Last year I listened to a sermon preached in a little church in Texas. I was so impacted by it, I shared it with a friend. The message is “The Bait of Offenses” (preached by the now-late Mervin Graber).
Not long after, my friend was in the book section of a thrift store and saw this book title: The Bait of Satan (by John Bevere). Curious by its similarity to the sermon title, he pulled it off the shelf and saw it addressed the same subject. So he bought it. And read it. And loaned it to me.
I was so impressed by the message that I read the book. Wow! Before long, my friend’s wife found another copy of the book in a thrift store. She bought it and my friend gave it to me for Christmas or my birthday.
You can listen to the sermon version “The Bait of Offenses” at my Anabaptists website. I urge you to do so. Please.
The rest of this post is more about the book as well as some excerpts from it.
from the back cover
Have you been trapped?
- Are you compelled to tell your side of the story?
- Do you fight thoughts of suspicion or distrust?
- Are you constantly rehearsing past hurts?
- Have you lost hope because of what someone else did to you?
The Bait of Satan exposes one of Satan’s most deceptive snares to get you out of God’s will — offense. Jesus said, “It is impossible but that offenses will come” (Luke 17:1). Nevertheless, most people who are ensnared by the bait of Satan don’t even realize it. So don’t be fooled! You will encounter offense, and it’s up to you how you’re going to let it affect your relationship with God. Your response will determine your future. You can be delivered from the bait of Satan, stay free from offense, and escape the victim mentality.
from the Introduction
Anyone who has trapped animals knows a trap needs one of two things to be successful. It must be hidden, in the hope that an animal will stumble upon it, and it must be baited to lure the animal into the trap’s deadly jaws.
Satan, the enemy of our souls, incorporates both of these strategies as he lays out his most deceptive and deadly traps. They are both hidden and baited.
Satan, along with his cohorts, is not as blatant as many believe. He is subtle and delights in deception. He is shrewd in his operations…cunning and crafty. Don’t forget he can disguise himself as a messenger of light. If we are not trained by the Word of God to divide rightly between good and evil, we won’t recognize his traps for what they are.
One of his most deceptive and insidious kinds of bait is something every Christian has encountered — offense. Actually, offense itself is not deadly — if it stays in the trap. But if we pick it up and consume it and feed on it in our hearts, then we have become offended. Offended people produce much fruit, such as hurt, anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, and envy. Some of the consequences of picking up an offense are insults, attacks, wounding, division, separation, broken relationships, betrayal, and backsliding.
Often those who are offended do not even realize they are trapped. They are oblivious to their condition because they are so focused on the wrong that was done to them. They are in denial. The most effective way for the enemy to blind us is to cause us to focus on ourselves.
This book exposes this deadly trap and reveals how to escape its grip and stay free from it. Freedom from offense is essential for every Christian because Jesus said it is impossible to live this life and not have the opportunity to be offended (Luke 17:1).
from the chapter “Massive Offense”
These strongholds create set patterns of reasoning through which all incoming information is processed. Although they were originally erected for protection, they become a source of torment and distortion because they war against the knowing or knowledge of God.
When we filter everything through past hurts, rejections, and experiences, we find it impossible to believe God. We cannot believe He means what He says. We doubt His goodness and faithfulness since we judge Him by the standards set by man in our lives. But God is not a man! He cannot lie (Num. 23:19). His ways are not like ours, and His thoughts are not ours (Isa. 55:8-9).
Offended people will be able to find Scripture passages to back their position, but it is not the correct division of God’s Word. The knowledge of God’s Word without love is a destructive force because it puffs us up with pride and legalism (1 Cor. 8:1-3). This causes us to justify ourselves rather than repent of the unforgiveness.
This creates an atmosphere in which we can be deceived, because knowledge without the love of God will lead to deception.
Jesus warns of false prophets immediately after His statement of many being offended: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matt 24:11). Who are the many they will deceive? The answer: the offended whose love has grown cold (Matt. 24:12).
from the chapter “All That Can Be Shaken Will Be Shaken”
He was remorseful and knew he’d sinned. But he did not know the Christ. He had no understanding of the magnitude of whom he’d betrayed. He only said, “I have betrayed innocent blood.” If he had known the Christ as Simon Peter did, he would have gone back to Him and repented, knowing the goodness of the Lord. Committing suicide was yet another act of living independent of God’s grace. The shaking revealed Judas had no foundation, even after following the Master for three years.
Numerous converts have prayed a “sinner’s prayer,” attended church, become active, and studied their Bibles. All of this, however, is without a revelation of who Jesus really is, though they confess Him with their mouths. When a severe disappointment occurs, they are offended with God and will have nothing to do with Him.
“God never did anything for me!” I’ve heard them say. “I tried Christianity, but my life only became more miserable.” Or “I prayed and asked God to do this, and He did not do it!” They never laid their lives down for Jesus but tried to align themselves with Him for their own benefit. They served Him for what He could give them. They were easily offended. Here is Jesus’ description of them:
-MARK 4:16-17, KJV, ITALICS ADDED
Notice that He said they were quickly offended because they had no foundation. In what are we to be rooted? We find the answer in Ephesians 3:16-18: We are to be rooted and grounded in love. Our love for God is our foundation.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). We cannot lay down our lives for someone we do not trust. We cannot lay down our lives for God unless we know Him well enough to trust Him. We must know and understand the nature and character of God. We must have the assurance that He would never do anything to harm us.
Links in this post
- The Bait of Satan — book by John Bevere
- “The Bait of Offenses” — sermon by Mervin Graber