SR • July/August 2015
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job was to warn of impending danger. The nation was
doomed, and only through heeding their watchman
could they survive. Chapters 4-24 of Ezekiel contain his
cry of alarm, which gave those outside the walls oppor-
tunity to seek protection. It also gave the people time to
secure the gates and man the defenses. The death
spoken of in Ezekiel 3:18-19 is physical, not spiritual.
The context is the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem
that Ezekiel predicted.
A person refusing to heed God’s warning from Ezekiel
could expect physical death. Ezekiel was to warn the
righteous, not just the wicked. If Ezekiel refused to speak
God’s message to people who came to his house, he’d
be guilty of murder. This is the meaning of “but his
blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” By giving
a warning, Ezekiel delivered himself from the responsi-
bility of the coming judgment. Those who ignored his
warning could only blame themselves. One can see the
danger when this idea is applied to evangelism; all of a
sudden, we become responsible for someone’s eternal
destiny.
But bringing people to Christ is a God-sized job. It’s our
job to bring Christ to the lost; only God can bring the
lost to Christ. John 6:44 reminds us, “No one can come
to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Evan-
gelism now becomes exciting. I do it recognizing that
God is not holding me responsible for the results.
4. If you come to Me, I want either all of your
life or none of it.
This one is said in different ways, but the meaning is
the same.
There are those who exhort, “You can’t meet God halfway.
If you want to come to Christ, you must completely sur-
render to Him. God will only do business with you if you
mean business with Him. He’s going to get all of your
life, or He doesn’t want any of it.” What’s the problem
here?
Look at the language in John 3:15, 3:16, 3:18, 3:36, 5:25,
6:47, 11:25-26 and 20:31. All of them make it clear that
salvation is based on one thing: believing and trusting
in Christ alone as our only way to heaven. The moment
we trust Him this way, we are as certain of heaven as
though we’re already there.
This misconception is, again, often based on a wrong
handling of Scripture. To support it, verses are cited that
speak of discipleship, not salvation. Every Christian
should be a disciple, but, unfortunately, not every Chris-
tian is. In fact, Christ warned people about the cost of
discipleship before encouraging them to sign up (Luke
14:26-27).
Salvation is free, but discipleship involves a cost.
Here’s where the misconception becomes so defeating:
Who of us, at any given moment, would say that every
single aspect of our lives belongs to Christ? All of us
have those aspects we hold back, and, even if we do
give them to Him, there are moments we take them
back. If indeed He has to have control of my entire life,
how can I speak to someone else about their salvation?
This misconception presents new Christians with condi-
tions that, as unsaved people, they’re not even remotely
prepared to meet.
Encourage your congregation, when they speak to the lost
about Christ, to explain that salvation is instantaneous,
but discipleship is a process. Once they decide to trust
and believe in Christ for salvation, wholehearted surren-
der and Christ-likeness become a goal to achieve with the
help of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of believers.
5. If you’re not willing to confess Christ
publicly, you cannot be saved.
This misconception comes in different colors, and there
are those who carry it to different extremes. Some are
simply talking about admitting personally and publicly
that you’re a Christian. Some go so far as to say that
one must walk forward in a church through what is
commonly called the “altar call.” Either way, the under-
standing is given that if you don’t, you can’t be saved.
When addressing this misconception in a message,
approach it positively, not negatively. Stress the impor-
tance of unashamedly telling people that you are a
Christian. After all, if He was not ashamed of you, why
be ashamed of Him? Such a confession plays a part in
receiving eternal reward. A good passage to support
this is Matthew 10:32-33, where Christ declares, “There-
fore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also
confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever
denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My
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