Does God Ever Become Offended? Part One
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Lately what we’ve been hearing from most Christians is, “God is love” and “It’s all about grace.”
But does God ever become offended?
This is an important question to ask. Does your behavior ever offend God? Are there times when what the church is doing offends God?
I think there are many people who don’t grasp this.
They say, “Wait a minute! But God is love.” But does God ever become offended, and if He does get offended, what does He do?
We know what we do when we are offended. We pout, we manipulate with our emotions, we give people a piece of our mind.
What does God do when He is offended?
1. God can be offended
“‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:26-30v (emphasis mine)
The verse, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” in the Greek literally means “Do not make Him sad. Don’t offend Him.”
You can offend the Holy Spirit.
2. God can feel rejected
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (emphasis mine)
The verse, “Do not quench the Spirit, in the Greek means “Do not throw a wet blanket on the Spirit.”
Why would you throw a wet blanket on something? To put out a fire.
3. God will take vengeance
“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel (in scripture means both “body” and “wife”) in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (emphasis mine)
This is an important message for the church in America today because the church does not understand that when you claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, when you say you’ve been born again and that God is your Father, there are things that will make Him feel rejected.
There are things that will offend Him and there are things that will snuff out His influence in your life.
There are things that the church can do as the family of God, that has this same effect when His influence is no longer felt in the service.
He’s offended because you’ve rejected Him and thrown a wet blanket on His presence.
We need to wake up and realize that the writings that Jesus Himself gave in the first two chapters of Revelation are really true.
The church can become lukewarm because it puts a wet blanket on the Holy Spirit. It offends God.
What am I talking about?
How do we offend God?
It offends God when you’re more concerned about having smoke machines, dim lights and the latest sound than you are concerned about His Holy Spirit
When you’re more concerned about what looks good, sounds good, the right presentation, being cool, and preening contemporaneity but you’re not passionate about the Holy Spirit Himself and the fire and power of God!
There is no amount of presentation that can take the place of the pure and holy presence of Almighty God!
And it offends God.
How do we reject God?
I am grieved to say that the gifts of the Spirit, words given in a spiritual tongue with an interpretation are the exception and not the norm in Pentecostal churches today because we have rejected it.
We think that it might be offensive to a guest, to someone who’s never been to church before.
We live in a day when the church does not want the spiritual gifts operating and it offends God and makes Him feel rejected, so He doesn’t manifest His presence as He did at one time because He’s offended!
How would you feel if you called a friend, but every time he picked up the phone he heard your voice and hung up on you; and each time you called back he hung up every time he heard your voice?
This is what we do to God when we shut down the prophetic word, and tongue and interpretation in our services.
We shut Him down and reject Him, and by that we are offending Him!
And He will only take it for so long before He’ll stop manifesting His presence because He knows that you don’t really want Him.
It’s time to wake up, Church!
God is really offended by how we’re doing church in America right now.
Can God Be Offended Series:
Does God Ever Get Offended? Part One
Does God Get Offended Part Two
Return to the Old Paths
