A.Acts 20 records a meeting that Paul had with the elders of the Ephesian church.
1.Paul was making his way to Jerusalem after completing his third preaching mission.
2.This meeting was held in the port city of Miletus directly south of Ephesus.
B.In this meeting, Paul said to the Ephesian elders, “Therefore, I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men.For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (vv. 26-27).
1.Paul recalled to the elders how he had spent three years laboring with them and the church to teach them the full word of God.
2.Now, he was giving them his final admonition to cling to that same word of God, for he knew that they would have trouble and that he would see them no more.
C.Presently, let us consider the preacher’s mandate to declare the whole purpose of God.
II.DECLARING THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF GOD
A.The whole purpose of God is the entirety of God’s message to man.
1.The word “purpose” (NASB), or “counsel” (KJV), essentially means advice given according to a determined purpose.
a.This word (boule) comes from a root word meaning “a will.”
b.Thus, God determined His will, and then advised men of His will and how to comply with it.This is His purpose or counsel.
2.God’s purpose is revealed through His word, which we have in the Bible.Paul preached the whole purpose of God by preaching His word (compare verses 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, and 32 in Acts 20).
B.Those who know the purpose of God have the responsibility to declare it to others.
1.Consider Paul’s understanding of his own responsibility to preach the gospel.
a.In Colossians 1:25-29, Paul declared the stewardship bestowed on him by God to “fully carry out the preaching of the word of God.”
b.In Romans 1:14-17, Paul stated that he was a debtor to all men, obliged to preach the gospel of Christ for the salvation of all men.
c.In Acts 26:16-18, Paul recalled the mission that was given to him by the Lord to bear witness of the things he had seen and heard.
2.Because we also know the purpose of God through His word, we likewise have the responsibility of declaring it to others.
a.Throughout history, those who were entrusted with the warnings of God’s word had the responsibility of telling them to others.
i.In Ezekiel 33:1-9, Ezekiel’s responsibility was compared to that of a watchman who sounds the trumpet to warn the people of an approaching enemy.
1.If he sounded the warning, and the people did not listen, then he was innocent of their blood.
2.However, if he failed to sound the warning, then he was guilty for the loss of those who perished.
ii.In the passage we noticed earlier (Acts 20:26-27), Paul said that he was innocent of the blood of all men because he had declared the whole purpose of God.If the Ephesians were lost, it would not be because they were not warned by Paul.
b.We have the same responsibility as those who came before us to pass on the full message that we have from the word of God (2Tim. 2:2).
C.Preaching only part of the purpose of God will have disastrous consequences.
1.Some preachers are persuaded for various reasons to preach only part of the purpose of God.
a.Some fear offending those who hear them.
i.By doing this, they are often failing to preach the very things that are most needed.
ii.This is the opposite of what Jesus and the apostles did.Rather than avoiding controversial, needful subjects, they purposefully addressed those needs and pointed their messages toward their audiences.
b.Some preach the gospel as if they were selling a product.
i.Paul wrote of those who were “peddling the word of God” (2Cor. 2:17).They were deceitfully handling the word of God for personal gain.
ii.If the gospel is presented as a product to be sold, then only the positive aspects are shown.Certainly, this is not how Christ preached (Matt. 10:34-39).
c.Some preach a partial gospel according to men.
i.They “preach the Man, not the plan.”
ii.They “preach the truth and leave others alone.”
iii.They “preach Christ, not the church.”
iv.They “preach positive, not negative.”
v.They “preach what is right, not what is wrong.”
vi.They “preach the gospel, not doctrine.”
vii.They “preach a message of redemption, not condemnation.”
2.The result of such half-truths and corrupt preaching is that people remain lost in their sins.
a.Half-truths are also half-falsehoods.Yet Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
b.Remember that the serpent told Eve a half-truth in the Garden of Eden, and the result was disaster for her and her husband (Gen. 3).
c.Like anything else, partial directions will leave one lost and short of his intended destiny.To be saved, one needs to hear the whole purpose of God.
D.Preaching a false purpose will also lead to disaster.
1.Consider Psalm 1:1-2.If a man is blessed for not walking in the counsel of the wicked, then a man who does walk in the counsel of the wicked is cursed.
2.The wrong advice leads to the wrong belief, which leads to the wrong practice, which ultimately leads to the wrong destiny.
3.This is why the New Testament gives such strong warnings against false teachers, for their influence will lead one down a path of eternal ruin (2John 7-11).
III.CONCLUSION
A.Therefore, let us preach the whole purpose of God without addition or subtraction.
1.Consider again the example of Paul.
a.Paul told the Ephesian elders that he preached that which was profitable (Acts 20:20).
i.By “profitable,” he meant that which profited his hearers in a spiritual way, whether it was well-received or rejected.
ii.It is the Scripture that “is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God man be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2Tim. 3:16-17).
iii.Therefore, we ought to preach from the Scripture.
b.He did not preach for personal advantage, to please men, or to gain popularity.
i.The manner of life that Paul was forced to live because of preaching the whole purpose of God proved that none of these things were his goals (2Cor. 4:16-18; 11:16-33; Gal. 1:10; Phil. 1:12-18; 3:7-11).
ii.If these things are the goals of our preaching, then we will preach a half-true, corrupted gospel without any power to save anyone (Gal. 1:6-9).
iii.Therefore, let us preach the whole purpose of God with sincerity (2Cor. 2:17).
2.The way of Paul’s preaching was the same as Christ’s way of preaching.It is God’s way.
a.It is a message that is true to the Scripture (2Tim. 3:16-17).
b.It is a message that addresses the needs of man (Acts 17:22-31; 24:24-25).
c.It is a message that will reprove, rebuke, and exhort when needed (2Tim. 4:1-4).
d.It is a message that refutes false teaching (2Cor. 10:5).
e.It is a message that persuades men to change their lives for Christ (1Cor. 6:9-11).
B.Finally, let us observe the warning of Revelation 22:18-19 with application to the whole purpose of God: “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
