As he bid the elders of the church in Ephesus farewell, Paul declared, "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men" (Acts 20:26). What did Paul mean?
Paul's statement goes back to the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel. God had likened Ezekiel's role of a prophet to the responsibility of a watchman (Ezek. 33:1-9). When the watchman saw the enemy approaching he was to blow the trumpet and warn the people. If they heeded his warning they would be able to save their lives. However, if they chose to ignore his warning and perished by the hands of their enemy, the watchman was not to be blamed. He did his job.
Then God made the application to the responsibility of the prophet:
7. So you, son
of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall
hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.
8. When I say to
the wicked, "O wicked man, you shall surely die!" and you do not speak to warn
the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his
blood I will require at your hand.
9. Nevertheless
if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way,
he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
The apostle Paul both understood and lived by the principle set forth in this passage. When his preaching was rejected in the synagogue in Corinth, "he shook his garments and said to them, 'Your blood be on your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles'" (Acts 18:6). They heard the warning of God's word, for Paul had been reasoning with them every Sabbath Day (v. 4). They chose to reject the warning, but they had been warned!
While Paul was in Ephesus he "kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:20-21). He said he was innocent of the blood of all the people in Ephesus, "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God" (v. 27).
Christians have an awesome responsibility. Part of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ is warning sinners of the wrath to come (Rom. 2:5-11; 1 Thess. 1:10). You and I both know that many people chose to ignore the gospel. However, I wonder how many people never get to make this choice because they never actually hear the warning? Are we doing our part to sound the warning? Are we using every opportunity to share the gospel with others? Can we say, with Paul, that we are innocent of the blood of all men? Are we warning others... or are we allowing them to face judgment unprepared?