Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
11 1 2024
Jesus came to be an offense to the World. So are you! Is that true about you?
“And the Lord said: Let us make Mankind in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So, the Lord created Mankind in His own image, in the image of the Lord He created Him, male and female.” (Genesis 1, 25-26).
In doing some research, I discovered that the original text was written in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for “image” in all these verses is “tzelem.” The word tzelem comes from the Hebrew root word “tzel,” which literally means “shadow” or “shade.”
This word, “tzel” is used many times in the Old Testament to denote shade or shadow. (Examples: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow (tzel) of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2)
So mankind, according to the Bible, is a shadow of God–not a replica of God.
This, of course, seems obvious when we see that mankind is fallible and imperfect. Jesus came to set things right by shedding his blood through crucifixion.
Christ’s crucified means, we too, must be crucified. What does that look like?
1st, is it possible for the carnal mind to take hold of the things of the Spirit?
What does it mean to have a carnal mind? In short, the carnal mind is dominated by selfishness. It’s the mind that is self-willed, self-focused, and self-seeking.
The carnal mind is devoid of the ability to surrender wholeheartedly to God.
Paul says: Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (This says that we can do this by yielding to God).
Or how about Gal 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Wouldn’t you agree that our spiritual life depends on our spiritual understanding?
How often are we taught that we must be crucified with Christ? Oh sure, we know the phrase and the scripture, but what does that mean to you in your intentional walk with Jesus? That means, like Jesus, we will be an offense to the world! We will work out our salvation every day we live because of the constant battle of our flesh and God’s spirit. But by His Spirit, we win! But most are caught in the trap of trying to fight a spiritual battle with fleshly tools. We just can’t seem to wrap our head around that we cannot, make headway in this battle, let alone win it without the Armor of God…without the Living Spirit of God in us giving the enlightenment necessary to understand that. I hope you can understand that.
Matthew 26:30-44 says after the Last Supper: “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, “All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad”. Jesus wasn’t just talking about how they would all desert him that night. He was talking about us! You and me!
I have heard it said..” If you have never been offended or been an offense. some say that we don’t know Christ”. Ouch. Think about how many times you were offended or offended others for Christ’s sake this week…or this month…Ok, let’s make this easier…this year.
What is our first love? Isn’t it ourselves? Isn’t that why the world hates Christians? Because they see how we live and are offended by what we say… about our faith…in what we believe? But, Christians today withhold their faith. They remain silent in the face of wrongdoing, profanity, and blasphemy because THEY don’t want to offend anyone. So rather than be offended by those who don’t believe what we believe, they remain silent. Is that a denial of Jesus? Did he not say if you deny me before man, I will deny you before my father? Matt 10:33 Another Ouch!
Isn’t that what happened to Peter on the night of Jesus scourging? Jesus spoke of that at the Last Supper. Peter, in his arrogance and self-exultation, said I will never deny you. Jesus said, tonight, you will deny me three times! Jesus speaks things that are not as though they are. Romans 4:17 Isn’t that what the Bible does?
To do this…to deny Christ, like we do before men…
means to live and act in fear of men… over the fear of God.
It means, we have chosen to identify with them instead of Jesus. We would never deny our children and family, but to speak up as being a Christian means… as kindly as we can…to proclaim our faith.
It Will Offend!
John 15:19 says: “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.”
Is that the reality you see? Because, If you have not seen that… someone will ask the bottom line question…Are you really a Christian? “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matt 5:11
We agree…Jesus came to die for us. But it means that we must also die to ourselves. To our fleshly desires. Paul says he does that every day. How is your dying going these days? What does it look like? That means embracing the Lordship of the Holy Spirit in your life. More of him and less of you. So again, I ask, When was the last time you were offended in your walk with God by others who looked at you with disdain or criticism over what you said or pronounced?
Look… God’s grace is sufficient. It chastens us to forsake our old carnal ways and youthful lust so we can live Godly lives in the middle of all the worldliness around us. Sin doesn’t have dominion over you…
It’s your choice. I’m not saying you will never sin again…
but Christ in you, the hope of glory, will help you die to those sins every day.
Sin may come here and there but it won’t have dominion over your life. That’s what the word says
in John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free [from sin], ye shall be free indeed”.
I promise you, that kind of talk, and that kind of life…IS an offense to the world.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AStr4gfQGTM
I am not ashamed of the Gospel The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
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