Then came his disciples, and said unto him,, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?' Matt 15:12

The impossible dream is for a preacher to try to find the perfect way to preach truth without offending anyone. There is a preacher's joke that addresses that problem. A young man went to work with a congregation and in the first sermon he condemned smoking. He was told that he offended the tobacco farmers in his audience.

That evening in his sermon he condemned whiskey and was told that he offended corn farmers. After this continued for several weeks,, he preached on witch doctors. He explained later that he selected this subject because he felt there would not be one within several thousand miles, allowing him to preach one lesson without offending anyone.

There may be some who major in crudeness and minor in obnoxiousness. Perhaps they read the above passage and determined that if Jesus' truth offended those who were in error, the more offensive they are, the more effective are their presentation of truth. They remind folks, "If you don't like the heat get out of the kitchen.' However they miss the point of the passage.

The opposite extreme would be no better. If one offers something so vague that nothing is taught, he has helped no one. In fact, while laboring to be unoffensive, he may be of no help to those who are searching for answers to their sin problem.

I have seen some who appear to take extreme pleasure in calling names and consigning others to hell. Those who do so justify their actions with several passages. They conclude that their actions are no different than inspired messengers. But I do not find Paul acting arrogant or expressing feelings of grandeur because he had the truth and others did not.

However, truth does contradict error. Teach truth and you will conflict with false doctrine. Those who hold to that doctrine may not appreciate your conclusions. One speaker could say something and no one would be offended, even though his statements conflicted with their faith. Another could say exactly the same thing with the same feelings and attitude, yet offend the same folks. Why? It could be his personality, the inflection of his words, or even the way he appeared.

So what should a person do? Do your best to have the attitude of Christ (Phil. 2:5). Treat others as you want them to treat you if you were in their shoes and they in yours (Matt. 7:12). And remember that you are not perfect and you will make mistakes (I John 1:8). Yet even though you may sometimes be offended, it is better to try to teach the Lord's word and inadvertently offend someone, than to refuse to teach at all because you are afraid of doing so.