“I posted this because experienced pastors are increasingly saying that that doctrine can be taught best in a pastoral approach which doesn’t start out by reviling and repulsing the lost lamb.”
In John 6, does Jesus try to stay friends with everyone? Does He use the “pastoral approach” to those who refused His message? Or did He drive them away by His unyielding insistence?
“As a consequence of this, many of his disciples withdrew and no longer followed him.”
We need to be willing to preach others away from Christ, if the preaching is the truth. The Stumbling Stone is still making some stumble...
“It is to you who believe in him that he is “precious”, but to those who disobey God, it is true that: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’. And he is, to them, ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’.
Yes, they stumble at the Word of God for in their hearts they are unwilling to obey it—which makes stumbling a foregone conclusion.”
A *gospel* that don’t offend people is not the true gospel.
The true gospel WILL offend some, actually, probably most.
It won’t others.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
But he didn't lead off by saying, "Hi there, verily, you're abominable."
My favorite religious painting is that of Jesus knocking on a door with no knob. It illustrates a great concept. Jesus and those who really serve him are bold in offering repentance, but they leave it up to you or I to complete the motion by opening the door from the inside. Yes, it’s normal to feel offended by the truth. We all have our own difficulties about it, but it’s part of learning, and part of the journey.