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Truth and the Whole Counsel of God

Many Christians today spend vast amounts of time defending their version of the truth. They study the Bible and latch on to some particular "truth" and then go on a crusade to convince others to believe the same. Books are written, schools created, and churches founded - all with the purpose of propogating some facet of perceived Biblical truth that the rest of Christiandom has abandoned. Is this how the Lord intended His people to learn His ways and discover His paths? What if God's truth is something built, layer upon layer - producing a picture, a view, a full counsel of much greater perspective then individual and isolated "truths" that cause so much argument and debate. It is time that the Lord's people move on to greater maturity and learn how to seek the whole counsel of God.

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By: Sentinel
3/13/2019 9:07:17 PM


There is a difference between a "word" being true and a "word" being true AND presenting the full counsel of God at the same time. I have seen myself become imbalanced in my faith at times because I grabbed onto a particular truth without patiently waiting and seeking the "whole" truth, not just the part that appealed to me. 

For example, it is a powerful and freeing truth to know that my standing before the Lord is not based on my own merits, but on the righteous, holy standing of Christ. However, is this the whole counsel of God? Is this the end of God's purpose for us and for His Church - simply to have a position of holiness without the practical reality of holiness being visibly expressed in us today so God has a witness on earth?

I think it is very dangerous when preachers and teahers present an idea that being dissastified with our religion, religious activity, and lack of "real" holiness is a form of pride that should be guarded against. They argue, that every time we see "weeds in our garden" we simply need greater faith to see how Christ is really making our "weeds" look like beautiful flowers before the Father. But this completely neglects the more complete truth that God greatly desires a holy and practical witness that is visible in the lives of His people.

I can't help but thinking that if Paul were preaching to us today, many would consider him a very prideful and judgmental man because of all the weeds he was constatly pointing out to the churches. Every letter he wrote dealt with weeds, many weeds, that were growing in these "gardens" of the Lord. Paul was extremely dissastified with the legalism of the Galatians and the worldliness of the Corinthians. In every letter, Paul discusses the weeds and then calls the church to a greater and deeper obedience to their "positional" calling and righteousness in Christ. For example, never does Paul tell the Corinthians that their lack of ability to judge church matters was excusable because Christ would "cover for them" before the Father. Instead, he reprimands them severely and says, in effect, "You, who are one day going to  judge angels, better learn now how to judge rightly regarding matters of discipline and conduct in the church." Was Paul being prideful for pointing out the "weeds" to the Corinthians? Did he somehow miss the grace of Christ?

So many scriptures come to mind regarding how the apostles were constantly calling out to the church to repent of the "weeds" in the garden and enter in to a "real life" expression of the full power and victory of the gospel to produce "real" holy living. Nowhere do the apostles express the idea that the Lord was satisfied with simply adding His "holy seasoning" to medicore Christian activity and worship so that it became more palletable when presented to the Father. 

In the book of Revelation, Christ himself walks among his "lampstands", evaluating each assembly's conduct and obedience to the truth. And, without fail, along with the affirmations of some of the "good things", the Lord points out the "weeds". In fact, the "weeds" were such an issue to him, that he even threatens to fight against one of his own churches if they did not repent and get rid of their weeds! And, to another church he promises to remove his presence from among them if they do not take his "weed warning" seriously. 

I wonder what my marriage would be like if I thought that my relationship with my wife was all good simply because my wife had made a covenant to always love me no matter what I did. Is that the definition of Marriage? No! Marriage means companionship, understanding, communication, sharing, selflessness, and so much more. The covenant we make at the altar is just the beginning of a relationship that we hope to make into a good Marriage someday -- and this "good" marriage will absolutely be measured by the real and practical expressions of everyday love. Without the "real" expressions of love and faithfulness, I would have a "bad" marriage, or worse, I may not have a marriage at all.

Unfortunately, telling a believer that Christ has plenty of Grace to cover a medicore and sleepy prayer time, is just like me telling my spouse that she has no right to get upset when I fall asleep when she is talking to me. Will she still love me? Yes. But, am I doing my part to build a healthy and good marriage? Absolutely not! Over time, when the full counsel of God is not presented, Christians begin to think that the one truth they are presented with is, in fact, the whole truth and their lives become imbalanced.



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