What is "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27)?
The original Greek phrase translated, "the whole counsel of God," is
πασαν την βουλην του θεου (pasan ten boulen tou Theou),
and πασαν (pasan) means "all, every, whole,
total," so the phrase means, "all, every, total, whole counsel of God."
What does Paul imply by saying that he has "not shunned"
declaring "the whole counsel of God"?
Others may have shunned it.
Why?
Declaring all, every, total, whole counsel of God includes preaching against
sin: "For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you
such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish;
lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; lest, when I come
again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have
sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and
lewdness which they have practiced" (2 Corinthians 12:20-21).
How do sinners typically react when their sins are
preached against?
They try to hide, downplay the seriousness of and/or justify their sins, and
then turn against the preacher: "And I will very gladly
spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you,
the less I am loved." (2 Corinthians 12:15)
Then why did Paul continue to preach against sin?
He cared more about them getting right with God and going to heaven than
them liking him or supporting his ministry (pastors take notice). But an
even more serious reason is below.
Why does Paul say that he is "innocent of the blood of
all men" (Acts 20:26) for not shunning to declare the whole counsel of God?
Warned but unrepentant sinners are responsible for their own demise, but the
responsibility for the demise of the unrepentant sinners who were not warned
rests with the one who shunned to warn them: "... When I bring the sword upon a land, and
the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their
watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the
trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet
and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood
shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not
take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will
save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow
the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes
any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood
I will require at the watchman’s hand" (Ezekiel 33:2-6). Paul blew
"the trumpet," so he is innocent of the blood of
those who did not repent and are perishing.
Regarding the "blood" of the unrepentant sinners around
or in front of you, can you declare as Paul declared?