There are many examples in this world of people who have killed others due to the evil spirit of bitterness. There is a dark nature that lurks inside us. It is something that we struggle us. We find out all about it in Hebrews 12:14-15. With bitterness we seem calm out on the outside but a volcano on the inside.

1 – You must deal with the source of your bitterness (vs. 14)

We must look closely at ourselves. A root of bitterness may be there. A root of a tree is not something that generally appears on the surface. It is hidden underneath. It is invisible to the eye. Bitterness is more than anger. It is anger multiplied by time. It has been in the oven too long! It has been there for a while. Bitterness will become deeply embedded and established. It is hard to deal with because of this. People act like something is not a problem but there is actually there is a hidden root of bitterness. This bitterness usually is a result of something that someone has said about you or done to you. It could have been many years ago.

What did Jesus say that we should do when someone does something wrong to us? See Matthew 5:11ff. We are supposed to be happy about it! We are being persecuted for being a Christian and living a godly life. The Christian is to be different from the world. See Matthew 5:38ff. We are not to return evil with evil. We are to turn the other cheek. We are not to be bitter.

2 – We must determine the course of the bitterness (vs. 15)

A bitter root produces bitter fruit. It is an acid that will destroy you.

• It will mentally dominate your mind. It can be hard to forget about it. If you don’t deal with a weed in your garden it will spread throughout the whole garden. Every day you have to pull out weeds or they will take over your garden. This is what bitterness is like. You need to deal with it. If you don’t it start to surface with a headache, ulcer or angry outburst. You need to get it out by the root level or it will come back again and again.
• It will emotionally depress you. Have you ever seen a happy bitter person? Bitterness and happiness do not get on together. You will get emotionally depressed. Your smile will be painted on. Your whole life can become depressed. You could end up being satisfied at being bitter against somebody else! Thinking bad thoughts about somebody else is not the act of a godly life. You need to get it dealt with or it will trouble you. It is important to deal with our black side rather than blame somebody else.
• It will physically debilitate you. Bitterness will make you physically sick. Stress can affect you physically. There are about 50 different diseases related to stress and bitterness. It is too high a price to not deal with bitterness.

3 – We must defeat the force of the bitterness (vs. 7-8)

There are things that you have got to get out of the human body. That is why we go to the bathroom every day. We have to get rid of certain toxins. That is why we have kidneys, liver and a colon. If these pack up then we need to get to a hospital fast! The toxins have got to be filtered out. This is exactly what bitterness is like. It is a toxin that has to be excreted out. See Acts 8:23. You can be poisoned – by bitterness. It is like drinking poison and waiting for somebody else to die! How do we get it out?

• Forget it. You will remember it happened but not hold that person who did it in bondage. See Ephesians 4:31-32. We need to remove it or be disobedient. We are to forgive as God has forgiven us in Christ. This is God’s Word on the matter! If you don’t need it, then get rid of it! It happened years ago so forget it! Don’t hang onto something that you don’t need any more. It is not doing you any good anyway. If anyone should be able to forgive then it should be a Christian. None of us is perfect. Forgive!
• Forsake it. Just let it go. See Hebrews 12:14. We are to be at peace with everybody. We are to pursue peace. This makes us different as God’s people. If you want forgiveness then you need to get over your bitterness and forgive others. See Matthew 6:14-15.

Categories: Hebrews