By: Scott Adkins, Sling ‘n Stone Ministry
Carter County Times
Last week, we urged folks to sorrow and weep for the lost. But sorrow and weeping, without more, won’t rescue the lost. Beloved, we also must warn them as God’s “watchmen on the wall.” Like watchmen on a wall, we see doom approaching from afar off. We see God’s approaching wrath and judgment. We know the sinners’ day of reckoning approaches (Revelation 20:11-15). Knowing that, we weep. But we must also warn sinners to repent (Ezekiel 3:18-19; 33:1-9).
Before the Lord came, He sent John the Baptist to prepare His way. How? The Baptist preached repentance: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits worth of repentance” (Luke 3:7-8). John didn’t discriminate. He fearlessly warned both commoners and kings alike to repent (Luke 3:19). John’s warning of King Herod even cost John his head (Matthew 14:1-11).
Before the Lord wept over Jerusalem, He warned: “Repent, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). The Lord repeated that warning throughout His earthly ministry: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). The Lord ended His earthly ministry by instructing His disciples to keep warning folks. To that end, the last thing Jesus said before He left was: “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations,” (Luke 24:47), and that we everywhere be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). Then, He left (Acts 1:11).
Faithful to the Lord’s last instruction, the Apostles stood in streets and churches, warning everyone: “Repent ye…and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Doing so costs many their lives. Jesus honored His “faithful martyr Antipas” (Revelation 2:13). Church tradition honors Smyrna’s Bishop Polycarp. In 155 A.D., Polycarp stood in Smyrna’s arena and warned both Smyrna and its Roman governor to repent lest they burn forever – right before Smyrna burnt Polycarp alive. This writer honors one humble saint known to few, Carl Frank. In 1995, Carl sat in his hospital room’s wheelchair, begging an atheist to repent. Then, Jesus called Carl home mid-sentence. Faithful to the end, Carl literally spent his last breath warning an atheist to repent and believe the Gospel. Might we all go home to meet Jesus like Carl Frank went!
We must follow these examples. We must busy ourselves warning “all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). If we do not warn the lost, we will give account to God (Luke 12:47). He will require their blood at our hand (Ezekiel 3:18). If we do not warn the lost, they will suffer God’s eternal wrath. But beloved, they need not so suffer, if we will but warn them: “Repent, and believe the Gospel…lest ye perish” (Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3). Do not we owe at least that much to Him who “loved us and washed us from our sins in His Own blood,” (Revelation 1:5)? Do we not owe that much to those we say we love? We do. So, warn, we must.
Contact us at news@cartercountytimes.com
