What Happens When We Fail to Teach the Whole Counsel of God?

“I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house.. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” – Acts 20:20,27

Paul explained to the elders of Ephesus, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house… For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:20,27). The term “shunned” is from the Greek word hupostello and is used in both verses twenty and twenty-seven. It means to draw back or to withhold. The term was used of soldiers who “draw back” or retreat out of fear. Paul never avoided declaring the truth out of cowardice. He even rebuked a fellow apostle, Peter, to his face in Galatians 2:11-21.

So much preaching in the world today shuns or shrinks from preaching on Hell, specific sins, false doctrines and false teachers. Just what are the consequences of failing to preach the whole counsel of God?

Peril of the Partial View

When men fail to preach or teach the whole will of God on a subject, they can leave their audience misguided with having only a partial view. This is well-illustrated in the story of the six blind men in India examining an elephant. One touches the side of the elephant and declares that it is like a wall. Another grabs its trunk and shrieks that an elephant is a snake. Next, one of them feels its tusk and claims the animal is like a spear. Grabbing a leg, another believes the animal to be like a tree. “An elephant is a lot like a rug” claims the man touching the elephant’s ear. Finally, the brave blind man who pulls on the elephant’s tail convinces him the beast is like a rope. This is the peril of the partial view. None of the men really know what an elephant is without getting the big picture from what all have discovered.

Preaching and teaching is not confined to a few favorite topics or passages. Some have preached on John 3:16 and declared that salvation is by “faith only.” Yet, the only time the phrase “faith only” is found in the Bible is in James 2:24: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” A partial view of what it takes to be saved could lead to losing one’s soul.

Truth is Compromised

Thomas Jefferson constructed an eighty-four-page version of the Bible. The virgin birth and the resurrection are left out. It contains no mention of the deity of Christ. In fact, all miraculous events are excluded. Anyone could make a version of the Bible where it includes only what they believe and exclude those things which are opposed. It may include many truths, but Truth could be compromised.

With a “cut and paste” approach to preaching, many compromise the Truth instead of upholding it. Satan deceived Eve by compromising the truth about the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden. Sarah and Abraham compromised on God’s promises by using Hagar to produce a son. King Saul did so when he failed to kill all the Amalekites and King Agag. Ananias and Saphirra compromised the truth when they attempted to deceive God about the amount of money they promised. To preach on marriage but not preach on divorce is a dangerous compromise.

Men Instead of God Are Pleased

When the whole truth is not preached, many who have itching ears and cannot stomach the truth on some subjects will be pleased (2 Tim. 4:3-4). God will never be pleased with His will being revised and abridged. Paul wrote, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Today, a preacher who refuses to compromise on preaching the whole will of God will not be very popular, lose some friends, not be asked for meetings, and just might have to move away. Preachers should never be like professional politicians who find out what the people want to hear and give them what they want. Such men are mere hirelings and are being led instead of leading. This type of false shepherd “sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them” (Jn. 10:12).

Souls Are Lost

Billy Graham would cite John 5:24: “We are told ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.’ This means that eternal life begins the moment we accept Christ as a Savior and Lord” (from My Answer 8/9/56). However, James 2:24 says: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” Quakers, Christian Scientists, and the Salvation Army have no physical ordinances of baptism. Failure to preach on this subject robs the audience of Jesus’ promise to those who believe and are baptized. “He that believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). Jehovah’s Witnesses’ doctrine declares “Repentance must precede, but sin not washed away by baptism” (Make Sure of all Things, 1953, p. 30). God sent a preacher named Ananias to tell Paul, “Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22;16). Perhaps millions will be lost by following the partial gospel of Billy Graham and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Guilty of the Blood

Paul said, “woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16). God gave warning to the watchmen and shepherds of Ezekiel’s day which applied to the prophet as well. “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. (Ezek. 33:7-9).

Failure to declare the whole will of God can and will result in some very serious consequences for both the preacher/teacher and his audience. They will suffer confusion from having received only a partial view. Truth will be compromised, and this only pleases men and not God. Souls will be lost, and the preacher will be held accountable for these lost souls. It is best to just preach the whole counsel of God.

Daniel R. Vess