The Offensive Word
When the stone of “political correctness” was tossed into the sea of life, many ripples resulted. The current status of the modern pulpit is one such ripple. For fear of being politically incorrect, many preachers have adjusted their sermons to offer nothing more than a mild breeze wafting over the congregation to provide cooling comfort. Uppermost in the preacher’s mind is the desire to not be offensive. He was taught this while climbing the ladder of higher education and has now reached such heights that the clouds of academia obscure his view. The problem, however, is not with education but with one’s desire for truth and the courage to speak it.
The non-offensive word is not the word of God. And, the non-offensive preacher is not a man of God. We speak here, not of any offensive nature that may be traced to personality, but rather to the message or word, itself. Some right wing, legalistic, conservative preachers take great pride in offending people with their preaching. Yet it is their attitude and biblical misrepresentation that causes the irritation. But for those preachers who speak the truth in love, we must acknowledge that wherever God’s word is truly spoken, some will be offended.
When Jesus spoke, people were often offended. When He confronted the scribes and Pharisees about their binding traditions, His own apostles may have been shocked because they said, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” (Matt. 15:12). Of course, He knew. The truth will always offend those not wanting to hear it. His response was, “They are blind guides of the blind” (v. 14). The clouds of their religious sophistication had blocked their view of the truth.
This great desire to preach non-offensively has weakened the pulpit and removed its power. Elders of some churches put the pressure on their preachers to preach positive, uplifting sermons that bring in numbers to the congregation but contribute nothing to the saving of souls. Preachers are willing to compromise doctrine in order to increase the size of their audience, while diminishing the register of heaven. But what are we building when we add names to the earthly roll that are not approved by Christ? It cannot be a building of God because the chief cornerstone He sent us has been rejected. To reject His word is to reject Christ, Himself. We are presently filling our churches with impenitent sinners who practice adultery, homosexuality, abortion, and self-indulgent lifestyles. We are constructing politically correct churches that offend no one except our Lord.
Current trends tend to intimidate our preachers to apologize for what we teach. The loudest voices in our fellowship are calling out to the rest of us to join them in the religion of the 21st century and to see all those who even remotely acknowledge Christ as being our brothers. The church is emerging, they say, and we must keep pace. Therefore, the biblical teaching on baptism is to be laid aside because it offends so many. The standard of worship found among the first Christians must give way to more elaborate means of accommodating the desires of the modern churchgoer. And, then there is that ever-present redefining of sin that has become essential for the harvesting of the modern generation. It is in our rush to be current and correct with culture that we have silenced the offensive word of Christ. To hear a sermon these days on instrumental music or the sin of denominationalism is rare and usually met with some contempt from those wishing not to offend.
Certainly, we should not become fixated on the expedients of years gone by and we should certainly be willing to change such non-binding choices made by previous generations. Yet, in teaching doctrine we still need a “thus saith the Lord” for everything we preach and practice.
Let us run every doctrine or practice through the filter of Jesus: “Is it from heaven or from men?” Let’s not be afraid to ask that question of everything we preach. And, concerning the word that the Lord gave us to preach, let us do so without fear... from within the earthen vessel.
Guy Orbison, Jr.
P.O. Box 633
Durango, CO 81302
E-mail: guy_o_jr@frontier.net