June 13
“I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God,” Acts 20:27.
When we teach and preach the Word of God, what standard should we follow? The standard is set by God Himself. It is not left to human beings to decide for themselves which doctrines they will teach and which doctrines they will not teach.
Just prior to His ascension into heaven, the Lord Jesus gave some final instructions to His disciples. The evangelist Matthew reports that Jesus said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:20.
Jesus’ instructions to His disciples of all times are very specific: “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Clergymen and religious teachers are obligated by Jesus Himself to teach all things that He has commanded, which includes all things that are recorded in Holy Scripture – the story of a six-day creation by God, many historical events, the Law, which gives a knowledge of sin, and the Gospel, which is the message of God’s love and forgiveness, and assured to us through Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.
The instructions of Jesus were not an expression of something new or something previously unheard of. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said, “He who has My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully,” Jeremiah 23:28. We are bound by God to follow and proclaim His Word faithfully. Then the Lord added, “What is the chaff to the wheat?” The teachings of religious leaders should not consist of useless chaff, but they should be teachings of “real wheat.” The teachings should be of real substance, and should touch the hearts of the hearers.
Unfortunately, there are clergymen and other religious teachers who follow the little jingle, “This I love, that I don’t. This I’ll teach, that I won’t!” There are those who teach and preach only what people want to hear. The prophet Isaiah wrote about such people, who say to their spiritual leaders, “Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits,” Isaiah 30:10. It is vain and futile to replace the Word of God with the impious opinions of people. Jesus said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,” Matthew 15:8-9.
The apostle Paul was following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus and of all faithful teachers when he said, “I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” He did not omit and avoid declaring the Law of God which reveals people’s sins, and he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ that tells us that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the only Savior from sin, death and the devil.
Let us heed the words of the Savior: “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” John 8:31-32. God’s Son has set us free. By faith in Jesus we are spiritually free from the power of sin, death and the devil. Dear God, keep us in the faith and keep us free! Amen.