Proverbs 24:12
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
If you see people drawn toward death and ready to be killed, you must step in to rescue them and must not hold back from delivering them, and saying you did not know is no excuse for failing to do so. God weighs and examines the heart and preserves and keeps each life, so He knows each person and what each knew and did, and whether claimed ignorance is real. In the great judgment day He will repay every person according to deeds, including punishment for neglecting to rescue. The perishing to be rescued are millions bound in ignorance and sin who have never heard of Christ's love, and every soul is entrusted to work for Christ and care for others as they would want to be cared for, so those who drift along caring only for themselves will be placed with evildoers and condemned with them. This must be done at once without delay, because souls speedily pass beyond reach, by reaching compassionate hands where they are and grasping them with one hand and God's throne with the other to draw them out of ruin, including arousing the nation against intemperance and stopping the liquor traffic, investing entrusted wealth to open the way for the gospel, and redeeming the time to call back those misled by one's own ways through humbled, unselfish surrender.
Plea of Ignorance Rejected
The command is to deliver those drawn toward death and those ready to be slain, and to refuse to hold back or forbear from rescuing them. Saying behold, we knew it not does not excuse failing to rescue people in mortal danger or forbearing to deliver them. No one can excuse failure to rescue souls ready to die by pleading ignorance, for the plea itself is rejected as a covering for neglect.
He who ponders the heart considers it and weighs the heart, so God examines what each person knew and did. He looks into the heart to test whether claimed ignorance is real, and He knows the truth about knowledge, opportunity, and action. He who keeps the soul knows it, for God preserves each person's life and knows each person whose life He preserves. He knows each person and each person's responsibility, and He keeps account of it.
He will render to every man according to his works, so in the great judgment day God will repay each according to deeds. That repayment includes punishment for neglect of rescue, and failure in this work of rescue brings punishment from God.
Duty to Save Perishing
The perishing to be rescued are millions bound in ignorance and sin who have never heard of Christ's love. Those who could help them are solemnly obligated to do for them what they would want done for themselves if their situations were reversed. To every soul a trust is given to work for Christ and care for others. Those who do not work for Christ but drift along thinking of and caring for themselves will in the great judgment day be placed by the Judge of the whole earth with those who did evil and will receive the same condemnation as those who do evil.
Christians must go to work at once for souls they might bring to Jesus, because delay is dangerous. Souls speedily pass beyond reach, Satan has prepared a net for their feet and tomorrow they may be working out the plans of the archenemy of God. In that day the Chief Shepherd will demand where the flock given them is and will punish neglect.
Believers are to be co-laborers with God by reaching merciful, compassionate hands where the perishing are. They are to grasp the perishing soul with one hand and the throne of God with the other to draw men out of ruin, for without such help that class sinking in the pit of ruin would never be restored. Their danger must not be ignored, and workers can undertake this rescue with confidence when they trust in God.
The accountability of the verse applies to the work of seeking to save souls ready to perish and ready to die. Every soul is required to be a laborer together with God to gather in the perishing rather than standing back in jealousy because greater labor is not bestowed upon them.
Specific Works of Rescue
Proverbs 24:12 lays a binding duty to act for victims of intemperance for the honor of God and for the stability of the nation and the well-being of the community, the home, and the individual. Pleading ignorance does not excuse holding back from delivering those drawn unto death and ready to be slain, because He who ponders the heart considers it and He who keeps the soul knows it, and failure in this work of rescue brings punishment from God. That duty means arousing the people to the evil, forming an army of workers to stop the sale of drugged liquors that make men mad, making the danger plain, and creating a public sentiment demanding prohibition. It means giving drink-maddened men opportunity to escape their thraldom and demanding of lawmakers a stop to the infamous traffic. The public and lawmakers alike are required to make a determined effort to free people enslaved by drink and stop the liquor traffic, since God examines the heart, knows each person's responsibility, and keeps account of it.
The verse teaches that God gives men power to get wealth as a talent entrusted and lent to them. Those to whom it is given are required to be converted and transformed in character by the precious light of truth and to act as His helping hand by investing their means in His work of reformation and restoration. By so doing they open the way for the gospel to be preached to all classes and unite with Him so that other wealthy men may see that now is their opportunity to use their means in saving souls ready to perish.
The verse commands earnest seeking to save souls ready to perish and ready to die, especially souls misled by one's own ways and works. This requires quenching the spirit of warfare, taking a learner's place before Christ, casting out all selfish ambition, letting self die and be crucified, and through the sanctification of the Spirit making and maintaining unreserved surrender. It requires redeeming the time and calling back the erring, setting their feet in the path of righteousness and standing on the platform of eternal truth so others take knowledge of fellowship with Jesus. It requires making restoration as far as lies in one's power by doing great good in soothing the souls of many rather than great evil, and by preserving a brother's character spotless rather than smearing it with unwise, untrue misstatements, because God hears every word uttered and knows heart repentance and reform, and humbling oneself brings lifting up by Him who is fully able to save. No one can excuse failure in this gathering in of the perishing by saying we knew it not, for He will render to every man according to his works, and those who follow their own course until the Lord hedges up the way in distant missionary fields are personally accountable for their works.