By Gary Ray Branscome
Just as it is a sin to do evil, the words, “He who bids
him God speed is a partaker of his evil deeds,” tell us that it is a sin to
bless those who do evil, for those who do so are encouraging them to do evil. And,
when the Bible warns against giving offence, it is a warning against doing or
saying things that encourage others to do evil, lead them
to sin, harden their hearts, or result in their damnation.
The words, “Make note of those who cause divisions and
offences contrary to the doctrine that you have learned; and avoid them,”
tell us to avoid associating with those who cause division and offence (Romans
16:17). Christ’s words, “It is inevitable that offences will occur: but woe
to him, through whom they come! It would be better for him to be thrown into
the sea, with a millstone tied around his neck, than for him to cause one of
these little ones to fall away,” are a stern warning against giving
offence; and the words, “Cause one of these little ones to fall away,”
apply to every teacher and professor who ridicules the Christian faith (Luke 17:1-2).
[See Matthew 18:6 and Mark 9:42.] What Christ said about Judas, “Woe to that
man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he
had never been born,” applies to all who turn people away from Christ (Mark
While encouraging others to sin or hardening them in
unbelief is a serious matter, the Bible speaks of another way of giving offence.
That is giving offence by leading others to go against their conscience. We
find that in the words, “Receive him who is weak in faith, but not to
doubtful disputations. For one is confident that he may eat all things:
another, who is weak, eats only vegetables… There is nothing unclean of itself, but if anyone regards something as unclean, then for
him it is unclean. But if your brother is grieved because of what you eat, you
are not walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food, him for whom
Christ died. Do not allow your good be spoken of as evil… He who doubts
is under condemnation if he eats, for his eating is not of faith: for whatever
is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:1-2, 14-16 and 23).
However, there is a difference between avoiding something
perfectly harmless because it may give offence, and being told that you must
avoid it. For example, if someone from a Jewish background comes to faith in
Christ, but is troubled in conscience by the thought of eating ham, we should
not push him to go contrary to his conscience. At the same time, if someone in
the congregation begins to insist that everyone must give up ham, then he is a
false teacher, and must be dealt with as such. In that situation the words, “Do
not let anyone judge you by what you eat, or drink, or in regard to a holyday,
or the new moon, or the Sabbath day,” apply (Colossians
In Scripture we also see a distinction between giving
offence, and taking offence. If we do something wrong, and someone else follows
our example we have given offence. But if we are doing something that is not
wrong (such as eating ham) and someone who sees us takes offence, then they are
in the wrong. The Pharisees took offence at the words of Jesus when He said, “It
is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man; but that which comes out of
the mouth, that defiles a man,” we know they took offence because the Bible
says, “His disciples came to him, and asked, Do you know the Pharisees were
offended, when they heard you say that?” (Matthew 15:11-12).
There is another aspect of taking offence, and that is
those who take offence at the Gospel. Regarding such offence, Jesus said, “Blessed
is he, who does not take offence at me” (Matthew 11:6). The words, “We
preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews,” speak of Christ as
a “stumbling block” (1Corinthians