The Offensive Gospel

“For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7: 8-10).

Whatever else we might say about this passage, this is very obvious: it sounds very contrary to what we would expect a believer to say, especially one like Paul—I caused you sorrow and though I did regret it, I no longer do. There is something in most of us that simply does not like to cause sorrow in others and we certainly do not take the position that when we do, we should not regret it. But this is the position Paul takes in this passage.

Now, let me put Paul’s position in context: he makes it clear that he is not dealing with the sorrow the world brings—sorrow that produces death; instead, he is dealing with the sorrow that produces repentance—the kind of repentance that leads to salvation.

Even this clarification does not, however, simplify the text because even though we have been taught the incredibly good news of the gospel, we have also learned that the gospel is offensive foolishness to those who are perishing! Because of our desire not to repel the perishing by offensive foolishness, we attempt to add things to the gospel that disguise its offensive foolishness and, thereby, make it sound more reasonable and appear more attractive to the perishing masses. Sadly, we have developed this tragic mindset: let us do whatever might be necessary to polish the gospel so that we can reach the masses for Jesus. Whatever we do, let us not hurt anyone’s feelings by causing them sorrow, i.e. by telling them who they really are in the eyes of the Holy God.

Interestingly, however, God designed the gospel for His elect, not for the masses and Paul knew this and he knew it quite well. To be sure, neither Paul nor Jesus did anything to “polish the gospel” in an effort to reach anyone; instead, Jesus identified Himself as “the rock of offense” and Paul did everything he could to bring about Godly sorrow in the hearts and lives of his listeners. His words are clear and distinct: “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). It was as if both of them were on a mission to discourage rather than encourage followers!

Follow Paul’s line of thought with me: I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful according to the will of God—sorrow to the point of repentance, the kind of repentance that leads to salvation! I do not think it takes a “rocket scientist” to see this but I will, nevertheless, make my point: no one comes to this kind of repentance until and unless they have been so offended by the gospel that they run to Jesus in utter desperation for redemption and salvation. You see, the gospel is offensive because it reduces man to mere “sackcloth and ashes”—helpless, hopeless, undone, and lost, while at the same time, it elevates God to, well, to God! The gospel is offensive because it brings man to the place where he can no longer worship himself! Isn’t that a novel thought?

Today, I learned that one of the large churches in Macon has asked for the preacher’s resignation. No one had to tell my why because I, well I may be dumb but I ain’t stupid: “The church is going in the wrong direction!” Translated, that means this: “Relative to the other churches in Macon, we are not effectively reaching the masses, so we need another pastor—one who will do whatever it takes not to offend anyone, while at the same time, implementing the kind of programs that will attract more of the perishing masses.” This, however, is my question: what would happen if the leadership of this church took the same position that Jesus and Paul took and simply preached the offensive gospel until it (the gospel) had offended everyone to the very core of their being, until it caused such sorrow that everyone came to repentance, the kind of repentance that leads to salvation?

How in the wide-world have we come believe that we must attempt to improve on the modus operandi of Paul, even Jesus Himself, by making the gospel attractive rather than allowing it to be what it is—offensive?