The Root of Bitterness — Hebrews 12:14-17

Welcome:

Glad to be here with everyone.

As is the common address and welcome among Christians in the New Testament, so is our welcome this morning:

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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Hymn of Preparation: #

†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 85

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Christians, the Lord’s salvation has come near to those who fear him. His glory dwells among his people.

Congregation: Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Let us hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; and let us not turn back to folly.

Minister: He offers to revive our hearts, that his people may rejoice in him.

Congregation: Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the Lord will give what is good and righteousness will go before him. Let us worship God!

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

Give us faith in all the truths of your Word; may we be daily moved by the terrors of the Lord, and invited by your mercy.

May we meditate on the awful punishments denounced against the wicked, and call to mind the reward which you have promised unto those who please you by patient continuance in well-doing. And thus may we be prepared to make every sacrifice to which you may be pleased to call us.

May we cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye, when you require us to do it. And may we consider all our interests in this life as of no value compared with the eternal welfare of our souls. May we seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, trusting that all things which are needful for the body shall be added unto us. Draw near to us as we draw near to you. Amen. — (Henry Thornton)

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #230

“Holy! Holy! Holy!”

†CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON

based on Psalm 51; Isaiah 44:22

Elder Craig Hoffer

Minister: Let us confess our sins before God and one another:

Congregation: Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God.

Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin. Create in us clean hearts, and renew right spirits within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Sustain us with your bountiful Spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Minister: Hear the merciful response of a loving God: My people will not be forgotten by me. I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist. Now return to me, for I have redeemed you. Know that your sins are forgiven. Be at peace.

Congregation: God is merciful, offering forgiveness to all who confess their sin in faith. We are forgiven. I am forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 121

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS - Austin Prince

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†PSALM OF PREPARATION #91B

“Who with God Most High Finds Shelter”

SERMON Hebrews 12:14-17 // Strive For Holiness

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

As we now give attention to your word, open our eyes, that we might behold wonderful things from your law through our Lord Jesus Christ.

TEXT Hebrews 12:14-17

Hebrews 12:14–17 ESV

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

Teach me your way, O Lord and I will walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Intro

Chelsea and I once recieved a water bill in the mail for three thousand dollars. It was a rental property, and we didn’t always receive the bill on time. When it finally reached us, it was at this outrageous amount. There was this magnificent oak tree in the front yard of this house — the canopy cast shade over the whole yard, the house, and the road in between our house and the neighbors. It was huge. But it apparently also had huge roots. You could see them here or there popping through the ground, but for the most part, they were out of sight, quietly weaving their way through the dirt.

But over time, they started to wreak havoc. They pressed the pipes and split them apart. When I dug up the line to replace it, there were holes everywhere. Not just one, there were breaks all along the line. But not only that, the roots had also started to break up the concrete on the driveway, even heading for the foundation of the house itself. It was a silent and strong and diligent disruptor — a breaker and killer of things.

And that’s the particular image that Hebrews wields for our attention: a bitter root—a quiet and under the radar force that can spring up and cause trouble.

—

If you remember when I preached last, we were talking about the discipline of the Lord. That he disciplines us because He loves us. That, even when we are weary, discipline is not an extra layer of discouragement but the very thing that should bring our encouragement. It is a testimony that God is with us. He is for us. He is working on us for our holiness.

And in this text today, there is another an extension of that truth. God is working on us for our holiness, and we, too, must also work for our holiness. We must strive for it.

This is a text calling us to pursue holiness.

So then, what is all that talk of bitterness?

Well, the text gives us the topic of pursuing holiness, and gives us a very insightful and specific application of how to do it.

We pursue holiness by watching for bitterness.

And like the other images that have been used in this section of scripture about endurance, it’s often the seemingly small things that lead us to give up the race: it is the weight of sins we think we can carry around (the little ones), the being slightly off target and not aiming at Jesus that leads us far away and untethered over time that leads to discouragement, fear, and exhaustion. And here again is another one of those seemingly out of sight, small things: a root of bitterness.

It lies under the surface.

It spreads its way through your thinking, your belief, what you trust, and the way you act.

It entangles itself in your relationships

And it eventually shows up in the cracks and broken pipes of your walk with God and with others.

You see, the bitterness spoken of here isn’t merely bitterness between personal relationships, although that is still in view. But the warning of bitterness here is a warning of bitterness that is aimed at God. Yes, you might be acutely irritated at a spouse or a friend or a church member, but the ultimate and broader disappointment, the ultimate entitlement is that God is not giving to you what you think you deserve.

This phrase the “root of bitterness” comes from Deuteronomy 29.

It’s directed to those to whom Hebrews frequently reminds us of: the wilderness generation. Deuteronomy 29 recounts the remarkable things that they had seen—the deliverance from Pharaoh, God’s provision of food and clothing, and yet their hearts grumbled. They sucked on grievances like a lozenge, keeping it in their minds. And they left the God who loved them, going after other gods.

The text reads:

“Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 29:18–20, ESV)

“all the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them.” (Deuteronomy 29:24–26, ESV)

And that’s why our pursuit of holiness gets directed at bitterness. Their lives abandoned walking with God because they were disgruntled, discontented, resentful, and bitter towards God.

He isn’t giving me what I want.

He isn’t giving it to me when I want.

I don’t deserve the pressure and the burdens that I put up with.

I don’t deserve the situation that I am in.

I’m tired and I am giving up.

God isn’t answering my prayers in the way that I want.

Bitterness in Hebrews is ultimately Godward disappointment that opens the door to unbelief—and it defiles our relationships because it first defiles our worship.

Beware of bitterness. It will turn your feet from the Lord.

Bitterness is unholy - it corrupts, defiles, and entangles.

Lead in question: What do you do? What would this text have us do?

Pursuing Holiness

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14, ESV)

Striving: There needs to be an active and energetic pursuit of killing bitterness.

Striving for peace with others and holiness before the Lord.

This text is not saying that we work for our salvation. But where there is justification there must always be sanctification.

Grace and godly effort are not opposed to one another. Michael J. Kruger,

There is no doctrine of salvation to be found in the scripture that would leave someone apathetic about holiness.

When God saves a man, He leads Him. Romans 8:14 “14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

—

The text says to strive in two ways: for peace with everyone and for holiness.

First, we are to strive to free that bitterness in our relationships. We must remember that discontent in those relationships reflects a broader discontent with the Lord (Like Adam when he said, “the woman, whom you gave me…”)

We think that it might be just like a root. Our bitterness is under the surface. No one knows about it. No one can see it. We don’t have to work on it and pursue it because it’s subterranean and it’s not effecting anyone.

But that is not how this works. The text says that bitterness defiles.

What do we do when we are nursing bitterness?

You feed it by thinking about it, contemplating it, reenacting the conversation and pretending to spar with one another in your mind. When you do that you are nursing bitterness.

Usually you inflate their offense and overlook or give your own sins a pass.

You are wallowing in actual or often perceived grievances in a way that reinforces your view that you are a victim. And though you might not say it out loud, its that you believe that you are suffering unjustly from God, too.

Striving for peace here does not mean passivity. It doesn’t mean merely stop it. It doesn’t mean that the root is underground so just stop feeding it and let it lie. It means to pursue peace.

Pursue reconciliation. Do not let those roots continue to spread and entangle themselves around your heart.

If there is a family member or a spouse or a church member and you are wrestling with irritations and resentment and you have left that relationship cold or distant, you need not only to repent in attitude but pursue in relationship.

If it is a person in this congregation, you are in covenant with them. You are called to serve them and support them. Reconcile. Ask for forgiveness where necessary.

Send the invite where you have failed to.

Show up where you have avoided.

If it is a spouse. Don’t just bury the anger. Pursue peace. Stop it with the raised eyebrows and the cold shoulder and the snide comments. Gift wrap your repentance and gratitude and sparkly bright paper and leave it for them to see. Where it on your sleeve. Flamboyantly forgive.

Engage.

Wives, give a smile to your husband. Give encouragement.

Husbands, stop being apathetic and abdicating. Give affection and love.

Burn that record of wrongs and see the new day with new mercies for them as the Lord gives them to you.

This takes great courage. So many people will get stuck here. They can’t forgive. It would change their world. Change their home. Sweep out the stale putrid air of selfishness and insecurity and pride. But they stay here — everything being someone else’s fault.

Forgive as you have been forgiven.

How? — Take every bitter thought captive.

We often are held captive by our thoughts instead of taking them captive.

Martyn Lloyd Jones says that “Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.” — (From Psalm 42:5)

There is so much wisdom here. Our flesh feels every slight and frames all of our own sin in the best of light, painting others in the most negative. We need the correction of God’s word. We need to preach to ourselves of the grace of God. That his love hopes and believes all things.

We need to to be reminded that God is for us and has not abandoned us. We need to recall His goodness to us when all we see are gray clouds. We need the perspective of the Spirit and not the flesh.

? - Question: What thoughts are holding you captive? What do you need to clean up? Who do you need to pursue peace with?

The second thing that we are to pursue is Holiness.

We might even think that holiness is optional. Forgiveness I understand but holiness is really asking too much. Holiness is only something that overachieving Christians need to do.

But the heart of a Christian says God gets it all. God gets it all.

We are striving to love the Lord with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.

And you can see how it is bitterness that is working here:

“God, you can have my Sundays but not the other days. God, you can have so much of me, but I reserve the right to indulge a little. You can’t take the life and vitality out of it for me. I need to reserve some of this unholiness for humor, entertainment, joy, release, etc. You must be appeased, but from afar.”

We hold back. We don’t pursue holiness so often because we don’t want it. We have a line that we don’t want to cross. We have calculated that pursuit as loss to ourselves—uncomfortable and unprofitable.

When we neglect holiness, we become bitter — fighting the Lord for authority and control. Eventually our discontent will burst. Our text says that the root springs up and causes trouble. It doesn’t stay neatly out of sight, buried in the dirt. It effects the fruit and health of the tree. And it is always pushing.

There is a holiness that without we will not see God. It’s in an ultimate sense. We will not be with Him. We will be separated from Him.

This isn’t talking about works salvation. It’s that there is no such thing as a child of God who says that you can give me all the benefits of salvation and rest and security but you cannot have my mind, my time, my heart, my hands, or my repentance.

Holiness is to be set apart. That happens when we are in Christ. We cannot be in Him and with Him without it. There must be evidence of this.

References to holiness:

“since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:16, ESV)

“For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7, ESV)

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1, ESV)

““Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8, ESV)\

“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:5, ESV)

“Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” (Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance)

And there is another sense in which without holiness we will not see the Lord: When our hearts and our minds do not trust the Lord and our actions follow. When we are not pursuing holiness, seeing God becomes opaque, confusing, perplexing. We become blind. There is no vision. There is no path to see with the eyes of faith. There is fear and trepidation because you can’t see Him. You can’t hear Him. You walk through life nervous and timid because you feel alone — you can’t see Him.

Pursue holiness. Without it, we cannot see the Lord.

This text also call us to be Alert For Others (It calls for corporate surveillance)

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;” (Hebrews 12:15, ESV)

These few words “see to it” is just one word in the greek. It’s the word for overseer. We are all to be overseers of one another, watching out for the roots of bitterness. Noticing the cracks in the foundation because of the pressure underneath.

It’s not hard to see it. It doesn’t take long to even enter into a new group of people and learn where the discontentment and bitterness lies.

You see it in churches. This family doesn’t really get too close to that family. Something happened once and now there is a chill in the air.

Everyone knows that their marriage is tense and strained.

The prayer requests and frequency of conversation about certain topics displays a frustration and irritation with where they are in life.

Watch out for that in others. Help them. Befriend them and counsel them.

The text says that there is grace ahead, but when this little bit of bitterness is present you can’t see the grace ahead. You start to doubt it. You don’t think Christ can handle it. God has passed you over. You are alone. Doubts creep in.

The wilderness generation had a group of people who did this and decided that they were done following God. When Moses was on the mountain taking too long, the people had Aaron make for them another more convenient God, one that might act a little quicker.

Bitterness makes us suspicious of God’s grace.

What do we do when we see that root entangling our brothers and sisters? Think it no small thing. Pray, encourage, confront, and stir one another up to believe and trust the grace ahead.

Where Bitterness Leads (closing with a picture)

See to it… “that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:16–17, ESV)

This story has all the elements that we have seen in this text.

Maybe what we should be reminded of first is that it is a bitterness between brothers. That’s where these things happen— most often it is in our closest relationships that we need to watch for this. This is where we need to pursue peace.

And in this story you have both senses of not being able to see God.

He sold his birthright for a single meal.

Don’t we see this kind of foolishness all too often? We see someone throw away their marriage and their reputation for a single tryst with someone. Why? Do you think that happens in a flash—in a weak moment?

No. They have savored their discontent and bitterness. They don’t see the grace of God ahead. Their lack of holiness has blinded them — they can’t see God anymore.

The story show us the ultimate sense of that bitterness, too. Esau sought repentance, even with tears, but it couldn’t be found.

Does that mean that there comes a point where you can no longer repent? No. I don’t think this text is talking about God not forgiving genuine repentance. It think Esau was merely sad about the consequences. He was sad about losing his birthright, not about his lack of holiness and belief. He was pursuing his birthright in tears, not repentance (Genesis makes that clear).

Conclusion

You might not have realized how far it has gotten under that surface - others might not have seen it too.

Strive for peace and holiness. Strive to see God. Watch closely those roots of bitterness, those growing and well-nursed irritations and doubts that so easily entangle us.

Don’t take away from this sermon that here is none more area where you have failed the Lord.

Don’t walk away discouraged or despairing.

And don’t gloss over it and think that today will end how it always ends. We ask for forgiveness and take communion and then I just go on my way — God forgives.

See the goodness of holiness. Embrace the idea of giving more of your thoughts and heart and life to Christ, because you know what he will do with it. See the One who drank the bitter cup to the very end and know that following Him and trusting Him and giving more to be like Him is never loss.

I pray that you would see holiness in this way, as the Psalmist thinks of it:

“For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: But the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O you of the people, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: Bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness:” (Psalm 96:4–9)

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #351

“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

Declaration of God’s Promises and Words of Institution

Let us hear the story of how this sacrament began. On the night on which Jesus was betrayed, he sat at supper with his disciples. While they were eating, he took a piece of bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, “Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

A little while later, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink of it, do this in remembrance of me.”

So now, following Jesus’ example and command, we take this bread and this cup, the ordinary things of the world, which Christ will use for extraordinary purposes.

CONFESSION OF FAITH Minister: Therefore, we proclaim our faith as signed and sealed in this sacrament. This is what we believe about the work of God:

Congregation: We believe that God - who is merciful, yet perfectly just - sent his Son to assume the nature of man, in order to bear the punishment for the sins of his own, by his most bitter passion and death.

Minister: This is what we believe about the work of Jesus Christ:

Congregation: We believe that Jesus Christ presented himself in our name before his Father, to appease his wrath with full satisfaction, by offering himself on the cross and pouring out his precious blood for the cleansing of our sins, as the prophets had predicted.

Prayer for the Work of the Spirit

Minister: Lord, our God, send your Holy Spirit so that this bread and cup may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we and all your saints be united with Christ and remain faithful in hope and love. Gather your whole church, O Lord, into the glory of your kingdom. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Congregation is seated.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

INVITATION AND RESPONSE

Minister: Hear the words of our savior: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Come then, for all is ready.

Congregation: We come not because we ought, but because we may, not because we are righteous, but because we are penitent, not because we are strong, but because we are weak, not because we are whole, but because we are broken.

SHARING OF THE SUPPER

Minister: Take, eat and drink, remember and believe.

†OUR RESPONSE #234

Tune: The God of Abraham Praise

The whole triumphant host gives thanks to God on high;

“Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” they ever cry.

Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays;

all might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Grace Notes Reflection

There is a holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).

This absence of sight comes in two senses, as seen in the example of Esau.

First, there is the loss of seeing God and the loss of valuing God. Esau sold his birthright for a single meal. Because indulgence loomed large in his estimation and God appeared small, the absurd trade—eternal privilege for immediate pleasure—made perfect sense to him in that moment. When we refuse to love God’s ways, despise His timing, or fail to develop His tastes for what is to be loved and what is to be hated, we become vulnerable to the same kinds of foolish forfeitures. We see this all too often today in the abandonment of marriages or families for the equivalent of a hot, momentary meal.

Second, there is the ultimate sense of not seeing the Lord without holiness. If we have no love for the things of God, it reveals that we have no love for God Himself. There is no such thing as someone who is justified yet has no desire to be sanctified. Esau sought repentance with tears, but it was denied him. Genesis provides the fuller context: his sorrow was not for his sin but for his perceived loss. He was grieved by the consequences, not convicted over the condition of his heart.

This passage also warns us to remain on guard against the root of bitterness. The embrace of unholiness—and the fatigue or irritation that accompanies the call to holiness in Hebrews 12:14—so often grows from a quietly sour attitude toward God. When we mistrust His timing, question His goodness, believe He has overlooked what we “deserve,” or think He is inattentive to our desires and ambitions, we begin to reserve for ourselves the right to indulge the flesh. *Why not give in a little?* we tell ourselves. *God is slow, and this feels good right now. Surely constant refinement will drain the joy out of life. So why not sell the birthright for the meal?*

Bitterness is a silent killer, especially in light of this chapter’s call to faith and endurance. Bitterness will keep you from enduring. Fatigue grows quickly where the sour heart is left unchecked. And opportunities to indulge the flesh begin to appear increasingly reasonable.

So set your heart and mind on seeing God. Run after holiness—strive for it, pursue it. Start by examining the cracks in the driveway, the places where the root of bitterness may be growing. These often involve particular relationships. Repent where needed. Pursue peace. Fight to see the face of God, taking every thought and every doubt captive.

Holiness is not frumpiness; it is glory. No one has ever regretted growing in holiness, for in His presence there is fullness of joy” (Ps. 16:11).