Over at the Decablog, Nick Kennicott writes:
Today I read an article called Why the Gospel is Offensive by Dustin Kensrue and my immediate thought was, “The gospel isn’t offensive!” I’ve used language in the past like, “We shouldn’t be the offense, let the gospel be the offense” thus giving credence to the idea that the gospel is indeed offensive (and yes, I believe we should not seek to intentionally offend others). But is this really what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23)? Is it really the gospel itself, the good news of Christ and Him crucified on behalf of sinners that is the cause of division and offense, or is it something else? I am reminded of the words of the Bishop J.C. Ryle who, commenting on Luke 13:39-43, wrote the following:
Read the rest here.