Bitterness

Cole Thompson

Frink Baptist Church

Bitterness • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Bitterness

Today we are going to be looking at something that we all deal with at one time or another in our lives and that is dealing with bitterness. The Bible has a lot to say about being bitter and bitterness, and we need to be able to look at those passages and apply them to our lives. So today, we are going to be looking at several different areas that deal with bitterness and what God has to say about that.

Ephesians 4:31-32

a. This first passage tells us right away that we need to put away all bitterness, wrath, and anger from us. These two verses actually has two different commands if you will. The first is to put away bitterness. Notice it doesn’t say some bitterness, or most of the bitterness, but it does say that we need to put away ALL bitterness. I know that sometimes that is easier said than done, I have been there, but it is something that we are told we need to do. When looking at bitterness, we see that it is two-fold, it is both of the spirit and of speech. When looking at just verse 31, it is talking about so much chaos, not only is it talking about bitterness, wrath and anger, but there is clamor in there as well. The way the writer is talking about calmor is such as a horse carrying anger for its rider. Have you ever seen a horse mad at it’s rider? It does not end well. So we are to put all this away, but what are we to replace it with? We are to be kind to one another. we need to not talk about each other, we need to tenderhearted. We should should be compassionate with each other. We should forgive one another. You know, one of the hardest things to do is to forgive someone who has wronged you when they did not ask for forgiveness. But that is what we need to do. We need to forgive. Which brings me to our next passage.

Matthew 18:21-22

a. So here we are, a conversation between Peter and Jesus. Of course when we talk about forgiving someone, which helps release our bitterness, we must talk about math. Peter asked Jesus how many times does he need to forgive someone and asks if he should forgive someone up to seven times. It’s interesting when looking at this as the traditional limit to forgive someone was three times. However, we can also look at this as Peter asking how many times would we need to forgive someone for it to be done. Is there a limit? After all, typically we look at the number seven as being the complete number. So he is asking, is there a limit?

b. And how did Jesus answer him? He said not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. So, looking at this, if we take it literally, then we should forgive someone 490 times. Do you think that Jesus was really telling us that we need to keep count of how many times we forgive someone? Of course not. The idea is that we will never come to the point of refusing forgiveness if it is sincerely asked. So here is the thing, if someone asks us for forgiveness, then we are to forgive them. It is our duty. If someone doesn’t ask for forgiveness does that mean we are to treat them with revenge and malice? No, we are still to treat them kindly and do him good. See, if we go after someone, we still have bitterness in our heart. Bitterness can hurt the church. Let’s look at our next passage.

Hebrews 12:15

a. So this section talks about renewing our spiritual vitality, and we see that he is writing specifically about the root of bitterness. I love this because it talks about a root. A root is what is planted in the ground, it is what keeps the plant alive. It gets it nutrients from the ground around it. That root is part of the plant. A bitter root may possibly bring forth sweet fruit, but a root whose essence is bitterness never could. I would only bring up bitter fruit. So bitterness not only tears you up inside, it can also hurt the fellowship of believers. What must we do about our own bitterness? Let’s look at our next scripture.

Matthew 6:14-15

a. If someone has made us bitter than we need to forgive them. This goes back to where we were before. If they ask for forgiveness, then we need to forgive them. You know what happens when you forgive someone that has made you bitter? It makes you better. It reduces the stress that is brought onto your heart. That means someone who has done something against you, that has made you mad, has hurt you, we need to forgive them. When you forgive soemeone, you need to let it go, you need to put it as far away from you as possible.

Isaiah 1:18

a. I love this as there is no compromise about the truth here. We need to come together with the lord. It tells us that though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. How do our sins become as white as snow? To me this is so interesting, when we get upset, when we have bitterness, it is because of sin. Jesus came to this earth to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Check out what Matthew 27:28 says. “And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on him.” Did you catch that? do you think it is coincidence that when we cast our sins on him, we become white as snow, yet he had a scarlet robe on him? Why do you think that is? let’s look at our next verse

Ephesians 1:7-10

a. what a powerful set of verses. Through his blood we have redemption. Through his blood we have the forgiveness of our sins. See Jesus gives us redemption, he gives us a way out of our bitterness. It was through his sacrifice, through his blood we are made whole. We are made clean. See through his blood we have had that forgiveness. But you might be sitting there and think, this is all well and good, but I have done too much, I have strayed too far, I have kept this bitterness too long. Let’s see what our next scripture says.

Daniel 9:9

a. How wonderful! Even though we have rebelled against God, he gives us mercy and forgiveness. What is great about this is that not only does righteousness belong to him in the sense that he has done right, and that he cannot be blamed for what he has done, but mercy and forgiveness belong to him in the sense that only he can pardon and that these are attributes of his nature. so what do we do with this bitterness that we may still try to hold? What if our brother has done something to us?

Luke 17:3-4

a. Sometimes it is something that someone has done to us to make us bitter. If our brother sins against us, then we are told to rebuke him. We are to reprove him. We are to talk to those who have wronged us, we can ask for an explanation. Let him know what his conduct has done to you, the state of your feelings, so they could acknowledge his error and repent. But we must be careful when doing this as, we have also sinned. We need to remember that we are no better than anyone else. What if our bitterness is because of something we have done to someone else? We can cause our own bitterness.

Mark 11:25

a. When we pray and we know we have something against someone, we need to forgive them. Again, if there is a problem between you and someone else, you need to forgive them. The thing to remember here is that we have to be willing to forgive, we have to be willing to let things go. There may be a time in your life that you just haven’t let go of something and it is just eating you. You need to let it go. Will it be easy? No. But it is something that we need to do.

If we are to be happy in Jesus, we need to have the gift of forgiveness. This is something that we all can have. Forgiving others and yourself will lead to a spirit of peace and joy. It takes courage to open your heart again after being hurt, but we can be courageous in doing so in God’s name. Remember the “golden rule”, do unto others the way you want others to do unto you. We all have hurt people, we all have committed selfish acts and done things we regret, don’t hold a grudge towards those who have hurt you. It’s not easy, but lean on the word and not on your own understanding, then you can have the strength to be free of bitterness.

Perhaps there are some of you here today who have been holding on to some bitterness. I encourage you during this time of invitation, to let it go. Let God handle it. Maybe you need to forgive soemone, I would encourage you to do so. You may have to talk to that person, let them know you forgive them. You might need strength to do so. Ask God.

There may be someone here who has never accepted Christ as their savior, and you feel that today is the day. Please come to the front and talk with me.

Perhaps you would like to join this body of believers in fellowship. Please come talk to me during this invitation as well.