Albert Schweitzer was born in Germany in 1875. By the age of 21 he had become a brilliant organist, an international authority on organs and organ construction, and an expert on the life of Johann Sebastian Bach. Schweitzer’s future looked settled, secure and comfortable. But at the age of 30, he decided to go back to school, study medicine and devote the rest of his life to serving humanity. He supported himself in medical school by giving organ concerts all across Europe. In 1913, at the age of 38, he finished medical school and went to French Equatorial Africa to serve the impoverished people as doctor, setting up his clinic in an abandoned chicken coop.

Over the years, Schweitzer built a large hospital complex where he treated thousands of Africans a year, free of charge. Whenever he began to run out of money, he returned to Europe to perform organ recitals until he raised the money he needed. In 1952 he won the Nobel Peace Prize and used the $33,000 award to expand the hospital and establish a treatment center for people with leprosy. Schweitzer stands out in modern history as a prime example of a helper of the helpless, a strengthener of the weak, a friend of the needy, a loving healer. By human standards he would certainly seem to have earned God’s approval and favor. But is Albert Schweitzer in heaven today? Schweitzer wrote a book entitled Quest for the Historical Jesus. In his book he concluded that Jesus may never have existed, and that if Jesus did exist, He was certainly not the person the Gospel records describe Him to be. If this is the conviction he held at the point of his death, then we are forced to conclude that he is not in heaven. That is the only option according to Jesus Himself:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. John 3:36

If you take seriously the position of historic Christianity, proclaiming that apart from faith in Jesus Christ people are eternally lost and separated from God, many will take offense. But you must be offensive in this way. The message of the cross will be offensive. Be offensive.

Jesus spoke these words:

Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

Being offensive is part of our calling as Christians. But there is a big difference between being personally offensive and generating the offense of the cross. God clearly has called us to be non-offensive on the interpersonal level. But no matter how kind and gracious you may be, if your message is the message of the cross, it will offend some. That is because it declares that we humans are totally helpless to deal with sin by our own effort. It does not matter how nice, educated, powerful or philanthropic we may be, we are all eternally lost apart from a personal reliance on the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for our sin. Telling people they cannot solve the problem of their sin offends their pride. That is why they will lash out at those who speak the truth of the Gospel. But the offense of the cross is non-negotiable. There is no way to escape it if we are to remain faithful to God’s Word.

You and I will be offensive as we remain faithful to God’s Word. There is a saying in football that the best offense is a good defense. We have that: Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense. When you stand before God’s throne of judgment, He is you defense, one that assures you pardon and peace. Knowing that, we are emboldened and empowered to be faithful to Him, being an offense to others, suffering whatever may come. We have the promise that for Jesus’ sake, we will be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.