Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 26-29.
“In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the Lord’s house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word! Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds”‘” (Jeremiah 26:1-3).
As Jeremiah was proclaiming the message from the Lord, he was expected to proclaim all of it. Even withholding the slightest amount was not permissible. He was not to omit even a word. God revealed His message for a reason – He wanted the people to hear it, turn from their sins, and avoid the coming judgment.
Jeremiah’s responsibility was the same as the responsibility of those who preach the gospel today. Paul told 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” (Acts 20:26-27).
We must do the same today. Preach the whole counsel of God. Do not omit a word.
There is a tendency, however, to refrain from addressing topics that may be seen as “controversial” or that might “run people off.” Using human reasoning, controversial and unpopular subjects are counterproductive as they distract from our primary purpose of leading souls to Christ.
Yet consider Jeremiah. His primary purpose was to reveal God’s message in an effort to lead the people back to the Lord. Yet he was not to avoid the parts of the message that were unpopular. The false prophets who did this had already been condemned (Jeremiah 6:13-14; 8:11; 14:13-16; 23:16-22, 30-32). Jeremiah was to proclaim all of God’s message, regardless of what man thought of it.
We must do the same today: Preach the whole counsel of God, regardless of what man thinks of it.
Tomorrow’s reading: Jeremiah 30-31
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
