Proverbs 30: 5-6 "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
The Apostle Paul sat down with the
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Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Acts 20: 26-27
The whole will of God. Paul declares himself innocent before God because he never compromised the Gospel, the whole Gospel. This is becoming even more important as we see in modern Christianity a movement away from the whole Gospel. As Christians become salad bar theologians, taking what they like from God's Word and passing by that which makes them uncomfortable. Thus reshaping God to fit their image. Paul declares here though that it is specifically because he has declared the whole will of God that he knows he is blameless. He goes on to provide warnings we see evident today:
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20: 29-30
We are the flock beloved. And it is from within our own numbers we too see people arising who draw disciples away from the whole will of God; from the whole Gospel. To present half a Gospel is to distort the Gospel. God specifically warns us about this in Deuteronomy:
Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. - Deuteronomy 4: 2
The first example of this is in presenting a sugar coated Gospel. As churches grow and congregations expand, it is increasingly difficult to present the entire Gospel, for fear of losing people. The truth should not be compromised though. If it is, God becomes a fluffy pillow that we can go to for comfort and an ATM machine we can go to for blessings. This Christianity requires nothing from the individual. There is little discussion of sin, judgment, maturity, or consequence.
Now, clearly God is a God of love:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
God provided His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may have communion with Him again! THAT is love. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied:
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22: 37-40
All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. Everything that came before Jesus and all that would follow would hang upon these two instructions and they both center on love. When the Apostle Paul was teaching on love he said:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1Corinthians 13: 1-3
God loved us so much He sent Jesus to save us. When Jesus walked the earth He taught that everything we have known and will know hangs on love. After Jesus ascended, Paul taught that without love we are nothing. There is no question that God is a God of love and thus, He should be preached as such.
