Sunday, June 24, 2018

The Rock Of Offence

Any man or woman who goes into ministry must expect that, if they are doing their job, they will inevitably be savaged by people. The Bible itself says that Christ is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence -- they stumble because they disobey the message". And notice that this verse recoils on the listeners. The apostles got into such serious trouble that, apparently, only one escaped with his life -- and he was exiled. OBSERVATION: The question is, may one tailor one's gospel to remove offence? Here I think the Scriptures give us the lead, which includes the example of Christ. Yes and no. But during the last generation, something has changed: many ministers today carefully avoid giving offence in every way. I think that, while some wisdom is advised, it cannot be done. One gets wounded in the fray.

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