S3-67 UPHOLDING THE FORM OF SOUND WORDS

Present truth offends some, but we must not be afraid to declare it, "for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God" (2Timothy 1:7-8). We mustn't be ashamed of 1) Jesus and 2) His anointed ministry. People were offended by the genealogy of Jesus and his lack of ''religious credentials.'' People are offended by all manner of prejudices. "{They} make a man an offender for a word and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate {to} turn aside the just for a thing of naught" (Isaiah 29:21). They will indict a man for his accent or name, attempting to silence a man of God before entering an assembly. People try to neutralize him with charges like "false prophet" to deprive the innocent of the present truth.