There are reasons the original 12 were so bold. There are reasons they preached letting the chips fall where they may. They understood that at some point, they must offend. They disregarded their personal safety—and for good reasons. Those reasons escape today’s motivational-speaker-preachers who live not to offend. They just don’t get it.
At some point, we must offend
By Mario Murillo
There are reasons the original 12 were so bold. There are reasons they preached letting the chips fall where they may. They understood that at some point, they must offend. They disregarded their personal safety—and for good reasons. Those reasons escape today’s motivational-speaker-preachers who live not to offend. They just don’t get it. Here is how A.W. Tozer described the true preacher, “they serve God and mankind from motives too high to be understood by the rank and file of religious retainers who today shuttle in and out of the sanctuary.”
Before some lazy reader jumps to a wrong conclusion let me say—we are not to try to offend. We are not to give offense. My point is that leaving truth out to avoid offending is a disaster—when it is wildly successful, it is an even greater disaster. Spurgeon said, “It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout ‘Well done’ to a Christian man.”
It is a great evil when congregations reward you, yea enrich you, and raise you to superstar status because you keep God’s rightful demands off them.
When you take aim at a vastly successful far-flung enterprise, you are easily rejected because how can you deny its effectiveness? How can you keep from sounding petty and jealous?
The reason it is hard to see why it is valid to criticize attraction churches is because we don’t know what might have been. We don’t know how America would look like today had we obeyed the Holy Spirit instead of the laws of marketing.
They did not offend and they also did not stop the moral avalanche. On their watch, we lost marriage—we lost millions of unborn—we lost so much that we cannot even recognize America. And most ironically, after all the efforts to avoid offending, the public hates the church more than ever.
Here are the reasons we must offend:
Preaching the entire Gospel releases power. 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Romans 1: 16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…”
Why is the phrase power of God in two verses that deal with the offense of the Gospel? Why would Paul even use the qualifier “I am not ashamed?” Because, as a top-flight intellectual, he was keenly aware of the parts of the Gospel that tweak the human brain, and offend “proper society.” He welcomes the tweak because it releases great power.
The American Church has a day of reckoning with American culture. The clash is inevitable because our society has become an open sewer, a bastion of banality where madness has the microphone. We have the one message that should not be hidden or redacted.
When the suffering soul tastes peace that passes understanding, and joy unspeakable—when marriages are healed—when suicidal teenagers are filled with a will to live—when the lame walk, the blind see, cancers vanish and addictions break in one-step instead of 12, then the Cross, the Blood, and repentance become—what they truly are: the best thing humanity has ever heard. We must offend in order to heal.
Say that again..
amen we must preach the full Gospel, they attack me, for telling Christian’s to stand, and say I am complaining, yeah I guess I am if you look at it your, I am complaining if you will not do what you are suppose to, I am hearing all about Sh. law on fb, and yesterday I saw little baby girls, bleeding from where they were mutilated, and little boy’s dressed up like drag queen’s, and a play where they assn. President Trump, and I said we must pray against all this stuff, I can’t even believe it, but I got back, you got to love every body, and your sowing the wrong kina word’s in your garden, it’s crazy, people and even some preacher’s are so passive it’s not even real, oh yeah the new fashion, was two boy’s in see thru short dresses, we stand for the word and what is right, I never seen such a passive bunch of wimp’s in my life, and they want Sh. law, where they have no right’s, sorry but some body is skit’s zo, it just made me sick, and what they do to those baby Girl’s oh man, we need a revolution bad, and deport some people.
Amen, I would rather have my toes stepped on then be at error. Knowing and doing the will of God is priority. Many are taking the Word out of context and misleading others. The Holy Bible is to be read and cherished, it isn’t a comic book. Understanding and applying the Holy Scripture is vital in this season. The Church needs to get back to repentance and Holiness, we are all sinners and come short of The Glory of God, although God loves the sinner, not the sin. There are many evil workers entering the Church in this hour, however God loves the sinner and despises the evil workers and workers of iniquity. God allows the wheat and tare to grow together, until the nearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at which point He will began to separate The Light from the darkness, some believe that we are nearing that time and season where everyone will know good from evil, be ready church no one knows the day or hour. God is love , loving others with a pure heart is being Godly… Thanks Mario for the in season message.
This word would actualy be a great series because preaching is a confrontation of the heart the art of real holy ghost preaching has been under attack for a long time.
Conviction of the holy ghost is labeled as condemnation by religious people.
Self denial,the cross,holiness,repentance,examplship,seperation from the world yet reaching it,fasting,praying through,consicration,sexual purity,ministry standards,challenging people to go beyond there comfort zones to reach the lost.etc,etc.
Peter preached on the day of penticost and the crowd was pierced to the heart and became new converts!
Its time for revival in America!!
Thank you mario you stired me up to action!!
As believers we must judge ourselves first and make sure it is the Holy Spirit that offends and not my own carnality that is offending. Fill us oh Lord with the consuming fresh fire love.amen
Amen!
I agree we must get the log out of our own eye for sure, but once we do repent we have the duity to preach truth in love.
And you dont even have to try to be offensive just stating biblical facts plainly will offend.
I have been offended or wanted to hide from truth many times and I thank God for preaching that put a light on the darkness in me.
The Way, the Truth, the Life, the Light of the world, the Living Word, Jesus Christ who gave His body and blood on the cross for our sin and salvation, there is no other way to the Father but by Him and He holds out eternal Life for all who would believe in Him through our testimony! Jesus ~ it’s in His Name ~ the Righteousness of God revealed, the breath of God our Savior ~ Jesus.