Satan’s Secret Weapon: Offenses

SATAN’S SECRET WEAPON: OFFENSES

Matt. 17:27

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR:

1. There was a Christian lady who did a lot of flying for her business, but flying made her nervous so she always took her Bible along with her to read and it helped relax her.

2. One time she was sitting next to a man. When he saw her pull out her Bible he gave a little chuckle and went back to what he was doing.

3. After a while he turned to her and asked "You don't really believe all that stuff in there do you?" The lady replied "Of course I do, it’s the Bible."

4. He said "Well what about that guy that was swallowed by that whale?" She replied "Oh, Jonah. Yes I believe that, it’s in the Bible."

5. He asked "Well, how do you suppose he survived all that time inside the whale?" The lady said "Well I don't really know. I guess when I get to heaven I will ask him."

6. "What if he isn't in heaven?" the man asked sarcastically. "Then,” she said with raised eyebrows,” You can ask him!"

B. SEVEN SCRIPTURES ON OFFENSE

1. “But SO THAT WE MAY NOT CAUSE OFFENSE, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” Matt. 17:27

2. When Jesus went to Nazareth, the Bible says, “And THEY WERE OFFENDED IN HIM” Mt. 13:57.

3. “He said to His disciples, “OFFENSES WILL CERTAINLY COME, but woe to the one they come through!’” Luke 17:1, HCSB.

4. Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that THE PHARISEES WERE OFFENDED when they heard this?” Matt. 15:12

5. “Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, ‘DOES THIS OFFEND YOU?’” Jn. 6:61.

6. Just before His betrayal, Jesus said to [His disciples], “YOU WILL ALL BE OFFENDED...BECAUSE OF ME this night” Mt. 26:31 AMPC. So sometimes offenses will be necessary.

7. “It is [NOT] good...to...do anything by which your brother stumbles or is OFFENDED” Rom. 14:21. This points out we should avoid, as much as possible, offending others.

C. THESIS

1. A number of years ago I did a series on the book “The Bait of Satan” by John Bevere. This book is about one of Satan’s best tools to get Christians to drop out of Church – he gets them offended.

2. The Bait of Satan has sold over a million copies because Christian leaders, everywhere, realize the importance of this teaching. So, in today’s message, I’m going to give you a thumb-nail sketch of the subject.

3. The title is “Satan’s Secret Weapon: Offenses.”

I. WHAT IS AN OFFENSE?

A. ALL OF US WILL FACE OFFENSES

1. The Greek word for “offend” in Matt. 17:27 (& all the references above except Rom. 14:21) comes from the word skandalon. This word originally referred to the part of the trap to which the bait was attached. Hence the word signifies laying a trap in someone’s way.

2. Today there are many young people who are “social justice warriors” – they take up other people’s offenses. You see this with the Pro-Palestinian student protests in Ivy League schools. Many of these students aren’t Palestinians & they don’t have friends who have suffered under Israeli oppression, but – looking for a cause – they’ve taken up this issue.

3. The good side of a social justice warrior idea is that they’re trying to stop people being mistreated. The bad side is that they develop the habit of looking for the negative and keeping the injustice fresh and alive – always stirring it up.

4. These people aren’t likely to lean toward grace and forgiveness, but instead, on fault-finding and an unforgiving spirit.

5. What makes a husband & wife not willing to work out their differences? One holds onto an offense. What makes a brother & sister no longer speak to each other? Offense. What makes church members break off their association? An offense.

6. One of Satan’s best tools is something every Christian will encounter—offense. Offenses aren’t deadly in themselves—but if we refuse to forgive another’s offense, they can become deadly.

B. WHAT HOLDING AN OFFENSE LOOKS LIKE

1. IT EXAGGERATES THE PROBLEM. In Numbers 14, the 10 spies saw the people of Canaan as not just a little taller than themselves, but as “giants!” They saw the walls of the cities as not just tall, but “up to the skies!” When we only focus on the problem, it becomes disproportional.

2. IT SPREADS THE NEGATIVE TO OTHERS. Those with offense often sow their hurt into others, who have no exposure to the problem. Francis Frangipane says that “Bitterness is unfulfilled revenge.” “Lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” Heb. 12:14–15.