Blood On Our Hands

Acts 20:26b " I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

These passages are from Paul speaking to those in Ephesus before shipping off to Jerusalem.  What he says is profound!

First off he designates his purity, not that he is without sin, but after preaching to those in Asia they are responsible for their own life. Herein, the blood represents death, but it's more than that; it's spiritual death because our life here is inconsequential in the eternal scheme of things!

They have a choice to make as do everyone. Now that they have heard, Paul has done his job. He obeyed Jesus when he told them "go into the nations". If they choose wrongly Paul is not responsible for their eternal longevity. In effect by denying Christ as Savior their own "blood" is on their own hands. They in effect choose eternal death! If one hears and fails to accept, they die right there on the spot. No, they don't keel over and end it all, but their hope dies and they become spiritually dead.

Their epitaph would read "Because of pride for eternity I have died! Because their job they fail, is why I went to hell!". That's the exact spot that each person who fails to obey the call of the Holy Ghost is faced.  Paul had no blood on his hands because he told them what they had to do, and if you share the gospel there is no blood on your hands! Therein lies the problem: because we fail to tell others about the grace of Jesus we have blood on our hands. If one we failed to tell, dies without accepting Jesus, we are the ones who are guilty of their death!

What is our responsibility? As was Paul's we must  do as he said " I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. " (verse 27).  Paul faced the people. He declared unto them the will of God!  As overseers of the flock we are "to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood". (verse 28).

People are likened unto sheep, not in a physical sense, but a spiritual one. Sheep are easy to tend and offer no threat. They will never turn on their shepherd, so the owner should never fear. Likewise, people can never hurt you in a spiritual sense either. All you need do is lead them! Some will not follow, but as their overseer, you round them up to bring them to the fold. People are the same way! As their overseer, your job responsibility assigned to you by the Lord, is to tend the sheep!

As overseer you are to feed the church. The food is the word about grace and that Jesus redeemed those lost sheep by the shedding of his own blood. He died for you! He died for me!

There are wolves trying to destroy those sheep, and you, as overseer is to protect the flock from destruction. As the overseer you have two jobs: 1) gather the sheep and 2) keep the sheep from harm! If you fail to do either, you have their blood on your hands.

Let's say you pass a wandering sheep and fail to bring him in. Along comes a wolf who trips the sheep by his ankles, then he sinks his fangs into the flesh and that sheep bleeds to death. As the overseer it's the sheep's blood which is on your hands. You failed to do your job and death resulted!

The same is true with lost sheep; people who have yet to be brought into the flock. You can't shun your responsibility and walk on by. You must be pure to your job instructions and say "follow me!" this overseer who will lead you to Jesus.

There are three types of sins: 1) willful, 2) neglectful and 3) accidental. They are sins of commission (doing wrong) and omission (failing to do right).  By not declaring God's Word, it's the grievous sin of omission because you are neglectful in your job. As such, in the end, when your job appraisal is presented, there will be a demerit there: "You failed to tend my sheep. You shunned your job responsibility. The dead sheep's blood is on your hands!"

God is the judge.You will be guilty if you fail to do your job. You don't deserve eternal life. Whether you get it or not depends on God and his mercy! Your own spiritual condition is the deciding factor. It's not by what you do that you'll be judged, but if your heart is for Jesus. What should worry a person is "Is my heart on Jesus if I fail to tell others about him?" That worries me because I don't tell enough people. Their blood is on my hands!

Why am I writing this commentary? I must! If I fail to tell others about Jesus, their blood will be on my hands when they die spiritually. I can reach many by writing and sharing. That does not relieve me of telling people in person about Jesus. At times I shun that and have blood on my hands. That's something we all need to change! The church is dying because we're not doing our job and the blood of millions are on the hands of Christians!

The shepherd can't sleep at night fearing for his sheep if they are in danger. When one dies the peril keeps him alert. How can we Christians even sleep at night knowing that others are going to hell and we can lead them to safety? We each need to examine that. Most are guilty of shunning their duty.