the gospel story is a serious thing. The NT is not clear as to how far God would go in requiring a lost person’s blood at our hands, but no Christian should want to bear that responsibility.

While emphasizing the seriousness of failing to witness, we should also stress the delight and joy that come in seeing those we have introduced to Christ blossoming into full-grown Christians. Let us be good watchmen and accept our responsibility.