Is there a Godly way to offend people?

[Michael37]

6 minutes ago, Thornbird said:

Do we example love and Christ light if we call someone names because we disagree with their  sharing of personal experience and perspective? ?

What was the writer of Proverbs thinking . . .?

Pro 8:5  O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

[Alive]

Yes…but it does not work well on a forum such as this.

;-)

[Thornbird]

On 9/5/2020 at 1:17 PM, missmuffet said:

If they are offended of God's Word that is their problem. 

I would say if the Gospel offends them they are not meant to understand it.

 

Remember Yeshuah said he taught using Parables so that not all would understand and come to Salvation.

Would that change in these 2000+ years?

[missmuffet]

1 hour ago, Thornbird said:

I would say if the Gospel offends them they are not meant to understand it.

 

Remember Yeshuah said he taught using Parables so that not all would understand and come to Salvation.

Would that change in these 2000+ years?

Their hearts are hardened.

[Thornbird]

2 hours ago, missmuffet said:

Their hearts are hardened.

By whom?

[Thornbird]

3 hours ago, Michael37 said:

What was the writer of Proverbs thinking . . .?

Pro 8:5  O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

Perhaps that the word fools was not a word meant as insult?

5.“O you naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled], understand prudence and seek astute common sense;
And, O you [closed-minded, self-confident] fools, understand wisdom [seek the insight and self-discipline that leads to godly living].

[MrBear]

3 hours ago, Thornbird said:

Do we example love and Christ light if we call someone names because we disagree with their  sharing of personal experience and perspective? ?

You could call them a brood of vipers

or

call their father the devil 

im being lighthearted, but Jesus spoke his mind when the time was right,. BUT he could read their hearts WE CANT

Romans 14:1-4

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.read more.
Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

The best thing I try to do ( and I say try because my worldly self or “ old master” still wants to come out)

is pray for that person, don’t get baited into arguments and semantics that will make you lose control 

Pray that the Lord opens their eyes because remember how lucky we are that Gods judgments don’t add up to our own sins committed in the past, look past their shortcomings as we ask our Father to forgive our Trespasses as he forgave ours

Its easier said than done, this person could be manipulated by an unclean spirit and not even be aware what they are doing is wrong against God

” forgive them Father for they know not what they do”

and pray for yourself that God gives you the strength to increase your faith in him that you also don’t transgress his command to love thy neighbor, it’s a struggle but it’s a journey we all take to put it into Gods hands and take care of things ?

Romans 14:10
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God

thats how I try to handle it, when you criticize think to yourself am I doing this for my own ego? Am I doing this for God? Does God need my help defending himself?

SHALOM❤️

[missmuffet]

1 hour ago, Thornbird said:

By whom?

By themselves.

[Thornbird]

7 hours ago, missmuffet said:

By themselves.

Romans 9:¹⁸ So then,^[ah] God^[ai] has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.^[aj]

[appy]

The original post asks the question “Is there a Godly way to offend people?” The answer should be a resounding NO. When it comes to Christians, No congregation enjoys sermons that leave a knife (barbed remarks) sticking in the back of whoever is the target .

Its often touted as “causing others to think outside the box” because they say... “the bible uses it”. The difference is that the bible is never coarse. Our attitude and approach are not the same. We are not the writers of the bible.

Sarcasm in a ministry is NOT witty..... it is hostility. I'm not speaking of its cousin “satire”, but specifically of sarcasm. Especially on a message board where tone of voice and facial expressions are absent.

Doesn't matter if people are sensitive or not, dishing out barbs and displaying superiority of knowledge above others is NOT helpful. As a matter of fact, they leave bleeding wounds.

When Christians use sarcasm it bears passive-aggressiveness and bitter fruit in the hearer's and teaches others to be harsh and unloving themselves. A person might have a knack for dishing out sarcasm, but it has no place in the pulpit, or when sharing the gospel message.

The bible teaches us to speak to others with grace, tact, and politeness.

Colossians 4:6
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

With regard to unbelievers. It is true that as believers, we carry an offensive message; no doubt about that. But we do NOT need to carry our offensive message “offensively”. Yes, unbeliever's need to know what sin is and what it is not, but our “message” should not be all law, judgment, and condemnation before they can see and taste God's goodness and what God has in store for them.

It is important to choose our words and actions with care and compassion, well seasoned with tact and grace, so that they can see a side of Christianity they've never experienced.