of blessing, let us make right use of it, not
spending it to no purpose, and let us take serious heed to give
offense to none; thus avoiding reproach to our ministry. It is evident
from the connection to what kind of offense the apostle has reference;
he would not have the Gospel doctrine charged with teaching anything
evil.

8. Two kinds of offense bring the Gospel into disgrace: In one case it
is the heathen who are offended, and this because of the fact that
some individuals would make the Gospel a means of freedom from
temporal restraint, substituting temporal liberty for spiritual. They
thus bring reproach upon the Gospel as teaching such doctrine, and
make it an object of scandal to the heathen and worldly people,
whereby they are misled and become enemies to the faith and to the
Word of God without cause, being the harder to convert since they
regard Christians as licentious knaves. And the responsibility for
this must be placed at the door of those who have given offense in
this respect.

In the other case, Christians are offended among themselves. The
occasion is the indiscreet exercise of Christian liberty, which
offends the weak in faith. Concerning this topic much is said in First
Corinthians 8 and Romans 14. Paul here hints at what he speaks of in
First Corinthians 10, 32-33: "Give no occasion of stumbling, either to
Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God: even as I also please all
men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the
many that they may be saved." He takes up the same subject in
Philippians 2, 4, teaching that every man should look on the things of
others. Then no offense will be given.

"That our ministration [the ministry] be not blamed."

9. Who can prevent our office being vilified? for the Word of God must
be persecuted equally with Christ himself. That the Word of God is
reviled by unbelievers ignorant of faith in God is something we cannot
prevent. For, according to Isaiah 8, 14 and Romans 9, 33, the Gospel
is a "rock of offense." This is the offense of the faith; it will
pursue its course and we are not responsible.

But for love's offense, offense caused by shortcomings in our works
and fruits of faith, the things we are commanded to let shine before
men, that, seeing these, they may be allured to the faith--for offense
in this respect we cannot disclaim responsibility. It is a sin we
certainly must avoid, that the heathen, the Jews, the weak and the
rul