Why You're Offended

“Now we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully…” (1 Tim. 1:8).

Timothy had no small task ahead of him in Ephesus. His orders were to stay and “instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrines” (1 Tim. 1:3). These “certain people” are never named, but they were the very ones using the law unlawfully — distorting it (v. 3), using it as a prop for speculative, ego-filled, attention-grabbing nonsense (v. 4), ultimately to promote themselves (v. 7).

They loved the status of being a teacher, so the Law was simply a means to that end. They had no idea what they were really saying, thus they were a confusing, destructive influence in the church.

Nothing is safe in the hands of pride — not even the Gospel itself.

This issue wasn’t unique to Ephesus. When writing from Rome, Paul said: “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife… the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment” (Phil. 1:15-17). A critical difference in this case is that these men weren’t heretics teaching strange doctrines. In fact, Paul rejoiced in their preaching Christ (v. 18), but the intentions were the same as the men in Ephesus: envy, competition, strife, selfish ambition, as well as malice (hoping to hurt Paul).

Paul watched these men turn the preaching of Christ into a weapon of rivalry and self-promotion. If the human heart can misuse the Gospel itself, what can’t it misuse? Good laws, righteous standards, Truth itself — nothing is safe in the hands of pride.

 A good law cannot compensate for a bad heart.

Timothy and Titus would both be vexed by this dynamic. So Paul takes time to explain it to them. In that same context, after naming the false teachers Hymenaeus and Philetus, he says:

A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for dishonorable use. So if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit, he will be a vessel for honor: sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work (2 Tim. 2:20-21).

In other words, the vessels who sullied themselves with pride, envy, and malice could still be redeemed for honorable use IF they cleansed themselves of these things. A good law cannot compensate for a bad heart. Men once faithful to Christ could be again, but they would have to change their hearts first — cleanse themselves of pride and selfish ambition. Why? A sinful heart will misuse what is good to produce evil, self-serving outcomes (Rom. 7:13; 1 Tim. 1:9). The fault is not in the law but in the heart: “…the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully” (1 Tim. 1:8).

To Titus, Paul again explains the issue in the context of dealing with false teaching and “men who have rejected the Truth” (Ti. 1:13): “To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled” (Ti. 1:15).

Apply this principle to the men preaching Christ from selfish ambition. To a pure heart, preaching is God-glorifying service. To a defiled heart, preaching becomes competition, self-promotion, and a tool for tearing others down. These men weren’t offended by Paul’s message. They were offended by Paul’s success, authority, and faithfulness. Their envy made them weaponize a good thing — preaching — against him.

The Word exposes us. Pride excuses us.

This is only part of the equation. Because pride not only corrupts the use of the Word in teaching; it also corrupts the response to the Word in hearing. The same heart that misuses Truth to promote itself will also reject the Truth to protect itself. Just as some twist the Law for personal advantage, others twist its implications to avoid conviction. When the Word exposes a wound, the proud do not repent — they redirect, “reinterpret,” and retaliate. In this way, even lawful, faithful teaching becomes an occasion for unlawful, faithless listening.

Here’s what I mean. When the Word exposes me, my first instinct is not to repent but to defend myself. I look for a way to push the conviction away — to blame the Word, the preacher, or the ‘tone’ instead of my own heart. The Bible is designed to lay bare all that I am: “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

This is part of using it lawfully — self-examination. The pure see Truth and righteousness, are convicted, and repent. The impure project their corruption outward. They assume such teaching is criticism, a personal attack, biased, with ulterior motives — because that’s how they themselves operate. When a righteous standard reveals a guilty heart, the guilty heart blames the standard — or the one holding it (see Stephen, Paul, Christ Himself).

Jesus Himself identified the core driver: “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (Jn. 3:20).

The problem is not the light. The problem is fear of exposure. Since exposure is unbearable to pride, it fights when Truth reveals sin — not because the Word is unfair, but because the heart refuses humiliation.

Pride converts conviction into persecution.

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). The proud heart cannot accept conviction, so it remains an enemy of God. Pride deflects — “Were you talking about me?!” Pride accuses — “You’re judging; you’re unfair; you’re targeting me.” Pride justifies — “I’m fine; I’m not the problem.” The same Gospel produces brokenness in some, hostility in others.

The Pharisee and the tax collector responded differently to the same God.
 (Lk. 18:9–14)

The rich young ruler heard the same call as the apostles but walked away (Matt. 19:16–22).

The crowds heard the same teaching as the disciples but hardened their hearts (Matt. 13:14–15).

Humility receives light; pride resists it. The pure-hearted hear the Word and think “Does this apply to me?” “Where must I repent?”

But the impure hear the same truth and think: “He’s attacking me.” “He’s targeting my situation.”

The difference between ruin and redemption begins in the heart’s first response to the Truth.

Pride converts conviction into persecution. Pride wants to be righteous without repenting. So when guilt is exposed, it cannot admit it (that would require humility). It cannot accept the Word (that would require submission). Yet it cannot walk away justified (conscience won’t allow it) — unless it attacks the standard and the one holding it.

This is why Stephen was stoned.

This is why prophets were murdered.

This is why Jesus was crucified.

The human heart would rather kill the messenger than confess its sin.

Whether Paul speaks of the Law, the Gospel, or the Word, the principle is the same: God’s revealed Truth is good. The danger lies not in the standard but in the heart that handles it. Pride is what turns it into a weapon — whether in the pulpit or in the pew.

The question is not whether the Word exposes us; it will. The question is how we will respond when it does. Will we repent—or will we resist? Will we humble ourselves—or will we harden ourselves? The difference between ruin and redemption begins right there, in the heart’s first response to the Truth.

But God calls us to the opposite response: “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (Jas. 4:10). The same Truth we resisted is the Truth that can forgive us. The same Word that once exposed our guilt now offers us grace. If pride has kept you at a distance from Christ, the remedy is the same as it has always been—humble yourself, come to Him, obey Him, and be forgiven. He resists the proud, but He receives every sinner who comes honestly.