"The Whole Counsel of God"

By Gobel Brockman


     I should probably tell you at the outset that this week's post might not fit the expected definition of a "devotional." There are no humorous stories or "uplifting" illustrations. I simply want to share what is on my heart.

     In July 2016 our church hosted a guest speaker who delivered one of the most challenging messages I have ever heard. It was confrontational, sobering...and 100% Scriptural - and very much needed. I have that message saved to my audio library, and I have listened to it several times since then. It is just as challenging (and needed) today as it was then. But what I have been thinking about is this: there was a time when those type of messages were a lot more commonplace than they are now. And that needs to change.

     In Acts 20 the Apostle Paul told the elders of the church of Ephesus that they would not see him again. He told them this as he was saying his goodbyes:

     "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." - Acts 20:26-27

     Paul told them that he had declared (preached) the "whole counsel of God" to them. What is on my heart right now is this simple question: Can I say the same thing? I absolutely want to declare to all the goodness and kindness of God. It was that love that sent Jesus to the cross - FOR US. Paul said in Romans 5:8: "

     But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." 

     That, my friends, is love. My hope is that my preaching will always proclaim the love of God to a lost world that needs the hope that only Jesus Christ can give. But I must ask myself if I am truly declaring "the whole counsel of God." Along with preaching about God's love, am I fully declaring His holiness as well? Paul did indeed talk about the kindness of God, but note what he said later in Romans 11:22: 

     "Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off."

     "The severity of God." The God who loved us enough to send His Son for us is also the same God who will be the judge of all men. Many are fond of saying, almost flippantly, "Only God can judge me" - seemingly failing to realize that one day He will indeed. It has to be noted that the same Bible that tells us about the love of God also tells us in Hebrews 10:31 that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God." The late David Wilkerson once made this startling observation: "The reason people aren't fleeing the wrath to come is that most of the church has stopped telling people that wrath is coming." What a challenging statement indeed.

     For everyone who reads my attempts at writing, I hope that I have properly conveyed the truth that God is indeed loving and forgiving. Jesus said in John 3 that He didn't come to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved. Salvation through the cross of Christ is available for all who will accept it by faith. But if I am going to preach the whole counsel of God, I must also proclaim the Biblical truth that God will indeed be the judge of all mankind. The one true God is both a loving Father and a righteous judge. 

     May we all come to know Him by faith as that loving Father.