THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF
GOD
Why did the Apostle Paul tell the
Corinthians: "I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling" (1 Cor.2:3)? Was Paul afraid he might be persecuted or killed
for his faithful preaching? We know he was not afraid of the enemies of the
cross. He explained to the Ephesian elders: "And now, behold, I go bound
in spirit unto
If Paul did not mean he was afraid, why did
he use the words "weakness," "fear" and ''trembling?'' Paul
was fully aware of the awesome responsibility of preaching the gospel. He knew
God would hold him accountable for what he preached and the way he preached it.
He warned the Galatian Christians about the danger of accepting a different
gospel (Gal. 1:8-9). Would not that warning apply to those who preached a
different gospel? The apostle Peter knew of the false teachers that existed
among the Jewish people. He predicted that the same would happen among
Christians. "There shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways;
by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of' (2 Pet. 2: 1-2).
If you listen to preaching on
television and on radio, you know how far off base some of those preachers are.
They seem to focus on three themes: the immediacy of the Lord's second coming,
how to get rich by giving generously to their ministries and their direct
communication with the Lord. It needs to be said in passing: Those preachers
know nothing about the timing of the Lord's second coming. Giving to the
various ministries helps to make the preachers wealthy, but does nothing for
the givers. They have not received any communication from the Lord except what
is found in scripture. To pretend otherwise is to deceive their listeners. I
would love to be challenged on any of these observations.
There are no secrets regarding
faithful gospel preaching. There are two basic elements in the kind of
preaching God approves: preaching the whole counsel of God and preaching it in
love. Let us talk briefly about the manner of preaching. Paul writes of the
duty of "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15). There are many
preachers who preach the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but
they have not convinced their listeners of their love for them. In his first
letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminded his readers: "For neither at
any time used we flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness;
God is witness: neither of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of
others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. But we
were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children: so being
affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to impart unto you, not the
gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us"
(1 Thess.2:5-8). The same apostle assured the Corinthians: "I seek not
yours, but you.... And I will gladly spend and be spent for you" (2 Cor.
12:14-15).
It is certainly possible that a
preacher might love the people with whom he works, but not be a faithful
preacher because he is not preaching the whole counsel of God. The Apostle Paul
met with the Ephesian elders at the seacoast of
I must briefly analyze these two
verses. The expression, "I take you to record," means, "I
testify" or "I bear witness." Paul insists that he was innocent
of the blood of all men. There was no way the Ephesian Christians could blame
Paul for their disobedience or unbelief. Their blood could not be on his head
in the day of judgment. The reason the Ephesians could not blame Paul is very
simple: He had not shunned or shrunk from declaring the whole counsel of God.
He had taught them how to become Christians and how to conduct themselves as
citizens in the
When I was a boy growing up in middle
Tennessee, the preachers who came to our congregation always stressed what the
New Testament calls "first principles of the oracles of God" (Heb.
5:12). They always preached about the great conversions in the book of Acts and
what a person must do to become a Christian. Today among many religious groups,
and that includes some left-leaning churches of Christ, there is little
preaching on those first principles. Maybe those preachers believe the first
principles are relatively unimportant. If a preacher does not tell the people
in his audience what they must do to be saved, he is neglecting to declare the
whole counsel of God.
From the time when the church of our
Lord was established on the day of Pentecost, gospel preachers continually
taught what their hearers had to do to be saved. Since I have already mentioned
the churches at
Is there any indication from the
sacred text that the Corinthians were instructed to pray for their salvation?
What do you hear from preachers on radio and on television? Almost without
exception, the preachers instruct alien sinners to pray somewhat as follows:
"Dear Lord, I know I am a sinner. I know you died for my sins. I ask you
to come into my heart and save me." Then the people who have responded are
further encouraged to say: "Thank you, Lord, for saving me." I have
been waiting for almost sixty-five years for some preacher-any preacher-to show
me where to find such an idea in the Bible. I would be ashamed to preach a plan
of salvation that has no basis in scripture.
You probably remember that Paul
visited the city of
Paul explained to the Ephesians:
"John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people,
that they should believe on him who should come after him, that is, on Christ
Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in name of the Lord Jesus"
(Acts 19:4-5). I have two questions for you to consider. If baptism has nothing
to do with salvation, what difference did it make whether they were baptized
unto John's baptism or unto the baptism of the Great Commission? And why did
not Paul tell the Ephesians to repeat the so-called "sinner's
prayer?"
As vital as it is to preach the first
principles of the oracles of God, that is not sufficient. I have no doubt that
many Christians fall by the wayside because they know only the first
principles. Could that be what our Lord had in mind when he spoke of the seed
that fell on a rock? "As soon as the seed sprung up, it withered away
because it lacked moisture." Jesus explained to his disciples what he
meant: "They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word
with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, but in time of
temptation fall away" (Lk. 8:6, 13).
Many Calvinists argue that these
people were not genuinely converted. In his Commentary on the Gospel of
Luke (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1951),
Norval Geldenhuys says concerning the seed on the rock: "Without being
genuinely converted they are only temporarily taken up with the preaching of
the Word; and then they go back to the practical struggle of life, the good
influence upon them disappears" (p. 244). There is a serious problem with
this view of the seed that fell on the rock. Did you take note of what Jesus
actually said? They "receive the word with joy ... and believe." In
his powerful set of books, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville:
Broadman Press, 1930), Dr. A. T. Robertson, a Calvinist, says concerning the
seed on the rock: "Ostensibly they are sincere and have made a real start
in the life of faith" (volume 2, p. 114). Jesus said: "In time of
temptation (they) fall away." Fall away from what, unbelief? The verb
translated "fall away" means to go away, to withdraw. It is the same
verb Paul used in his letter to Timothy. "Some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:
1). Are Calvinists preaching the whole counsel of God when they deny that a
child of God can fall from grace? Some of the Galatians had fallen from grace
(Gal. 5:4). The word "fallen" (ekpipto in the Greek)
means to fall away. Nobody can preach the whole counsel of God when he fails to
preach the possibility of apostasy.
If children of God cannot fall from
grace, why is the word of God filled with warnings about falling away? I shall
take the time to mention just a few verses. Paul demanded of the Roman
Christians: "Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God" (Rom 12:2). If the Roman Christians fell in with
the fleeting fashions of this world, would that make any substantial difference
in their lives? The tense of the verb means to stop being conformed to this
world.
The Corinthian Christians, as I have
already indicated, came from a grossly immoral background (1 Cor. 6:9).
Idolatry, greed, drunkenness and all kinds of sexual immorality were rampant at
The Apostle Peter provides a list of
what we commonly call the Christian graces. He encouraged all Christians to add
to our faith those graces-virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness,
brotherly kindness and love. What if a person fails to add these graces? He
would be barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. On
the other hand, if he adds them to his faith, he will make his calling and
election sure. He will never fall (2 Pet. 1:5-10). If he does not add them, has
he not already fallen?
It is not possible in this short
lesson to outline what it means to preach the whole counsel of God. But for the
remainder of our time, let me make some suggestions. The book of Ephesians will serve as the basis
for our study. Paul affirms that all spiritual blessings are in Christ, that
is, in the body of Christ. In order to enjoy these spiritual blessings, one
must be a member of the blood-bought church of the living God (Acts 20:28).
Please think about those spiritual blessings that are in the church: election,
adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness and inheritance (Eph. 1:3-11).
Does your preacher emphasize the absolute necessity of being a member of the
Lord's church? If he does not, how can he explain his failure to preach the
whole counsel of God?
Probably the best known passage in
the book of Ephesians is this: "For by grace are you saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man
should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph.
2:8-10). In this powerful passage, Paul discusses three elements in the
salvation of the lost. We are saved by the grace of almighty God-but not by
grace alone. The same apostle told Titus what to preach. "For the grace of
God that brings salvation has appeared unto all men, teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly
in this present world" (Tit. 2:11-12). Did Paul mean what he wrote about
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts? If we would please God, must we live
soberly, righteously and godly in this present world? If we must, we are not saved
by grace alone.
Paul also teaches that we are saved
by faith-but not by faith alone. As every serious student of the word knows, we
walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Walking by faith means trusting the
Lord and doing exactly what he says in the way he says do it. There are many
examples of what it means to walk by faith, but none simpler or more powerful
than that of Abraham. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into
a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went
out, not knowing where he was going.... For he looked for a city which has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11: 8, 10). The main
clause of verse 8 is really significant. "By faith Abraham ...
obeyed."
Many preachers overlook the third
element in the passage from Ephesians 2. We are not saved by the kind of works
that would give us the right to boast (Eph. 2:9). But God has ordained that we
must walk in good works (Eph. 2: 10). I ask you to listen to two verses that
show how essential good works are. Paul commanded the Corinthians:
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58). The word "labor" (kopos) means
exhausting labor. Is Paul merely suggesting that the Corinthians must work or
was it absolutely necessary? The second passage is from Paul's letter to Titus.
"This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that you affirm constantly,
that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.
These things are good and profitable unto men" (Tit. 3:8).
Ephesians 3 tells us how the message
of the gospel came to men. "How that by revelation he made known unto me
the mystery; (as I wrote before in few words), whereby when you read, you may
understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ" (Eph. 3:3-4). During my
more than sixty-four years of preaching, there has never been a greater need
than now for defending the inspiration and authority of the scriptures. Not
only are liberals viciously attacking scripture-which we have come to expect-but
so are some men who call themselves evangelicals. I could give you dozens of
examples, but we shall have to wait until a later time.
Ephesians 4 stresses the need for
unity among the professed followers of Christ. We must endeavor "to keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1-7). Is your
preacher encouraging unity based on the word of God? If he is not, he is not
preaching the whole counsel of God. Nor is he honoring the Lord's prayer for
unity (John 17:20-21). Ephesians 5 discusses family relationships. Ephesians 6
encourages all Christians to put on the whole armor of God and be ready for the
battle against Satan and his cohorts.
I close
with this plea: Let us preach the whole counsel of God in love.
Winford
Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour