With Great Knowledge Comes Great Responsibility!

“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me (Ezekiel 33:7).”

I’m playing forward in a 2-3 zone defense for my basketball team. Basically, this means I’m playing near the rim, directly to the left of the center. The ball is passed by the offensive team to the right wing and our defense shifts that direction. Suddenly, an opponent cuts behind the back of the center so he can’t see what’s happening. “Backdoor!” I shout. “Weakside!” My shout gives the center warning and he turns around to defend his position. If I hadn’t spoken up, the offense would have had an easy layup in my teammate’s zone. It would have been his area, but I would have been responsible for not warning him. My knowledge becomes my responsibility!

As believers, God has given each of us knowledge of spiritual things. But, to borrow and adapt a phrase from the popular movie, with great knowledge comes great responsibility! He has set us apart and made us like watchmen, as He did Ezekiel. Imagine if a watchman in olden days knew that his city was about to be attacked and didn’t warn the army; he would have lost his life. A watchman has a job to do!

We have a divine responsibility. If we do not warn the wicked of their sins, their blood will be on our hands. If we do not warn our neighbor, our coworker, our loved ones, if we do not share the Gospel with them, if we do not share the message of God’s love and holiness and mercy, their blood will be on our hands.

We are not responsible for seeing people converted-rather, we are responsible to spread the message. The response of the person is out of our hands. If we faithfully witness to someone and they do not repent, we have absolved our responsibility. God has chosen each of us to spread His message to certain other people. If we do not do it, there is no guarantee that someone else will! We have a tremendous responsibility.

By virtue of our knowledge and the salvation we have received, we are “debtors” to all men (Romans 1:14). We owe them the truth. So let’s fulfill our mandate to the dying world. Reaching people is a command from God, so let’s act on it. Not just one time, but throughout our lives.