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6 Consequences of Sexual Sin

Matthew Schoenherr
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6 Consequences of Sexual Sin

It is our responsibility not to allow sin to have control over our bodies. Romans 6:12-13 tells us we must not use our bodies or another person’s body as an instrument of unrighteousness. Sexual immorality is not only a sin against God but is sin against your body, and you are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-19).

In this talk, we’ll look at the consequences of sexual sin.

Consequences of Sexual Sin

Proverbs 5:15-23—among other Scriptures—establishes all sexual needs are to be met only within the covenant of marriage, so we’re starting from a marital presupposition as we continue into this lesson.

Never underestimate the power of sexual sin. Sexual sin gives the illusion of pleasure, but any pleasure it gives is always short-lived. Sexual immorality degrades the participants and leads them into shameful behavior. It has terrible consequences, such as:

1. Partners lose the ability to be open with each other

Sexual sin that reaches outside the borders of a marriage leads to isolation within the marriage. The partner engaging in the illicit behavior has to build a wall around himself to keep his partner from finding out what is going on. Sexual sin leads to a double life. Lies—whether blatant lies or by omission—are born to cover. The distance between the two grows, and intimacy erodes.

2. It destroys respect and trust

Those who engage in sexual sin often live in shame and fear that others will find out what they have done. If they are married and violate their vows, the shattered trust can be extremely difficult to rebuild. The effects of the sin reach to husband, wife, children, and even extended family members.

3. The ripened fruit of sexual sin is death of the relationship

When Israel turned away from God, they were referred to as a harlot and a cheating wife. God considers divorce to be violence, as should we! It is the tearing apart of two who have become one (Malachi 2:14-16). Families and friendships are lost as a result of divorce. Spiritual covering is shredded and all sorts of calamities can befall a broken family. I’ve seen physical ailments pop up. I’ve seen children exposed to criminal activity. Financial health usually declines as one household becomes two. I’ve seen addictions rev up. Divorce often makes both children and spouses easier targets for the enemy.

4. Removal from the land

Leviticus 18:1-25 God addresses Israel and gives a long list of unlawful sexual activities—including adultery, incest, homosexuality and bestiality—and ends with “Defile not yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I will visit the its iniquity upon it, and the land itself vomits out her inhabitants.” When a population becomes too immoral, that population falls under judgment and we see this happen again and again in the Word. These days, in the case of adultery, the offending spouse is usually sent packing; this would be a local, modern-day example of losing your place in the land.

5. Physical disease can result

Romans 1:24-32 says that God will allow men to reap within their physical bodies the results of sexual sin. There is a vast array of sexually-transmitted diseases. Sexual sin comes with a high price attached to it.

6. Soul ties are formed

1 Corinthians 6:16 says, “Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’” When you join yourself sexually to another person, you become one with them. More than physical union results; emotional union occurs, too. Even though you may think that sex is no more than a physical act, ties are formed with whomever you have sex. In addition, sexual sin is a sin against your own body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit. To sin against your body is to degrade the presence of the Holy Spirit. (VIDEO: What are Soul Ties?)

Note: No condemnation for the 1 Corinthians 7-believing spouse. If you divorced during a BC time in your life, maybe you were in ignorance. Simply lay that part of your past down at the foot of the cross in heart-felt prayer.

The Call to Holiness and Right Identity

You are a king and priest reigning in life, seated with Christ in heavenly places. You have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and have been born again into the kingdom of God. You are a new creation, dead to sin, and are now a slave to righteousness, walking by the Spirit, not according to flesh. Your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit and you are now a partaker of God’s divine nature. You are an alien to this world, in it and not of it.

Tips for Turning Away From Sexual Sin

Remember Jesus is Lord over all creation. You were created through Him and for Him; He is before all things and in Him all things hold together, including your physical body (Colossians 1:16–17). He is Lord of the universe. He gives you the grace if you turn to Him in your weakness (Heb. 4:16).

  • Take captive every thought. Our thought life is important! A single random thought does not make sin, but dwelling on it, expanding upon it, pitching camp there—that’s where sin begins to germinate.
  • Counseling, community and accountability.
  • Identifying triggers (e.g. boredom (Ephesians 5:14–17), stress (Ephesians 4:22–24), etc.) and intentionally avoiding situations that position you for weakness.
  • Growing awareness of the call of the flesh; become aware of temptation as it approaches and prayerfully turn away.
  • Arm yourself with Word-centered prayer, worship and fasting (Philippians 4:5–7).

how to pray against addiction

References

BillyGraham.org. June 1, 2004. Are all sins the same in God’s eyes? Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Retrieved from https://billygraham.org/answer/are-all-sins-the-same-in-gods-eyes/.

9 Lies We Use to Excuse Sexual Sin

Matthew Schoenherr
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9 Lies We Use to Excuse Sexual Sin

In the Bible, sexual immorality is one of the most prominently mentioned sins anytime a list of sins comes up. If it were simply a minor occurrence, affecting only a small percentage of the population, it probably wouldn’t hold this position. What are the top excuses we use to allow us to continue in sexual sin?

Excuses for Sexual Sin

Everybody is doing it

The standard of right and wrong is not found in a majority decision. Because an overwhelming majority of Germans hated Jews was it right for Hitler to murder six million of them? Though “everybody” was not personally involved in the crime, practically “everybody” thought nothing of being anti-Semitic. The Bible expressly warns us against justifying our conduct by a corrupt majority. “You shall not follow a multitude to do evil…” (Exodus 23:2).

You only live once (a.k.a. If you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it)

Life is far too short to do everything. We learn (if we are half as smart as we think we are) from the experiences of others! The person who presents this kind of argument to us will seldom want to go out and see what it’s like to kill someone in the heat of war. Nor is he likely to want to go out and let someone shoot at him for the pleasure of seeing what it’s like. If this kind of reasoning were true a man being tried for murder could say: “You have no business being on my jury because you’ve never killed a person.” Would his objection be valid? Why then should a person be considered right when he makes the same argument concerning morals? In one case a person has violated human law and in the other divine law. If we would not tolerate such reasoning in regard to human offenses how much less we should tolerate it as an excuse for violating the law of God!

It’s none of your business

First, you are part of God’s creation, so it’s absolutely His business. Second, your parents gave birth to you, so it is absolutely their business. Third, if you’re married, you’re one flesh with your spouse, so it’s their business. Fourth, if you’re churched, you’re part of a flock, so it’s your pastor’s business and it’s the flock’s business. It’s safe to say we can dispense with the “not your business” talk. Instead, let’s address the real issue: Whether you are doing the right thing in God’s sight.

I’m not hurting anyone

Adam could have said the same thing in the Garden. Yet because of his sin, death entered the world and plagues us to this very day. Like our prayers, our actions—good or bad—have the potential to set in motion a chain of circumstances far beyond your ability to imagine. (“The sins of the father are visited unto the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 20:5, Numbers 14:18, Deuteronomy 5:9-10, Jeremiah 32:17-18))

Furthermore, someone is hurt: You! Sin separates us from God and any immorality you commit places that much more distance between you and Him. (“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2))

I love them

But do you love Christ more? “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) and among the commandments He taught was abstention from sexual immorality (Matthew 15:15-20). There’s no such thing as love at first sight; that’s called lust.

I’ve just gotta be a man

This excuse comes from a distorted, predatorial definition of manhood. It is not Godly, righteous, holy nor kingly and yet those are the traits God calls us into. “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;” (1 Peter 1:15 NIV) Little boys do what feels good; men do what’s right.

God made me this way

“Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13 NIV) Yes, we were all born under Adam; none are righteous, not one. Jesus says apart from Him we are withered branches ready for the fire. (John 15) Our best deeds are as filthy rags before God’s holiness. And yet we’re all called to be born again. (John 3:3) Jesus also says, “Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me.”

(Hint: Your carnal urges didn’t come from God. Self-gratifying, self-serving, self-driven, self-motivated came through the Fall. Furthermore, you can’t be lonely when your Source is with you; when you’re walking in God-reality.)

What I’m doing is not that bad. It’s not as bad as _________.

“Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Do you allow for loopholes (that don’t actually exist) in God’s call on your life? You are His. You are not your own. You’ve been bought for a very high price: the blood of Jesus Christ. Per our Lord, “But I say unto you that whosoever looks upon a woman with lust has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28) We are to take captive every thought bringing even our minds under the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

[No excuse is verbalized, but God-awareness is deliberately set aside to allow for sin]

We can actually race ahead of a convicted conscience into sin, knowing that turning our thoughts to God will bring us near enough to Him to cancel our urge to sin.

The Moral of this Story

You can put a beautiful label on a bottle of cyanide but if you drink it, it will kill you just the same. The same is true of all sin, which drives a wedge between God—the source of our lives—and ourselves.

References

Adapted from Roland Worth, Jr.’s article “Excuses for Sexual Immorality”, published by Truth Magazine on April 15, 1976.

Discerning Good and Evil

Bill Alderson
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Discerning Good and Evil

Along the road to spiritual maturity, there are a number of landmarks a believer must pass through so “that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:20). One of those is the ability to hear the voice of God in the details of life. Another is the recognition of the sovereignty of God, that God is in charge even when things don’t go well and it is ok; trust in God means to trust all of the time. Mature believers must also develop the ability to discern good and evil. In the midst of a world influenced by Satan and his demons, it is critical that believers recognize the intense warfare by the enemy to deceive.

The Greek word translated to discern is diakrisis and it means to distinguish, or to judge; it does not mean to determine for oneself that which is good or evil. Adam and Eve were challenged in this way in the Garden of Eden that “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). By deceiving Eve to eat of that tree, the serpent promised them that “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Since God never intended that man would decide for himself what is good and evil, He had to excommunicate Adam and Eve from the Garden so as not to allow their sin to be immortalized. In verse 22, “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”. His provision would come 4,000 years later on Calvary.

Solomon’s Gift

In 1 Kings 3, Solomon had recently become king and he asked God to “give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” He understood that if he was going to be a successful leader, he needed this ability and he didn’t have it. God blessed Solomon with a wise and discerning heart, and also with both riches and honor. As a result, Solomon became world renowned for his wisdom and his wealth, God’s personal gifts to Solomon.

Trained in Righteousness

In the New Testament age, believers have access to this gift to discern good and evil. The writer of Hebrews gives us insight into the importance and the process of discerning good and evil. In Hebrews 5:11-12, he recognizes Hebrew Christians as having become dull of hearing, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food”. Growing in discernment of good and evil is directly related to a growing capacity for the Word of God and in particular, God’s righteousness. These Christians were not accustomed to and inexperienced in the word of righteousness, that is, the goal of living in God’s righteousness (verse 13); they were still infants.

The key to the whole thing is found in verse 14, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil”, who have the ability to make appropriate moral choices. Kenneth Wuest translates the verse this way: “But solid food belongs to those who are [spiritually] mature, to those who on account of long usage have their powers of perception exercised to the point where they are able to discriminate between both that which is good in character and that which is evil.”

Exercised Faith

This Greek word for exercised is a metaphor taken from the athlete or contenders in the Grecian games, who were wont to employ all their powers, skill, and agility in mock fights, running, wrestling, etc., that they might be the better prepared for the actual contests when they took place. It speaks to the fact that the application of God’s Word is a participation sport and requires a full commitment to the excellence God has called us to. It represents not just traditional religious activity, but may also encompass simple things like how we speak to someone in the grocery check-out lane. In Romans 1:17, “For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” Living in God’s righteousness is a moment-by-moment event and revealed from faith to faith.

Pressed into Spiritual Maturity

Hebrews 6:1 continues the process in this way, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on [be carried forward] to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God”.  This verb is a present passive subjunctive and could be better translated “let us be carried” and gives the thought of personal surrender to an active influence. It means that God is moving forward those who are committed to the process of maturity. This is the wonder of the spiritual life. God provides the energy, we accept the process.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Discerning good and evil allows the believer to recognize the warfare and therefore to be able to overcome evil with good.

The Transformation of Saul to Paul

Bill Alderson
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The Transformation of Saul to Paul

Jesus came to us 2,000 years ago to introduce a new covenant, one that would solve the deficiency that the Law of Moses did not address. I’m referring to the reliance on man to keep the Law. A good case study dealing with the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant is the process of Saul of Tarsus becoming the Apostle Paul. Looking at his life before and after his day of salvation through his own writings enlightens us in the conversion he faced.

Saul of Tarsus was brought up the son of a Pharisee and followed in his father’s footsteps, moving to Jerusalem as a young teenager to study the Law under Gamaliel. As a committed Jew, he grew up to be an esteemed Pharisee and was a leader against the Christian movement taking place after Pentecost. In fact, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians for trial, “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord”. It was with this mindset that Jesus visited him, blinding him, knocking him off his horse, and speaking with him directly. When Saul understood that he was facing the Lord and His name was Jesus of Nazareth, it became the most profound moment of his life.

Jesus told him that God was “rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance” (Acts 26:17-18). And in Acts 22:14-15, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” It would be this personal experience with the Risen Lord that would strengthen him to be willing to suffer for this divine purpose.

Galatians 1:11-17

11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

In this passage, Paul is giving us insight into the transformation that needed to take place in Saul of Tarsus. The importance of his “revelation of Jesus Christ” cannot be understated; it was the signature moment of Paul’s ministry. In 1 Corinthians 15:6-8, he tells us that at least 500 others saw the Risen Christ, including James, the half-brother of Jesus. In verses 9-10, Paul was humbled by the experience, testifying that he was “not fit to be called an apostle” and then acknowledged that his ability to fulfill his ministry was only because of God’s grace, namely His favor and empowerment. It was this reality that enabled him to devote himself completely to the divine task.

The Torah and the Temple

Paul identifies the impartation of God’s life in him as necessary to His ministry to the Gentiles. Saul of Tarsus was a scholar of the Law of Moses, so he needed to understand this new life in the context of the Old Testament. The Jewish concept of religious life revolved around two foundations, the Torah and the temple. The Torah or Law of Moses established the ground rules for worship while the temple served as the center of religious and social life within the Jewish family. So that these pillars would become negotiable, God was making Himself real in Paul’s life like few Old Testament leaders would experience. The fact that the gospel is not according to man (Galatians 1:11) is fulfilled through the new relationship with God, that believers are the temple and the Torah is fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ received by faith.

Paul testified throughout his letters and ministry that Christianity was not a new religious system with seismic differences from Judaism, but rather its completion. This is evidenced by the fact that he never denied his Jewish faith, but embraced it as a critical part of his new-found spiritual life. He writes in Ephesians 2:20 that Christianity is built on the foundation of the apostles (New Testament) and prophets (Old Testament).

Ultimately, Paul instructed his Jewish heritage that “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:2-4). When the believer connects with God on the basis of faith in Jesus as Messiah, he receives and becomes subject to His righteousness. This is the end (completion) of the law! In verse 10, “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” When the heart is truly engaged in faith, His righteousness is the result.

Gospel in One Minute

Matthew Schoenherr
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Gospel in One Minute

I found this music while rummaging for a different project months back. I really liked the tune but had no idea what I would do with it. This video “The Gospel in One Minute” is totally experimental. Please comment and let me know what you think! Matthew

P.S. Words flying by too fast? Below is the full script:

In the beginning a perfect world.
Sin through self-will;
Rebellion brings decay, disease, death.
Covenants made; covenants broken.
The shadow of law and sacrifice teach
the need for holiness and atonement.
Creation apart from its Creator self-destructs.
Prophets warn of judgment
pointing to a perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifice.
Through a future deliverer;
king of Judah; root of Jesse; son of David;
promised one; Messiah.

Then…

[silence]

A child born in Bethlehem.
A cry in the desert,
“Make straight the way of the Lord!”
12 chosen
Power
Authority
Compassion.
Lame walk; Sick healed; Blind see;
Dead raised; Captives freed.
Kingdom of God established.
Cornerstone rejected
New covenant
Sheep scattered
“Crucify Him!”
Love nailed to a [Roman cross]
It is finished!
Third day He rose.
Peace be with you.
Go. Baptize all nations in the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
He ascended to heaven.
He sits at the Father’s right hand.
Pentecost.
Holy Spirit descends;
Fire + wind
3,000 added.
Day of the Lord judgment.
He will return to judge the living + dead.
Kingdom without end.
Jesus

How to Stop Being Offended

Matthew Schoenherr
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How to Stop Being Offended

An oxymoron is a short phrase that contradicts itself, like “seriously funny,” or “deafening silence” or “government intelligence.” A kingdom example of an oxymoron is “Christian vulnerability”—or, at least, it should be.

  • Do your feelings get hurt frequently?
  • How do you overcome offense and stop the cycle of becoming offended?

How often are your feelings hurt each week? Do you find yourself offended by the careless or hurtful words of others? Are you holding onto past hurts and traumas that continue to influence your decisions and life perspective to this day?

Christians often find themselves vulnerable on several fronts. Those fronts may include:

  • temptation,
  • pride (which often gives life to things like criticism, rejection, offence, bitterness, rebellion, etc.),
  • fear,
  • the triplets of shame, guilt and condemnation,
  • ignorance,
  • spiritual sloth/passivity,
  • generational patterns, and
  • curses and assignments.

I’m sure there are more. These listed here often spring up from one another, overlapping and feeding cycles in our lives that are unhealthy and certainly not kingdom. There are vulnerabilities that all persons—saved and unsaved—experience, but there are some (that we in the Church embrace and call normal) that nip and claw at professing Christians long after we said we died and now claim Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Unfortunately, this turns out to be the way that seems right to a person but whose end leads to death (spiritual, emotional, financial, physical or otherwise.) (Proverbs 14:12)

The world says you’re awesome, just the way you are

If you’re troubled, the world would have you believe you may just need more self-care. In fact, we’re inundated with all sorts of messaging to help us become more “self-actualized” these days.

  • We’re taught to honor the self-made, self-reliant person.
  • We’re told of the importance of building our self-confidence, self-esteem and self-image.
  • Our heroes and superheroes are all self-assured and self-sufficient.
  • We’re told we need to grow in self-love; that we must develop healthy self-talk as a self-defense to keep ourselves from self-destruction.

Is all our self-interest misplaced?

What does the Bible say about the humanistic self-esteem movement? As I recall, it was self-will that brought about the Fall. Actually, I think the only place where the Bible is “pro-self” would be in reference to self-control as one of the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22) Jesus Himself says we are to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24-26)

In fact, if we know God is love (1 John 4:8) and we know we’re made in His image (Genesis 1:27), doesn’t that mean we’re to walk in His seemingly-impossible love, forgiveness and mercy as well? Last time I checked, God sent His Son while we were yet sinners. (John 3:16-) That means if someone betrays, slanders, deceives, cuts off, berates, disrespects or otherwise maligns us, our response is not flesh-driven rebuke or retaliation. Our response is to ask, “What would love do?” and then do that. Love takes no account of its own! (1 Corinthians 13) If freely we have received, freely we are to give and forgive. (Matthew 10:8) We forgive, not just because the Bible tells us we should—that would be religious legalism. We forgive because we’ve been forgiven much! (Ephesians 4:32)

But we’ve grown up in a world that teaches us to “be true to ourselves.” Funny thing though. That’s very similar to, “Do as thou wilt,” which was the mantra of Satanist Aleister Crowley.

Canceling our self-deception

So—when it comes to canceling our self-deception—we actually need less self-confidence, self-esteem and self-love. Our self-worth isn’t worth anything, though we live in a world that teaches it is everything! Our self-perception is always going to be askew until we see ourselves and others as God sees us. In John 15, Jesus says apart from Him we are withered branches ready for the fire. He also says that apart from Him, we can do no good thing. (John 15:5) And yet, when He was called “good teacher” by a rich ruler, Jesus corrected him declaring only the Father was good. (Luke 18:19, Mark 10:18)

God is the straight line to our crooked lines. He doesn’t lose His patience with us. He doesn’t get hurt and wounded when we ignore Him. He doesn’t go into an emotional tail-spin when we lose our senses and our humility and rail at Him from our prayer closet because our spouse snapped at us or because we got passed over for a job promotion or we got rejected or ridiculed one more time.

Jesus was, and is, and forever shall be the fullest expression of love from the Father. Jesus—in the face of anger, contempt, abuse and the greatest injustice this world has ever or will ever see—didn’t lose His identity and was still praying for our forgiveness as we nailed Him up on that Roman cross.

We see the same love in Stephen, when—while being stoned to death—he asked for forgiveness for his persecutors. (Acts 7:54-60)

We see the same love in Paul, when—after also being stoned and left for dead—he would get back up and go back into the same city and resume teaching!

Have you been born-again? Your rights died with you.

What rights do we think we have to harbor hurt, offense and unforgiveness toward another?! In each of these instances, do we see any offense? Was it a response of love or a response of offense? Certainly, the men in these examples would have been justified in defending themselves, but they did not.

Through your baptism and declaration, you have died to your old you; you have died to your past. By all rights, that person has ceased to exist. When you signed on with Christ, you agreed to represent Him and His heart to this lost and dying world. That means you’re His ambassador; His copy. All authority has been given to Him and He’s given you and I, the believers, the great commission to go forth into all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them in all He has taught us. That’s what we’ve said yes to.

Therefore, if we don’t see it in Jesus, we’re not to see it in ourselves. For the believer abiding in the Lord, the days of being offended is over! Jesus wasn’t so offended at our sin that He cut us off and refused to go to the cross. So, being offended by our spouse or our kids or our parents, in-laws, boss, coworkers, friends, neighbors—whomever—that offense in us is to die. Nail it to the cross.

We died, remember?

Just to drive the point home, here are some rights we born-again believers give up when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We have given up:

  • The right to be offended, insulted or to hold grudges; we’ve been forgiven much.
  • The right to feel rejected, neglected, or abandoned by anyone; we’ve been adopted into the kingdom of God.
  • The right to be impatient or to lose our tempers; God has shown us amazing grace and mercy.
  • The right to pursue our weakness and temptations; Jesus has overcome the world.
  • The right to play small and remain self-focused; we are called to carry the Light of the World (Jesus) to all nations.
  • The right to retaliate, enact revenge, or take justice into our own hands; God knows and sees us and He says vengeance is His.
  • The right to do what we want, when we want; we’ve been bought with a very high price—the blood of Jesus Christ. We are no longer our own.
  • The right to remain in fear, worry or anxiety; how can we remain in darkness now that the Light has come? If our spiritual house is built on sand, when the storms of life come, we probably won’t do well. But if we’re rooted on the rock of Jesus Christ? We’re solid, no matter the power of the storm or the height of the waves.

Stop being offended

At the end of the day, a professing Christian no longer has the right to be offended; not by loved ones, not by strangers on the street. If we find ourselves still offended, it simply means there are places in our lives waiting to be placed upon the Potter’s wheel. In faith, yield to God’s hand in your life. Ask Him to burn away the dross of offense, the root of offense, the spirit of offense. Jesus came to set the captives free and that includes freedom from offense. Spend time in private prayer, worship and fasting and thank God for setting you free from offense. Continue in that way, and soon you’ll find yourself more patient and at peace than you’ve ever been.

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