Customer Reviews

The Bait of Satan: Living Free From the Deadly Trap of Offense (10th Anniversary Edition with Devotional Supplement)

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I loved this book so much I purchased the curriculum. This book teaches that unforgiveness springs forth from being offended at any number of things, but it does NOT teach that we can not be indignant of actions, words, or authorities that go against the Word of the Lord. Neither does the book teach that we are to blindly accept those in authority over us. There's a difference between being offended and holy indignation.

Here's where I WAS: "I am smarter than you, stronger in character than you, and farther in my Christian walk than you are. What you say bears no relevance because I have already marked those in whom I place my earthly trust, and you are not one of them." What a dangerous place to be!

Here is where I AM NOW: We all say things and do things that are not in complete obedience to God, even if our walk with Him has been long and fruitful. At the very least, we might commit small sins of pride or vanity, regarding ourselves as indignant in a holy way, but we are really self-righteously indignant. Because of the teaching in this book, I have come to recognize that I can not affect how others behave, but I can affect how I react. I can CHOOSE to take the bait or I can CHOOSE to forgive, to learn, and to move on.

I'm such a different person now - like night and day. I had no idea that my being offended at so many little things was standing in the way of achieving my full potential as a Christian. Now I do.

For those who feel condemned when reading this book. Don't. Conviction in your heart isn't condemnation, for there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit minister to you! Be encouraged that Jesus cares enough to get involved with your reading, your learning, and your interest in removing the still uncircumcised calluses of your heart. I was out of my comfort zone for some time before diving into the Word in conjunction with going through this curriculum yielded revelation about myself and my character that I resisted knowing. I have been delivered!

In another CD teaching, a Deacon Dr. Bob McDonald said, "The size of your ego is exactly equal to the distance between you and God." How true! Let's just say there was quite the chasm between God and I before I overcame my unwillingness to be truthful with myself and really reap the benefits of this book.

Praise the Lord for His patience and mercy!

Every single person has been offended one time or other. How do I know? The Bible says it is so! No one who lives in a time like this is free from offense, but the offense does not need to color the way we see things, how we view life, and how we perceive the people who have offended us. The offense can grow to become bitterness and take root in our lives. This book helps us identify that we have been offended, and the great need to forgive and release the offense.

"Offended people produce much fruit, such as hurt, anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, and envy. Some of the consequences of picking up an offense are insults, attacks, wounding, division, separation, broken relationships, betrayal, and backsliding." (pg. xiv)

Why is the book entitled "The Bait of Satan"? Well, Bevere explains that the Greek word for "offend" in Luke 17:1 comes from the word skandalon, which originally referred to the part of the trap which the bait was attached. Hence, the word signifies laying a trap in someone's way. In the New Testament it often describes an entrapment used by the enemy.

The following are some quotes from the book:
- Our response to an offense determines our future.
- An offended Christian is one who takes in life but because of fear, cannot release it.
- When we filter everything through past hurts, rejections, and experiences, we find it impossible to believe God.
- There is only one person who can get you out of the will of God, and that is you!
- It is righteous for God to avenge His servants. It is unrighteous for God's servants to avenge themselves.
- Acquiring an offense keeps you from seeing your character flaws because blame is deferred to another.
- When we ratain an offense in our hearts, we filter everything through it.
- Jesus offended some people by obeying His Father, but He never caused an offense in order to assert His own rights.
- A slave is one who has to serve while a servant is one who lives to serve.
- A person who cannot forgive has forgotten how great a debt God has forgiven them.

Something that I would like to ask the author that concerned me when reading this book. He took 4 pages to describe and explain the scriptural account of Joseph and his brothers. He went into all the details from beginning to end - EXCEPT for the part where Joseph TESTED his brothers to see if their hearts were truly repentant over how they treated him (sold him into slavery/left him for dead). After Joseph tested his brothers and saw their hearts had changed, then Joseph extended the offer of restored relationship with them! To forgive is a matter of the heart of 1 person, to have reconciliation and restoration of relationships it takes both parties!!
I'm very concerned that this was left out, because the bible does make it clear that if wicked people, sinners (just like you and me) do not repent then they will have a bad consequence. It is not my job to get revenge or judge another, but do I need to stay in a bad relationship with an evil person who is not repentant? I do not believe that God nor the scriptures teach this at all. I find it very odd that after spending 4 pages describing the story, that is the 1 part he left out of his book. Why?

I buy copies of this book to give to new Christians, old Christians and people I sponsor in recovery programs. I strongly recommend this to anyone who is seriously following after God. Satan wants to destroy you, and this is his common "M.O." laid out and exposed.

As a pastor of over 20 years, I can't recommend this book highly enough to church leaders experiencing conflict in their churches. Most conflict has its root in offenses of one form or another. Bevere here provides a long-overdue resource for Christians who have been sidelined from service due to hurt feelings, bruised egos, unfulfilled expectations, etc. This book is a MUST READ for every church leader, and a MUST BUY for every church library.

I've read many Christian books, but I have not found another title that addresses a common root of interpersonal conflict as this one does. I only wish I had read this book sooner. If Amazon had a six star rating, I'd give it!

Forgiveness is important, vital to the Christian life, but this book does not give an accurate picture of the forgiveness taught by Jesus.

The premise of the book, stated in the first few pages, is this: Jesus forgives everyone, so we must forgive everyone.

Except that Jesus does not forgive everyone. Unlike love, forgiveness is conditional. He OFFERS forgiveness to everyone, but only gives it to those who have repented of their sin.

Forgiveness in the church is to work the same way. If someone who claims to be a Christian is in sin, (overlooking the small stuff) we are to confront that person in love. If they repent, then forgiveness is to be offered immediately and their offense is to be completely wiped off the books. If we can't forgive properly after someone has properly repented, then we are in sin and have our own idols to confront.

If however, the offending party does not confess their sin and clean up the mess they made (the biblical description of repentance found in Numbers 5:5-6), other Christians are not supposed to just forgive him and move on. Matthew 18 teaches that they are to confront him again in a larger group, then again by the local body as a whole, and then if they still will not make things right, they are to be turned out of the body. Those in the body are to continue to go to him and encourage him to clean things up and return, but Christians are not to be in good standing in the body of Christ when they will not repent of their sin. (1 Cor 5) Period.

This is an important process for weeding out the tares. If someone claims to be a Christian, but refuses to be held accountable after repeatedly being confronted lovingly from scripture, then he just might not actually be a Christian.

This book, based on the idea that all sin is to be forgiven and that Christians should just 'let go' of things that offend God, regardless of how rebellious the offending person is or how high up in ministry they are, is not biblical. God hates sin. He wants it addressed in His church. He says that those who don't address it frankly, share in the guilt of it (Leviticus 19:17) . This book not only teaches Christians to turn a blind eye to sin, it will lead to rampant abuse in the church where it is practiced.

Neither does it distinguish forgiveness and fellowship. If someone has sinned against us, and been turned out of the body for not repenting, then it is time for us who are offended to "forgive from the heart" (Matt 18:35), but that does not mean that fellowship is restored. It is not.

Bevere even goes as far as to give examples from his life and his ministry, where he failed to confront sin in others, even another pastor who was sinning against not just him but several people in the church, and presents them as if he was doing a good thing by not addressing the problem. He seems to feel that because it all worked out in the end, that what he did was right. Except that he was failing his God and his congregation by failing to act biblically in these situations. And how do we know that it all worked out in the end for the other people that were victims of the sinning pastor?

Further, this book calls God a sinner. One of the other premises of the book is that if you are offended, you are in sin. Jesus trashed the temple courts because He was offended that God's House was being turned into a place for profiteers. If the teachings of this book are true, then Jesus was in sin.

Not to mention that God spent pretty much the whole Old Testament being offended at the behavior of almost everyone. Anger and Jealousy are among the attributes of God. Taking Bevere's theology to its logical consequence, God Himself is in serious and habitual sin and is in need of repentance.

Forgiveness is important, but it needs to be placed in context. The theological holes in this book are big enough to drive a truck through, and there are a lot more than I have mentioned here. My brother in law gave me a copy and I returned it to him with notes on every other page bringing his attention to the problems it has. I urge Christians reading this book to get out your Bible and read the passages I have noted here.

Books like this high light the importance of having a discerning mind and running all "Christian" books through the screen of inerrant scripture. ALL of scripture.

If you enjoy living in a constant state of emotional turmoil because you are angry at people that have hurt you, then please don't read this book. However, if you are ready to mature and move up higher spiritually and emotionally, this book is a valuable tool to use in achieving that goal. It makes you take a long, hard, honest look at your biggest enemy - YOU! Mr. Bevere's counsel for eliminating the deadly influence of offense in your life is sound, producing results in some instances right away. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone professing to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. It completely changed my spiritual life and relationships; even some natural relationships. This book is a gift to the Body of Christ's believers.

The Bait of Satan: Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense

I'm on the fence about this book. On one hand, I completely agree that the Enemy will do anything to take captive of God's people, one of them includes the bondage of offense. Once offended, in our humanity we withdraw inward, toiling upon the pain, often re-enacting the hurtful events within our fragile imaginations, sometimes reacting or projecting the pain towards innocent bystanders, and cannot snap out of the devil's coma if we're not spiritually strong enough. Offense leads to bitterness, festering inside of us, eating up our soul, pleasing the Enemy. And bitterness leads to feelings and activities not directed towards God. But the way to have victory over this downward spiral is to recognize when and how we get offended. Once we learn to manage our reactions that lead to offense ("casting down imaginations ..." - 2 Corinthians 10:4-6), we can relish in the freedom to love one another, even IF the other makes overt attempts to do harm (Matthew 5:38-40). Yes, our humanity has a hard time embracing this truth and the Enemy knows it! That is why I'm partial to the reality of the author's strategy. Does it really work? Could I still avoid feeling offended? I'm pretty sure the author is not writing this to make everyone feel guilty about feeling offended. Just be aware of this critical human emotion called offense - the evil one will do just about anything to get into our minds and hearts, to preoccupy and paralyze us with pain and hurt, and keep us from worshipping and praising our Lord Jesus (1 Peter 5:8-9).

----UPDATE----

I wrote that review a couple months ago with hopes to reach those whose spiritual eyes may be opened by this book. Since then, I and many other reviewers have been challenged about the validity of our opinions by an Amazon "troll" who did not like this book, but obviously *likes* making his dislike known to reviewers who *like* this book. I have to add the following scripture to caveat my review, because I believe this book serves as a flag or banner that has obviously *convicted* this "troll" and others whose hearts are spiritually shut:

Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. -- Psalm 60:4 KJV

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. -- Proverbs 1:7 KJV

A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness. -- Proverbs 12:23 KJV

This book is a great adjunct to your own personal walk with God, about the process of reconciliation and forgiveness, by fixing the offense first, before it translates into bitterness:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled -- Hebrews 12:15 KJV

Do not be discouraged of the negative reviews - they only serve to make your flesh raise doubt. Many of you are wise enough to discern the book's message with your spirit:

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. -- Proverbs 9:6-10 KJV

May many of you find comfort in the rod and staff of God's grace, in the message delivered by Pastor Bevere.

Jesus told His disciples (essentially): Don't do anything until He (the Holy Spirit) comes.
Please ask the Holy Spirit to superintend your study of this (or any) book.

Not being able to forgive someone is no shame...not asking Jesus to help you forgive them is.

Forgiving someone does not mean staying in an abusive or life-threatening relationship.

People who hurt people are not tormented.
Neither are they obcessed by they have done.
Forgiving them releases you from being tormented.

If following Jesus isn't the hardest thing you have ever done...you're doing it wrong.
If following Jesus isn't the most rewarding thing you have ever done...you're doing it wrong.

Be blessed in your obedience to God.
Matthew 18:23-35

I was given this book by a friend who was taken back by the very aggressive claim of this book - basically, Bevere proposes that if a person does not forgive others, they must take a very hard look to see if they've truly received the forgiveness offered by God. Bevere dives into Scripture and puts for a very compelling case on this proposition and really makes a person think about how they treat and think about other people - are we easily offended, are we slow to forgive, are we slow to reconcile relationships - these are all things that should cause us unrest if we are followers of Christ and have been made new through the saving grace of His redemptive blood. This book is not an easy read - but I will say that it is most definitely a very necessary read for believers. Buy two copies - you'll want to read one and give one away to a friend.