Biblical, New Testament Watchmen
Many people see themselves as watchmen today, but do more damage than good. You can never be a New Testament, biblical watchmen and warn people of the “wrong”, but not give them the “right” simultaneously or in succession. You see the big problem is that it usually takes too much time to teach people the truth. Therefore it will rather be left altogether.
The other main factor making a New Testament watchman useless is doing it without love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Now let’s look at the verse in the Bible that most profoundly introduces the topic of watchmen:
Ezekiel 33:1-9
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
From this we can see that it is absolutely crucial for a watchman to first hear from God and only transfer the message coming from God. Secondly, the only way for the above mentioned people to be saved is to heed the words of the watchman and react upon it, whereas the only way for the watchmen to be saved was to actually share the message and warn everybody, else their blood will be on his hands.
So the watchman term is technically an Old Testament term, but we see many references in the New Testament where we are commanded to watch, warn and be vigilant. This is in essence the role of a watchman, but let’s determine it biblically, because most people interpret it today with only watching for world events and signs of the end times and trying to deduce the next major event by twisting scriptures in an unrecognizable manner.
So let’s look at the aspects that we must watch for as stated in the New Testament – I have only used six different aspects – there are however many more.
Firstly, the Second Coming of Christ as stated above.
Matthew 24:42
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
So we cannot say that we must not watch as it is a command, and we look forward to His coming and we will tell everyone about it, yet it does not necessarily mean that all the world events need to be diligently studied – rather study the Bible as to not be deceived, yet it is not wrong to study the world events and compare it to the Bible, in fact it is exciting. Just remember Jesus wants a pure, spotless bride, so first work on your holiness and right standing with God, before falling into a rabbit hole that generates no spiritual growth.
1 Corinthians 16:13
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Also the same “watch”, remember Jesus commands you to be holy, so watch that your spiritual life is in order as the Second Coming of Christ is at hand, so watch that you have enough oil and are ready to be received.
Revelation 16:15
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
We all know that your garments are also compared to your spiritual condition.
The second thing to watch out for is temptation.
Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Thirdly we must watch/look to ourselves:
2 John 1:8
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
We must look at our testimony that we carry, because if you fall in the eyes of the world the entire story and testimony of your life can be made null and void, destroying all those things “which we have wrought”.
We must also watch against satan:
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
People always tend to say that you must not look for satan behind every stone, meaning that stop looking for the bad in everything and just enjoy yourself sometimes, I beg to differ, as he is the prince of this world, so do look behind every stone, because you will find him and then get rid of him in the name of Jesus so that he cannot make you stumble in your spiritual journey. We must be wary of the enemy’s attack and guard ourselves as well as our brethren against it.
the fifth aspect to watch is division:
Romans 16:17
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
It is crucial to be watchful against people that come in the Body of Christ with the intent to cause strife and division. We as believers are way too faint in heart and not firm in spirit to root these troublemakers out. We must be hard on the rule, but soft on the person – where the rule is the Bible. If you go against the Bible and persist after numerous corrections – you must be marked and avoided – as easy as that.
The last aspect I am talking about today to be watchful of, is yourself while helping someone else.
Galatians 6:1
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
It is so easy when always helping others that you fall into the same sin as them, because it is with what you are surrounded with. That is why it is so crucial never to neglect you personal relationship with the Lord so that you can be firmly grounded in Jesus Christ.
Something very interesting in the last two verses comes in with the word “mark” in Romans 16:17 and “considering” in Galatians 6:1. The Greek word is identical in both scenarios.
σκοπέω
skopeō
skop-eh’-o
From G4649; to take aim at (spy), that is, (figuratively) regard: – consider, take heed, look at (on), mark. Compare G3700.
Just looking at the definition of the word can show me that this entails a watching not to be taken lightly. What astounded me even more is that we are supposed to watch ourselves with the same fervency as watching a trouble-maker causing division in the Body of Christ. This immediately lets me think of Matthew 7:5:
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
This is an important aspect to learn as early as possible in your life – if you want to point out correction, make sure that you are also open for correction. Pride is man’s downfall – as well as a big cause of division in the Body of Christ. You cannot point out the faults in other’s if you are not willing to listen when your faults are addressed.
We must be biblical, New Testament Watchmen who says everything in love, with firmness, in accordance to the Word of God, whilst maintaining a meek and contrite spirit – all for God’s glory and edification of the Body of Christ.
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