Levi Deatrick

The apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders that he had not shrunk back from declaring to them all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27). He told Timothy, who was pastoring the church in Ephesus, that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” (2nd Timothy 3:16). When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to Satan and told him “it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). There are a multitude of verses throughout the Bible expressing the value and necessity of the Word of God in a believer’s life; to reference each one in this article would turn it into a dissertation in practical sanctification.

I’ve often wondered “how many believers actually have heard all the counsel of God?” Some older believers have undoubtedly heard all the counsel of God, but I would venture a pretty experienced pastoral guess that many, if not most Christians have never been all the way through the Bible, either on their own or in church. Why is this? I think there are 3 primary reasons that a professing Christian could go through life and never know all the counsel of God.

First, some preachers do not preach expositionally. This article is not intended to be a full explanation of expositional preaching, but expositional preaching is systematic, verse by verse, explanation and application of the various books of the Bible. Many pastors and denominations do not use this method of preaching. It would be nearly impossible to preach all the counsel of God using as a primary method any other form of preaching than exposition.

When I think of Paul’s phrase in Acts 20:27, the words that he used indicate that he had been assertive to deliver the entire message of God’s purpose and will to them. Generally, Paul’s statement here is recognized as a precedent for systematic and comprehensive preaching/teaching. It would be difficult to declare all the counsel of God by any other way.

As I think about the ministry of preaching and teaching to which God has called me, the systematic and comprehensive proclamation of all of God’s Word is a lifelong ministry task. I have preached an overview of every book of the Bible and I have preached verse by verse through at least 25 books of the Bible (of 66) in a little more than 20 years of pastoral ministry; this type of preaching has typically been 3 times a week. If the Lord gives me another 20 or 25 years of ministry, it could take that much time to preach/teach substantively through all the counsel of God.

Expecting to preach all the counsel of God without using a systematic approach is about the same as trying to paint the exterior of a house with 2 inch brush while blindfolded and expecting to cover everything.

Secondly, lack of faithful attendance to church in which the Bible is preached will deprive many of the opportunity to hear all the counsel of God. Even with many churches now making their services available through either livestream or recordings, the digital statistics are quite clear that the numbers of those who are missing services are not watching them online. Digital technicians have a pretty accurate number of how many people are listening or watching, and the number is not anywhere near those who are not there. In a decades long ministry at a church, I’ll only have enough time to preach verse by verse through a particular book once. Furthermore, only one third of the messages I preach are going to be on Sunday morning; two thirds of the messages I preach to declare all the counsel of God are preached on either Sunday or Wednesday night. Even if someone attended every Sunday morning service, they are still not hearing all the counsel of God. Most believers go through life and never hear a full explanation and application of many parts of the life of Christ, or the epistles, or the Psalms, or the prophets, or the book the Revelation! Such a lack leaves one only partially prepared for spiritual battles, only partially equipped for ministry, only partially partaking of the things provided for life and godliness.

Thirdly, most Christians have never read through their Bible. The Ponce Foundation recently did a study that concluded that only 30% of Christians claim to have read through the Bible! Believers should not depend solely on their pastor to feed them spiritually. The ubiquity of the Bible, both printed and digital, has removed any excuse for a believer’s neglect of God’s Word. Depending on listening speed, the average time of listening through the Bible is between 35 and 70 hours. I recently calculated that I spend about 8 hours in a year sitting at one particular stoplight in my area. I spend about an hour a day in my car alone, my calculations are that I could listen to the Bible 7 times through in a given year, just in my car (depending on listening speed).

Several years ago, I read my Bible out-loud to myself in 8 weeks, by reading 2 and 1/2 hours a day. While that kind of time commitment may seem impossible for most people, the average American watches around 3 hours of television a day.

Many, if not most, professing Christians never hear or read all the counsel of God. It may be that their pastor is not preaching and teaching systematically through the Bible, it may be that they do not faithfully attend services in order to hear all the counsel of God declared, or it may be that they never read through the Bible themselves. There is not an excuse for this neglect of God’s Word.

I understand that practically there may be small gaps in someone’s Biblical diet, but it ought to be the painful exception, not the standard. If there is a gap in your Bible intake, let me challenge you to ask the Spirit of God why that is, and then ask Him to motivate you by the grace of God to “live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God!” To live by every word of God, you need to hear or read all the Words of God!

I hope that you are one of the 30% that has read through your Bible; I hope that you are one who faithfully hears the declaration of God’s Word from the pulpit in your local church. The Word of God is living and life-giving! It is powerful and transformative! It is the wisdom for life as the mind of God on every subject! It extends God’s grace through His Spirit! You need it! Don’t neglect it!

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