In this current culture, everyone seems to be so easily offended. Even the ideas that were commonly held a couple of decades ago are considered highly offensive today. This is especially true when discussing morality and truth. We saw the extreme example last month with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and the reactions of those who hated his ideas. Students of the Bible weren’t completely taking by surprise, for the Bible does warn us that the time is coming when the culture will not endure healthy teaching. We also get a glimpse of this in Revelation 11:10
And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
What was the torment inflicted by these prophets? They proclaimed the truth of God to a culture who hated it. In the last days, God will establish two witnesses to proclaim truth in a culture that has chosen the lie. They absolutely hate these two witnesses who keep telling them the truth they can’t endure hearing. God protects them for over three years, and then allows them to be assassinated, too. Then those who opposed the message will celebrate the deaths of these witnesses, who are hated for no other reason than they proclaimed truth.
So, why are people so eager to silence ideas that disagree with what they want to be true? The common word of this day is, “You are triggering me.” When you listen to what triggers the culture, it is discomfort in what is being said. When someone is discomforted, we are now told that they have a right to eliminate any opinion or idea that is found to be uncomfortable. Comfort is the new human right assumption. In the past, it was the right to express ideas and free speech, but this has been replaced with the right to be free from offense – even if that offense is an opinion they do not like.
Those of us who grew up in the era where we believed in the free expression of ideas get frustrated by the absurdity. People may not understand what has changed, but there is a common underlying issue in the offense-culture. The offense culture is a structure without a foundation. Let me explain.
One of the things that you often hear when someone speaks of truth is that it is ‘hate speech.’ I’ve seen countless people asked, “What did someone say that was hateful.” When pressed, it usually ends up with, I’m angry and I hate the way his message makes me feel, so it’s hate speech. There is nothing identifiable except that they feel triggered.
This is based on a shifting sand mentality that has taken over the culture. For example, one person came forward saying that they were upset because their gender wasn’t being respected. When asked, “How do you identify gender?” they talked in circles and eventually said it wasn’t something they could define.
In another example, someone transgendered said that people who are queer deserve respect. Kirk said, “So that we can have common ground in order to have a reasonable discussion, how do you define ‘queer’?” After a few minutes of back and forth, the person said they couldn’t define it. Another person was asked, “How do you define a woman?” There was a lot of going in circles before she finally said, “I don’t know how to define a woman. You just know.”
If you watch these discussions, this is a common pattern. People can’t define morality, truth, gender, right and wrong, hate, or even identity.
The real problem is not gender, morals, or our world view. The problem is that a life built without a foundation is guaranteed to have confusion. The author of confusion is the devil. He does not have to convince you that right is wrong; he only has to make you question the foundation. Without a standard to stand upon, it takes little to make someone question what is right and wrong. Anyone who rejects a solid foundation will be driven with every wind of the culture. We are seeing the fruit of a new culture raised without a foundation. That is why people can claim contradicting beliefs and be blind to their own confusion. Just like the man who came up to the microphone at a campus and said, “I hate you,” and tried to walk away. When asked for the reason, he said, “because you speak hate.” This mindset justifies killing someone because you hate them, believing that your trigger is evidence that gives you the right to retaliate through your own hate. Look at Psalm 11:3
If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?
Can you debate someone’s moral position if there is no foundation? This is why debate and arguing with a godless culture has so little impact.
The issue is the lack of a foundation. Let’s look at the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:26–27
26 “But everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
A life built on the sand is always at risk. The only way that person can have a sense of security is to eliminate anything that blows against it. When someone is emotionally invested in their culture, but can’t even define foundational terms, anyone who has the ability to provide a definition is considered a threat. Your definition pushes against my fragile ideas, and now I am upset.
All hate is based on fear. When someone fears harm, they become angry and will go into protection mode. Jesus gave the truth. Many call Him Lord, but reject the truth. They redefine Jesus so that they can redefine truth. However, that creates a house built on shifting sand. Then the only thing you can do is try to fight against the wind, or anything that challenges the weak structure of a foundationless life. That is why people can’t endure what the Bible calls ‘sound doctrine’. Or literally translated, ‘healthy teaching’.
Let’s look at the solution to that weak foundation, according to Jesus. Luke 6:46–48
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
Even if we redefine Jesus, it doesn’t change anything. We can call Him Lord, but the truth is that lordship means that we follow what He taught. The person who builds their life around His word is building his or her life on the solid foundation of Christ. While the person on the sand is fearful of every breeze that challenges them, the person on the rock is unshakeable. We aren’t unshakeable because we are strong, but because we are founded upon His strength.
Jesus calls us to dig deep into His word and lay the foundation of our lives upon the unchanging rock of His truth. The picture Jesus gives is someone taking time and effort to carve out a foundation to build upon. It’s to learn of Christ and the way, so that our lives are standing upon Him instead of on this unstable world.
When someone is on this solid foundation, the storms of life can’t overthrow our faith. Because we are secure in Him, fear dies, and it’s hard to offend someone who knows who they are, and is assured in what they know to be true. Even Christians can neglect this; however, they still have the assurance of Christ. The deeper someone’s faith in Him, the more difficult it is to rattle them. The foundation cannot be moved; therefore, anyone built on that foundation draws their strength and security from Him.
Without this foundation, our only defense is the weakness of human nature. Proverbs 28:1 says that the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as lions. The word ‘wicked’ doesn’t necessarily mean someone who is trying to be evil. The Hebrew word this is translated from simply means to deviate from the right way (or path).
When someone rejects the right path, they are susceptible to fear – even the fear of the truth. This verse explains why people feel like Christians are out to get them. They feel hated because they feel threatened when their ways are questioned. They feel hated because their emotions are reactive because of insecurity. This person often feels like they are defending themselves against someone who is not even attacking. It’s the internal struggle being misunderstood as an outward threat.
However, the person who builds their lives on the solid rock of Christ experiences the promise of peace, security, confidence, and boldness even when faced by a real threat. The eternal foundation will always offer comfort in a world that has no solid foundation. In Christ we have the promise of an abundant life. People don’t realize how much we have been given. The wrong path only looks good because we don’t see what the life of promise has given us. The unstable world promises stability, but cannot deliver. Jesus says, “Follow Me,” and His promises always deliver. But Jesus does say that we must lay down our lives in this world so He can raise us up in the life of promise. We cannot have both.
To that, I say, “Look around.” Do we see peace, security, and hope in the world? I realize that even Christians struggle to fully trust, but it is the way of life and the only strong foundation. Sometimes we have to look at our offenses to see if we are standing on faith. The Bible says, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” Faith in Christ alone is how we are overcomers, and more than conquerors as Jesus promised.
The real focus has to be teaching others how to build on His foundation. It begins with ourselves digging into the depths of true faith. Then we shift to the goal of pointing others to the gift of Grace, and teaching them how to build their lives upon Christ. We are called to make disciples of Christ – not to prove others wrong. The Spirit reveals sin when we expose them to Christ. We aren’t the Holy Spirit. We are disciple makers and witnesses. When we reveal the goodness of God, it leads people to repentance. We can’t control if they reject that leading. The foundation of a culture is rebuilt one heart at a time. It begins with us.
Eddie Snipes
October 2025