Radio personality Paul Harvey
used to have a segment of his show which he called, The Rest
of the Story. In it he often presented historical
vignettes whose outcomes were generally known by most of his
listeners. What he then did was to set forth the little-known
events that led up to these occurrences. Thus he set forth the rest of
the story. It is quite common for zealous
religious teachers to set forth their theology by using parts
of various scriptures, which when taken alone might purport
to lend credence to their errant doctrines. when in reality they
leave off the rest of the story, which sets forth the whole truth,
which is often inconvenient to their own perverted theories.
Taking scriptures out of their proper context and ignoring parts
of them is to handle the Word of God deceitfully. When a lie
is told often enough, even those who tell it can start to believe
it is the truth. Paul told the Ephesian elders,
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
His desire was to manifest the truth. knowing that the plain
truth is its own defense and does not need the sophistry and
eloquence of men in order for it to stand. Generally, the scriptural
doctrines which are most ignored by failing to declare the whole
counsel of God are those having to do with the absolute sovereignty
of God in the salvation of His elect bride. Instead of magnifying
the glory of His grace, the perverters of truth seek to promote the
notion that the enjoyment of salvation is a product of the
free will of men. Who has not heard them say, God
is not willing that any should perish? This quotation is set
forth to supposedly prove that God is trying or hoping to save
all men. The actual truth of the scripture
is plainly revealed by simply reading the whole passage. The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count
slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The usward
of whom Paul is speaking are the exact same ones to whom he
addressed this epistle. God is not willing that any of
his elect should perish, and will bring them all to repentance
and faith. Another one is, him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. This quotation is true enough,
but it is partially quoted in order to prove that God is mound
to save all who make a profession of faith. Those who leave off
the rest of the story would do so in order to deny the election
of grace. The whole scripture says, All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. Those who are given to Christ
in sovereign election are the exact same ones who come to him
and are never cast out of his presence. All things work together
for good. Once again, this partial truth
is set forth in a manner to deny the specific love of God for
His elect people. The whole scripture reads, And
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. His purpose is clearly set out
to be the conformity of the elect, that is, those whom he foreknew
or loved beforehand and called, to Christ. Thus he causes all
things to work in concert for their benefit and ultimate blessing. Here is another passage which
is true enough as it is quoted, but as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. But by ignoring the verse which
follows it, the power is purported to be the free will of man to
receive it. When we read the following verse, which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God, it is clear that the power to receive and
believe is not the product of flesh and blood, nor the free
will of man, but is rather the work of God himself. This concludes another broadcast
of Morsels for Zion's Poor. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.