TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
OFFENSIVE MESSAGE?
1st May 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE: John 14:6(NIV)
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Yesterday, we highlighted the fact that the understanding of grace is cause for celebration and not a license to sin because its an eye-opener to our deficit without Christ.
But you know what else grace does? The appreciation of the incredible gift of grace fires you up to tell someone else about it. Its like marketing a product you’ve tested and tried.
The one who is marketing isn’t thinking- “Oh, what if my product is offensive?”.
No, you just want as many people to experience the wonderful benefits of that product!
You tell people- “Look, this is the ONLY product that can guarantee you this or that.”
How is it then that believers are so conscious of coming across as offensive in the preaching of the gospel?
It’s the ONLY way! Jesus is the only way to be saved.
How do you come into the full experience of all that the blood and sacrificial death of Jesus has mediated for you and not want to shout it from the rooftops?
Some of us probably have friends who are even Christians but who get offended when you boldly proclaim- “Jesus is the only way” because they believe it is offensive to those who don’t believe in Jesus.
They tell you to put yourself in the shoes of others and see how it feels if someone said their religion is the only way.
Or maybe they have loved ones in another faith who have made them open to agreeing that all religions lead to God.
So even though they know in their hearts that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God, they’d prefer not to “offend” anyone with the gospel.
Friends, the gospel wasn’t designed to please anyone. It’s only offensive to those who don’t believe(1 Peter 2:7,8)
It was designed to point man to God’s love and His need for grace so that he can be saved from eternal destruction.
Its only a case of how you preach the gospel. You are to share the gospel with love and graciousness (Colossians 4:6) because the ultimate goal is not to be offensive but to get the other person to see that all their sins have been forgiven in Christ and its only by placing faith in Christ, that they can be set free.
The goal is to point them to see that they are not accepted by what they do or haven’t done, that they don’t have to rely on their performance to be saved but on the finished works of Christ on the cross.
Its not your place to go about arguing.
Simply declare the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Their sensibilities may be offended but you’ve sown a seed and the Holy spirit is able to quicken their hearts for that knowledge to bear fruit.
Be encouraged dear believer. Do not let the “offensiveness” of the gospel stop you from preaching it.
For many centuries, many people have put their lives on the line for this too-good-to-be-true news to get to us. And if they preached in the face of intense persecution and threats to their lives, what excuse have you got?
REFLECTION
Has the desire to be loved and politically correct stopped me for winning souls?
DECLARATION
-I believe that the gospel is God’s only tool for salvation.
-Jesus’s blood has redeemed and eternally reconciled me to God.
-The understanding of grace fires me up to tell others about it. I declare the gospel boldly. I am an unashamed marketer of the gospel.
-I preach the gospel without fear of being offensive or worry about being accepted.
-I am a faithful ambassador. I maximize every opportunity to spread the message of reconciliation. I am committed to the good news campaign so that people can experience all the good things that the blood of our High priest has mediated for them.
-I win souls in millions for the Kingdom.
-Daily, I enjoy the advantage and dividends of the gospel.
Hallelujah!
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to Soul Winning 1 >> Dr. Phil by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
