The Gospel is Offensive

INTRODUCTION

• The truth can be hard to say and hard to hear. We live in a culture that is easily offended.
•  What if the very thing that will offend people is the very thing they need to hear?

1 Corinthians 1:18 & 23 (NLT) 18The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. … 23So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

• Why is the gospel (good news) that Jesus died for our sins offensive?
  Those who are dead in their sins and don’t have the Spirit of God can’t understand God’s truth.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14 (NLT) 13When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

•  Everyone is a sinner who deserves hell and there is nothing any of us can do to change that. That’s offensive.
  Romans 3:23 (NLT) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
•  Because we have sinned we have earned something for ourselves:
  Romans 6:23a (NLT) For the wages of sin is death…

•  While physical death is a consequence of sin, the bigger consequence is spiritual death.
  Ephesians 2:1-3 (NLT) 1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
•  Scripture tells us there is nothing we can do on our own to get us out of the mess we created.

Romans 3:10-12 (NLT) 10As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. 11No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

•  Some say, “I will determine what is right and wrong. I will determine what truth is.”

Romans 1:18 (NLT) But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

•  But Jesus says…

John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

The gospel message is only foolishness and offensive to those who are living in sin—whose lives it contradicts.
Romans 3:24-25b (NLT) 24Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…

Romans 6:23b (NLT) …but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NLT) 1Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Ephesians 2:4-6 (NLT) 4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

When we surrender our lives to Jesus and make Him not only Savior, but also Lord, He gives us a new life.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NLT) 17This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

As we present that truth, we do so in love and patience, and kindness, yet without compromising.
2 Timothy 2:23-26 (NKJV) 23But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT AND DISCUSS:
Passages to consider: John 3:16, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23

Icebreaker: You are going on a 10-day trip. You have plenty of room; you will enjoy it, even though you are not sure where you will end up. What are two essential things you pack, and one “just because I want to take it” item?

1. From the sermon, what was challenging to you personally?
2. Read John 3:16, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23 twice. Then read 1 Corinthians 1:20-25. What do these passages tell you about the gospel?
3. What is the “bad news” in these passages? A) What about the gospel can be offensive or foolishness to people? B) What experiences have you had with the gospel being offensive?
4. Read 1 Peter 3:15-16, Colossians 4:5-6, & 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. What do you see about those of us who follow Jesus and the gospel in these passages? A) What are ways we, as messengers or ambassadors, can either get in the way of the gospel or create space for it to be heard?
5. What is your response to today’s discussion? Here are some ideas:
   a. Head: Learn to share the story of Jesus.
   b. Heart: Pray for specific people who don’t know Jesus. Or confess and repent of an attitude the Holy Spirit has shown you.
   c. Hands: Intentionally build relationships with people with different views than you.
   d. Feet: As you are going about your week, intentionally look for who is in your path and how you could serve or bless them, maybe even pray for them.
6. How have you been challenged or convicted through the “Offended” series? What is your next step in this area?

Resources:

• Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
• Forgiveness by June Hunt
• Humility by Andrew Murray

• Other passages to read about the gospel are: Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:1-7, Hebrews 9:27-28, and Revelation 20:11-15.