Offense

Offense

I Being Offended

By the truth

Jesus Christ Himself was that great stone of stumbling and rock of offense. 1 Pet. 2:7. Everyone who wants to live for himself and go his own way; everyone who wants to hide, spare himself, and draw back; everyone who does not want to put off all sin; everyone who wants to be conceited; everyone who desires to keep his riches to himself; everyone who imagines he is smart and clever; everyone who wants to save his life must inevitably stumble over and be offended by Jesus Christ, for He was and still is against all such things. The lords of this world and religious lords have stumbled over Him in droves and been crushed to pieces, individually and in groups.

As soon as we are faithful to Christ, we will also become stones of offense, stumbling stones, and rocks of offense. Because we preach and hold unshakably fast to the laws of the Spirit of life in all situations and in every possible way, people become furious and are offended by one thing or another, all according to how the truth hits their weak points—what they do not like or cannot bear to hear; the truth that they will not acknowledge.

They are offended because they do not want to put off sin in those relevant areas.

By other people’s sin

God has borne with and forgiven us all our sins, and He still does that. And yet people can be so cruel and unreasonable that they cannot bear other people’s sins. They demand that certain people should behave in a certain way; and if they do not, they are offended. People often get angry at God and the church because some brother or sister has said or done something. They think that if that particular person has actually done such a thing, then you can forget about everything. This is simply the result of one’s own wickedness. This is just as bad as if you were angry at or rejected “Hansen” because “Olsen” has done something wrong.

Whether the person is offended by something good or bad, the result is equally bad. When a person is offended, the reason is always—without exception—his own sin. There is no excuse for getting offended. Others provide an occasion for it, but the cause is always in the person himself.

This is stated with all desirable clarity in Psalms 119:165: “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” There is simply no reason under the sun for it! It does not exist! The Lord be highly praised!

If a person gets offended, it is essentially reason is because he does not love the laws by which he was judged or offended or the laws that encourage a forgiving and peaceable mind.

II Causing Offense

“He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” 1 John 2:10.

“But rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” Rom. 14:13. “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love.” V. 15.

Causing offense is synonymous with sinning against your brothers or fellow men. If I love them sincerely, I do not cause them to be offended. However, if they still take offense that is a totally different matter.

Just as surely as it is always wrong to take offense, so it is also always wrong to cause offense. These are two widely different things. It is possible to take offense without any cause for offense; by the same token it is possible to cause offense without anyone being offended.

If I walk in love, I neither cause nor take offense. If I do not walk in love, I both cause and take offense. The offenses that are caused by those who do not walk in love are avoided by those who walk in love, but who do not walk in love stumble over them.