COLATERAL DAMAGE!

COLATERAL DAMAGE!

Heb 12:14-15

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

          When modern Americans read these verses, we most often think of the mental and emotional meaning of the word bitter which means to be unforgiving, disagreeable; to hold a grudge. Certainly those things are bad enough in themselves but the writer is specifically talking about wrong teaching!

          The Hebrews referred to all poisonous plants as “bitter.” These bitter plants grew alongside the good crops and if they were ingested would contaminate the whole. The context obviously refers to a teacher holding unsound doctrines. The whole church is contaminated.

          Our beliefs, attitudes, and choices have far reaching consequences. A wrong teaching results in a wrong practice. The Bible uses two words which need explanation. A licentious person is one who has taken grace to the extreme. He believes that grace enables him to continue in his sin and, in fact, the more liberty we practice, the more grace is honored (see Romans 6:1 & 2). Lasciviousness is lawlessness and wanton immorality. This is the result of the person who believes that grace trumps all law. He does not restrain himself in any way and teaches others to throw off restraints as well. He has defiled many.

          The coin has another side! There are those who will labor to adhere to the strictness of certain laws. Like the Pharisees, they will tithe from the herbs of their garden but omit the more reasonable teachings such as judgment, mercy and faith (see Matthew 23:23). These people create an entire culture recognizable by curious dress and practices. They, too, have defiled many “teaching for doctrines the traditions of men” (Matthew 15:9).

James 3:1

NOT MANY [of you] should become teachers (self-constituted censors and reprovers of others), my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people; thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation].

AMPLIFIED NEW TESTAMENT

Dear Lord, put a guard on my lips and a guide for my feet that I do not defile those who listen and follow. AMEN