For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God.
3 sermons cite this verse
… That's why Paul says to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Now, he doesn't say every time I ever share my faith with someone and every time I open my mouth, I have to tell everyone everything I know about everything in the Bible. No, that's not how he preached. You can be circumspect. You can be wise. You can lead people to an end. But he says, the totality of my ministry is one where I did not shrink that impulse that we have with unpopular truths in the Bible to say, well, I won't deny it. I'm not going to sign something that says I don't believe it, but I can maybe just shrink. Maybe hide behind something else. Maybe just pull the punch on this one. Paul says, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. As he was teaching through the Scriptures, if it was in the Scriptures and it was there, he taught it to them. …
… You remember Paul in Acts 20, and he's speaking to the Ephesian elders, and he says that, I have washed my hands. I am innocent of the blood of you all because I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. That doesn't mean the whole counsel in every sermon, thankfully. But I didn't shrink back from telling you. That imagery of wash his hands, I'm innocent of the blood of you, comes from Ezekiel with the watchman on the walls. If there's an army coming and you're under attack and the watchman does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, then shame on him, he's guilty. But if he's a watchman and he warns and the people don't listen and the people don't hear, then he is innocent of their blood. That was their fault. The watchman blew the trumpet. The watchman told the people where to go for safety, and they did not listen. So as I've said to you many times, may it never be for anyone in this church or whatever church you may be a part of, may it never be in your church that anyone could stand before Christ on the day of judgment and say, my pastor never told me there was a judgment to come. …
… The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20, I believe, I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. I don't believe we can have the luxury of a preacher or teachers who pick and choose. I believe the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the Word of God. And I believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. God inspired it all. It is all profitable. And I don't know whether you analyze what you hear from the pulpit from time to time or ever think about it, but one of my goals, one of my aims, is to preach all the counsel of God. Not just to zero in in one area or one section, but to present the whole counsel of God. that's part of the wholesomeness that I have on my heart. But not only the whole Bible, but out of the whole Bible to present the whole Christ. The whole Christ. Now, in many churches, we only hear part of Christ. …