Pastoral Ministry and Being Innocent of the Blood of All Men
The prophet Ezekiel warned of the blood guilt for those who did not warn the ignorant of the judgment of God (Ezek 3, 33). The watchman on the wall is the man of God, who heralds to the townsfolk inside the walls of a city, when he sees danger looming. His clarion call must make a sure sound. His voice must trumpet the true and pressing news.
As the Apostle Paul departed for Jerusalem and the high feast holidays, He summoned the elders from Ephesus to Miletus in the spring of A.D. 57. His farewell speech to them is instructive for pastoral ministry (Acts 20:17–38). Paul recounted who he was, that is, his character while among them. He also recounted how he had worked hard for them during his three year stay in that important Roman city. Let us consider his message to the elders.
First, Paul suffered the subterfuge of the Jews. Pastors must serve the Lord, while men plot their demise (Acts 20:19). The devil hates the Gospel and wishes for it to be diluted, distracted, or entirely devoid of true content.
Paul gave witness that the Holy Spirit was ever warning him that bonds and affliction awaited him in every city (Acts 20:23). This will be true for all faithful men of God. Why is this reality for Gospel minsters?
Spiritual warfare is real (Eph 6:10–20; 1 Jn 3:8). The war for truth requires approved workmen (2 Tim 2:15), who are unashamedly able to wield the sword of the Spirit (Bible), as an entrusted stewardship (1 Cor 9:17). This means that when the Holy Spirit appoints the elders in the church (Acts 20:28), they must be qualified men of God (1 Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9), who are apt to teach (1 Tim 3:2; 2 Tim 2:2, 24; Titus 1:9). This is the work of the pastor, both publicly and house to house (20:26).
Second, the suffering servant must not shrink from declaring the whole purpose of God (Acts 20:27). This means the shepherd of the church of God will testify solemnly of the Gospel of the grace of God (20:24). He will preach the kingdom (20:25), toward the end goal of repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (20:21). This is what is profitable to his hearers (20:20).
The kingdom and its purpose is to bring glory to God. King Jesus is laying claim to what belongs to Him (1 Cor 3:23). The devil is a thief and a liar, who has made off with Christ’s sheep. Jesus came to save His people from the clutches of sin and Satan (Mt 1:21).
The way of God’s salvation for His chosen people, the Israel of God (Is 49:1–6; Gal 6:16), is for Christ to purchase them back (redemption) with His own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; Eph 1:7). Thus, we preach Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 1:23; 2:2). Because He, being the Gospel, is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16–17), it is the wisdom of God to proclaim the Word of His grace toward ungodly sinners (1 Cor 1:24). Those appointed to eternal life (Acts 13:48) will hear the Word of truth and believe it (Rom 10:17), as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts to respond to the Good News (Acts 16:14).
Third, to preach the blood of Christ means the preacher is innocent of the blood of all men. It is appointed once for a man to die, and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27). Everyone must appear before the great white throne of God, that is, the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:20; Rev 20:11). We must all give an account, and the judgment will only be commendation or condemnation.
The unelect, unredeemed, unregenerate reprobate will have to pay for his sins committed against God. His blood will be upon his own head. This simply means he is the responsible party. The wages of sin is death (Rom 3:23), and the infinite offense against the majesty of God warrants the eternal punishment of the second death, the lake of fire (Mt 25:41, 46; Jude 7; Rev 20:14–15).
The preacher is free of the blood of all men, when he warns them of the wrath to come (1 Thess 1:10). He must teach the whole counsel of God, found in the whole canon of Scripture. The centerpiece of his Gospel must always be the death of Christ (1 Cor 15:3–4), for God’s elect are justified by His blood (Rom 5:9). The death of Christ is God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:18–20), that is, people from every nation, tribe, and tongue (Rev 5:9; 7:9).
Fourth, this ministry of service, suffering, and solemn testifying is received from the Lord (20:24). This means the whole of the pastoral ministry experience is decreed, according to God’s eternal good pleasure, in every case.
Jesus chose a rather motley crew to be his disciples, just as the prophets before them were varied in personality and gifting. The place and the situations will also vary, but it is essential for the man of God to maintain this perspective. He must not consider his own life dear to himself (20:24). In other words, he must take up his cross and follow Jesus (Mt 10:38; 16:24), in the way of suffering (Col 1:24), for the sake of this glorious Gospel. He must fulfill his ministry (Col 4:17; 2 Tim 4:5).
Finally, the legacy of a pulpit or a congregation is not guaranteed to remain faithful. Savage wolves are ever roaming to get a stronghold in the congregation to pervert sound doctrine. The next generation of pastor and congregation must be diligent to maintain their first love (Gospel of Christ), while remaining vigilant with instruction, reproof, and rebuke (2 Tim 3:16). They must resist the devil in the same manner as our Lord (Jas 4:7) — with the Word of God, which is able to build up its hearers and to give them the inheritance that belongs to them (20:32), by His grace.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
May 21, 2022
