Be on watch for bitterness in your brother or sister in Christ

Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; Today’s encouragement is again to the body of Christ, or the congregation as a whole, and not primarily a personal introspection. We are thinking of our brothers and sisters in Christ as we all run the race of suffering set before us by the Father so that we might be conformed to the image of Christ by the Father’s loving sanctification. In the previous verse, the Holy Spirit admonished us to blaze a path of peace and holiness to see the Lord in our midst.  In this verse, there is a tremendous insight into how we are to love each other. We are told here that we all have a responsibility to the body of Christ to make sure none of our members falls short of God’s grace as they run their race. Let’s remember one of the most important verses in Hebrews. Heb. 4:16. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” How does one come short of the grace of God? By not drawing near to the throne of grace. Saving grace is unconditional, but the grace of God to believe, to trust God, and to love is conditional. We must abide in Christ continually. It’s living to love with Jesus. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.  How can we tell if someone is coming short of the grace of God? We are to be on the watch for bitterness in the body of Christ. Bitterness in one member causes trouble that defiles many because it impacts everyone they interact with. When difficulties arise, if we have unbelief, instead of drawing near to Christ for grace, our hearts will harden and we will become bitter. The author warned of that very thing in 3:12-13. “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Can you see that this verse is saying the same thing in a different way? If we don’t receive the difficulty as an opportunity to practice drawing near to the throne of grace so we can express the faith and love of Christ, we will blame God and others for our circumstances. The next thing you know, there’s a cancer in the body that is destroying the peace and holiness we are to pursue together.  If you hear a brother or sister judging, criticizing, or slandering anyone, then you have an opportunity to apply this verse of scripture. You know they are graceless at the moment and are under the influence of unbelief. You know what they need. They need encouragement to repent of unbelief and fix their eyes on Jesus and the Father’s training exercise to build their faith and love. They need to get in the tracks of pursuing peace and holiness with the body of Christ. That’s the way to help someone who has been injured in the race to receive healing. So this is a very practical obedience on our part as we live to love with Jesus. We are on the lookout for those who have been tripped up by unbelief and have become bitter. They need our help!