Acts 20:26 comments I am innocent of the blood of any of you.

The Apostle Paul understood completely his mission to tell others about God’s offer of a pardon to all of humanity through Jesus His Son for all the evil humanity has ever done against God. Paul remembered the warning God gave to the prophet Ezekiel about failure to not warn Israel of approaching judgment.

God intended to hold Ezekiel accountable for faithfully declaring His command to repent lest the people perish without opportunity to make amends with God. Paul understood that God, by entrusting His message to His people of forgiveness through Jesus, held the same expectations for Christians as He had for Ezekiel.

When God lived among us and established a new covenant He removed the old covenant with its distinction by tribe of those responsible for serving God. Under the new covenant all Christians are priests and therefore all Christians are responsible for declaring God’s message of reconciliation to the world.

Certainly God still chooses some to hold particular offices within the Church but every Christian is considered a part of the body of Christ that is to work together for one common purpose, the reconciliation of the world to God through Jesus Christ.

How much blood will be upon our hands among our family, friends and co-workers who die unreconciled to God because we did nothing to help them bridge the gap to God?

Paul believed strongly in the judgment to come, the sacrifice of God to eliminate human punishment and the work of God’s people to tell others these truths.

Do we believe a judgment is coming? Do we really believe some will spend eternity in hell? Do we believe we are responsible to help everyone we know make an informed decision about their eternal future?

God certainly believes all these things and has recorded them in His Word so that we too might believe and obey.