Are You Easily Offended?

Well, thank you very much, ladies. That was a beautiful song. We really appreciate all your work. I know you've been working quite a bit before and after church, so we do appreciate that.

Several years ago, we had a friend of ours who's in the ministry have a member talk to him.

The member said, out of love and concern, I need to mention something to you.

Well, my minister friend felt very vulnerable at this point.

He thought that the member was going to bring something up. Perhaps he had said something, maybe he had done something, and he was going to correct him about it. And the member said, I don't know if you notice, but you have two different colored shoes on.

Well, the minister had actually gone out of the house that morning, I don't know, or earlier or whatever, and grabbed two different colored shoes, a black, brown, whatever it might have been. Well, he felt a little relieved after that. I'm not quite sure what he did then. But I want you to notice back in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 13.

1 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 13.

Paul says, therefore, if food make my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Now, in the King James Version, it talks about being offended. The Greek word means to put a stumbling block before somebody, an impediment in their way upon which somebody might trip, somebody might fall. And, you know, it does mean to cause them to stubble or to be offended.

I've known people who've left the church, and from what they've said to me later on, I was part of the reason. I remember talking to somebody at the first Feast of Tabernacles after United started. And we had a big laugh because I had disfellowshipped them, and here they were in United. Well, I told them, well, we were both in the same boat, because I got disfellowshipped, too. And they had been disfellowshipped because they had gone off with some other group. And I'd been disfellowshipped because I wouldn't work on the Sabbath and do a lot of other things. So we've all, at one time or another, offended other people.

I don't know of any minister in the church that this hasn't happened to. And it began with Jesus Christ because Christ offended people. It began with Paul. Paul offended people. And it's continued on down to our day to day with various situations that come up.

Now, I want you to notice what Christ says in Matthew 18. Matthew chapter 18.

And verse 7. Matthew 18 verse 7. He says, Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. Now, the word offense here, again, means to put something in front of someone that would cause them to stumble. Actually, it means a movable stick or trigger, a trap. Where you have a trap, somebody hits the trigger and the door slams shut and they're caught. Well, it's also the word that is referred to in the Bible where people stumbled over Jesus Christ and became offended at Him. As I said from time to time, all of us have offended somebody. Let's notice in James chapter 3 and verse 1. James the third chapter. It says, My brethren, let not many of you become teachers. Why? Well, there's a problem. Knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. So anyone who is in a position to teach others is going to be judged more strictly for what he says, what he does, for his example.

For we all stumble in many things, he says, and if anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. So what you find is from time to time, the fact that you and I are not yet perfect, we do stumble and we do cause offense. Now, let's go back again to chapter 18 in the book of Matthew, and I want you to notice something that perhaps you hadn't thought of before when it comes to this topic. I'm sure you have heard many sermons about, be careful that you don't offend other people. But let's notice here in verse 6, But whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him than a millstone were hung around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

Now, I want you to notice, first of all, it's not just saying he gets their feelings hurt, but causes them to sin, leads them astray. What I want to focus on is, who is a little one? Now, the first thing that would immediately jump to our mind is the fact that a little one is probably somebody who's newly converted. A new person in the faith. The word offend comes from the Greek word scandalize, from which we get the English word scandal. Somebody who causes a scandal can cause other people to stumble over his example or over what he does. We can cause others to sin, be offended, or just stumble. It's a scary feeling to know that you've offended somebody.

But let's take a look at this from a little different point of view.

What about you as the one who is offended, rather than the one who offends? Should you and I be offended?

The Bible has a lot to say about offending, but it also has a lot to say about those who are easily offended. Even those who might be in the right or have a good reason to be. In Matthew 18, 6, we're told to be careful not to offend somebody who is new, but we need to think also of the fact that a little one could also be referred to, and when you apply the basic principle, to someone who is spiritually immature, who is not spiritually mature to the point that they should be.

Someone who might be not mature in tolerance, little ability to withstand bad treatment, little in forgiveness, little in understanding human nature, all things that could contribute to somebody being spiritually immature. If we remain little in maturity, there will come a time in the future when we will pick up a millstone hanging around our neck, jump off the boat in the water, and sink to the bottom. We will be offended and leave the church. There will come a time when someone knowingly or unknowingly will offend us, and God will put the blame not necessarily on their shoulders, but on our shoulders for being so easily offended. You see, once we become a member of God's church and have His Spirit, there comes a point to where we are supposed to grow and have a certain level of maturity so that things like this do not bother us to the degree maybe they did before we were converted.

We have to consider why people become offended. Let me ask a series of questions, and you filled in the blank. How easily are you offended? How easily are you offended? How easily are you insulted? How easily is it for you to get your feelings hurt? How thin-skinned, sensitive, and touchy are you? You know, sometimes we say, well, boy, you're really touchy. I've said that to my wife. She said it to me. And, of course, when she says it to me, I say, I'm not touchy. And, of course, proving her point.

We can all, you know, get touchy over certain things. All of us have limits. We have soft spots. We're vulnerable. We have sort of a soft underbelly in certain areas.

Do you know what the Bible says and what God has to say about being easily offended? Easily hurt? Well, that's what we want to take a look at today. What does it mean to be offended? Does it mean just to get mad, go off in a huff? How would you define being offended? The Greek word, there are two or three Greek words that are translated offended or stumble, means to cause to stumble. That you do something that causes somebody else to stumble over it. To stumble over it. Again, the question that I think that pertains to this sermon is this.

Can we cause ourselves to stumble? Have you ever caused yourself to stumble over something?

Can we place a stumbling block in our own path so that eventually we fall over it? I think there are examples in the Bible of people doing just that, as we will see. Before we turn to them, I want to ask another question that I think is a bigger question. Maybe it has never crossed our minds. Maybe it has.

Would you or would I ever become offended in Christ? Would you ever become offended in Jesus Christ?

Now, before you answer that real quickly, put yourself in the place of some people in the Bible who did. And ask yourself, could it happen to me? And could it happen to any of us today? Let's go over to Matthew 26 and verse 26. We're all familiar with this section, Matthew 26, 26.

This is the final Passover, the Jesus Christ, kept with His disciples.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, He blessed it, He broke it, He gave it to His disciples and said, Take heat, this is my body. Then He took the cup and gave thanks, gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you, for the, which is shed for many, for the remission or forgiveness of sins. And I say to you that I will not drink of the fruit of this vine from now on until the day that I drink it in you with you and my Father's kingdom. And when He had sung of Him, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Now, you would think that they were so inspired, so uplifted, so close to God after this, having Christ explained to them some of the particulars of the new covenant, that nothing would ever really bother them.

Notice verse 31. And Jesus said to them, All of you will be made to stumble, or as the margin says, will be offended at me, or stumble over me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. And guess what? Every one of them was offended over Christ that evening. Now, what if Christ were here right now, and He called out your name, my name, and looked at us right in the eye and said, Joe, Tom, Dick, Harry, Sally, Susie, and whatever our name might be, you will be offended at me. What would we say? Oh, no, not me, Lord. I would never be offended. What would be our reaction?

Well, let's notice Peter's reaction. Actually, Peter became a little offended over Christ saying this. Verse 33, Peter answered and said to him, even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.

Now, you know, he thought, well, I would never stumble at this, but notice what Christ said. Jesus said to him, assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I have to die for you, I will not deny you. And so said all the disciples, not just Peter, but every one of them.

Now, you know the rest of the story, as Paul Harpy would say.

So what you find, his disciples did become offended. Were they mad at Christ? Well, of course not.

They just stumbled. They became offended because they were being accused by the Romans and the Jews. Oh, you're one of his disciples. You know, you've got a Galilean accent. No, no, we're not one of his disciples. They were offended to be associated with Jesus Christ in a negative way. Somehow their vanities, their egos, their desire to be accepted, their desire to be approved, something got in the way here. And they ran off. And they thought, well, the jig is up and it's all over. And they became offended. Now, back up here to chapter 11.

I want you to notice John the Baptist. John was the one who came proclaiming Christ.

And yet, John, at one point, wondered. Let's notice here in verse 1, John, excuse me, Matthew 11, Matthew 11, verse 1.

Now, it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding his twelve disciples that he departed from there to teach and to preach in their sittings.

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, Are you the coming one? Are you the one coming? Are you the one we're looking for? Are you the Messiah? Or do we look for another?

Now, that seems to be an odd thing for John to say, isn't it? I mean, why would he say that? He'd been going around proclaiming Christ. Actually, he was baptized by him. You know, he was related. He got all of this going on. And he had heard these rumors about Christ.

Now, let's notice in verse 6 what Christ said.

Blessed is he who is not offended because of me.

You see, a lot of people become offended because of Christ, because if Christ lives in us, then the life that we live should be Christ living in us. And what we do, the days we keep, the customs we keep, should reflect Jesus Christ. And yet, I've known people in the past who, you know, denied being a member of the church, you know, denied certain doctrines or beliefs because, oh, you know, you're one of those, you know, Armstrongites, or you're one of those people who belong to such and such. You're a cult or whatever it might be. And sort of back down, I remember in the early days of the ministry that a lot of times, I really don't know why this was so prevalent, somebody would ask a minister, you know, are you a minister? No, I'm an ambassador to college representative. Well, you know, the idea was a minister was looked down upon. A lot of times made fun of, depending on what part of the country you lived in. So, not that you were ashamed of it, but, you know, the first thing that would pop out of your mouth is, well, I'm an ambassador to college representative. Oh, you represent a college, what do you do? Well, you go on talking about you interviewed college students. Well, you did that. About how much of your time was taken up interviewing college students? Well, very little. Most of the time, obviously, was taken up in the ministry. Notice what Christ says here in verse 6. Amplified. I'd like to read this out of the amplified version.

Blessed, happy, fortunate, and to be envied, is he who takes no offense at me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through me and is not hindered from seeing the truth. Now, let's back up to verse 4, and I want you to notice how Jesus Christ answered John's disciples when they came and they asked him this question.

Might seem out of context, but in verse 4, Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things that you hear and see. The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. The leopards are cleansed. The dead are the deaf hear. The dead are raised up. The poor have the gospel preached to them.

And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.

What you find is that Jesus Christ said, Look, look at the fruits. Look at what's being produced. Look at the healing. Look at people's lives being changed. And you go back and you tell John. Down through the ages, we could cite many examples, but what about Miriam and Aaron stumbling over Moses? You know, they said, Well, the Lord has spoken through us. Who? Has God just spoken through you?

What about the Israelites getting offended over Samuel, his sons, over David's actions?

Interesting thing is, in all of these examples that you can look at, other people observing the same situation didn't get offended, didn't stumble, didn't get upset. Oftentimes, you find it's too easy to get offended. And a lot of times, it's the person who's the closest to a situation, who can most easily get upset or offended.

Back here in verse 18 and 19 of this chapter, notice, verses 18 and 19, Christ shows that you cannot please human nature. I don't care what you do. You can't please him. John came neither eating or drinking.

They said, He's got a demon. I mean, that was their judgment. Well, the Son of Man came eating and drinking.

And they said, Look, a gluttonous man. And a wine bibber.

A friend of text collectors and sinners.

But wisdom is justified by her children.

So it didn't matter if you had the example of John, who lived an extreme life. Well, you know, he's got a demon. Nobody would live like that. Here you come Christ living a balanced life, eating and drinking. Well, he's a glutton. So there are some people, it doesn't matter who they are, they're going to get upset. We should not be that way. The Bible clearly shows that there are many things that causes offense. In chapter 13 of the book of Matthew, verse 20, let's notice some of these. Matthew 13, verse 20.

He who received the seed near the seed of the sower, he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. How many times have I seen people walk through that door or come to services? They heard a few broadcasts. They read a Good News magazine, read some of our booklets. They're overjoyed. They seem excited to come and fellowship with us. And yet, he has no root in himself and endures only for a while. But when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word immediately, he stumbles.

So you'll find sometimes people stumble because of tribulation they go through, trials they go through, or persecution, and they become they're persecuted.

The root has to do with understanding human nature.

Having humility and confidence in God.

As we will see as I progress through this sermon, two of the major areas we need to have that prevents this is to have true humility and secondarily to have confidence and trust in God. And when we become offended, what you find too often is because we're lacking in this.

We should, as a Christian, be willing to suffer loss.

You realize one of the principles brought out in the Bible, that one of the ways to have peace, to bring about peace, is to be willing to take a loss. Be willing to say, okay, fine. And you know, you take a loss.

But too often people are not willing to do that. We live in an age in a society where everybody seems to be out here fighting for the rights. And you know, people think everybody has rights, dogs have rights, the, you know, anything you want to name has a right. And you know, that's placed on there. People don't think about responsibility, duty. They don't think about loyalty. They don't think about work. They just think about rights. And so what you find too often, we're not willing to take a loss and preserve peace. But we go about what we think demanding what might be right or might not be right. One may have the word, maybe doctrinally right, but the root cause is not right, which is strength of character. You and I have to have strength of character so that things don't upset us and bother us that way. In John 6, we find another group of people who became offended. John 6, verse 60.

Here Jesus Christ gets into the heart and core of his message. He talks about how he was the bread of life who came down from heaven.

And he begins to talk about how he can give eternal life.

Verse 60.

Therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? And when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured about this, he said to them, does this offend you?

Is this something that offends you? What then, if you should see the Son of Man is sending where he was before? Now, notice in verse 66. From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.

Now, they became offended at Christ, at what he taught. They stumbled over what he said. And you'll find that too often, many times, we can allow something like this to occur to us.

In Matthew 24, verse 8, we find a prophecy that applies to the end time, but it's also a prophecy that has been fulfilled down through the ages. Matthew 24, verse 8.

Historically, this has happened in the past, and yet, in the future, it's going to happen again.

All these are the beginning of sorrows, Christ said.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. You will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

Then many will be offended and betray one another, will hate one another, and many false prophets will rise up. So, notice, many will be offended and many will betray one another, and many will hate one another.

Is that something that could happen to one of us?

Look down the road. Could it happen to somebody?

You know, somewhere down the road from you.

Notice the amplified version again of this verse.

Then many will be offended. So, it says there's going to come a time when many people will be offended and repelled, and begin to distrust and desert him whom they ought to trust and obey. And will stumble and fall away, and will betray one another and pursue one another. With hatred.

Why would something like this happen?

Can you picture a time in the future where somebody who may have been a member of the church turned you into the authorities?

You know, comes after you. You know, maybe, you know, post signs in your yard, burns, crosses, or, you know, any number of things to, you know, draw attention to you.

We've seen over the years all kinds of things that have offended people. Let me just list some of the things that I've seen.

These are my own personal observations. I'm sure you can come up with a list and add several more things to it. People get offended over what somebody says.

What somebody does or does not do.

I remember an elderly person once who told a minister, she couldn't respect any minister who had a mustache. He had a mustache. So where does that leave you? Well, the logic says, I can't trust anybody who has a mustache. Mustache. You as a minister have a mustache. Therefore, I can't trust you. I mean, that's that was the bottom line.

I know another man who didn't like a church pastor. And, you know, I went out and I tried to work with him. And finally, he admitted to me why he didn't like the church pastor. He said, well, his hair is too far down on his forehead. Now, he wasn't talking about bangs. This particular man's hair grew down a little further on his forehead than the average person. And he said, I don't like him. His hair is too far down.

I said, I don't think there's much he's going to be able to do about that.

Sometimes people get offended over correction. They think you don't understand me. You don't know this. You know, they think you judge wrongly, whatever it might be. Lack of promotion. Sometimes. I knew two men at one time. I just met them indirectly, but they were in the northwest.

This was back somewhere in the early 60s, so none of you know them. They came in. They were about the same age. They were friends. Same family. I think both of them had two children. They both had come into the church and were baptized within a week of each other.

They served a lot, and they both were ordained at the same time. Now, one man was going to be ordained as an elder, and the other was not. And that was unfair.

He said, we were baptized at the same time. We were ordained as a deacon at the same time, and I should be ordained as an elder at the same time. And he left the church over that. He became offended.

So, lack of promotion. Sometimes people become offended. Jealousy. People get jealous of others. The way things are done in the church.

You know, there have been times I haven't always agreed with how things are done. You may not agree, but are we going to become offended and leave the church over the way? You know, you think something might ought to be done. You think there should be seven chairs in a row instead of six. Or you think there should be one chair closer, and one off the back, or whatever it might be. These are the type of things that people get upset about.

Outside persecution. Fear of being associated with the church. God hasn't answered my prayer. God's not in this church. Therefore, you get offended, or you stumble.

Brother, why do we become easily offended?

Let me give you one basic reason, as illustrated in the Bible. We could call this any number of things, but I'll call it being self-focused. Focusing our minds on ourselves.

Anytime one allows the self to get offended, and stay offended, unable to get over it, continuing to bear grudges, having hurt feelings, upset, whatever it might be, almost always tracks back to this type of pride.

All of our problems are spiritual in nature, and this one comes back to pride, the vanity, to being self-centered in one way or another. To put it another way, it's simply being self-centered. My feelings are hurt, my views are not accepted, my way is not followed. Therefore, we get upset and offended. Let's notice in chapter 13 here in Matthew.

Matthew chapter 13 and verse 53. It came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables that he departed from thence, or from there. And when he had come to his own country, he taught them, and there is synagogues, so that they were astonished, and said, Where does this man get this wisdom? And these mighty works. Is not this the carpenter's son? Well, we knew Joseph. This is Joseph's boy. And we know him. It's not his mother's name called Mary. His brother's James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, and his sisters. Are they not with us? Where then did this man get all these things?

So they were offended at him. Notice. He's just a local yokel. He's a local boy. How could he be able to do anything? And so therefore they became offended. And notice what Jesus said in verse 57 here. Jesus answered, or Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house. And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. See, they didn't believe him, or you'll have any trust in him. They were saying, well, he's not better than us. You know, we know him.

If you want to see somebody's shortcomings very quickly and faults, ordain them. To where all at once now they're out in the public. And all of a sudden they become scrutinized as never before.

You know, this is why ministers are not sent generally back to an area where they grew up. Now, I can get away with it because none of you knew me.

When I grew up here. But you have somebody who grows up in an area, and everybody knew him. And you knew him as a little kid, and you saw him as a teenager, and you knew all of the things that he did wrong. He goes off to college, come back a few years later, he's married. He's now your pastor. Uh-oh. You know, that's just little so-and-so. You know him. How could he actually be a minister? Well, this is what Jesus Christ ran into.

Now, look at the opposite side of the coin. So far, I've given you only negative examples. But let me give you a striking example. I think it's a striking example. It's a marvelous example. And I think it's an example that all of us can learn from. And most of us would have difficulty duplicating.

Let me set the stage for you. How would you react? If you came up to me or any minister in the church and asked to be anointed, all I did was look at you. Or turn around and walk off. You scratch your head and come again. I'd like to be anointed. I look past you and just walk off. Would you get a little upset? What's the matter? Aren't I just as important as anybody else? I mean, you could see all of the emotions jumping out. Well, notice in chapter 15 of the book of Matthew, in verse 21.

Matthew 15, verse 21.

Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre in sight. And behold, a woman of Cana came from that region and cried out to him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed. And he answered her, not a word.

Ignored her! Didn't say anything to her. Okay, what would you think if you were this woman? You know, I come to him, I'm asking for help, and he's not giving me any help.

And then what would you do if others butted in and got involved in the situation? Notice the last part of verse 23.

And his disciples came and urged him, saying, Send her away! She cries out after us.

So they didn't have any tolerance for this. They said, Get her out here. You know, we don't want to have anything to do with her. Now, maybe Jesus Christ was being quiet. There could be several reasons here because we don't read everything. Because he wanted to see how his disciples were going to react. In this situation. You see, they were a little offended because she was a gentile. And so, you know, the master doesn't have time to fool the gentiles. And they were Jews. So, you know, that was their approach.

Then when Christ finally did speak to her, he put her in her place. Notice verse 24. Now, what if Christ were to say this to us? How would we react? He answered and said, I was not sent except of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He said, I'm not sent to the gentiles. I'm just sent to the sheep, lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Then she came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. She doesn't give up. She keeps asking.

And he answered and said, it's not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. Uh-oh.

You know, should I throw the food and the service that belong to the children, the dogs?

How would you feel? You know, if the analogy or the classification were being drawn from you. But let's notice what she did.

See, I'm not real confident how I would have handled this. Maybe you are, but I'm not. You know, I'm faced with this type of a situation.

Verse 27. She said, True Lord, you're right. Yet even the little dogs eat crumbs when they fall from their master's table. And then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. So Christ knew this. I mean, Christ knew the woman. He knew she had faith. He knew she had faith to be healed. He knew, I think, that she would handle it correctly. But he was trying to teach a lesson to those around him, and especially to his disciples. What would she have gained by being offended? Let's turn it around. Christ said, well, you know, the food belongs to the children, you know, not to the dogs. Now, what if she had gotten offended? What would she have gained? What would she have gained? She had had her pride. I'm not going to let him talk to me like that.

Her daughter would still be demon-possessed.

But she'd have the satisfaction of knowing she told him off. She'd put him in his place, hitting it away flat. Nobody tells me or deals with me that way.

Did she take that approach? Isn't that the approach that we see so often in society around us today? Where, you know, people are so crazy. People go after others. You know, they punch them out. You know, you get violent, angry, you know, all kinds of things that happen. She didn't do that. She didn't allow her pride to get in the way.

How important is our pride to us? How important is our vanity to us? How important is it for us to be so self-centered that, you know, we become easily offended?

It's amazing how unimportant it was to this lady, but the opposite was true of the Pharisees. It was very important to them. Chapter 15, verses 1 through 3. Let's back up here. Chapter 15, verse 1. Then the scribes and the Pharisees, who were from Jerusalem, came to Jesus, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.

And he answered and said to them, Well, why do you also transgress commandments of God? Because of your tradition. Now, I want you to notice, they had a tradition of the elders that you had to wash above your elbows, because if you're going to eat, there might be some germs that are going to creep down from the elbows. It was the time you get down there to the food. Yeah, who knows why they did this? It was a ritual. Where in the Bible, where in the Old Testament do you find it says you got to wash when you eat up to your elbows. I'll tell you what. My wife has fixed me many a lunch, and I've been out hunting. And I've been out in the middle of the woods somewhere about 11 o'clock or noon. I start bringing food out and start eating it. There's no water within miles around. I don't even think about it. I go ahead and eat. Well, I would have been condemned. I would have offended the Pharisees. They would have gone looking for someplace to wash up above the elbows.

Now, look at what they became upset about, washing their hands compared to the lady who said, well, the food is not for the dogs, but for the children of Israel. If one would have been offended, she could have been. But notice verse 12.

Then his disciples came and said to him, Do you not know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard these sayings, when Christ corrected them? And he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father has planted will be uprooted. Let them alone, their blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall in the ditch. Now, here Jesus Christ was exhorting them. They became offended at Christ, in the Lord's affairs he did when he corrected them and he told them that they were disobeying God's law because they were keeping their own traditions. And they became offended at Christ. Was it his fault that he sinned here? Did he do something wrong?

Absolutely not. He told them they should have known better, but they became offended.

Now, sometimes when we become offended, it is our own fault. And here's an example, you know, that shows that. Christ was calling them to change their ways, to repent, to be a different person. But they weren't willing. They were going to hold on to their way, their traditions, instead of obeying God. Their problem is they assumed they knew better than Christ. What was right, their former pride. They didn't need to change. They just got mad and offended. Now, there's an interesting subplot here. Notice the role of the disciples. And compare this to their attitude towards the woman, the Gentile. A woman who was a Gentile, what did they say? Send her away. She's bothering us.

To the Pharisees, what did they say? Oh, don't you know you offended the Pharisees? You know, you need to go apologize or do something to these people.

What was the problem with them? Well, they were partial. They used partiality and judgment. They had to learn lessons. You see, brethren, God has called us into the church to change our ways, to change our viewpoints, to change how we look at things, how we handle things. And we should not be people who quickly get offended, who quickly get upset. We should be those who are willing to take a loss to bring about peace within God's church.

You and I are to reflect Jesus Christ's mind in our dealings and how we deal with one another. In 1 Peter 2, verse 7, 1 Peter 2 and verse 7, Christ inspired Peter here to explain the difference.

Verse 7, 1 Peter 2, Therefore to you who believe, he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builder rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. So notice, Christ becomes a rock of offense, a stone of assembling. They stumble, being disobedient to the word to which they were also appointed. But you and I are a precious generation, a chosen generation.

Verse 21 through 23, we find why Jesus Christ did not become easily offended. Let's notice it here, beginning in verse 21.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example. That we should follow his steps.

Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled did not revile and return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. See, Jesus Christ had humility, not pride, not vanity. You know, when they kept telling him, well, if you're the son of God, come down off that cross. If you're the son of God, do this. If you're the son of God, you know, perform this miracle. You sure are the son of God, do this, do that. Well, Christ didn't fall for their malarkey, because he knew who he was. He didn't have to do something to prove it to them. He knew he was God's son. So, therefore, he obeyed God. He had humility, didn't have pride. Are we able, when we look at our brethren, to those around us, to say, they're human, they're people, just like me, and people make mistakes.

You make mistakes, I make mistakes. You know, we're all human. I could do that, too. You know, maybe I would have said something or done something. Maybe somebody's weak in a particular area. Well, you and I may be strong in that area. They may be strong in the areas that you and I are weak in. You know, we just don't know. Or sometimes we might say, well, ouch, you know, that hurts, figuratively speaking. And assume that somebody didn't really understand what they were saying, or what they were doing, or the impact it was going to have on you, and be willing to overlook it in a marriage. Do you every little single thing that your mate ever does or says, or, you know, maybe that you wish they wouldn't do it, are you always harping on them? Are you always after them? Are you always bringing it up? We don't do those things. If it's important enough to bring up, or bring it up and talk about it, but if it's not, then don't leave it in the closet to bring out some other time. You know, we're good at piling things up in the closet. And like the great gilder sleeve, we open the door and it comes roaring out, and we bring all of the bones and skeletons out of the closet. We shouldn't do those type of things. Can we do like Christ said? Father, forgive them. They don't know what they do. Or, Father, forgive them. They shouldn't know better, but they don't. This was the attitude that kept Jesus Christ from getting offended very easily. Now, obviously, if somebody does something maliciously, our attitude should be then one of praying for them, asking God to help them, rather than committing another sin by becoming offended. Now, God has two people with problems he's got to deal with. You see, your compounding the problem doesn't help. What did Christ say to his disciples? And they asked him, Well, should we forgive people seven times? What did he say? 70 times seven. 70 times seven you should be willing to forgive.

We need to ask ourselves, what is it worth for us to get offended? What are we going to get out of it? Well, one thing we'll get, we'll get hurt feelings. You'll be hurt. So guess who's hurt? You are. I am. And we'll hold this back spiritually. It'll kill a forgiving spirit. It'll prevent us from developing the proper love and attitude towards other. It will kill our zeal for the work. It'll kill trust. It'll kill love. It'll kill war. Proverbs 18 and 19 tells us this. The book of Proverbs 18 and we'll read here 19.

A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, I'm talking about from the perspective that we are the ones getting offended, easily offended.

We won't be the same. We won't be the same in anything that we do, because we'll be angry, we'll be upset, we'll be hurt. We will get offended at the church at some point and reject the teachings of the church. We'll get offended at God and have a lack of faith in obedience. I've seen people get offended at God.

Why didn't you answer my prayer? Why did you allow my mate to die? Why did you allow my child to die? Why did you? Why did you? Why did you? It's always the why did. Or how come? However the question is expressed. And then we begin to doubt. Let me ask you another question. I think it's a major question. What if God got offended at us? What if God got so upset and offended at us that he got his feelings all hurt?

And his pride got the best of it. He gets offended because you don't pray enough. He's offended because you don't study enough. He's offended because you don't use his name enough. Or he gets offended at the way you're living. Where would we be? You and I would be in a pickle, I guarantee you, because we'd have God after us. But God's not that way, is he? God is a God of love, a God of mercy, a God of compassion, a God who is able to forgive.

I mentioned the word love. In John 15 and verse 12, you'll find that the love of God is what really helps us to overcome this problem. John 15 verse 12, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Verse 16, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain in whatever you ask, the Father in my name he will give it you.

These things I have commanded you, that you love one another. Now verse 20, Christ said, Remember the words that I have said to you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they'll persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep your word also. Well, they did persecute Christ. In chapter 16 verse 1, he said, These things have I spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. Christ said, I'm telling you these things ahead of time. You are going to have persecution. You are going to have trials. There are going to be things that are going to come along, but you and I should not stumble at them.

They will put you out of the synagogue. Yay, the time will come whoever kills you. We'll think that he offers God's service. These things they will do to you because they have not known the Father or me. But these things I have told you that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. I didn't say these things to you at the beginning, he said. So brethren, persecutions will arise.

We will have offenses. And if we haven't really developed the love of God the way that we should, the love for people, then we could very easily become offended. You see, not being offended is part of learning to love others. It's tied in directly with offense or a lack of offense. Why? Because we love others and not ourselves. The first four commandments tell us what? Tell us how to love God. The last six tell us how to love our neighbor. Now, what you find our focus, then, in our lives, in our minds, and how we live should be on God and on our neighbor, not on ourselves.

And too often we find, because we are self-absorbed, we have our minds on ourselves, and selfish, and self-centered, and have pride and vanity. And how do I know this? Because I've got it, just like you have. We all have these things. And when we are focused in this way, then what you find, we become easily offended. But if we're thinking about other people and how to honor them, please them, help them, and keeping God as the center of our lives and everything that we do, then we will not become easily offended.

We're all familiar with Psalm 119, but just as a reminder, Psalm 165, verse 165, Great peace have they who love your law. So if we love God's law, and notice, and nothing causes them to stumble, nothing will cause us to stumble or fall or be offended.

Why? Because God's law is totally opposite to anything that leads to being offensive. God's law shows us how to have the right mind, right attitude, and God in us. This is the love of God that we keep His commandments. Remember back in 1 John, love is outgoing. It's not self-centered. It's a mind that is concerned for others, not focused on the self. So it helps us to avoid stumbling, and thus it brings about peace of mind. The more we focus on ourselves, our wants, our desires, who we are, the more we can become offended. So, Brevin, offensive things do come along. We all will occasionally say something, do something that's going to offend others.

But we don't have to be offended by it. And if we are, do we stay offended? See, that's the big problem. If we stay offended, am I learning not to be offended? Am I learning then how to deal with those offenses when they do come so that I will not stumble? What will it take for me or for you to be offended? Is there anything that would offend us? We serve a living, dynamic God. You and I need to always be in contact with Him and help Him or ask Him to help us to develop two spiritual skins.

You and I need two spiritual skins. A thick skin of being sensitive and discerning about others so that you don't offend. Well, let me back up. A thin skin, because that wouldn't make sense. A thin skin of being sensitive and discerning about others so you don't offend them.

So when it comes to dealing with other people, we need to be thin-skinned. We need to be sensitive to people and their needs. At the same time, we need a thick skin so that when offenses do come, as Christ said, they must, they will. You and I won't stumble. We won't get so bent out of shape that we fall away. So rather than the think of the thin skin, the thick skin, we need both of them, and we need to apply the principles to make sure that we do not become easily offended.