When sharing the message of the gospel the truth is that many people are going to be offended by your presentation. While we should never be offensive it is often not possible to not offend most people when sharing the truth of the gospel. And the plain truth is that the gospel is offensive. As Christians our job is always to speak the truth in love – even if we have to offend people.
I don’t know about you but as ambassadors for Christ we need to be stalwart defenders of the truth of Jesus and the Scriptures. And if the truth hurts someone’s feelings then so be it for the stakes are just too high to play around with the truth! Someone once said it well: “Never worry about who will be offended if you speak the truth. Worry about who will be misled, deceived and destroyed if you don’t.”1
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when talking about Jesus is this: The gospel is offensive, but you shouldn’t be. We should never be afraid to talk about Jesus but we need wisdom on how to present Christ to the unsaved. And we need to be prepared to receive the negative feedback that we may get from some who get very offended when we share the part about telling them that they are sinners in need of a Savior. No one wants to be told that they are sinners but this is an essential part of the gospel message and if we leave this part out we do a great disservice to those we are sharing with. Just telling people that God loves them is only part of the gospel message (the non-offensive part). When we add that they are sinners heading to hell if they don’t come to Jesus many will take offense at this.
I know that I have found in my own sharing of the gospel message that one of the reasons I sometimes shy away from sharing is not so much that I am scared about hurting their feelings but that I am scared that they may get offended and hurt my feelings. This is a selfish reason for not telling someone about Jesus and I need to pray for more boldness in this area.
Another point about the gospel that can get us attacked as being narrow minded, bigoted, and downright offensive is telling people about the exclusivity of Christ. Letting people know that the Bible is a book of absolute truths and that Jesus is the only way to God, will often prove extremely offensive to many. One thought I have that may help you, as well as myself, in overcoming the fear of having our feelings hurt when telling people about Jesus is to realize that their lifestyle is actually a great affront against our holy God. And the more we reverence God for who He is, this should make us want to share the gospel even more to prevent so many people from mocking Jesus. I like what Pastor John MacArthur said about this issue: “If the truth offends, then let it offend. People have been living their whole lives in offense to God; let them be offended for a while.”2
Sadly, many of the people we share the gospel with will go on living in sin and mocking Jesus. But the good news is that some will be convicted of sin and come to Christ. Always remember that our job is to just live a godly life, share the gospel when the opportunity arises, and be faithful to the calling that God has given us. And, oh yes, leave the results in the Lord’s hands.
1 Never worry about who will be offended if you speak the truth. Worry about who will be misled, deceived and destroyed if you don’t. (askideas.com)
2 The Gospel Is Offensive, But You Shouldn’t Be (churchleaders.com)