Paul had declared, as the King James puts it, all the counsel of God. Are we also sharing the full message? There is absolutely no salvation in that statement. Because we deserve death, not love. But He loves us anyway; even though we are His enemies. Now how do we communicate this? The older I get and the more I witness to people, I realize how important this verse isβ¦. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye. How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye?
You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. If I am obviously not living a Christian life, then why would anyone want to believe what I have to say about sin and the punishment for it? Let me ask you something serious. Is adultery wrong? Then why do you watch pornography? Remember that Jesus said if you look with lust then you have committed adultery in your heart. This was something God had to give me the strength to get past. Two songs are old favorites, but I have stopped listening to them because I realized they were poisoning my mind.
It may not be a sin to you to listen to them, but to me it is. They glorify adultery and I want no part of them any more. Keep watch over all the believers. The Holy Spirit has made you leaders over them. He bought it with his own blood. I know that after I leave, wild wolves will come in among you. Even men from your own people will rise up and twist the truth. They want to get the believers to follow them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning you.
Night and day I warned each of you with tears. Now I trust God to take care of you. I commit you to the message about his grace. It can build you up. Then you will share in what God plans to give all his people. There is so very much in this passage we need to unpack! First, those that you have helped lead to Christ are now disciples of Christ. It is up to them to find a church and grow and learn.
I think about the role of evangelist as opposed to a pastor. A pastor is there to lead the flock day after day and week after week. Your local pastor fits this role, but someone like Billy Graham was an evangelist. He would go and share the Gospel and help people see the truth. Two roles to play - different, yet similar.
