Remember the three foundational truths from last time:
1. Bitterness Ruins the Kind, Tenderhearted & Forgiving Life (Eph. 4:30-32)
2. Bitterness is a Consequence of Un-forgiveness (Mt. 6:12-14)
3. Bitterness Leads to Intense Inner Torment (Mt. 18:34)
Our new lives in Christ were designed by God to it to have a daily component of getting rid of any old ways that come back to pollute our lives, and re-clothing ourselves with Christ.
That same process of getting rid of the old us and embracing the new person we are in Christ is what we see in Romans 13, here in Colossians 3, and last time in Ephesians 4.
Remember what we saw in Ephesians 4?
Eph. 4:30-32 (NKJV) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Paul said beware of the power of bitterness. Beware of allowing bitterness to destroy your life. One of the struggles believers have always faced while seeking to follow the Lord is: bitterness.
God’s immeasurable power is stopped when His people disobey. God’s grace teaches us to deny ungodliness, but when we resist that grace, our sin grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit.
Bitterness is a very deadly, fast-growing, and easily spread form of spiritual cancer.
Do you see now why Paul lists bitterness first in the lineup of Spirit-grievers?
Do you see why he says “put away ALL bitterness”?
He says it is so deadly, so painful, so quick to spread that it must be dealt with right away.
A bitter person is cut and punctured by the words or actions of others.
Those wounds untreated by the healing grace of a tender-hearted-forgiving attitude become a source of malignant bitterness, a hurtful condition that touches every part of their life.
What is the solution Ephesians 4:30-32 gives to us believers?
WHY GOD SAYS: “GET RID OF BITTERNESS”
1. Bitterness imprisons a believer’s emotions.
Failing to forgive another will imprison a believer in their past.
Bitterness nurtures pain and keeps it alive, never allowing the wound to heal.
The longer the hurt is dwelt upon the more our anger is fed, resentment grows, and joy is extinguished.
Forgiveness-energized by grace opens our prison doors and sets us free from our past.
2. Bitterness poisons a believer’s life.
(SWS-05)
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