Watchmen Of Truth

 

The Truth is not in style, but we who are Christians, God's called-out ones, have a great deal of responsibility to the Truth. God didn't call us so we could live cushy lives, safe away from all the danger and persecution. He didn't call us so that we could be raptured away and never have to suffer; no, He called us for a purpose. 

What is this high purpose, this mission, that He has called us to? As I already said, we have a responsibility as God's children, which lies with the Truth. The Truth has gone out of style in modern years; in fact, it has never really been in style. The Truth makes people uncomfortable; it pricks their conscience and reveals that they have things that they need to change, things that they are doing wrong. The Truth makes waves and causes disruptions to the standard operations of society; it requires a change of practices and a rejection of lies. Even other Christians are made uncomfortable when someone speaks Truth that might make waves. 

There is only one Truth, and that is God's Truth. It's not my truth or your truth; it is the Truth. We find the Truth contained in God's Word, and God Himself is Truth. 

John 14:6 CSB — Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 17:17 CSB — “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

When we go looking for answers to our problems or to sort out false from the Truth, we always turn to the Bible, yet the Bible contains a lot of uncomfortable facts. Being gay is wrong, abortion is wrong, lying is wrong, charging interest is wrong, robbing the orphan and the widow is wrong, and the Sabbath must be kept. There are a lot more things than this in the Bible; all meant to show us the error of our ways! God, in His mercy, will send many warnings and give many chances for repentance before He destroys a society. How does He send these warnings? Well, one way is through disasters. The great disasters that fall on our world are warnings to turn and repent. 

Amos 3:6 CSB — If a ram’s horn is blown in a city, aren’t people afraid? If a disaster occurs in a city, hasn’t the LORD done it?

Many places in our nation are on fire, have seen terrible hurricanes or tornadoes, or have been shaken by severe earthquakes, yet it would be remiss of us to think that these places were any more evil than the rest of our society. Our entire society is evil, but these disasters are limited for now to serve as a warning for repentance. 

Luke 13:1-5 CSB — At that time, some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And he responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. “Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed ​— ​do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.”

God sends natural disasters as warnings, and He expects the world to repent. Just to make doubly sure they get the message, He also sends messengers to spread the message of the Truth and repentance. 

Amos 3:7-9 CSB — Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his counsel to his servants the prophets. A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who will not prophesy? Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt: Assemble on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great turmoil in the city and the acts of oppression within it.

Many think that the prophets are no more, that they are a thing of the past. Well, the prophets themselves may be a thing of the past, but their words and the message they had from God were recorded for us. God's prophets were His messengers, and they delivered His call for repentance. Our society is not different from the society they were preaching repentance in, for society and human nature never change. People can change, but unless an entire society turns back to God and repents, the society is doomed. Even so, in His mercy, God must give people an opportunity and send watchmen to warn them of the impending destruction. The message is the same as that which was preached so long ago.

We want to avoid making waves, so we soft-step around the Truth, and we try to avoid hurting people's feelings with it. It's easy to speak the Truth with strength and conviction from behind a keyboard; it's a lot harder when we get out in the real world, where people can yell at us, spit on us, or even strike us. We have a responsibility to the Truth as God's children. He is Truth, and as those seeking to be remade in His image, we must also be Truth! 

Ephesians 6:14 CSB — Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest,

The Truth is part of our armor, and it is our ally as long as we stay on the right side of it. It only poses a threat to those whose clothing is made up of lies and deceit. For those of us who embrace the Truth, it will set us free. It promises freedom for all those sucked in by the transgender lie, for all those duped by the evil of abortion, and for all those who believe that they are too far fallen to be redeemable by Christ. The Truth is good news and a healing balm for those who are broken and hurting! 

John 8:32 CSB — “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The Truth peels back the bandage of lies and exposes the wound to the air so that it can heal. We are bearers of the Truth, and we have a great deal of responsibility to speak the Truth to call out lies and call for repentance. God has His watchmen, but right now, most of His watchmen are too afraid to speak. Who are His watchmen? Why His children, of course. We are His watchmen, and we are responsible for speaking the Truth!

Ezekiel 33:2-6 CSB — “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them, ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman. “And suppose he sees the sword coming against the land and blows his trumpet to warn the people. “Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his death will be his own fault. “Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but ignored the warning, his death is his own fault. If he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. “However, suppose the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn’t blow the trumpet, so that the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives. Then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

Since we know the Truth, we have a responsibility to warn those who do not. Knowing the Truth, and being gifted with the Truth carries responsibility with it. 

Proverbs 24:11-12 CSB — Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, “But we didn’t know about this,” won’t he who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t he who protects your life know? Won’t he repay a person according to his work?

Worse than having someone else's blood on our own head, if we don't fulfill our responsibility, God will take away what He gave us and give it to someone else. This is exactly what happened with physical Israel. Just because He has promised us eternal life doesn't mean we can ignore our responsibility and still receive it. If our society repents, they can be saved from their destruction just as Nineveh was, and if we run from God, we will be destroyed with the rest of our society. 

Jeremiah 18:6-10 CSB — “House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? ” ​— ​this is the LORD’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel. “At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it. “However, if that nation about which I have made the announcement turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it. “At another time I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it. “However, if it does what is evil in my sight by not listening to me, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.

There comes a time when we must leave a society lest we be destroyed with it, yet for now, we are the watchmen of our society. Does that mean getting out and preaching from street corners? The Truth always makes waves, and no one likes waves, even the people of God. Even hearing that one of our brothers preached from a street corner makes us feel uncomfortable, and it makes us feel like rebuking him for doing something wrong. What did he do wrong? Where does this feeling come from in the first place, since spreading the Truth is part of our responsibility? 

"That's just not how God works anymore." I'm sure you've heard this or even thought this in connection with preaching from street corners or out in public. Well, says who? Those who speak the Truth are always looked down upon or looked at as religious quacks, even God's prophets in the Old Testament. The responsibility still stands. If you think God has called you out from behind the virtual city square to the real one to preach to the public, then you'd better do it. We are His watchmen, and we are His warriors because He has gifted us with the Truth, His Truth. There are many ways of speaking the Truth, and we will receive backlash for it; we might even lose our non-profit status, but we have a responsibility! We must preach the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, whether from the internet, from the pulpit, or from the street corner; we must warn people of the coming destruction. Discretion is required on our part, and we need to verify that we are being led by the Spirit when we go out to preach on street corners. Most importantly, we must not criticize our brethren for going out and preaching. We must trust that they are led by the Spirit of God. 

Remember, the Truth is vital, even if it's not in fashion. We must be aware that disaster is looming, and it's up to us to be vigilant and protect our society. As spiritual warriors, we have a responsibility to spread the uncomfortable truth and encourage those around us to seek repentance. Our world is in pain, and we have the solution. If we don't act, people will continue down a path of destruction. While we can't change others, we can certainly warn them and help steer them away from danger and back to God. We must strive to live in accordance with the Truth, even when it is difficult or unpopular. Our purpose is to shine the light of God's love and grace to those around us, even in the midst of their hatred. Let us embrace our responsibility with courage and faith, knowing that God is with us every step of the way. The Truth is worth fighting for.