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The Offence of the
Gospel
Rom
9:33 (KJV)
As it is written,
Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offence:
and whosoever believeth on
him shall not be ashamed.
1 Pet
2:7-8 (KJV)
Unto you therefore
which believe Jesus is precious:
but unto them which be
disobedient,
the stone which the
builders disallowed,
the same is made the head
of the corner,
{8} And a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence,
even to them which
stumble at The Word, being disobedient:
whereunto also they were
appointed.
From the testimony of the above Scripture verses, it is obvious that we should never be afraid that we will
offend someone by telling them the Gospel, or quoting the Word of God to them.
It is part of the inherent power of God's Word that it will offend and convict
someone who is sinning or resisting the Lordship of Christ in their lives. The
only way NOT to offend them, is to NOT share the clear Word of God with them,
and this then, of course, makes us disobedient to the Very Christ who commands
us to share it. So we are left in a dilemma: share the Word and face the
possible results of offending sinners, or hide the Word and face the rebuke of
the Holy Spirit for our faithlessness.
In our
current era, we are being bombarded from the worldly media with almost a
repressive demand that we say only what is politically correct, because we might
"offend" somebody or "hurt somebody's feelings". This is of course being
adequately policed by the ACLU and other lawsuit-happy types who will back up
their not-so-subtle attempts at thought control with legal action or even
criminal action. It seems to be having the overall effect of fulfilling one of
Jesus' prophecies, wherein he said ....
{9} Then shall they
deliver you up to be afflicted,
and shall kill
you:
and ye shall be hated of
all nations for my name's sake.
{10} And then shall
many be offended,
and shall betray one
another,
and shall hate one
another.
{11}
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
{12} And because
iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall grow
cold.
{13} But he that shall
endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:8-13
The Bible is quite specific that
it is the Word of God that has the inherent power to change lives. That is why I
always try to include Bible verses with the devotionals I send out;
ie, without the
Word present, the stories lack the power on their own to change a person's life.
Consider this
multiple choice test...
Heb 4:12 (KJV) For
_______?______is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.
Fill in the blank with one of
these possible answers:
a) a cute little pithy
story
b) a cleverly written
poem
c) man's cunningly devised
ideas
d) fuzzy digital bunnies hopping
across a screen full of hearts and shubbery
e) The Word of God
Please understand: I went
for almost 30 years as a born-again, spirit-filled Christian with only a very
few actual face to face conversions. I always had this negative feedback feeling
when I would quote a Bible passage to someone,
like this is some kind of
foolish statement..or it was falling on empty ears..or the person would get
offended by what I said. Certainly we can't offend somebody by quoting scripture
to them , especially when we are trying to witness to
them....
Well guess what...That is
What the Word of God is For !! Jesus said that "I have not come to
bring peace, but a sword.!" . Note also this surprising attitude about
offending people displayed by the Saviour..
Mat 15:10-14 (KJV)
And he called
the multitude, and said unto them,
Hear, and
understand:
{11}
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man;
but that
which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
{12}
Then came his disciples, and said unto him,
Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard
this saying? {13} But he answered and said,
Every plant,
which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
{14} Let them alone: they be blind
leaders of the blind.
And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch.
Apparently, Jesus is not worried
about offending people with His Word. He knows that if someone is offended by
the Word of God, it means that the Word has penetrated their "comfort zone" of
sinful activities and attitudes. This is ultimately a GOOD THING
for their soul, if it serves to keep them out of Hell. And in
addition, it is this offence that serves to wake people up out of the doldrums
of worldly induced apathy. {"I would that you were either
Hot or Cold"(Rev 3:15)}
It wasnt until I made this
discovery that my personal ministry really took off..I have been priviledged to
lead more people to Christ in the last 2 years than I even ever talked to
the last 30 years. Hundreds...maybe thousands..and why?? I attribute it to
finally getting the proper respect for the inherent power of the Word of God
itself. I just quote the appropriate scripture and let the Holy Spirit do the
rest. I dont worry about the consequences because God is in control, sees into
the person's heart, and keeps pounding the Word into their memory until it
"accomplishes the thing whereunto He sent
it."
So shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth:
it shall not return
unto me void,
but it shall
accomplish that which I please,
and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Isa 55:11 (KJV)
As the
Scriptures express it,
"See, I
am sending Christ to be the carefully chosen,
precious Cornerstone of my church,
and I
will never disappoint those who trust in him."
{7}
Yes, he is very precious to you who believe;
and to
those who reject him, well--
"The
same Stone that was rejected by the builders
has become the Cornerstone,
the
most honored and important part of the building."
{8}
And the Scriptures also say,
"He is
the Stone that some will stumble over,
and the
Rock that will make them fall."
They
will stumble because they will not listen to God's Word nor obey
it,
and so this punishment must follow--that they will
fall.
1 Pet 2:6-8 (TLB)
And so I solemnly urge you
before God and before Christ Jesus--
who will someday judge the
living and the dead
when he appears to
set up his Kingdom--
{2} to preach the
Word of God urgently at all times,
whenever you get the
chance,
in season and out
of season,
when it is convenient and
when it is not.
Correct and rebuke
your people when they need it,
encourage them to do right,
and all the time be feeding
them patiently with God's Word.
{3} For there
is going to come a time
when people won't listen to
the truth
but will go around looking
for teachers
who will tell them
just what they want to hear.
{4} They won't
listen to what the Bible says
but will blithely follow
their own misguided ideas.
{5} Stand steady,
and don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord.
Bring others to
Christ.
Leave nothing undone
that you ought to do.
2
Tim 4:1-5 (TLB)
And Jesus came and spake unto them,
saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth.
{19} Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: {20} Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world.
Amen.
Mat 28:18-20 (KJV)
And I will utter my judgments against
them
touching all their wickedness,
who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto
other gods,
and worshipped the works of their own
hands.
{17} Thou therefore gird up thy loins,
and arise,
and speak unto them all that I command thee:
be not dismayed at their faces,
lest I confound thee before them.
{18} For, behold, I have made thee this day a
defenced city,
and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole
land,
against the kings of Judah, against the princes
thereof,
against the priests thereof, and against the people of
the land.
{19} And they shall fight against thee;
but they shall not prevail against thee;
for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver
thee.
Jer 1:16-19 (KJV)
In Christ.....brother
bob.....<><
IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN
GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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bob.......<><
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