Saturday after the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 8, 2022 by under
Scripture: Ezekiel 3:17-21 (NKJV)
3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
Devotion
The preacher’s vocation is to speak the truth. The hearer’s is to believe it and repent of one’s sins. It is not the preacher’s vocation to force someone to the truth, but only to speak it fully. The Augsburg Confession teaches, “to those to whom has been committed the ministry of the Word and the sacraments, no jurisdiction belongs, except to forgive sins, to discern doctrine, to reject doctrines contrary to the Gospel, and to exclude from the communion of the Church wicked men … and this without human force, simply by the Word” (Article 28.21). The minister’s tool is the Word of God. As long as the minister does his duty according to the Gospel, it is the hearer’s duty to obey him and to repent in faith. However, if one knows the truth and chooses to ignore it, he is responsible for his sin; no one else is.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the true Watchman, as well as the Truth that the watchmen speak. Those who hear the minister hear the Christ. Those who hear the Christ hear God. And God warns that all sin must be punished. Now, the Christ was punished for all sin on the cross. Those who believe Him and repent have nothing to fear; their punishment has been paid. Those who reject the Christ must pay their own penalty.
Prayer: Lord, we pray Thee, that Thy grace may always go before and follow after us, and make us continually given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
