“If your goal is to offend no one, you’ll never tell the truth, at least not the whole truth.”
from “Checkmate: The Bowers Files” by Steven James
So true.
Jesus said –
Jn 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
And in the process of saying this, Jesus offended lots of people –
The Children of Abraham
Jn 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jn 8:33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
Jn 8:34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.’”
Jn 8:39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
These days, when someone says they are offended by our “offensive” truth – too often, we apologize,
But not Jesus.
No – what Jesus already said may seem bad enough – but Jesus didn’t stop there.
Not at all.
Jesus continues –
The Children of the Devil
Jn 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Wow. Talk about “offensive”.
But He said it.
So why do we refuse to follow Jesus’ example today?
As Christians – we should look at Jesus as our example of how to live.
There is no law against speaking truth. Not yet, anyway.
Actually – I take that back.
It is becoming a problem in church pulpits.
In all sorts of places, speaking truth will end up causing a lawsuit.
In colleges – it’s a violation of whatever they call the rules against speaking truth to our sensitive little children who are supposed to be exposed to the very thing they object to – truth.
It didn’t stop Jesus.
The earthly events that led to His death on the cross were related to speaking the truth.
As a result of Jesus’ death – we can all be set free – free from paying the penalty for all the wrongs we have done.
But more and more – when we speak truth today, and someone claims to be offended – we do not follow the example of Jesus.
We don’t keep going.
We stop speaking – after we apologize.
Then others don’t hear the truth from us.
If everyone follows that example – no one will hear the truth.
No one will be set free.
And everyone who refuses to hear will pay the penalty for all the wrongs they have done.
Question for all of us
What;s more important?
Not offending anyone, and therefore stay silent?
Or speaking the truth, offending people, and possibly freeing them?
Oh yeah –
before you answer that –
if you haven’t noticed the image at the top of the page –
when you stay silent and pretend you’re offending no one –
you are offending someone. Very much.
That someone – God.
Now you can answer.
the quote and details on the book are available at — http://amzn.to/2bV3Epx