Many speakers, evangelists, theologians, preachers have been riding the preaching roller coaster without actually seeking the whole truth, thoroughly studying the Scriptures, and fervently praying to the source of all knowledge and wisdom. They have been conditioned by preachers before or during their time whose sole purpose is to receive a glamorous acclamation and praise as one of the best preachers. They might even make it to the preacher’s ‘Hall of Fame.’ How absurd? Such determination shouldn’t shock nor impress an illuminated student of the Bible for it clearly foretold of such people (Galatians 1:6-7). Some have made use of several devices to fortify their theatrical presentation: shouting, cracking jokes, imitating each other’s style of delivery, hopping around, and even dancing as if they were at a night club—unaware that they are in fact in the house of God. They are getting paid in the name of Christ. It has become a true mockery of the sacred task given them as ‘watchmen’ leading the flock of Christ.

Preaching has become speech giving. Preaching has become a road by which some unleash philosophical eloquence. Preaching has become an event that gets its audience drunk with words of amusement pleasing to the ears. Preaching has become a voice encouraging the practice of all forms of sin at the cost of ‘cheap grace’. Preaching has become the appointed hour for the late church comers who struggle to arrive in time for a quick shower of ‘sweet talk’. Anything will do just to please the hearers and keep them coming.

What has been the content of the 21^st century’s evangelical messages? Are their contents based on the congregation’s demands just as the marketing industry gives its consumers a belly full of advertising hooks?

The undiluted gospel, unpreached by the popular speakers, avoided by its allergic listeners, restricted by mainstream broadcasters, rejected by the disillusioned philosophers, undermined by the well-off teenagers, has caused the seekers of ‘cheap grace’ to migrate towards the Joel Osteeners (feel good preachers) of our time [Rick Warren, Robert Schuller etc.]. The truth, as is delivered by Paul Washer—a Southern Baptist preacher—, “passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” [1] He who resents biblical truth has gone through the following stages. First, he denies being a sinner in need of a Savior. Second, he believes that he is superior to the Law of God. Third, he views God as his number enemy. God is loving but He is not sentimental. The Bible was not written to please man but to rebuke, correct, teach, and train him in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

How careful was Jesus about offending the crowds, the scribes and Pharisees?

Matthew 15:1-14 "Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" ³ Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' ⁵ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' ⁶ he is not to 'honor his father 'with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ⁸ "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁹ They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" ¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'" ¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, " Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" ¹³ He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Did Jesus offend some through His parables?

Matthew 20:1-15 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. ³ "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' ⁵ So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶ About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' ⁷ "'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' ⁸ "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' ⁹ "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' ¹³ "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

Did Jesus offend His twelve disciples?

Matthew 17:15-18 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic, and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ "And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him." ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said, " O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

Matthew 16:5-11 “…the disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." ⁷ And they began to discuss among themselves, saying, "It is because we took no bread." ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? ⁹ "Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 10 "Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you took up? 11 "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Did Jesus offend His mother?

“And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; ² and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding. ³ And when the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." ⁴ And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come” John 2:1-4.

How careful was Apostle Paul about offending his audience?

Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ and a proclaimer of the undiluted Gospel, made no apology to his audience but questioned them as such: “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Galatians 4:16

Some are even offended by Paul’s self-given title: “a slave of Jesus Christ” as read above. Why? For many align it with society’s definition of slavery. There is a clear distinction between being a slave of the world and of God. The latter, done voluntarily, is attached with nothing but heavenly blessings. The former is imposed by default upon the human race by the father of all lies.

How careful was Stephen about offending his audience?

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth” Acts 7:51, 54.

Anything that removes comfort irritates:

1. A father’s quiet time is interrupted by a crying baby or a noise making group of children.

2. A church member who sits besides or behind you is holding a conversation during the entire service. Your attention to the service is interrupted.

3. While asleep someone inserts a bird’s feather into your ear. Your comfortable sleep is interrupted.

4. When someone bumps you or steps on your foot.

5. When someone cracks a joke about you

6. When someone stands directly in front of you while sitting comfortably on the bus/train.

7. Even though your pew may not apparently have any room, you are nevertheless asked to squeeze over for a person to sit.

8. When a driver accidentally rides over a puddle and splashes you with dirty water

9. While deeply asleep someone turns on the bright light.

10. When, unexpectedly, the Creator wets you with His rain drops.

11. When someone blows his cigarette’s smoke in your direction.

Our desire to flee from discomfort is so great that even $1,000,000 cannot get us to

1. Exercise regularly

2. Relocate to a third world country as a missionary

3. Camp outdoors for only one night

4. Walk to the local pharmacy which is 10 minutes away from home

5. Change our diet to a healthier one

6. Spend a week without a television

7. Change our membership to a church with non-padded pews

When we require surgery in order to be healed from a life threatening disease, we submit at all cost to that procedure. During the surgery it takes a cut—sometimes several cuts—to get to the infected body part. Notice how I intentionally used the word cut. The Gospel is no different. To be healed of our desires of the flesh, we must let the Word of God cut into the weakness in order to receive spiritual healing. In a sense, God is a spiritual surgeon who is placing before us two options: (1) Let My Word cut you [accept spiritual surgery] (2) shut your ears to it [reject spiritual surgery].

Anyone who faces the word of God must face either option. The first option is followed by the tender love and care of God for the proper healing of the cut; but the other option keeps us in a state of spiritual sickness that will eventually lead to perdition. Nevertheless, unlike man’s healing that may not be possible after the enlargement, let say, of a cancer tumor, God’s healing awaits the sinner who goes on many years refusing to be cut by the Gospel. After all God is worthy of the title: ‘The Greatest Healer.’

Let’s take it a step further. What is the purpose of going to church? The primary motive ought to be the urge to worship the Lord God collectively. Secondly, it is the place where meticulous spiritual counseling is offered to the sinner who perhaps has not yet discovered his or her brokenness. Thirdly, it is a safe way to socialize. If we enlarge the second purpose we shall discover that this process calls for gradual or instantaneous healing—depending on what the sinner is confronting (every individual has a different spiritual diagnostic). In order to recognize this brokenness the sinner must be willing to accept the diagnostic given him by the Holy Spirit who in turns cuts him (offends him) by revealing any of the following: you have an ego, you are rude, you are selfish, you are full of pride, you are disrespectful, you are unfaithful to your spouse, you have an destructive addiction, you are insincere, you are full of hate, you love the pleasures of the world, you are insensitive to your neighbor etc. He (Holy Spirit) who reveals these conditions is also the one who will perform spiritual surgery upon the sinner who is in need of it. The Spirit of the Lord is never wrong about His assessments. The following is what Jesus presented those disciples who chose to no longer be His followers:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." ⁵² Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" ⁵³ Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." ⁵⁹ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. ⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" ⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? ⁶² What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." ⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” John 6:51-66.

The first underlined sentence presents a dual reality:

1. It forces no one to do so (freewill)

2. It applies to everyone (recognition)

The second underline reveals a gut wrenching decision for the worst: They reject their Master they once pretended to love. That choice finally revealed to man—not to God—what was truly in their hearts.

Every one under the voice of Jesus was offended by His saying; however only those who believed and submitted themselves to His word chose to be healed. The other group chose to terminate their discipleship because their ego told them not to seek healing from their Master. They are in fact silently saying that they are not sick and not in need of healing. It is the self—as it responds to the voice of the evil one—that is in fact rationalizing to the sinner that it is better to just reject the truth. The reaction of the departing disciples is mirrored within the church assembly for we can certainly testify that when some are offended by the truth of the Gospel from the pulpit (I am not referring to the rudeness of some preachers) they simply get up and walk away. This withdrawal produces two possibilities: (1) eventual repentance (2) continual denial and self confidence.

Jesus offended a Greek woman:

1. Mark 7:25-28 “In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." ²⁸ "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

To feel offended is to angrily respond to words of discomfort inwardly or outwardly. As it relates to the Bible, at what or towards who would that person be angry? (1) That person would be angry at the preacher (2) at the Holy Scriptures and lastly (2) at God. The preacher has absolutely nothing to do with the torment of the offended. He is just a deliverer of God’s Word.

The only way a hearer of the Word can escape from feeling hurtful is by not standing before the 10 commandments for it is them that anger every sinner who is looking for comfort—motivational speaking. The 10 commandments speak extremely loud and without error. Every human being is subject to the perfect law of God either willingly (as a disciple of Christ) or unwillingly (as a rejecter of Christ). The sternness of God leaves Him no room to tone down His unchanging precepts. Actually, it is the sinner that is offending the Holy Law by continuously transgressing it. And if we substitute the Holy Law with the character of God, for they are interchangeable, we are unequivocally disrespecting God whenever we take His name in vain, we practice idolatry, we worship other beings and things, we substitute His true day of worship for another, we dishonor our parents, we relentlessly commit adultery, murder, false witnessing, robbery, covetousness etc.

Cain offended God with his sacrifice. Here is an unchanging fact about the direction of offenses. Man’s offense towards God is unable to change who and what God is. However, when the offense comes from God two possibilities exist: either the sinner acts violently and angrily or he surrenders to the purpose of the offense.

To be offended by the words of Scripture is to reject rebuke, reproof, guidance, and correction; thus rejecting the Creator.

If God were to have a conversation with the offended one He would tell him or her ‘I am perfect and you are not.’ I want to mold you into perfection but you are resisting by not accepting that you are imperfect. My Son died on the cross in order to remove that hurtful feeling that you encounter every time a sermon gets under your skin and makes you sick. I can heal you from that sickness. All you have to do is surrender to me and I will help you let go of pride, lust, hate, jealousy, envy, strife, sexual perversion, disrespectful manners, immorality, idolatrous addictions etc.

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[1] Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788 – 1860).

Whether you are eating, drinking, singing, preaching, whatever you do, do it all for the Glory of God. Live today as if it was the last day you are living for and in Christ.

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW CHRIST!