Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
Feb. 25, 2001 p.m.
Overcoming Bitterness Scripture
Reading - Acts 8.4-25
The story is told of two writers who were bitter rivals. They were attending the same party.
One said to the other... I read your new book and liked it... Who wrote it for you?
The other replied... I'm glad you liked the book... Who read it to you?
Bitterness... We’ve seen it... We’ve heard it... Maybe we’ve even harbored some in our own heart... Perhaps some of us are dealing with bitterness even tonight.
Bitterness is a terrible thing... It is a sin!!
One of the things that bitterness does... Is to make us miserable... and it makes those around us miserable as well. As we study tonight... I want us to look for the following in our lesson...
-What causes us to become bitter?...
-What bitterness does to us?...
-And how we can keep from being bitter.
Access a worship bulletin and a Bible and let’s notice some scriptures together... READY?
First let’s define bitterness... Webster says... Bitterness is an attitude of unfriendliness... resentment... and animosity. You see... Bitterness... Animosity... Resentment go hand in hand.
-Someone does us wrong and gets away with it... so we become bitter.
-Someone else achieves the success that we feel like we deserve... so we become bitter.
-Life is unfair in some way... and so we become bitter.
Our bitterness results in our being unfriendly to others.
Now... Let's note some New Testament verses that mention bitterness, and see what we can learn about our subject tonight.
First... Ephesians 4.30-32... Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
Paul is talking here about putting off the old man & putting on a new man. God makes it clear that there are certain things that Christians shouldn't do, and certain attitudes that have no place in a Christian's heart. One of these is bitterness.
You see... Bitterness is connected with such things as being angry and evil speaking. Bitterness is saying things we shouldn't be saying. A bitter heart is a heart that's full of anger. A resentful heart is one that’s going to speak bad... ugly... evil... of and toward others. A bitter person is going to naturally be unfriendly.... You can count on it!! Know anyone like this... They are just naturally unfriendly... Chances are they are harboring bitterness.
Church... Notice what Paul says we need to replace bitterness with... Get rid of bitterness and replace it with... (WHAT?)... Kindness and forgiveness.
Do you see what Paul is saying?... We can't be bitter and kind at the same time. We can't be resentful and forgiving at the same time. When we get rid of one, we replace it with the other.
Our second scripture is Hebrews 12.14-15... Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.
This passage is talking about Christians who fall away. We need to be careful that we don't do the same thing. And the Hebrew writer says that one of the things that causes a person to turn his back on the grace of God... Is... (WHAT?)... Bitterness.
Rather than live at peace with all men, we choose to live in resentment. Our heart fills with anger, resentment, and animosity; and, before we know it, we've lost our relationship with God.
Note with me now... James 3.13-14... Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
James says that bitterness is connected with envy... and with a self-seeking nature. It's easy to see the connection. Bitterness often comes about when we want something that someone else has. You see... That’s what envy is.
Bitterness comes when we're focused on ourselves and when we don't get what we think we deserve. It's a natural response... But it's an unwise... unscriptural... and ungodly response.
A truly Christ-like individual will refuse to allow his or her heart to be filled with bitterness.
One more... Colossians 3.19... Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
In Paul’s day... Women were second class citizens with almost no rights under law. They were frequently mistreated by their husbands and other men in the community. But Christianity elevated the status of women. Paul made it clear that spiritually speaking, men and women stand on an equal level before God... There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
There probably were some men who didn't like that... and who needed Paul’s reminder to not be bitter toward them.
Now... With these scriptures in mind, let's examine a couple of lives filled with bitterness and see what we can gain from the respective narratives.
First let’s look at our text... The narrative about Simon the sorcerer. According to verse 9... He astonished the people of Samaria claiming to be someone great.
Everyone said of him... This man is the great power of God. But the truth is, his power didn't come from God. He was merely a magician who tricked people into believing he had supernatural abilities.
When Philip preached in Samaria... Simon was among those who believed and was baptized.
Verse 13 tells us that Simon was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
He was amazed because these men were actually able to do great things by the power of God.
They had the power that he had claimed to have for so long. In verse 18 & 19 Simon asked if he could purchase this miraculous ability with money. Peter rebuked Simon for that and said, “Repent of your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
It wasn't just that Simon wanted to do something the Apostles could do. You see... Animosity was involved. There was resentment in his heart. He was harboring bitterness. And this condition called for repentance on the part of Simon...
And folk... It calls for repentance on our part tonight.
Bitterness is a sin... A sin that Peter says needs to be repented of... and the individual prayed for.
I’m not preaching some old fashioned church of Christ doctrine... I am preaching Bible... Are we listening?
Next... Let’s notice the older brother of the prodigal son.
Turn to our parable in Luke chapter 15.
You remember the context?...
Jesus has told three parables...
One about a lost sheep...
Another about a lost coin...
And then the lost son...
About a boy who broke his father's heart by going off to live on in the far country of sin.
He wasted his father’s inheritance.
He lost his self-respect, and he ended up working, feeding swine in a pigpen. He knew he didn't deserve his Fathers forgiveness... But he thought his father might take him back as a servant, and give him a job working out in the field.
But what he found instead... was a father anxious to see him come home. A father who had kept an eye on the road since his leaving. He greeted him with open arms. And the father threw a party! It was a happy occasion... There was reason to celebrate.
But there was one who was unwilling to celebrate... Listen to Jesus concerning the older brother’s attitude... Beginning with verse 25 of Luke 15: Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. `Your brother has come,' he replied, `and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, `Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
On the outside this older brother was everything a father could want a son to be... RIGHT?
But on the inside he was filled with jealousy and anger. He is a classic example of bitterness.
Church... What caused this bitterness?...
The older brother was resentful!... He was Jealous!... He hated his brother!
It was a point that the Pharisees needed to hear. Remember what caused Jesus to relate these three parables in Luke 15... The Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying... This man receives sinners and eats with them.
It's easy for us to give in to bitterness... Especially if we feel we’ve been victimized in some way.
Maybe we’ve been betrayed.
We trusted someone and they hurt us.
Maybe we've been abused... Physically... Mentally... Sexually... Socially... Economically... Religiously..
Perhaps we've been rejected.
Maybe we've been done wrong in every way imaginable.
Perhaps we have the right to be resentful. So go ahead and grumble. Get angry at other people who got what you didn't. Go ahead and sulk. After all... The whole world is against us.
Take every opportunity to accuse others of wrongdoing. Keep a list... Make sure we don't forget anything from anyone!! Spend a lot of time whining about how unfair life is. Complain about how nobody listens to us... Nobody cares about us... Nobody treats us right.
Go ahead and become a bitter person because you have the right to. It's tempting at times to give in to bitterness... Isn't it? But I can tell you this... If we decide to be bitter... Don't plan on being very happy, because a bitter heart will make every minute of our life miserable.
The good news tonight is this... We have a choice.
We can choose... Like so many do... to concentrate on our hurts.
Or, we can choose to put away our hurts before they become hates.
We can choose to forgive those who have wronged us.
We can learn to rejoice in the fortunes of others even if we're neglected in the process.
OK... What are some other ways to overcome bitterness?
First... We must remember that it is a lie that all mankind are equal. Yes... All men may be created equal in God’s sight... All are made in His image... All have souls worth saving eternally... But not all are born... live... or DIE equally. This is a lie from Satan.
There is no way to create equality in this world...
Democracy promised it... But failed to establish it.
Communism tried but failed more miserably..
Satan will sustain bitterness forever in the hearts of those who buy into the lie that we have been wronged, if we don’t get to have everything someone else has. Understand tonight that all men are not born... nor do they live or die equally. In this respect... life is unfair... so accept it!... Get used to it... and make the most of it.
Secondly... Remember we have a great deal to be thankful for... Count our blessings. The older brother had forgotten that all his father had belonged to him. Daddy had to remind him of this.
Folk... The long life is not in this world... But in His world.
Indeed we are blessed with so many blessings that we can’t even begin to count them.
Plus... All our spiritual blessings in Christ.
Plus an eternal home in heaven.
Church... What else could we really want? The older brother was bitter because he focused on what he didn't have and forgot what he did have.
Thirdly... We can rid ourselves of bitterness by sharing with & SERVING others. CARL MENNIGER was once asked what he would do if he knew that he KNEW HE was dying? He said... I would find someone else in a worse condition than myself and I would serve them.
Again this is Bible... Serving others is the greatest attribute of Christ-likeness.
God was a servant... He served us by giving His only begotten Son.
Jesus was a servant... He did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the very nature of a SERVANT. Greatness in the Kingdom of God is described in the Bible in terms of servanthood.
Church...
Want to be like God?
Want to be like Jesus?
Want to be great in the Kingdom?
Want to overcome bitterness?
LOOSE YOURSELF IN sharing... And SERVING OTHERS.
I don't know what kind of hurts have been inflicted on each of you here tonight... but I do know that everyone of US have suffered hurts of one kind or another. So... Every single one has the right to be bitter... If we want to. But I want you to keep in mind that you have a choice. And the result of that choice will go a long way in determining whether life is happy or not.
Giving up bitterness is not an easy thing to do.
It takes a great deal of courage.
It takes determination.
Tonight... Get rid of BITTERNESS... Get rid of the old man... And put on the new... By faith... Repentance... and New Testament baptism.
Tonight... Let us each confess our faults and enjoy the release from the unhappiness of bitterness and resentment. Answer His invitation now as we stand and sing...
Will you come?
