Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone? What does Paul mean when he says to "give no offence in anything"? Explain.

blackavast

What does Paul mean when he says to "give no offence in anything"?

my view

OLAADEGBU:

Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone? What does Paul mean when he says to "give no offence in anything"? Explain.

Nope
You don't need to avoid offending anyone completely, however its a great virtue not be an aggressor.
Rather seek to make peace for as much as you can bear.
Let it be said of you: "I know Olaa as a level headed man. for him to have done this to you, you must have messed up really bad."
rather than:
"ah, na Olaa naw. the guy na troublesome person"

esere826:
my view

Nope
You don't need to avoid offending anyone completely, however its a great virtue not be an aggressor.
Rather seek to make peace for as much as you can bear.
Let it be said of you: "I know Olaa as a level headed man. for him to have done this to you, you must have messed up really bad."
rather than:
"ah, na Olaa naw. the guy na troublesome person"

Will you then say Jesus was a pacifist?

Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone?

Be like Jesus...
Walk in love...that's the simplest way to explain

I think as christians we shoukd not be inoffensive. We are not to act so as to lead others into sin. In Rom14:13 it says...
 So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. Its not easy to avoid it, but everything is possible by Gods grace. Some people pick offence when you simply tell them that Jesus love them.

Qnd that He died to save them. If we avoid to offend people in this way, then we will not be able to pread the gospel either.

lampardizik:


Be like Jesus...

Walk in love...that's the simplest way to explain

Did our Lord Jesus Christ offend anyone?

plappville:


I think as christians we shoukd not be inoffensive. We are not to act so as to lead others into sin. In Rom14:13 it says...
 So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. Its not easy to avoid it, but everything is possible by Gods grace. Some people pick offence when you simply tell them that Jesus love them.

Qnd that He died to save them. If we avoid to offend people in this way, then we will not be able to pread the gospel either.

Good response. Can you show instances where a believer causes a fellow believer to stumble?

OLAADEGBU:


Did our Lord Jesus Christ offend anyone?

the Sadducees and the Pharisees were greatly offended by His sayings and teachings...

lampardizik:




the Sadducees and the Pharisees were greatly offended by His sayings and teachings...

Good job!

OLAADEGBU:

Good job!

I like your style
Keep it up

OLAADEGBU:


Will you then say Jesus was a pacifist?

I don't think you chose the correct word there^^

I guess what you meant was something like this: "did christ always try to avoid offending others?"
Well, I really don't know. Evidence exists for, and in contrary to this.

On the one hand it is said of him. "A bruised reed he will not break.."
yet we are also told of how zeal for the house will consume him. He then goes ahead with a whip to chase out 'money merchants' from the temple.


Life is full of all sorts, all fulfilling different God-given purposes. As vile as vultures are, they help rid the land of carcass.
So also are those who agress whether they be justified or not.

I have chosen my path
...to most times approach conversations with as much tact as possible while keeping my eyes on the ball.
the Holy Spirit has never complained about this to me

OLAADEGBU:


Good response. Can you show instances where a believer causes a fellow believer to stumble?

A believer can cause a fellow believer to stumble if there is disagreement on food,clothing style, movies, books, jewelry, and alcohol. These are all areas for which the bible does not provide specific instruction and yet are areas in which many feel conviction.

lampardizik:



I like your style

Keep it up

esere826:


I don't think you chose the correct word there^^

I guess what you meant was something like this: "did christ always try to avoid offending others?"
Well, I really don't know. Evidence exists for, and in contrary to this.

If that suits you then why not? Are you saying you don't really know?

esere826:


On the one hand it is said of him. "A bruised reed he will not break.."
yet we are also told of how zeal for the house will consume him. He then goes ahead with a whip to chase out 'money merchants' from the temple.

Why can't you make up your mind and stop prevaricating?

esere826:


Life is full of all sorts, all fulfilling different God-given purposes. As vile as vultures are, they help rid the land of carcass.
So also are those who agress whether they be justified or not.

I have chosen my path
...to most times approach conversations with as much tact as possible while keeping my eyes on the ball.
the Holy Spirit has never complained about this to me

No you have not chosen your path as you are still perching on the wall. If Jesus and His apostles kept using your so called 'tact' do you think they would have died for their faith?

plappville:


A believer can cause a fellow believer to stumble if there is disagreement on food,clothing style, movies, books, jewelry, and alcohol. These are all areas for which the bible does not provide specific instruction and yet are areas in which many feel conviction.

In other words, we can disagree on non essential issues but agree on the essential doctrines of Christ.

OLAADEGBU:


If that suits you then why not? Are you saying you don't really know?

Why can't you make up your mind and stop prevaricating?

No you have not chosen your path as you are still perching on the wall. If Jesus and His apostles kept using your so called 'tact' do you think they would have died for their faith?

Olaas
Why not use the diary section of NL
It allows you to air your views and yours only

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The bible contains snapshots of events in history, not the whole story
so, trying to force your interpretation on the personalities mentioned in the bible can be fraught with error.

Now try to read this very carefully spending time to think about it:

At this moment, I could rightly get fed up with you (like a number of folks do) and then rebuke you tersely calling you a traducer, Pharisee or something else who puts weight on people that Christ has not given.
Now, imagine a writer mentions my rebuke of you and also mentions many more times that I rebuked others like you after a similar circumstance
does that make me someone that offends or happily offends people?

Would it be reasonable for an intelligent reader to pick up a 100 page book that can be read in 3 hours about my entire life and then draw conclusions with 100% certainty about who esere826 is, even to the extent of saying other views are wrong? ...hell NO

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I have my views alright, however, it is what it is....views
I was not around when Jesus was, neither were you
It would be the height of simplistic reasoning (which thankfully I am not capable of) to put Jesus in a box of "he either was one given to causing offence" vs "he wasn't given to causing offence".
Clearly the bible writers record both attributes.

..And this is why I usually try to stir your questions into smaller, reasonable and more accurate bits which I consider the right way to ask questions of this nature, not in setting traps like they used to do for Jesus.

For example, if you asked:
Did Jesus offend anyone? the answer is a simple Yes, because it is on record
However, a question such as was Jesus offensive? This cannot be answered with a quick yes or No.. an intelligent person in an intelligent conversation would first ask you to define offensive. then you might be asked to break it down into its components for each bit to be answered with a Yes or No

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surely, it can't be so difficult to understand all of what I've written

esere826:


Olaas
Why not use the diary section of NL
It allows you to air your views and yours only

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The bible contains snapshots of events in history, not the whole story
so, trying to force your interpretation on the personalities mentioned in the bible can be fraught with error.

Now try to read this very carefully spending time to think about it:

At this moment, I could rightly get fed up with you (like a number of folks do) and then rebuke you tersely calling you a traducer, Pharisee or something else who puts weight on people that Christ has not given.
Now, imagine a writer mentions my rebuke of you and also mentions many more times that I rebuked others like you after a similar circumstance
does that make me someone that offends or happily offends people?

Would it be reasonable for an intelligent reader to pick up a 100 page book that can be read in 3 hours about my entire life and then draw conclusions with 100% certainty about who esere826 is, even to the extent of saying other views are wrong? ...hell NO

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have my views alright, however, it is what it is....views
I was not around when Jesus was, neither were you
It would be the height of simplistic reasoning (which thankfully I am not capable of) to put Jesus in a box of "he either was one given to causing offence" vs "he wasn't given to causing offence".
Clearly the bible writers record both attributes.

..And this is why I usually try to stir your questions into smaller, reasonable and more accurate bits which I consider the right way to ask questions of this nature, not in setting traps like they used to do for Jesus.

For example, if you asked:
Did Jesus offend anyone? the answer is a simple Yes, because it is on record
However, a question such as was Jesus offensive? This cannot be answered with a quick yes or No.. an intelligent person in an intelligent conversation would first ask you to define offensive. then you might be asked to break it down into its components for each bit to be answered with a Yes or No

xxxxxxxxxxxxx
surely, it can't be so difficult to understand all of what I've written

The question was: "Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone?" and you are still prevaricating. What about giving a laconic response?

OLAADEGBU:


The question was: "Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone?" and you are still prevaricating. What about giving a laconic response?

can you recall this

my view

OLAADEGBU:

Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone? What does Paul mean when he says to "give no offence in anything"? Explain .

Nope
You don't need to avoid offending anyone completely, however its a great virtue not be an aggressor.
Rather seek to make peace for as much as you can bear.
Let it be said of you: "I know Olaa as a level headed man. for him to have done this to you, you must have messed up really bad."
rather than:
"ah, na Olaa naw. the guy na troublesome person"

I can even help to segregate then map your questions to the relevant answers by using colour codes if its easier to grasp that way sef

esere826:


can you recall this


I can even help to segregate then map your questions to the relevant answers by using colour codes if its easier to grasp that way sef

I still didn't get your understanding on what Paul meant. Thanks anyway for your response.

OLAADEGBU:


I still didn't get your understanding on what Paul meant. Thanks anyway for your response.

fair enough
but then, why did you not get it?
This is why I think you did not get it:
Anything that gets into a glass cup has to conform to the shape of the cup. The cup is not able to store anything such as air that does not conform to this principle.

..you've probably wired yourself to accept and process information only in certain ways. If the process does not follow your brain map, your brain quickly tries to give it a label that would bring your brain to rest. Hence you penchant for attaching simple labels such as right vs wrong and fence sitting and political correctness etc

...its the wineskin darn it!
interpretation: work on your mindset, and you'd be amazed on the new kind of information that will flow through it and be retained

lampardizik:




the Sadducees and the Pharisees were greatly offended by His sayings and teachings...

That's exactly what some of us like doing to modern day Pharisees and Sadducees here on Nairaland. They claim to be the first, the "Mother Church", the "original", the Holy of Holies yet they've vehemently refused to make the Holy Bible their standard...They rather judge things by their Church doctrines which are no where found in the scriptures but commandments of men...talk about adding to the word of God! Smh....

Reminds me of the whṓre of Babylon in Revelation 17

esere826:


can you recall this


I can even help to segregate then map your questions to the relevant answers by using colour codes if its easier to grasp that way sef

That will not be necessary.

esere826:


fair enough
but then, why did you not get it?
This is why I think you did not get it:
Anything that gets into a glass cup has to conform to the shape of the cup. The cup is not able to store anything such as air that does not conform to this principle.

Are you saying air doesn't conform to the shape of a cup?

esere826:


..you've probably wired yourself to accept and process information only in certain ways. If the process does not follow your brain map, your brain quickly tries to give it a label that would bring your brain to rest. Hence you penchant for attaching simple labels such as right vs wrong and fence sitting and political correctness etc

...its the wineskin darn it!
interpretation: work on your mindset, and you'd be amazed on the new kind of information that will flow through it and be retained

If your mindset doesn't conform to the Word of God then automatically they do not conform with the mind of Christ, why then would I be interested in that kind of information?

"And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2).

DoubleDeeX:


That's exactly what some of us like doing to modern day Pharisees and Sadducees here on Nairaland. They claim to be the first, the "Mother Church", the "original", the Holy of Holies yet they've vehemently refused to make the Holy Bible their standard...They rather judge things by their Church doctrines which are no where found in the scriptures but commandments of men...talk about adding to the word of God! Smh....

Reminds me of the whṓre of Babylon in Revelation 17

Do I have a witness in the house? Bravo my brother! In addition to what you have said, the modern day Sadducees are the liberals of today who will rationalise and explain away the pertinent words of God which never changes.

OLAADEGBU:


Are you saying air doesn't conform to the shape of a cup?

I actually saw that coming, but hoped you'd miss it. I was tired, so I wasnt keen on couching my words with more explanatory characters. Lesson: Allow wriggle room in your statements when engaged in debates with those that are .....ehmmm, ehmmmm

If your mindset doesn't conform to the Word of God then automatically they do not conform with the mind of Christ, why then would I be interested in that kind of information?

..good start
at least the first step is to know and acknowledge that mental wiring does affect the way one processes, disparages, concludes and disperses of information.
I mean, I wrote stuff which you couldn't process due to your 'christ-mind' and so you quickly concluded that it must 'devil stuff' or some other definition, ...i don forget the big words wen u dey call sef.

the next step
would then be to try to ascertain if indeed your present mental wiring is the best that God can come up with

OLAADEGBU:


Do Christians need to avoid offending anyone? What does Paul mean when he says to "give no offence in anything"? Explain.

Suggested answer:

In this current world, offending someone seems rather easy. We probably have all offended or hurt someone's feelings, whether it was intentional or not. Is the belief that Christians should never offend anyone a biblical guideline? This supposed guideline could be a result of ideas like the following:

-We need to avoid offending our weaker brother.
-We should not offend non-Christians because we might lose the opportunity to witness.
-Paul stated that we should never offend anyone: "We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed" (2 Corinthians 6:3).

After close examination, we will not only find the guideline of never offending anyone to be unbiblical, but we will also find the supposed biblical ideas used to support it are unbiblical. Taking Scripture out of context to support an idea can be very easy to do, and so we must carefully examine all ideas with Scripture.

If we are defending and living the truth of God's Word, is it possible to always avoid offending a weaker brother or a non-Christian, and should that be our focus? This article explains why never offending anyone is not a biblical guideline.

https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/christians-should-never-offend-anyone/

To be continued...

Offence is something determingly commited. It is a sin. Born Again, The Righteous, has become Christlike and neither knows sin nor how it is commited. Worry also is a sin that The Righteous is aware of. Therefore, The Righteous doesn't worry. I just remember to explain in my earlier comments that "The Tree of Life is The Eternal Spirit you are blessed with for qualifying to live in the New Jerusalem".

OLAADEGBU:


Suggested answer:

In this current world, offending someone seems rather easy. We probably have all offended or hurt someone's feelings, whether it was intentional or not. Is the belief that Christians should never offend anyone a biblical guideline? This supposed guideline could be a result of ideas like the following:

-We need to avoid offending our weaker brother.
-We should not offend non-Christians because we might lose the opportunity to witness.
-Paul stated that we should never offend anyone: "We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed" (2 Corinthians 6:3).

After close examination, we will not only find the guideline of never offending anyone to be unbiblical, but we will also find the supposed biblical ideas used to support it are unbiblical. Taking Scripture out of context to support an idea can be very easy to do, and so we must carefully examine all ideas with Scripture.

If we are defending and living the truth of God's Word, is it possible to always avoid offending a weaker brother or a non-Christian, and should that be our focus? This article explains why never offending anyone is not a biblical guideline.

https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/christians-should-never-offend-anyone/

To be continued...

What Does It Mean to Offend Someone?

Before discussing the belief that we should never offend anyone, we need to define what we mean by "offend." If we offend someone, we did something that causes a person to get vexed. While true, this definition is vague and does not give any principles on how to avoid offending someone. The best way to understand the definition of this word is to look at some examples.

One common example from Scripture of an offense is the eating of food that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul wrote the following:

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. (1 Corinthians 8:6–9)

We can apply the basic principle from this passage to words we say. Some Christians believe certain words should never be said while others believe they can say them. For example, what would happen if I was with a person who believed we should never say "cabbagehead," and I used it (in an edifying manner, of course)? I would have defiled that person's conscience. In other words, I would have offended that person by being a stumbling block. Based on Scripture, we need to be wary of becoming a stumbling block to others (see also Luke 17:1–4). However, some go an extra step and say we should never offend our weaker brother, but Scripture does not command this.

Another way to offend is by getting non-Christians angry not only at us but also at Christianity. For example, imagine driving and unintentionally cutting a non-Christian off in traffic. The person cut off would probably get angry. Furthermore, if the car had a Christian bumper sticker, the person might also get mad at Christianity. As Christians, we need to strive to have the utmost integrity in all areas, including driving (Titus 2:7).

In both cases, the offense was not deliberate, but unfortunately, someone was still offended. Some people use these or similar examples to support the idea that we should be careful to never offend anyone. While we should keep these biblical examples in mind to avoid offending people, God's Word does not state that we should never offend.

To be continued...