Dont Take the Bait
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Don’t Take the Bait
James 4:1-3
Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
Whom amongst us does not know that we are one body of Christ, instructed to love,
support and build each other up in the faith? And yet whom amongst us does not have one or
several other Christians that have offended us? Looking back, their offenses did not start out
heinous but by the time we were done “demonizing” these “perpetrators” our “flesh wounds”
soon became firmly entrenched into our souls! The closer the relationship and the deeper the
love we once had for the person, the deeper our current “indifference” or dare I say “hatred” we
have towards that person. If only our love for ourselves and our pride was not so strong, maybe
we could have respected and made room in our lives for the differences of others! Offense is a
tool that Satan has been using since the beginning of time to destroy not only our relationships
with each other but also our witness of “love” to this world. In this sermon I am going to review
the book Bait of Satan by John Bevere and in doing so challenge each of you to go to the foot of
the cross and with the forgiveness you have received offer it to all those “perpetrators” that have
offended you!
Offense is Affecting the Church
The modern-day church is facing both internal and external threats that has led many to
question its long-term survival. For example, the Postmodern belief that truth is a highly
individualistic creation of one’s own mind,
makes it very difficult to teach the Bible is the
absolute truth.1 Religious syncretism has
obscured the truth so dramatically that the
monotheistic belief in a single God is considered
bigotry by most of this world. Due to the highly
publicized fall of various religious leaders and
institutions, confidence in the morality of the
church has dropped nearly 20% over the last few
decades.2 Church attendance in Canada over the
last 70 years has been in a steady decline from
67% in 1945 to 13% in 2015,3 while atheism
during the same time period has more than
1 Grenz, Stanley J. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids, MI: Willian B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1996, 43.
2 Ibid., 27.
3 Taken from the following website: http://www.intrust.org/Magazine/Issues/New-Year-2016/Religious-
affiliation-and-attendance-in-Canada
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doubled.4 To make matters worse the next generation the baby boomers are 50% less likely to
attend church than their predecessors.5
While these numbers are serious threats, nothing reduces church attendance any faster
than when members of the church start feeling they have been mistreated and misjudged by one
another and therefore are justified to “demonize”
and fight against their alleged “perpetrators.”
When members stop serving by considering
others better than themselves (Philippians 2:3)
but instead feel entitled to their “acquired”
positions of authority, the split and eventual
dissolution of that church is not far away!6 After
all, how many people in the church have stepped
down from positions of service because they
were offended by another member? How many
people do you know that profess to be Christians
and yet will not step a foot into the church
because the politics are far too fierce? Is it
possible for the wretched, miserable, poor, blind
and naked (Revelations 3:14-20) people of the church to avoid offense and fulfil God’s
command to love Him and one another? To answer this question let’s first look at how offense
occurs in the first place.
External and Internal Influences – The Foundation of the Cycle of Violence
Given the selfishness of our
culture, many Christians believe we
are living in the end times.7 While
Paul tells us to have nothing to do
with such people, whom amongst
us truly can say we have not to
some extent emulated some worldly
characteristics? Do we not think
about making money way too
often? Have we not been abusive
to our friends, family, colleagues
and even from time to time church
members? Do we not have people
4 Reginald Bibby, Resilient Gods, Being Pro-Religious, Low Religious or no Religious in Canada, 2017, 80.
5 Ibid., 20 (hopefully the older baby boomers get the more they start attending church).
6 Taken from the following website: https://thomrainer.com/2015/03/nine-thoughts-church-splits/.
7 John Bevere, Bait of Satan: Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense, Charisma House Book Group,
2004, 6.
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we refuse to forgive? Whom amongst us has not restricted the rights and freedoms of others
when it benefited our own self-interest? As Christians we know we are not to emulate the sinful
ways of this world (1 John 2:15) and yet we often find our hearts left unexamined and
unrepentant are easily hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).
Since the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit desires what is
contrary to the flesh; every Christian has an ongoing war inside of them (Galatians 5:17) in
which the flesh, i.e. our sinful nature, often
wins (Romans 7:18-20). Those who sow to
please their flesh will reap destruction
(Galatians 6:8). Since sin hinders our
ability to hear God’s voice8 and seek His
wisdom, too often Christians get their
council from this world who tells them it is
“ok” to “beat down” anyone who might
jeopardize the selfish desires of their hearts!
While we should celebrate and make room
for the differences of others, I believe we
are living in the predicted age when many
will be offended, betray and hate others
(Matthew 24:10-13) because they are lawless and have allowed their love grow cold for one
another.9 If only we would anoint our eyes with salve (Revelation 3:18), we might come to
know our true condition10 … we have broken the command to love one another!
Being influenced by the selfishness of this world and the internal desires of the flesh lays
the foundation to fight to gratify the evil
desires of our hearts. James tells us coveting
what others have is the source of fights and
quarrels in the church (4:1-2). The seeds of
these fights can be found in those who
respond to the differences of others by
forbearing them while at the same time
keeping a record of all the wrongs they have
ever done! Each time a wrong occurs
forbearance becomes more difficult because
it puts one more cut onto one’s soul.
Eventually the wounds are unbearable, and
the person starts to demonize the other, covet
and do heinous things against that person. In
return the alleged perpetrator retaliates, and
8 John Bevere, 8.
9 Ibid., 12.
10 Ibid., 11.
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cycle of violence is unending. This begs the question; how does one avoid being offended when
the other person has treated them with indifference or worst yet injustice?
Not Getting Offended in the Face of Injustice - Joseph
To answer this question let’s look at Joseph (Genesis 37). Joseph was the offspring of
Jacob and Rachel. We are told in Scripture that Jacob favored Joseph due to his being born late
in Jacob’s life and as a result made him a
coat of many colors. When his brothers saw
that their father favored him over the rest of
them, they hated Joseph and could not speak
a kind word to him. To make matters even
worse Joseph told his brothers he had a
dream in which one day he would rule over
them. This created jealousy in their hearts
that intensified their hatred to the extent that
they could tolerate him no longer! They
plotted to kill him, throw him into a cistern
and cover up their actions by saying that
ferocious animals had devoured him.
Reuben interjected and convinced the
brothers to not kill Joseph with the intent of
freeing him later from the cistern. When the other brothers saw Midianite, merchants come their
way they decided it would be better to sell Joseph for twenty shekels of silver rather than get
blood on their hands without being paid.
What the brothers did to Joseph went beyond cruel. By selling Joseph to Potiphar, an
officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, they completely stripped Joseph of his identity.
Not only would he not receive his father’s
name and any part of his inheritance; both
he, his future wife and any children would
automatically be slaves as well!11 For ten
long years he served Potiphar, not once
hearing from his family and with the
knowledge that his father was grieving over
his apparent death. To make matters worse,
due to Potiphar’s wife accusing him of trying
to sleep with her, Joseph was thrown into
Pharaoh’s prison (Genesis 39). With his feet
bruised with shackles and his neck put in
irons (Psalms 105:18), Joseph was given
nothing more than bread and water to live on
(1 Kings 22:27)! How would you feel if you
were Joseph? Would you not feel justified to at the very least demonize your brothers, and more
likely while in prison spend every waking moment plotting your revenge? And yet the next time
11 John Bevere, 24.
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Joseph met his brothers, even though he was second in command of Egypt and could have
exacted his revenge, he not only forgave them but convinced Pharaoh to give his family Goshen,
the choicest of Egyptian lands (Genesis 46-47)!
Breaking the Cycle of Offense
How to Avoid Offense. Because Joseph’s foundation was to trust God to take care of
him he did not get offended by his brother’s actions. “A person who is not stabilized or founded
in the revealed Word of God is a prime candidate to be moved along by the storm of offense.”12
To keep from being offended our council and foundation of our beliefs must not come from this
world but from God. Those who have one
foot in God’s and one foot in Satan’s
kingdom leave the door open for offense.
When one is governed by one’s emotions
and intellect, the opinions and statements
against others are taken as absolute truth that
varies based on whom one gets one’s
council. When a person asks God for
wisdom either through prayer or by
meditating on His word, offense does not
occur because our chief Cornerstone
(Ephesians 2:19-22) would never tell us to
be indifferent or hate but to love that person!
Instead Jesus gives us the courage to go to our brother or sister when wronged (Matthew 18:15-
20) and clearly see the situation from their point of view, so that us “living stones” might be able
to forgive and make room for one another as one spiritual household (1 Peter 2:5). One can tell
that Joseph did not get offended by his brother’s actions because he did not keep records of their
wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:6)!
How to Overcome Offense. How does one overcome offense in the face of the hands of
injustice? This is far from easy but can be
accomplished. Even though His own
rejected Him, His disciples deserted Him,
and the Roman government system failed
Him; while on the cross Jesus looked upon
His enemies and said “forgive them they
know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Reflect for a moment on all the sins that you
have done in your lifetime. Even as
Christians are not our sins the reason why
Jesus died on the cross? He had every
reason to hate us and leave us under the
curse of spiritual death and yet while we
12 John Bevere, 70.
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were still His enemies Christ died so that we might have a chance to be reconciled unto Him!
Should we not follow Christ’s example and show grace, mercy and forgiveness to others (2
Corinthians 1:3-7)? Letting go of offense is a matter of trust. Do you trust God enough to
handle your unjust situation in a way that is fair and equitable to both parties or do you feel you
are the better judge?
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