The Bible Offends

If the Bible did not offend, I'd be concerned. The Bible goes against the flesh, it goes against what we want. We need to be diligent and conscious of how we live. It's easy to live like the world, it's hard to live by the Word. Living with the Bible as our center doesn't come naturally. It's actually very unnatural to our flesh. So unnatural, that we feel conviction and we feel the tug of the flesh and the Spirit fighting over our soul. You have to fight against the world and the things it will try to get you to do. You can't just expect the world to leave you alone since you're saved. In fact, the Bible says otherwise. The devil doesn't want Gods word to win, he wants to world to win.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. -John 15:18-19

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33

We are promised troubles. Promised hardships. We aren't told that once we are saved it'll be easy. Because it isn't. The Bible offends us because it convicts. Conviction is NOT easy to hear and it's even harder to admit that you were wrong. The Bible offends because it removes our old self and replaces it with our new selves. Transformation, though so beautiful, can also be painful. The self that is alive in Christ, dead to sin. The Bible offends the world because it contradicts the world. It contradicts our wants and focuses on our needs. It's a battle. We need to train ourselves to dig into the Word and remove ourselves from the world. The Bible offends because this world is not our home, but some people hold onto the things of this world so tightly, as if it is their home. Thus, making it difficult to hear that our home is in Heaven, not this world. It is painful to let go of the things of this world that we hold so tightly to, but we need to. It's hard for us to follow the Bible, not only because it goes against our flesh, but it also asks us to give up things that might be more easy, fun, or enjoyable. His Word creates discomfort and it should. Discomfort because conviction is uncomfortable. Discomfort because admitting we are wrong is uncomfortable. Discomfort because saying no to sin that we've said yes to for so long is uncomfortable. Discomfort because Christ didn't stick with comfortable. Were the beatings, the insults, the cross, were any of those comfortable? No. His Word pushes us into the uncomfortable so we can be further sanctified. It pushes us into the uncomfortable so our faith can expand. Uncomfortable situations grow us, teach us, and push us to do things we never thought we could, as does His Word. The Bible offends because it goes against our nature. Sometimes when something offends us, we ignore it. But sometimes if it offends us, it's because we don't want to hear why we are wrong. We don't want to listen to anyone but ourselves. Let the Bible offend you and ask why. Why does that part make you uncomfortable? Why does it feel weird to think to be slow to anger and slow to speak? Because He changed us, but the devil still tries to hang on to us. Listen to the Word and apply it. That part of the Bible that offends or makes you squirm, might be because it's calling out the sin in your life. Truth offends. The Bible is truth. Therefore, the Bible offends. It offends our flesh, because again, it goes against our nature. Conviction can be taken as offensive, when really it's just truth, and truth can be hard to swallow. The Bible offends the worldly part of us because it's so contrary to that part. The Bible offends the world because it's contrary to it. Listen to the parts that make you uncomfortable, you might just find a sin that's been hiding in the dark. You can't just leave the parts out that "don't sit right with you" or make you uncomfortable. Yes, the Bible offends the world, and it offends the parts of us that are living for the world, and not for Him, as it should.