Rev. David Holwick Y (adaptation of Serm02zk.pco)
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 29, 2012
Ezekiel 3:17-27
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I. Are Christians under attack, or doing the attacking?
A. We live in a period known as the "Culture Wars."
1) As America becomes more polarized, there is less middle
ground; everyone seems to be at the extremes.
2) Perhaps we are not really that divided, but the media
makes its hay by encouraging conflict.
B. The latest brouhaha - the Chicken Sandwich War.
1) The chief executive officer of a fast food chicken chain
made a controversial statement recently.
Chick-fil-A's Dan Cathy was asked by a Baptist news outlet
about his company's support of traditional marriage.
Dan replied, "Well, guilty as charged."
He continued:
"We are very much supportive of the family - the biblical
definition of the family unit.
We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and
we are married to our first wives.
We give God thanks for that. ... We want to do anything we
possibly can to strengthen families.
We are very much committed to that." [1]
2) Note that he didn't put down any other groups or use harsh
language.
He didn't even explicitly mention homosexual marriage,
though there is no doubt he's alluding to it.
(If anything, he seems to be coming out against divorce.)
Yet he's now being called a bigot and hater.
The mayors of Boston, San Francisco and Chicago have said
they are going to try to ban the restaurants from their
cities.
Even the ACLU says this violates Chick-fil-A's right to
freedom of speech.
3) Dan Cathy has been unrepentant.
"We intend to stay the course," he said.
"We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but
thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share
our values and operate on biblical principles."
Among those values - they close their restaurants on Sunday.
C. Christian opinions can get you in trouble.
1) Some believers keep their thoughts to themselves.
2) Others jump in feet first and make their views widely known.
3) What does God want us to do?
II. Ezekiel was the ultimate scold.
A. God gave him a very unpopular mission.
1) God describes Ezekiel's audience as thorns and scorpions
and warns him not to be terrified of them. 2:6
2) The symbolic scroll he was told to eat contained nothing
but lament and mourning and woe. 2:10
B. Ezekiel's task was to be a watchman. 3:17
1) These were the people who stood on the city walls and
watched for invading armies outside, or riots inside.
2) They were responsible for giving a warning so the city
would stay safe.
3) In Ezekiel's case, he is warning the nation of
moral and spiritual dangers.
a) And it is not just to the "nation" - individuals
will be the focus of his ministry. 3:18
b) That has always been the case - nations are
just collections of people.
C. The warning was more than a press release.
1) God wanted him to be persuasive. 3:18
2) The goal is to encourage people to change their ways.
3) It is aimed at both believers and unbelievers.
III. A lot was at stake.
A. The prophet announces certain death. 3:18
1) This should be understood in light of the religious
system (covenant) God set up with Moses. (Alexander)
a) This covenant was a guide on how to live for those
who already had a faith-based relationship with God.
b) Disobedience could lead to a shortened life, or even
immediate death.
2) Eternal life as Christians understand it was not the issue.
B. Christians have often expanded the meaning of this passage.
1) We give it an eternal perspective: "You will die" becomes
"you will lose out on salvation."
2) The Apostle Paul understood it this way.
In Acts 20:26 he declares he is innocent of the blood of
all men.
This is because his ministry had proclaimed the whole will
of God to his audiences.
If they didn't get to heaven, it wasn't Paul's fault.
C. Do we still believe this?
Some time ago an 18-year-old girl from Washington state
attended a worship service.
For the first time in her life she heard the gospel message.
The following Tuesday the members of the church received
a letter from her which read:
Dear Church members:
Last Sunday I attended your church, and I heard the preacher.
In the sermon the preacher said that all men have sinned
and rebelled against God.
Because of their rebellion and disobedience they all face
eternal damnation and separation from God.
But then he also said God loved people and sent his Son,
Jesus Christ, into the world to redeem people from
their sins and that all those who believe in him
would go to heaven and live with God eternally.
My parents recently died in rapid succession.
I know they did not believe in Jesus Christ, whom you call
the Savior of the world.
If what you believe is true, they are damned.
You compel me to believe that either the message is
true, that you yourselves don't believe this message,
or that you don't care.
You see, we live only three blocks from your church, and
no one ever told us. #34830
1) Many non-Christians are bothered by our attitudes toward
them.
a) A recent Huffington Post story criticized some churches
for taking advantage of the Aurora atrocity. [2]
b) These pastors stressed that not all the victims were
in heaven.
c) Theologically this may be true, but it strikes people
as crass exploitation of a tragic event.
2) It is not enough to warn people of eternal consequences.
a) Are we helping them choose the right way?
b) Are we living a life that they would find appealing, that
really seems like the vibrant life Jesus talked about?
IV. Scolds have never been popular.
A. Most of us would rather not call others to task.
1) What business is it of ours?
2) The Bible says we have an obligation because we are all
connected - we are our brother's keeper. Gen 4
a) We can give them insight they may miss on their own.
1> "My life is a mess - why?"
2> We can offer insight from the Bible on lifestyle
choices.
b) But this does not mean we have to be obnoxious.
1> It is not our job to condemn people.
2> We just have to let them know what is at stake.
B. What Ezekiel was not required to do.
1) He was not required to get results.
a) As a matter of fact, God seemed to expect the prophet
to be rejected.
b) It was only after appalling violence had decimated the
nation of Israel that they would pay attention to
Ezekiel.
2) What people do with our warnings is their business.
a) They have a responsibility to repent.
b) God calls us all to turn and live.
c) He doesn't want anyone to be ruined or destroyed.
V. Ezekiel's message still stands.
A. Are you living in a way that honors God?
1) "Evil ways" covers a lot of territory.
2) Are you doing anything that is separating you from God?
B. Are you concerned about the fate of others?
1) Most of us have family members, friends, or co-workers who
are living godless lifestyles.
2) Will their blood be on our hands?
a) It is often something we put off until "later."
b) If you want them to live forever, make sure of their
spiritual commitment.
Ron Hutchcraft has written:
You and I are the watchmen on the wall for the people around us
who do not yet understand the eternal consequences of running
their own lives.
The Bible leaves no doubt that the people we know who have never
grabbed Jesus as their personal Rescuer have no hope of heaven.
They are, in God's words,
"being led away to death," (Prov 24:11)
"without hope and without God," (Eph 2:12)
and will be "shut out from the presence of the Lord" (2 Th 1:9)
if they die without Christ.
And you have the information that can save their life forever.
Have you told them?
It's very sobering to put the name of a lost person you care
about in that statement from Ezekiel -
"When you do not speak out to dissuade ___________ (put their name
in there) from his ways, then ____________ (there's that name
again) will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable
for his blood."
Your mission is nothing less than life-or-death. #18002
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] “'Guilty as charged,' Cathy says of Chick-fil-A's stand on biblical &
family values,” by K. Allan Blume of the Biblical Recorder,
<http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38271 >, July 16, 2012.
[2] “Jerry Newcombe, Evangelical Leader, Says Only Christian Victims of
Colorado Shooting Going To Heaven,” <http://www.huffingtonpost.com
/2012/07/22/jerry-newcombe-hell_n_1692859.html>, July 22, 2012.
#18002 "Posted To Warn Them," by Ron Hutchcraft, A Word With You #4086;
September 9, 2002.
#34830 “No One Ever Told Us,” Richard G. Wimer, Wit And Wisdom at
<http://www.witandwisdom.org>, September 27, 2007.
Original source appears to be SermonCentral.com.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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