In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed:
Once upon a time, there were two brothers. One grew up and took up farming. The other grew up and became a shepherd. When they went to church, the Lord was pleased with the shepherd’s offering because he gave gladly and willingly. But the Lord was not so happy with the farmer’s offering because it did not come from the heart.
Rather than look inward and recognize his own sin, the farmer became angry. In his mind, he had done what was required. He couldn’t help it if God was playing favorites. It wasn’t his fault. If anyone, his brother was to blame. The farmer was so filled with anger and resentment that he went out and killed his brother in cold blood.
By now, you probably recognize this story. It is the account of the world’s first murder, recorded in Genesis chapter four. A dangerous mixture of anger and jealousy led Cain to kill his brother Abel. God held Cain accountable for his actions. He demanded to know where Abel was.
Because Cain knew that he was guilty, he could only come up with a weak response: "I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?" (Ge. 4:9) Maybe God was too angry with Cain, maybe the question didn’t deserve a reply, maybe the answer was too obvious, but God never answered Cain’s question. Instead, God put Cain under a curse for the terrible thing he had done.
If you had to answer Cain’s question today, how would you respond? The Lord did not answer Cain directly, but he does address the question in other parts of Scripture. One of those passages is our text for this morning, taken from the book of the prophet Ezekiel. And God’s answer to that question is a resounding "YES." Christians ARE responsible for one another. God calls us to care for the physical needs of others. But more importantly, Christian love leads us to care for the spiritual welfare of fellow Christians. God’s words to Ezekiel clearly tell us that…
YOU ARE YOUR BROTHER’S KEEPER.
1. It is your responsibility to point out sin.
2. It is your privilege to point to the Savior.
The task that God had given to Ezekiel was not an easy one. God told him: "I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel." The problem was that the house of Israel was no longer in Israel. When God spoke these words, the Jews had already been crushed by the Babylonians. The country had been destroyed, and the people had been carried off into captivity. It was Ezekiel’s job as the prophet of these exiles to hold things together in Babylon. A small remnant of believers remained, people who still held out hope to return to Israel and re-establish the Jewish nation under God.
God had appointed Ezekiel to be their "watchman." This title has lost some of its significance for us today. But about 2,500 years ago, there was no such thing as radar. Bright lights did not line the city streets at night. Video surveillance technology was not available to catch everything on tape. The most advanced warning system was the watchman. His job was to scan the horizon from the highest point of the city. If he spotted any danger, approaching armies, wildfires, flashfloods, it was his responsibility to sound the alarm. It sounds pretty simplistic, but it usually worked. The watchman’s warning alerted the people in the area of any immediate danger.
Ezekiel was God’s spiritual watchman. Maybe the Jews were getting used to the lifestyle of the heathen people that surrounded them. Perhaps some of them were even participating in the wicked rituals of their heathen neighbors. It was Ezekiel’s responsibility to warn those people who were living comfortably in their sin. In other words, he was to preach the law.
Now you might be thinking: "O.K., I can understand that. God chose Ezekiel to warn the people. And I can even see the parallel today with our pastors. St. John’s has called two pastors to preach both law and gospel. But what does that have to do with me? The pastor is the shepherd. It is his responsibility to lead the flock."
This much is true, but it does not give us the complete picture. In the gospel lesson for today, Jesus said: If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens, you have won your brother over"(Mt 18:15). Jesus doesn’t say, "When you see a friend sinning, go and tell your pastor. He will know how to take care of it." He says: "You go. Share your concerns with him personally."
God entrusted Ezekiel with a serious responsibility, but God also stood by his side. He said: "I have made you a watchman…" When Ezekiel preached the law, he was only obeying God’s command. When he spoke as God’s messenger, he spoke with divine authority. God’s Word gives us the same assurance. God commands us to preach the law to impenitent sinners as long as they do not repent. When we do so, we are acting as God’s earthly representatives.
God’s command is clear. Some sinful acts are obvious, so obvious that even unbelievers will admit that they are wrong. For example, cheating is wrong. Stealing is wrong. Slander is wrong. So it should be no problem for us to recognize these sins and expose them. What about the student who sees another student cheating and says nothing? What about the Christian who sees a co-worker taking a few "small" items from work and looks the other way? What about the believer who does not spread gossip, but is more than willing to hear the latest?
James writes in his epistle: "Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins" (4:17). This passage draws our attention to sins of omission, when people fail to do what God commands. These sins are all too common, but they often go unnoticed because they can’t be seen. They are hard to measure. They may not be as visible as murder or adultery, but that does not make them acceptable.
Actually, sins of omission are extremely serious because they have eternal consequences, both for the one who fails to expose the sin and for the sinner he fails to warn. God told Ezekiel: "(If) you do not dissuade him from his ways, the wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood." God’s warning is loud and clear. We are responsible for one another. God will hold us personally accountable if we do not stand up for the truth.
Preaching the law is important work, but this work will not make us popular. In fact, we might be hated for it. People do not like to hear that they are wrong. They will not appreciate it when others try to rouse them from their spiritual slumber and apathy. The impenitent sinner may resent the person who warns them that God’s judgment is near. But that does not give us an excuse to give up on them.
Imagine that you are at the end of a long hard day. You can’t wait to go to bed. You know its going to be one of those nights when you fall asleep before your head hits the pillow. As you are resting peacefully, suddenly your deep sleep is interrupted by a loud noise. You go to the front door and see that your neighbor is pounding on your door for no apparent reason. How would you feel? A little annoyed? Angry? Enraged? All of the above?
Now replay the same scene, except this time your neighbor is also shouting. He tells you that a tornado is less than a mile away and that your family has only a few minutes to find shelter. Once you understand the reason for the disturbance, does your attitude change? How do you feel now? Relieved? Grateful? Lucky to have such a concerned neighbor?
When you are faced with a difficult situation, when you have to warn someone that their sin is putting them in danger (and you don’t know how they are going to react), remember the words of Jesus: "If he listens to you, you have won your brother over" (Mt 18:15). Whenever you have to condemn people for their sin, remember that you are acting in love. Your ultimate goal is to save their soul from death. God tells us that there is much rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. When your brother does repent, it is then your privilege to point him to the Savior.
When Ezekiel preached the law, God allowed him to see positive results. The people responded: "Our sins and offenses weigh us down and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?" This marks a drastic change in the attitude of the exiles. Only a few chapters before, they were willing to blame anyone but themselves. They blamed their parents and grandparents for causing their problems. They even blamed God himself, claiming that his ways were not just.
But notice the change of heart in the text. "OUR sins and OUR offenses weigh us down." The exiles had come to recognize their own sin because Ezekiel’s clear and consistent preaching touched their hearts. They knew that their situation had to change. The people were literally rotting away in their sins, and they were in desperate need of rescue. So they cried out to the Lord for help.
God’s answer was exactly what they needed to hear: "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord." The Lord took an oath on his own life that what he was about to say is true. As surely as the eternal God, the God without beginning and without end, lives, he said: "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live."
Here God’s gives us a glimpse of his divine will. God commanded Ezekiel to come down hard on the Jews with the threats of the law, but not because God enjoys watching people suffer. God hates sin, but he hates to see the death of sinners even more. God wants all people to believe and be saved. His plea comes from the heart: "Turn! Turn from your evil ways!"
The law is not an end in itself. It is only a means to an end. The law is necessary because it prepares people to hear the gospel. If people do not know they are totally corrupt, if they do not know that they deserve to die, they will never see the need to turn from their ways. But for the downtrodden sinner who understands that life apart from Lord is hopeless, these words offer a ray of hope.
When God addressed Ezekiel, he called him a "son of man." Actually, God used this title for Ezekiel throughout the book because he wanted Ezekiel to remember who was in control. As important as his calling was, Ezekiel the man was only a weak and fragile human being who needed constant support and encouragement.
But about six hundred years later, another "son of man" came on the scene. Jesus applied the same title, "Son of Man," to himself over eighty times in the gospels, but for a very different reason. Jesus was true God, but he was also true man. Jesus was the Son of Man, born with human flesh and blood.
The second Son of Man was nothing like the first. Ezekiel warned people about their sins. Jesus died to forgive their sins. Ezekiel was sinful, and he died because of his sin. Jesus was perfect, and he died to give sinners eternal life. Jesus came to be our Savior. It was Ezekiel’s privilege to direct God’s people to that Savior.
What Ezekiel saw coming in the distant future, we see clearly in God’s Word. God calls pastors and teachers to preach and teach in pulpits and classrooms, but he also calls all believers to share the good news. This is not our God-given right. It is our God-given privilege. It is our privilege to point people to the Savior and say, "He died for me, and he died for you too."
You are your brother’s keeper. This sermon theme is not meant to be a burden on your conscience. Think of it as a blessing. True, occasions may arise in your life when it will become necessary for you to warn someone that they are walking down a dangerous path. God has entrusted each one of us with that important responsibility. And we pray that God will use the law to lead people to see their sin and turn to God for forgiveness.
But keeping your brothers and sisters in Christ is so much more. We keep our brother when we pray for him. We keep our sister with a kind word of sympathy or encouragement. We keep one another when we join together in psalms and hymns of praise. We demonstrate our common bond of faith when we reaffirm the baptism of a new sister in Christ.
When you leave the church this morning, when you go to bed tonight, remember that you are surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters who want nothing more than to see your face in heaven. As we keep one another here on this earth, it is my prayer that the Lord will keep us to the end.
AMEN.