"And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned [neglected] to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Acts 20:25-27
What does it mean to declare the whole counsel of God? In short, it means to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” It has become common these days, even in so-called evangelical churches, to fall pitifully short of this biblical ideal. It is not that so many say anything wrong, it what they don’t say that is so troubling. Speaking rank heresy is not the problem so much as it is not declaring Christ and the gospel. The avalanche of “talks” in our day (we dare not call then biblical sermons!), that are nothing more than “self-help pep talks about how to have a better life now,” are arguably worse than rank heresy. Why? Because we might hope that true believers would bolt out the door if they were being fed heresy. But when these unbiblical group therapy sessions are the norm in so many churches, the people sit idly by and think all is well. Make no mistake, partial truth is untruth.
What is missing? Christ and the gospel. Oh, Jesus’ name may be uttered, but he is not the Jesus of the Bible who came to save His people from our sins. He is instead Jesus, the “life coach” whose limp-wristed aim is to make us like ourselves, be do-gooders—and most of all, like and support churches that are not churches.
These leave out the part about the holiness of God, the sinfulness of all people, and heaven forbid, any mention of a God who judges and condemns sinners to eternity in Hell. A call to abandon any and all hope in oneself is replaced with commercials for self-esteem. Repentance is replaced with encouragement to do better by following a few easy steps. And the frame adorning this false picture looks like a worldly concert instead of a reverent worship service.
This sad new-normal is the antithesis of declaring the whole counsel of God, and untold masses of people are routinely being deceived to face God’s judgment and an eternity in the Hell they never heard about at their “churches.”