John Bevere In His Book "The Bait Of Satan" Says, ...

John Bevere in his book “The Bait of Satan” says, “Our response to an offense determines our future (page 4).

i. Paul understood this principle clearly and this is why he warns this church against the spirit of offense and those who practice it.

ii. John states, “Many are unable to function properly in their calling because of the wounds and hurts that offenses have caused in their lives. They are handicapped and hindered from fulfilling their full potential. Most often it is a fellow believer who has hurt them. This causes the offense to feel like betrayal. In Psalm 55:12-14 David laments, ‘For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We tool sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng.’ They are those whom we sit with and sing alongside, or perhaps it is the one who is delivering the sermon. We spend holidays, attend social functions, and share offices with them. Or perhaps it is closer. We grow up with, confide in, and sleep next to them. The closer the relationship, the more severe the offense! You find the greatest hatred among people who were once close. Attorneys will tell you the most vicious cases are in the divorce courts. The American media constantly report murders in homes by desperate family members. The home, meant to be a shelter of protection, provision, and growth where we learn to give and receive love, is often the very root of our pain. History shows that the bloodiest wars are civil-brother against brother, son against father, or father against son (5, 6).

iii. He adds “Pride keeps you from dealing with the truth. It distorts your vision.”