The Gospel is Not Offensive, We just Don't Want to Be Convicted.

God is love.

God is healer.

God is peace.

God is truth.

Yet today, in a world desperate for affirmation but allergic to accountability, we’ve replaced conviction with offense. We’ve swapped out the solid rock of righteousness for the sinking sand of cultural trends. In doing so, we risk losing not only our identity, but our eternity.

We call good evil and evil good.

We redefine the sacred and mock the holy.

We teach our children to apologize for truth and embrace deception all to make sure no one feels offended.

But the Gospel is offensive not because it’s unkind, but because it tells the truth. And truth stings when we’re in love with our sin.

1. Truth Doesn’t Bow to Culture

God doesn’t evolve with society. His Word is eternal.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…”  Isaiah 5:20

Jesus didn’t water down truth to win the approval of the crowd. He was the truth, and He spoke it boldly even when it cost Him everything. In John 6, when His teaching became too hard, many disciples walked away.

“From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.”  John 6:66

Jesus didn’t chase them. He let them go. Because truth isn’t changed by public opinion it stands alone.

2. We Sacrifice the Holy to Appease the Offended

God sacrificed Himself to cleanse us of sin not to affirm us in it.

“He was pierced for our transgressions… the punishment that brought us peace was on Him.” Isaiah 53:5

Yet today, instead of receiving His grace with repentance, we act entitled to it as if the cross is a permission slip rather than a rescue mission. We cry “unfair” at God’s standards while expecting heaven without surrender.

But grace isn’t a license to sin. It’s a call to transformation.

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!”  Romans 6:1–2

3. Famous Biblical Examples of Courageous Conviction

•  Noah preached righteousness for 120 years and not one person besides his family listened. Yet he stayed obedient (Genesis 6–9).

• Daniel refused to conform to Babylon’s culture, choosing the lion’s den over compromise (Daniel 6).

• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied the king’s command to worship a golden idol. They were thrown into the fiery furnace and yet emerged untouched because they refused to bow (Daniel 3).

• John the Baptist called out sin boldly, even confronting King Herod and it cost him his life (Mark 6:17–29).

• Stephen spoke the truth so boldly that he was stoned to death, yet even in his final breath, he forgave his murderers (Acts 7).

• Peter and John were arrested and commanded to stop preaching in Jesus’ name. Their response? “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

• The Apostle Paul endured shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, and slander but never wavered in proclaiming Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23–28).

• The Hebrew Midwives (Shiphrah and Puah) in Egypt defied Pharaoh’s order to kill Hebrew baby boys. They feared God more than man and spared many lives (Exodus 1:15–21).

• Queen Esther risked her life by approaching the king uninvited to intercede for her people. “If I perish, I perish,” she said and her courage saved a nation (Esther 4:16).

• Jesus, though sinless, was beaten, mocked, and crucified. Why? Because He stood for truth, and truth disrupts comfort (John 18–19).

4. God Is Calling Us to Rise Up

This world is not our home. We’re not called to blend in we’re called to stand out. God is raising up a generation that isn’t afraid to speak truth in love, even when it’s unpopular.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 

1 Corinthians 16:13–14

It starts with us. You. Me. Our children.

We must choose holiness over hype. Conviction over comfort. Heaven over applause.

5. My Mission: Heaven Is the Goal and I’m Not Going Alone

When I think about eternity, I don’t want to stand before God and realize I stayed silent when I was meant to speak. I don’t want to be left behind because I was too busy trying to fit in.

I want to make it to heaven and I want to bring as many people as I can with me.

That’s the mission. That’s the call.

Final Thoughts:

Truth isn’t always comfortable. But it is always necessary. And it leads to the only kind of freedom that lasts.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

So let’s stop trading truth for tolerance. Let’s stop bowing to offense when we’re meant to rise with conviction.

Because the world doesn’t need more people who echo the crowd. It needs people who reflect the cross.

We weren’t created to blend in with a world that’s fading we were called to stand firm in a Kingdom that’s eternal. The cross was never meant to be comfortable it was meant to be confrontational. A symbol of sacrifice. A call to die to self. And yet, through it, we live. So let’s live like it matters. Let’s speak truth like souls depend on it because they do. May our lives reflect the One who didn’t flinch at the cost of truth, and may our legacy be this: that we stood unshaken, unashamed, and unwavering not for applause, but for eternity.

Hallelujah & Amen,

Hollie McCalip