Ezekiel 3: The Heavy Responsibility Of A Prophet

Being a "man of God" comes with a difficult responsibility.  The words that the Lord lays upon His servant's heart must be dispensed.  To withhold saying something that we know God has given us makes us culpable in others' sin and liable for their spiritual health.  So, even if we face rejection by man, it is better to offend people than God!

Here is how the Lord explains the situation to Ezekiel:

"Mortal, I have made you a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.  If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give them no warning, or speak to warn the wicked from their wicked way, in order to save their life, those wicked persons shall die for their iniquity; but their blood I will require at your hand.  But if you warn the wicked, and they do not turn from their wickedness, or from their wicked way, they shall die for their iniquity; but you will have saved your life.  Again, if the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before them, they shall die; because you have not warned them, they shall die for their sin, and their righteous deeds that they have done shall not be remembered; but their blood I will require at your hand.  If, however, you warn the righteous not to sin, and they do not sin, they shall surely live, because they took warning; and you will have saved your life" (vs. 17-21).

Sometimes people believe that a pastor or preacher delights in having to share a convicting word, as if it were our idea.  When we point out the dangers of a specific sin or talk about the certainty of God's judgment on sinners, we may be accused of being hateful.  However, this is a case of shooting the messenger!  We are responsible to dispense what we have been given.  We are not free to change the Word of God (which for us is revealed in scripture.)  We are not even free to ignore it.  Those who utter the words of God are required to speak - to both the sinners and the righteous - with what the Lord has given us to say.  Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

So the next time a preacher says something you vehemently disagree with, ask yourself: is that merely the pastor's word on it, or is he or she legitimately speaking the words that God gave?  That can make all the difference in the world!