Are Christians responsible for the souls of the lost?

[777dannyray777]

I read somewhere in the Bible, I think in Ezekiel where it says that God was telling someone that if you don't tell these people what I'm going to do then you are going to be held responsible and you will be punished.
What if the person doesn't want or hear the Gospel or what if the person has already had the Gospel preached to him or her, do we still have to preach the Word to them? Are we somehow responsible for souls of the lost people we ecounter?
Please help me out with this issue and thank you for your time.
God bless you all.......

 

[pdudgeon]

Jesus gave this word to the disciples: Acts 1:8. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

this was a prophetic word regarding Pentecost and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. and yes, it was given to the disciples first and then from them to all who follow Jesus. We are His hands and feet in this world, to spread the message of Good News.

the other scripture you were refering to is Ezekiel 33:1-9.
In that case Ezekiel was acting in the office of prophet. God told him that if He (God) gave Ezekiel a warning of an enemy, then it was his responsibility to give that same warning to the people. if Ezekiel warned them but they did not act upon the warning, then Ezekiel was not responsible for them. But if Ezekiel refused to pass on God's warning to the people, then God would hold him (Ezekiel) responsible.

the two are slightly different from each other.
Even though both concern the saving of a people, one message is given by a prophet to a specific people/person to warn of imminant danger, while the other message is one of of hope and salvation, and can be shared at any time by any follower of Jesus.

 

[wpage]

God's great commission is "Go Ye" to all the world with his message...

He does want us to save others by sharing his word the Bible.

Its the only way.

 

[Ttery]

I don't exactly know if we are held responsible, but I remember hearing something on the TV saying something like: "If anyone is to go to hell, I can only blame myself for being right here to help."

 

[Lee52]

Along with Jesus sending out the 12, He told them that if the household that they were in did not accept the Gospel, then they were to withdraw their blessing of peace from that household, shake the dust of that household from their sandals and leave.

In other words, NO, they were NOT responsible.

And neither are you.

Lee52

 

[Gabe7]

Souls and marbles both.

If you lead people astray God will take you down for it. So be good.