Near the end of his ministry, one of my heroes, John Stott wrote a book appropriately titled, “The Last Word.” If you had one last word to speak to friends, what would you say? How would you make it count?
Somehow, Paul knew this was the last time he would see the faces of these elders on this side of heaven. Their church was a lasting testament to his preaching about King Jesus and his kingdom. Trouble awaited Paul in Jerusalem, and he was not sure he would survive. What did he say with his last words?
Paul told them he was innocent of their blood. Remember God told the prophet Ezekiel he was a watchman over Israel. If he warned them and they still sinned, his conscience was clear. But if he didn’t speak God’s word of warning and they fell into sin, God would hold the preacher responsible (Ezekiel 33:7-9). Pastors are responsible to warn the people of God about the disaster sin will bring in their lives. When we speak the truth, we are innocent of the blood of those who refuse to heed God’s warning.
Paul spoke the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He preached the whole counsel of the will of God. I gather that Paul was not afraid of hurting the feelings of the Ephesians. He was more concerned about the misery they would suffer if he didn’t warn them against sin.
John Stott lived over 90 years. What were his last words? He told the young student who attended him at his death, “Do the hard thing.” This sounds so much like Paul. Doing God’s will can be very difficult, sometimes. But not doing his will is always disastrous. This is not my last word to you, but it is an important one.
