Faith Is the Victory, Part Six: Bitterness, An Enemy of Faith

Heavenly Father, we praise you that you reached down from on high and took hold of us. You drew us out of deep waters, you rescued us from our powerful enemies. You are our God, the mighty One. You are the Rock. You are our anchor and you are our foundation. Therefore, we shall never sink. We shall not be destroyed. You have saved us and you are saving us and you will save us on the last day.

Help us, therefore, O Lord to persevere in our faith, in our confidence in you. May nothing destroy our faith. Help us today, O Lord, to deal with enemies of faith-certain evil heart attitudes like bitterness. Set your people free from the clutches of bitterness. Help us to be a people who rejoice greatly in our great salvation. For this we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We are speaking about faith-saving faith-and also we are dealing with certain evil heart attitudes that attack the vitals of our faith. So we are to oppose all evil that attempts to destroy our faith.

The late Donald Grey Barnhouse gave this illustration concerning faith:

A traveler was attempting to cross a wide river covered with ice in the dead of winter. He did not know the strength of the ice and got down on all fours to crawl, thinking that by distributing his weight, the ice would be more likely to support him. After more than half an hour, he heard a noise behind him and saw a farmer with four mules attached to a wagon driving across the ice.

There are many Christians who are afraid to trust themselves to God, thinking it dangerous to surrender to his will. But no soul has been lost by God. He is able to keep those who trust him fully and find him fully true (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Bible Truth Illustrated [Philadelphia: Evangelical Foundation, 1979], 195).

Underneath are God’s everlasting arms. Underneath us is God, the solid Rock. We have entrusted our lives to him to keep them, now and forevermore. And he is able. He is able to keep that which we have entrusted to him.

So we have been considering, as I said, certain sinful heart attitudes that try to destroy our faith in God. Today we will deal with bitterness. It is true that Christians can become bitter. It is not a fruit of the Spirit; it is a work of the flesh.

Bitterness. That word speaks about sharpness, like a thorn. It speaks about a bitter taste in the mouth. It speaks about poison. It speaks about resentment toward others. Bitter people are self-centered people.

Bitterness exists in our hearts when we harbor a grudge or an unforgiving spirit against another for a wrong, real or imaginary, done to us. Jesus told a parable in Matthew 18 about a servant who owed his master ten thousand talents. In those days, one talent was earned by a laborer working for fifteen years. So the servant owed an amount that could be earned only by working for one hundred and fifty thousand years.

The servant could not repay this amount. The master was trying to recover some of his debt by selling the servant, his wife, and his children as slaves. But we are told that this servant fell on his knees and begged the master for mercy and forgiveness. Moved by compassion, the master forgave all his immense debt. He canceled it all! The servant then went out to collect a debt of a hundred denarii owed to him by another servant. The debt, of course, was equal to the wages of one hundred days’ labor.

This servant did not have the money to pay immediately, so he fell on his knees and begged for mercy and forgiveness. But the servant whose immense debt was just forgiven refused to forgive. Instead, he threw the other servant into the debtors’ prison.

We are told that the master heard of this evil act of his wicked and ungrateful servant and withdrew his forgiveness. He said to him, “‘You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed.” This is a description of God’s final judgment. Then Jesus said, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:32-35).

Bitterness conceals an unforgiving spirit, which is nothing but wickedness. The unforgiving person is not a truly forgiven person. He is not a child of God. Jesus taught, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In other words, you forgive your debtors, forgive the sins of others; then you come and pray.

God demands that those who worship him should live in peace and reconciliation. God rejects-he refuses to accept the worship of people who refuse to be reconciled but stubbornly remain bitter toward the people of God.

So let us look at certain passages in the Scripture that tell us about living in peace and not in bitterness.

1. Matthew 5:23-24: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you. . . .” That is, you come to church, and the Holy Spirit causes you to remember that you sinned against somebody. You are coming to worship, but God says, “Don’t do it; I will not accept your worship,” because God gives priority to reconciliation. Reconciliation first, worship second. So, “leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

When a believer comes to worship and remembers how he sinned against a brother, then he is not at peace with him or with the congregation. He should not worship; he must first go and be reconciled to his brother by confessing his sins and asking forgiveness and making restitution when required. Only then will God permit such a person to come and worship acceptably.

1. Mark 11:25. Here again is a worship situation. The temple is the house of prayer, and people are coming to pray. Verse 25 begins, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone”-that is what bitterness is. “If you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” This forgiveness makes your prayer acceptable and therefore blessed. Reconciliation is first; worship is second.
2. Matthew 18:15. Here we see how God is serious about peace in the family and in his church. God is opposed to bitterness in the family and in the church. “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” The situation here is that the individual in view is the person sinned against by another. He is the offended party. But if the offending brother, the person who sinned against him, is not taking initiative to make reconciliation, then it is the duty of the offended brother to go and be reconciled to the brother who sinned against him.

So whether it is the offending brother or the offended brother, both are under divine order to deal with offense and bitterness, so that there can be peace, harmony, and divine blessing.

To live in bitterness is to give place to the devil. Reconciliation should take place before the sun goes down, and my interpretation of that is, before the daily evening sacrifice. And if the brother repents, he is to be forgiven instantly.

1. Luke 17:3-5: “‘So watch yourselves'”-so that you will not be a stumbling block. Watch yourselves, that you will not offend anyone. “‘If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, “I repent,” forgive him.’ The apostles said, ‘Lord, increase our faith!'” So he tells us it is our responsibility to rebuke when a brother sins against us. And it is his responsibility to repent and ask forgiveness. And it is our responsibility to forgive him instantly, so that peace may prevail and unity may reign in the church of Jesus Christ, that worship may be acceptable to God and people may be blessed. Seven times in a day! And he comes each time: “I sinned; forgive me.” And we are to forgive him. Seven times means forgive your brother without any limitation. If I need forgiveness daily from God and others without limit, I must gladly forgive others who sin against me without putting any limit to forgiveness.

One of my professors told a story of a wife who came to him for marriage counseling. She was arguing and fighting all the time. She finally threw a book on his desk to show the utter reasonableness of her quarreling with her husband. In the pages of the book, she had meticulously recorded every infraction and sin her husband had committed against her for thirteen years. She was a bitter woman. She never forgave him.

There are people who would refuse to forgive others even on their deathbeds. They are bitter people who know nothing experimentally about God’s forgiveness of our infinite sin. I dare say they know nothing about the cross of Jesus Christ. The Bible says love does not keep a record of wrongs. The Bible says love covers a multitude of sins.

Bitter people are sharp like a thorn. They walk about with a chip on their shoulders. They are self-centered. Those who associate with them get wounded by the thorn. They are always sour.

1. Romans 12:19-21: So what do we do? This passage tells us: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Let me tell you a secret: People offend us daily, and we offend people daily. People sin against us. People persecute us. They speak evil about us without reason. And then we tend to become bitter and want to retaliate. But this text tells us, “Don’t do it!” Vengeance is not our business. It is God’s prerogative. “Do not repay evil for evil.”

So what is our duty? Our duty is to do what is right. And what is right? “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” We are to leave room for God’s wrath. We are to love our enemies. We are to overcome evil by good.

1. Exodus 23:4-5: Here we find an interesting injunction for the covenant people: “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.” Overcome evil with good. Well, that is not what we naturally want to do. We want to rejoice when our enemies are in trouble, and we grieve when our enemies are successful.
2. Ephesians 4:26, 27, 31: “In your anger do not sin. . . .” Let me tell you, anger is not sin. I was reading Professor Jay Adams. He says people will say, “Don’t punish children in your anger. Well, anger is not sin. But losing your temper is. Anger is a good emotion.” Everyone who is a leader has this quality. They may not smile all the time; there are times they are angry. They want to get things done. “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” while you are still bitter. Some problem may have come about in the home, or with people in the church. Oh, pay attention to this command! Do not nourish and nurse a bitter spirit. Deal with it quickly. If not, you are giving place to the devil. Verse 27: “and do not give the devil a foothold.” He wants us to be bitter, for then he can control us. Satan comes, let me tell you, to steal, kill, and destroy.

Then what should we do with bitterness? Verse 31: “Get rid of all bitterness. . . .” What do we do with decaying garbage? Get rid of it! We must consider bitterness as dung, as garbage. Get rid of it-instantly! Don’t keep it there. It will stink up the whole community, the whole family. It will ruin your marriage and family. Get rid of it in God’s proper way-the way of the cross.

1. Colossians 3:19: “Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter against them,” or in the Greek, “Stop being bitter toward your wife.” Bitterness destroys marriage. Bitterness destroys church life. Bitterness destroys family life. Bitterness destroys work life. Get rid of it! Married people, be very diligent in this matter. Do not let the devil make you bitter toward your spouse.
2. 1 Peter 3:7: What happens to your prayer when you are bitter toward your spouse? Do you think God will hear it? No blessing will come to you. It says here, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Let me tell you, any worship, any prayer without peace and reconciliation will not be heard by God. It is a waste of time. (PGM) And not only that, your prayer will be a sinful, hypocritical act. So if you want God to hear your prayers, get rid of bitterness. Have peace and reconciliation. Be thankful that God has forgiven your infinite sin in Jesus Christ, and, therefore, you are under divine command to forgive other people.
3. Hebrews 12:14-17: “Make every effort” -in the Greek, it is “pursue with one goal in mind.” What are we pursuing? It says to pursue peace with all, and holiness, for “without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Pursue peace with all, and holiness. What he means here is that we all sin against God and against people. So if we are pursuing peace, then I, the offending party, must pursue peace by going to that party that I sinned against and repent and confess and ask forgiveness in the name of Christ, so that peace may exist in the community, in the family. And if I am the offended party, even then I must go and rebuke him. And if he repents, I must forgive him, so that peace can be secured in the family and in the community.

Pursue peace and holiness. These are two sides of the same coin. Where there is peace, there will be holiness. Now, why should we pursue peace and holiness? This is sanctification. This is experimental holiness. Because, we are told, without holiness no one shall see God. Pursue peace. And Romans 12:18 tells us, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” In other words, we must do the utmost. We must initiate and do everything within our power to bring about peace. Then, if there is no peace, it is not our problem. We have done our duty.

In Ephesians 4:3 we are told, “[Strive] to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Strive, pursue, spare no effort, because God is a God of peace and God values a relational life of peace. God is the God of love. Love must prevail.

The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. And without holiness, no one shall see God. The Bible says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they and they alone shall see God. And I said sometime ago that justification without sanctification is falsification of God’s plan of salvation. The gospel of today says we do not have to pursue peace or holiness. We are saved, and saved forever, when we give mental assent to certain facts concerning Jesus. In fact, people are proud of declaring this gospel, which is a false gospel. Sanctification is the evidence that God has justified us. Without holiness, no one shall see God. To many professing Christians the Lord shall say on the last day, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity! I never knew you.”

So look at verse 15 of Hebrews 12: “See to it. . . .” This is a Greek word,episkopountes, from which we have episkopos, bishop. It means to oversee, each one overseeing, each one functioning as a bishop in one’s own life as well as in the life of everyone else. We have a corporate, mutual responsibility to maintain peace in the family and peace in the church. We simply cannot walk away when there is no peace. You are a bishop, and I am a bishop, and we must see to it that peace and holiness are in our lives and that peace and holiness prevail in God’s church.

So we must examine our own lives. And to do so, we are told that we must remove the great beams from our eyes so that we may examine ourselves carefully (Matthew 7:1-5). Then we can then help the other people who may have some specks in their lives. This should be the responsibility of every person. We shouldn’t try to take care of everybody else’s problems without first examining ourselves. We must see to it that we are living in peace and in holiness; then we must help everyone else to enjoy peace and holiness.

Each one has a duty to examine himself and after that to examine others. “See to it that no one misses the grace of God.” What does this mean?

Turn to Hebrews 3:12: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Hebrews 4:1: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” Oh, what a disappointment that would be, that you came short of salvation, that you didn’t enter rest. You came close to it, but you didn’t enter it. You didn’t enjoy it. Hebrews 4:11: “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”

You and I must function as bishops to see to it that no one misses the grace of God. People miss the grace of God because they will not submit to the gospel, they will not obey the gospel, and they will not make use of the means of grace, and so on. They are totally happy with temporal things, so they miss the grace of God and come short of salvation. And we are told in Hebrews 3:12 that this is due to an unbelieving heart. They always err in their hearts.

What else must we see? Here it is. It says, “Let no bitter root grow up to cause trouble and defile many.” What is the problem with a root? It is invisible. One becomes unbelieving and bitter in the heart. But in due time the fruit will come up. Where there is a root, there will be a manifestation of fruit. Such a person causes trouble for the rest. He is a thorn in the side of everyone else. And then we are told that he defiles other people. He is full of filth, and as you associate with him, he stains your soul. He stains you with his filth. He longs to fellowship with you in person, by cell phone, through letters, by email, and through the Internet-all to drag you into the mud with him.

“See to it” that this thing will not happen and defile many. Bad company corrupts good people. And an example is given of Esau. But let me give you another example-that of Korah. We read about him in Numbers 16. He was a bitter man. Why was he so bitter? Because he was a second fiddle. He had the second-best job in the tabernacle. Because he was not a priest, he was miserable. He was bitter toward Moses and Aaron. Above all, he was bitter toward God. All bitterness is directed finally against God’s order.

So Korah said, “I am going to become a priest,” and he started a rebellion. He destroyed the peace of the community. You see, he was nursing his bitterness – the root of it – and now became fruitful. He became a troubler in Israel, and the peace was destroyed. He began to defile many people. He was the leader, and a number of people joined him: Dathan, Abiram, On, and 250 others who would be priests-most of whom were probably Levites-and 14,700 others who sided with them. They all had corrupt hearts (Numbers 16:13-14). They told Moses, “You led us out of a land flowing with milk and honey.” He interpreted slavery in Egypt as salvation. “You brought us out of this land of milk and honey to die in this desert, and you did not bring us into Canaan.” Whose problem was it? It was their heart problem of unbelief.

You see, the root of bitterness corrupts our thinking. We come into a depraved mind. We see good as evil and evil as good. We justify ourselves and always blame others.

One person, Korah, one bitter root of poison, affected many people. So the writer to the Hebrews tells us, “Watch out! See to it that we personally do not miss the grace of God due to an unbelieving heart of bitterness.”

Therefore, let us take the plank out of our own eyes that we may examine ourselves carefully, and then examine to see that no one else has a bitter spirit. Pursue peace and holiness. If a person refuses to be reconciled, I tell you, stay away from that person. He is a troublemaker and he will draw you into this filth, this sewer, of bitterness. He is a Korah. He will defile you.

First Corinthians 3:17 says, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” Such a person is like poison ivy. What do we do with poison ivy? Do we just jump into it? No! Don’t go near a bitter person; it will poison you forever. God killed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in a new way. The earth opened up and swallowed them. And 250 bitter people were incinerated by God. And God sent a severe plague and killed 14,700 other bitter people because they sympathized with the rebellious and the bitter.

What, then, should we do with bitterness? Let me ask you: What did St. Paul do with the viper that fastened itself to his hand? He shook the viper off into the fire. So we already read, “Get rid of all bitterness”-old and new.

In Colossians 3:19 we read, “Husbands, love your wives, and stop being bitter against them.” A bitter person is one who misses the grace of God. There is no greater loss than missing the grace of God. A bitter person is one who causes trouble to the church of God, one who causes trouble to marriage, one who causes trouble to family, one who defiles the people of God. They will be severely dealt with by God as he dealt with Korah and company.

So those who are in any way bitter against spouses, children, or fellow believers, let us get on our knees. Let us repent and ask forgiveness. Let us seek peace, sparing no effort. Let us be reconciled to one another that our prayer may be heard by heaven, that God’s blessing may come upon us. Then shall there be great unity, peace, and holiness. Then our light will break forth like the dawn, and our healing will quickly appear. Then our righteousness will go before us, and the glory of the Lord will be our rear guard. We will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Then we will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Then shall our faith shine as pure gold-a faith that overcomes the world.

Heavenly Father, help us to rid ourselves of bitterness in the light of the cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.