Offences Will Come

Offences Will Come

Text: Luke 17:1–2; Matthew 18:7
Theme: How to avoid the offences that will come

Introduction

Jesus warned that offences will come:

  • They may come through the unsaved in the world (Mt. 18:7).

  • They may come through a brother in Christ (Lk. 17:3; Romans 14:13).

  • They may even come through your own flesh.

➡️ The offence is the stumbling block.
➡️ The offender is the one who places it.
➡️ To be offended is to stumble or fall.

God’s Word gives warnings (e.g., Woe!) about offences and how to avoid them.

I. Our Extremities (Mt. 18:7–8 – Hands & Feet ✋👣)

1. Illustrations

  • Children’s song: “Oh be careful little hands what you touch…oh be careful little feet where you go.”

  • Ride warnings: “Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times.”

2. The Problem with Feet

  • Swift to mischief – Proverbs 6:18

  • Swift to shed blood – Proverbs 1:16

3. The Problem with Hands

  • Eve added “don’t touch it” (Gen. 3:3) → touching often precedes sin.

  • Man adds man-made doctrines (Col. 2:21–22).

4. What God Forbids Touching

  • Not good for a man to touch a woman – 1 Cor. 7:1; Gen. 20:6

  • Don’t touch borders – Ex. 19:12–13; Heb. 12:20

  • Don’t touch unclean things – 2 Cor. 6:17; Lev. 5:2–3

  • Jesus said “Touch me not” – John 20:17 → but now Heb. 4:15 shows we may touch Him in prayer.

💡 Jesus was nailed in both His hands and feet—showing not only the sins He died for, but also that we must nail our extremities to the cross.

Quote: “The nail-pierced hand will not lead you where His pierced feet have not already walked.” – Unknown

II. Our Eyes (Mt. 18:9 👀)

1. Biblical Examples of Trouble

  • Eve saw the fruit (Gen. 3:6)

  • Potiphar’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph (Gen. 39:7)

  • Achan saw the goods (Josh. 7:21)

  • Samson saw Delilah (Judg. 16:1)

  • David saw Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:2)

2. Warnings about the Eyes

  • Don’t look at wine – Prov. 23:31

  • Don’t look with lust – Mt. 5:28

  • Don’t look at others without first examining yourself – Mt. 7:3–5

3. How to Handle the Eyes

  • Pluck them out (hyperbole, or tribulation doctrine).

  • Set no wicked thing before them – Ps. 101:3

  • Make a covenant with them – Job 31:1

  • Look higher: “Set your affection on things above” (Col. 3:2); “Looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:2).

Quote: “The cure of an evil eye is to look higher.” – Charles Spurgeon

III. Our Ego (Mt. 18:10 😇)

1. Signs of a Prideful Ego

  • Begin to think yourself better than you really are – Galatians 6:3

  • Begin to despise others in your heart – Romans 14:3

  • Begin to think yourself holier than another – Isaiah 65:5

“Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it.”

2. Cure for a Prideful Ego

  • 1.     Cast down imaginations

  • 2.     Compare yourself to Christ

  • 3.     Confess your sin of pride

Closing Summary

✅ Expect offences – Don’t be surprised when they come.
✅ Examine yourself – Have you stumbled by your flesh?
✅ Embrace sacrifice – Keep your hands, feet, eyes, and ego at the cross.

Jeffrey smith