Hebrews 12:15 (7KB)

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 and [shipwrecked];

Believers can be defiled by a root of bitterness and this can cause them to fall short of the grace of God. The grace of God refers to God’s goodness for the believer in blessing them and meeting their needs.

Many believers have been defiled by a root of bitterness which has resulted in them becoming shipwrecked. A shipwreck occurs when a ship is broken into pieces and splintered so that it can never be repaired again. This is what happens to those who are victims of a root of bitterness. After they become shipwrecked in their faith then there is no more recovery available for them because they are finished and have come to complete ruination!

Example of Shipwrecked Faith

I personally met a man who was full of the love of God while he was a young man attending bible school in the beginning of his walk with God. He carried the presence of God with him and everyone liked to be near him because people could feel the presence of God around him. This man was always praising and worshiping the Lord and fellowshipping with God in the word and in prayer. He had an amazing walk with God that was greater than anyone I had ever met.

But many years later this same man began to drift away from the Lord and he grew bitter and judgmental against others. He had been working for some large television ministries and saw the hypocrisy of the people who only portrayed themselves as being righteous in public (on television) but behind the scenes these men were greedy scoundrels engaged in all kinds of carnal activity to raise money for themselves. The observations that this man (in this example) made about these fake television ministers were in fact true but he got into bitterness and became judgmental over it. Eventually it seemed this man had assumed his own position upon the judgment seat of Christ as he brazenly judged these charlatans for their sins!

But even if the accusations were true, it did not authorize this man in my example to assume a position of being a judge over them because only God is the judge not humans. If someone is causing offense or is greedy or is doing evil things behind the scenes in a public ministry, this still does not give anyone the right to assume themselves as judge over these offenders!

What happened is that the man in my example became exceedingly more critical and judgmental of others and even became bitter and offended. A noticeable change came over him and instead of being full of the Holy Spirit and carrying the light of God (as he had in the beginning) he now became dark and critical and judgmental.

The bitterness and offense carried over into all of his earthly relationships. He left the offending ministry and went to work with others but the bitterness and offense remained with him wherever he went. He lost job after job and eventually found himself out of the ministry entirely. With each rejection he grew increasingly bitter and began to blame others and become critical and judgmental of them. People who supported him in the past also dropped their support because of the darkness and bitterness and offense this man carried. It was like a dog chasing his own tail because the more he was bitter the more he was rejected and this caused him to have more offense at every rejection until he was in a death-spiral like a plane that is headed for a crash!

The man became so offended that his face became darkened and anyone could see the bitterness and offense on him without him saying a word. He had the most dear sweet wife and loving children but he was so offended he even cut himself off from his own family and divorced his wife and moved away to live in another state. He was out of the ministry and ended up working a job as a secular school teacher! This was a drastic change for a man who once walked with God and had been in the full-time ministry for many years!

The man in my example had in fact come to ruination and shipwreck and he was no longer anything like the man he once was when he had been walking with God in the past! It seemed that after he fell out with humans (even divorcing his own wife) then he began to become bitter with God because of losing everything.

2 Timothy 2:26 (7KB)

²⁶ and they may come to their senses [and may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil] who has taken them captive to fulfill his satanic agenda in causing them to take offense and thus seal them up for eternal destruction in hell.

This scripture above speaks of a believer having the opportunity to come to their senses and recover themselves from the snare of the devil. This snare is offense and bitterness which can poison a believer in everything they do and ruin all human relationships around them. It is the plan of Satan to sow a root of bitterness and offense in the hearts of believers because if the believers will fall for this bait of Satan then they can eventually include God in their bitterness and this will take them to hell.

Being offended at humans and at God can send a believer to hell. The sin of unforgiveness against fellow humans can also send a believer to hell.

See the lesson “Sin of Unforgiveness” for more details.

Satan is an evil genius and has no other weapons except lies and deception. But Satan has used the same old lies for centuries and these have proven quite effective in taking millions of humans to hell (including believers) who become bitter and offended at fellow humans and also offended at God and even curse God and end up in hell!

Offense at God

Sometimes believers will become bitter at God over unfulfilled expectations. They expected something to happen and when it did not then they had an opportunity to get offended at God!

Matthew 11:2-6 (7KB)

² When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples

³ to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:

⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

⁶ “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

In the case of John the Baptist he found himself in prison and Jesus did not come and visit him and he was starting to doubt and even sent disciples to inquire if Jesus was the Messiah or should they look for someone else. Jesus told the disciples of John to tell him what they saw because the works of seeing the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hearing and the dead being raised and the poor having the gospel preached to them are all the fruits that testify that Jesus is the Messiah.

Then Jesus concluded by saying, “Blessed are those who are not offended in Me!” because John had the opportunity to engage in self-pity as he sat in prison without Jesus coming to visit him. Self-pity can be the pathway that leads toward bitterness and offense. This all starts by meditating on satanic thoughts that say, “It is not fair that you are treated like this or forgotten!” The satanic thoughts continue pointing out all of the reasons why the victim should be offended. If the believer does not recognize the thoughts of the devil and cast them down and resist them then they can easily meditate on them until they take on a root of offense. It is like a weed seed planted in their hearts (by the devil’s thoughts) and this seed can grow into a root of bitterness. This occurs when they start meditating on the wrong things and they become offended at humans around them and also progress in the offense until they even become bitter at God!

In no case can someone who is bitter and offended at humans or at God enter the kingdom of God (and this includes believers). Thus, Satan can accomplish what would normally be impossible “To send a believer to hell!” Normally no one can send a believer to hell (not even the devil) because God is greater than everyone and no one can take a believer out of God’s hands! But if the devil can use deception on the believer and sow a root of bitterness in their hearts then the devil can cause them to send themselves to hell by being offended at God! Thus, Satan can accomplish his goals of sending a believer to hell (an otherwise impossible task) but it can be done effectively using only lies and deception to cause the believer to be offended at God and thus the believer will send themselves to hell. In this manner, Satan can still accomplish his goals using nothing but deception as his tools!

Consider the life of Job who had a big opportunity to become offended at God but instead Job held to his integrity and refused to curse God or become offended at God.

Job 2:9 (7KB)

⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Job lost everything he had (including his children and his health) and was suffering great physical torment of sickness. The Job’s wife had previously been praising God when she was married to a healthy and wealthy husband but now the same woman was ready to curse God and told Job that he should curse God and die!

It is obvious that the wife of Job was speaking the words of the devil to Job trying to get Job to comply with satanic agenda to get Job to curse God. If Job would curse God then it would have cost him his eternal salvation and thus Satan would have accomplished his goals of sending Job to hell by sowing a root of bitterness and offense at God (within the heart of Job).

Job 2:10 (7KB)

¹⁰ He replied, “You are talking like a wicked and foolish woman and are no longer a helpmeet to me anymore! Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job however did not accept the demonic words spoken by his wife and resisted them by refusing to speak evil of God in any way. The same is true of any believer who is under attack by Satan and having their mind bombarded with satanic lies and deception. They must recognize the source of these evil thoughts and resist them because this is nothing other than a satanic ploy to sow offense in their hearts. Once they get offended at God then a root of bitterness will spring up and defile them so that they will be offended at everyone (including God) and thus Satan can accomplish the impossible of sending a believer to hell (simply by making them offended at God so they send themselves to hell).

Satan Obtained Dominion Through Deception

Luke 4:5-8 (7KB)

⁵ And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

⁷ So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “

Satan was given authority over all the kingdoms of the earth because this dominion was given to Satan when Adam committed high treason and sold out his God-given dominion over the earth to Satan by obeying the devil to eat the forbidden fruit. This his why the devil was able to offer the kingdoms of the earth to Jesus during the temptation.

Satan first targeted the weaker vessel who was the woman who was easy to deceive. He then tempted her using her own feminine thinking of equality for all and said it is not right that God was on a higher level than she and if she would only eat the forbidden fruit then she would be like God or (equal to God). Once Eve ate the fruit and died spiritually then Adam (not wanting to be separated from his wife) also ate the fruit willingly (not out of deception). Thus, when they both ate the forbidden fruit, they handed over their God-given dominion over earth to Satan thus making the devil “the god” of this world’s system. Satan accomplished his goals only by deception and caused the humans to curse themselves and to throw their dominion over to him.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (7KB)

⁴ in whose case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan became the god of this world’s system when he received the dominion of Adam after Adam fell into sin and committed high treason against God.

Evil Genius Obtaining Advanced Goals

Satan considers the long-term goal and knows all of the steps of deception he has to implement in order to achieve his end goal. In the same way, he can sow offense in the hearts of believers by causing them to falsely perceive they were treated unfair. Then when they take the bait, the devil can sow a root of bitterness in their hearts. Once they get bitter at fellow humans around them and then eventually get bitter at God then they will be destroyed and sent to hell. This is the long-term goal of Satan and believers should not be ignorant of the devil’s devices or schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:11 (7KB)

¹¹ so that we will not be taken advantage of by the Adversary — for we are [not ignorant of his devices] and are quite aware of his schemes!

The believer is not to be ignorant of the devices or schemes of the devil which are designed to deceive believers to hell.

Deceiving Believers to Hell

Satan does not cease in his efforts to send people to hell even after they get saved. Satan works hard to keep unbelievers in bondage to vices and sin so that they will expend their lives on earth in wicked living and seal their fates in hell. But if an unbeliever becomes saved then Satan has to change his tactics and use different methods to get them to send themselves to hell as believers. One of these devilish tricks is to sow a root of bitterness in their hearts. If a believer does not watch themselves, they can easily have a root of bitterness spring up and this can grow to be a great bondage to them and in the end, it will result in their eternal damnation!

The root of bitterness starts with a seed and this seed is planted in the thoughts of the believer. The human mind is the battleground of Satan and that is why the believer is admonished to cast down every evil imagination.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (7KB)

⁵ Casting down imaginations, and every high [minded] thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Casting down imaginations speaks of casting down those thoughts that come from the devil and which are contrary to the truth of God’s word. The believer is to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Worldly people speak of being “open-minded” as if it is a virtue or something worthy to be attained. But in fact, being “opened-minded” is part of feminine thinking and this is how Eve was deceived in the Garden of Eden. She was “open-minded” to the thoughts and suggestions of the devil and she was deceived as a result of it.

The mind of the believer is not to be “open-minded” to the thoughts and suggestions of the devil but rather their mind should be guarded. They should be like a guard at the gate of a walled city and that guard challenges anyone who tries to enter. Only those who are authorized are allowed to enter and anyone unauthorized are banned from entering. In the same way, a believer is to guard their minds and judge every thought that enters their minds. If that thought or imagination is contrary to the Word of God then they are to cast it out of their mind and resist it in Jesus Name like an armed soldier fighting to protect the entrance to the city from all unauthorized intrusion!

Satan is a deceiver and his only weapon is deception and lies. These lies enter into the mind of humans in the form of thoughts. This is why the human mind is the battleground of the devil because if the devil can control the mind of people, then he can send them to hell!

It is for this reason that believers must be trained to guard their mind from the devil’s thoughts and imaginations and resist and cast down every thought that is contrary to the truth of God’s word. If the devil can bring defilement to the mind, he can cause this defilement to enter the human spirit where it will be hard to get rid of.

Spiritual defilement within a believer comes from meditation on unclean thoughts or evil imaginations of Satan which were inserted into their minds. If they meditate on these satanic thoughts it can bring defilement into their human spirit where it can cause serious trouble for them. This is how a root of bitterness is sown into the human heart by people meditating on demonic lies within their minds.

Proverbs 4:23 (7KB)

²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, and watch over it, for out of it spring the issues of life.

The believer is to guard their heart because out of it flow the issues of life. If they allow defilement to enter their human spirits, they can end up forever damned in hell! The believer is to guard their hearts above all else (as their first priority in life) because their eternal destiny depends on it!

It is easy to receive a root of bitterness and it all starts when a believer is not diligent to cast down the thoughts of the devil! When the believer slips into envy or jealousy of others or begins to accuse God of playing favorites then they can become bitter at God over unfulfilled expectations. This is a process that progressively works to send a believer to hell by defiling them with a root of bitterness against God!

Offense at Unfulfilled Expectations

Another means by which the devil can get people to take offense at God is by unfulfilled expectations. I know of a young Christian woman who worked in a photography studio. Her boss was a genius photographer and had promised to teach her the use of editing software and photography. But the situation came about where another girl was promoted to do these things rather than her. She was stuck doing more mundane tasks at the studio and she began to envy the girl who was promoted above her and the negative imaginations that she had in her mind began to lead her toward bitterness toward God! This was because of her unfulfilled expectations and she started to blame God for promoting someone else instead of her! She began to accuse God of playing favorites when others received all of the blessing and promotion that she thought that she deserved! These envious thoughts in her mind and the evil imaginations of accusing God of being unjust were all planted by Satan who is the father of lies! (John 8:44) If she did not receive godly counsel and a rebuke from the Lord to expose this sin then she could easily have ended up in hell like so many others before her who also became bitter at God!

Matthew 11:4-6 (7KB)

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:

⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

⁶“And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Jesus warned the believers that they would be blessed if they would not take offense at Him. The fact of the matter is that those who are offended at the Lord will not receive any blessing from God. Jesus told the disciples of John to report to John what they have heard and seen in that the blind received their sight and the lame walked and the lepers were cleansed and the deaf heard and the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them. At the time that Jesus spoke these words to the disciples of John, John was in prison. John had ample opportunity to become offended at God because he did nothing unrighteous to land himself in prison and he was even being punished for speaking the truth! The words that Jesus sent back with the disciples of John could really rub salt in the wounds of a the offended heart of John. John was left alone in prison, Jesus did not come to visit him, and John was left outside of a move of God. Jesus seemed to be having awesome results and a big move of God while John sat alone in prison. Jesus seemed to purposely rub it in when he spoke of all of the great things that God was doing and these things were rehearsed to John who was in prison. Then Jesus warned that those who do not take offense at Him will be blessed.

John the Baptist had ample opportunity to take offense at God. It looked as if others were being blessed and promoted in the ministry while John sat alone in the prison! John could easily have been offended at God and he could also have developed a root of bitterness toward God because of unfilled expectations! He could have said that things were unfair to him because his cousin Jesus was being promoted in the ministry while John was out of it completely! It could seem that God forgot about John and was busy promoting someone else instead! If John listened to such satanic thoughts (without casting them down) he could have easily developed a root of bitterness.

The bible does not say if John became bitter at God or not but he most certainly had an opportunity to do so and Jesus warned specifically that those who do not take offense at the Lord will be blessed!

John 3:30 (7KB)

³⁰ “He must increase, but I must decrease.

John himself preached that Jesus would increase and that he himself would decrease. This came to pass when Jesus increased in the ministry while John was removed from the ministry and placed in prison. But often believers will lose sight of God’s plans and purposes and attach an “alternate-interpretation” on the events that transpire! Instead of thanking God that His plans and purposes were fulfilled, John had the opportunity to look at the situation as being unfair in that Jesus was promoted while John was being demoted. John was just as “human” as any other believers on earth and he most certainly would not be immune to the deception of the devil just as all humans are. He could easily have forgotten that it was God’s plan that Jesus increase and John decrease and he could have become bitter at God and he could have accused God of being unfair.

I believe that John the Baptist wrestled with such thoughts and temptations in prison but hopefully he overcame and saved himself from going to hell. John does serve as an example of a believer who had opportunity to be offended and all believers must learn how to deal with the root of bitterness toward God. If believers do not learn how to deal with this issue, they could easily cross the line of perdition and end up in hell!

Joseph is another example of a man who had ample opportunity to be offended at God. But Joseph indicated by his attitude that he did not blame God for his circumstances or become bitter at God.

Genesis 39:1-6 (7KB)

¹ Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there.

² The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.

³ Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.

⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.

⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

⁶ So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar who was the captain of the guard of Pharaoh. But Joseph indicated by his attitude that he was not engaging in self-pity. Joseph did everything that he set his hand to do with excellence as unto the Lord. His good attitude revealed that he was not working for man but rather he was doing his work for the Lord. The Lord blessed the work of Joseph and gave him success in everything that he did. This success gained favor with Potiphar who placed Joseph in charge of his entire household and entrusted into his care everything that he owned.

Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household and everything that he owned. The blessing of the Lord was upon everything that Potiphar had both in the house and in the field. Joseph distinguished himself by having an excellent spirit and he did everything with excellence and he was faithful and trustworthy and Potiphar did not have to do any accounting to see that Joseph was faithful. Potiphar had no more concern of anything that he owned except the food that he ate because he placed everything under the responsibility of Joseph.

It is evident that Joseph did not have a wounded or offended attitude because those who are offended will generally have to be whipped in order to get them to do anything! Joseph was serving with excellence and did his best and this indicates he was doing his job zealously as unto the Lord rather than man. When a person does their work unto the Lord, they will be faithful and diligent even when their natural boss or master is not looking. This excellent spirit in Joseph caused him to be blessed by God and Joseph was prospered even as a slave and became the greatest within the household of Potiphar.

If a person is offended or bitter at God, they typically will not display a good attitude and they will not be serving God with excellence in the place where God has planted them. In the case of the young lady working at the photography studio, it became evident that she was developing a root of bitterness. She would come home with a bad attitude and a dark spirit and she spoke of quitting and said she no longer cared about learning photography or any of the related fields. She was focused on receiving praise of man and when someone else got that praise, she wanted to quit! She could not do her job with excellence anymore as long as she was harboring the bad attitude of jealousy and envy.

The bottom line here was that she began feeling sorry for herself and she began to get bitter at God because someone else received the favor and promotion that she had expected for herself. She was judging God as unfair because God promoted someone else rather than her! This bitterness toward God was displayed in her behavior because she no longer wanted to go to work and she did not do her job with excellence as unto the Lord. Instead she was dragging her feet, moping, and did not even want to go to work at all and even wanted to quit her job! She was in fact not serving the Lord anymore because she was mad at God! Did God do anything wrong to her? Was God playing favorites by blessing and promoting someone else? No, God committed no sin against her and as a matter of fact God was using this situation to expose the jealousy that existed within the heart of this young woman. It was the mercy of God to expose this sin and give her a chance to repent so she could save herself from hell!

The point is that she was not having the same attitude of excellence that Joseph displayed in Egypt! Joseph did not blame God and accuse God of being unfair to him. Joseph believed that whatever happened to him was God’s will and he looked for ways of serving God in whatever position he found himself in. But things did not get better for Joseph as a slave even after he was serving God with excellence and a good attitude in this position!

Genesis 39:19-23 (7KB)

¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.

²⁰ And Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the state prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison.

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving-kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.

²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

While Joseph was serving with excellence in the house of Potiphar he was falsely accused by a lustful woman and this resulted in him being thrown into prison. This was the same situation where John the Baptist later found himself when he was faithful to God and spoke the truth and because of the manipulations of a woman he also found himself in prison! Joseph however distinguished himself in prison and gained favor with the warden of the prison and sought for some means to serve the Lord in prison. God gave Joseph favor with the warden and the warden made Joseph responsible for all that was done in the prison! The warden paid no attention to anything that was under Joseph’s care because Joseph displayed the same excellent spirit that he had displayed in the household of Potiphar. God gave Joseph success in whatever he did because Joseph was serving the Lord not man.

Joseph displayed by his actions that he was doing his work as unto the Lord rather than for men!

Colossians 3:23 (7KB)

²³ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,

The word of God encourages the believer that they should do their work with all of their heart (in a spirit of excellence) as if they were working for the Lord rather than working for man. Those who work for God are those who are in faith and they are expecting that if they please the Lord then God will promote them and bless them. They are not looking to mankind for promotion but only to God. If a person has their eyes on mankind for promotion it will be evident in the fact that when the promotion or blessing goes to someone else instead of them, they will get angry and want to quit! But a man who has his eyes on God alone for his promotion will not be offended if others are promoted or blessed around him. He knows that his time of promotion will come if he remains faithful to God and does his work with excellence as unto the Lord!

Psalm 75:6 (7KB)

⁶ For promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south.

⁷ But God is the Judge: He puts down one and exalts another.

God is the source of all promotion and Joseph never lost sight of this fact. Joseph only looked to God for his promotion and this was the reason for his excellent spirit which caused him to do everything with excellence and faithfulness and diligence! Joseph also had an understanding that God was in control of every circumstance and so he entrusted himself to God by faith when he was sold as a slave and when he was put into prison. Joseph never lost his excellent spirit and he did not get bitter at God or want to quit!

Genesis 45:5 (7KB)

⁵ “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

⁶ “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Joseph clearly stated that it was not his brother’s mistreatment of him that sent him to Egypt but it was God who ordered his steps and sent Joseph to Egypt in order to prepare for a worldwide seven-year famine! This is the reason that Joseph never got bitter at his brothers for what they did to him and he never got bitter at God. Joseph understood that God was ordering his steps and it was God who was preparing him to become the second-in-command to Pharaoh and the Prime Minister of all of Egypt! Joseph kept a good attitude and continued to serve God in prison the same as he did as a slave because Joseph knew that God was in control of all things and that Joseph was serving the Lord (not mankind) in any situation in which he found himself!

This is a great contrast to the attitude of John the Baptist in prison who indicated his bitterness when he actually began to doubt if Jesus was the Promised Messiah! It was for this reason that Jesus sent a warning to John that he would be blessed if he is not offended at the Lord!

Matthew 11:6 (7KB)

⁶ “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

This warning that Jesus gave to John (through John’s disciples) still applies to all believers of all generations since that time. If any believer does not get offended at the Lord then they will be blessed by God. This means that the blessings of God can be cut off in the life of a believer and their prayers will go unanswered if they get bitter at God. Many believers are defiled by a root of bitterness and if they do not overcome and recover themselves from this snare of the devil it can result in their eternal damnation!

This is serious indeed and it is one of the most effective deceptions that Satan has used to cause believers to be sent to hell by their own freewill! The devil does not have the power to send everyone to hell or else all humanity would be in hell. The devil can only deceive people to reject Christ and if they are a believer already, he can cause them to get bitter at God and this will cause them to send themselves to hell! But the end result is the same and this is an effective method of damning believers to hell (even after they have already been saved)!

Testing The Followers of Jesus

John 6:11-15 (7KB)

¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”

¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus fed the five thousand men and the people saw that the food was multiplied enough to fill twelve huge baskets full!

See the link “No Pitiful Sized Baskets” for more details.

The people who ate the loaves and fish perceived this was a miraculous sign because five thousand men (together with their wives and children) ate until they were full and still there was more than enough left over! When they saw this miraculous sign, the people wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him their King! This is not because they loved Jesus but rather because they were a bunch of freeloaders looking for some free food so they would not have to work for it. They were no more committed to Christ than a bunch of hogs following a man carrying a feed bucket! Jesus withdrew from these people because He knew they were following Him for the wrong reasons!

In the same way, believers can also follow the Lord for the wrong reasons because they want to receive some sort of blessing or provision. But when they do not get what they want they can easily become offended because they were not following the Lord for the right reasons!

John 6:22 (7KB)

²² The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

²³ Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

²⁴ Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him, Rabbi! When did You come here?

Those people, who wanted to make Jesus their king by force, did so because they saw Him as a free source of food. They thought that they would never have to work again and just sit around and eat and enjoy life without labor. So, these people went out and searched for Jesus to find Him because He withdrew Himself from them. When the found Jesus on the other side of the lake they asked how He got there. They were looking for Him for the wrong reasons!

John 6:26-27 (7KB)

²⁶ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Jesus rebuked them and said that they were looking for Him because they ate the loaves and had their fill. This means that they were looking for Jesus for the wrong reasons and only wanted to fill their stomachs! Jesus said that eternal things are what is important and they should not be seeking after natural things like food or other provisions from God.

Matthew 6:31-33 (7KB)

³¹ “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

³²“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

³³ “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jesus had already taught the people that if they would seek God’s kingdom first then God will provide those natural things that are necessary for life. These godless pagans however ran after all of the natural things including what they will drink or what they will wear or what they will eat. They have only a natural focus and pursue only natural things and forget about what is really important in life. Jesus taught the people that seeking the kingdom of God is first priority and the most important pursuit of mankind on earth. All men will die, so it does not matter if they gain the entire world for themselves if they die and end up in hell!

The brevity of life renders the earthly pursuits of mankind as frivolous! What does it matter if they gain great riches when they cannot take anything with them when their short-life span on earth has expired? Death cancels out all pursuits of mankind and renders them all meaningless!

John 6:28-35 (7KB)

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

³⁰ So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

³¹ Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”

³² Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

These people who followed Jesus for the wrong reasons wanted to have free food just like the Israelites who ate manna for forty years in the desert. Jesus said that He was the bread of life and He can satisfy spiritual hunger within them.

John 6:51-56 (7KB)

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

⁵² Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

Jesus would often purposely give statements that were offensive to the people to test their hearts. He told them that His flesh was the bread come down from heaven and the people were offended and said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus spoke to them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood and this offended those who were listening to His words!

John 6:60-61 (7KB)

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?

Jesus purposely gave them a hard teaching and his disciples grumbled about this and Jesus asked them if this offended them! Jesus purposely offended people for the purpose of exposing the motives of their hearts to show that they were following Him for the wrong reasons. If they got offended and left Jesus it was evidence, they were not following Him for the right reasons.

John 6:66 (7KB)

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Many of the disciples of Jesus withdrew and followed him no more and this shows that they were not following Jesus for the right reasons. When Jesus healed them and gave them free food they were all happy to follow Him but when they got offended they withdrew and did not follow Jesus anymore.

John 6:67-69 (7KB)

⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

⁶⁹ “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

The twelve disciples did not leave Jesus even after hearing offensive teaching from Him! Jesus asked them if they want to go away from Him like the rest who had departed but Peter said, “Lord where will be go?” “Only you have the words of eternal life!” The twelve disciples had counted the cost and they knew that salvation was found in no one else except Jesus. They stayed with Jesus no matter how many times they may have had opportunity to become offended.

Mark 10:28 (7KB)

²⁸ Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

Every one of the disciples of Jesus left everything that they had to follow Jesus. They left their fishing business and tax collection booths and everything that they had to follow Jesus when He called them. They had counted the cost and that is why they were steadfast and did not waver even when they had opportunity to become offended at the Lord.

Mark 9:49 (7KB)

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire.

This scripture speaks about everyone being salted with fire. This reveals the natural principle of salt being used to draw out fluids and moisture from meat. Meat will not spoil for a long time if it is dried using salt. In the same way, God will test the hearts of mankind to draw out or expose what is hidden within them much like salt can draw out the fluids hidden within meat. The process that accomplishes this in the heart of mankind is exposing “perceived offenses” or assumptions based upon falsehood. Once the hearts of man have these spiritual impurities exposed then the fire of God can burn them up.

God may purposely promote and bless those around a believer to test what is in their hearts. If the believer becomes offended then it shows that they were following God for the wrong reasons. It is easy to have a good attitude when all things are going well but when others are blessed and they were forgotten that can be a test to see what is really in their heart. God uses such situations to expose the hearts of mankind because only when the sin is exposed can the believer see it and then repent from it.

It is interesting that Jesus spoke of everyone being salted with fire because salt is not flammable and it has no relation to fire in any way! But both salt and fire do have a way of testing things. Salt can bring out what that which is hidden within the meat and in the same way hidden “evil-motives” can be brought out as these are hidden within the sin nature of mankind. (The sin nature is also often referred to as the “flesh” in the bible and the opportunity to get offended can bring out the hidden evil which resides within the sin nature (just as salt can bring out the fluids hidden within “flesh” or meat). Fire also can test things and Joshua was commanded to purify things by fire. That which withstood the heat of the fire was purified.

Numbers 31:21-23 (7KB)

²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the requirement of the law that the LORD gave Moses:

²² Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead

²³ and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water.

Fire was involved in the purification process with spoils that were taken in war. Those things like metals were passed through the fire and considered purified. So, in similar principle being salted with fire speaks of the testing of the hearts of man to disclose what secret motives are hidden there. Most believers are unaware of their evil motives until they have an opportunity to have these exposed and this most often is accomplished by having others around them promoted while they are forgotten. This gives them opportunity to be offended at God and if they fall away and follow Christ no more, then it is an indication that their motives were not right in following God.

In the beginning of the Christian walk. a new believer will typically have immediate answers to his prayers as God shows Himself real to them with many blessings. But later after they are mature, they are to put away the spiritual breast feeding (edification) and have solid food and that speaks of the solid food of rebukes from the Lord. As they mature in Christ then they will be tested if they will remain faithful to God even if they are not seeing all of the blessings anymore that they once saw as a new believer.

Job 2:9 (7KB)

⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

The wife of Job is like a circumstantial Christian because when things were going well, she was happy and praising God. But when they lost everything and her husband was sick and poor then this woman was ready to curse God! There are many believers like this and when they are prosperous and healthy, they are happy to serve the Lord but as soon as things do not go well for them, they are ready to get offended at God and are ready to curse God and follow Him no more!

Matthew 21:7-9 (7KB)

⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their coats upon them, and He seated Himself on them [the clothing].

⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, a very large crowd of people were spreading their cloaks on the road and putting branches on the road in front of him as a means of respect. This is like spreading a red carpet out before a dignitary as a means of honor and respect for him. The crowd also shouted Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord and Hosanna in the highest! The people doing all of this praise were expecting that Jesus would be a political Messiah and would defeat the Romans and give them freedom and peace and prosperity as a nation. Later however, the same crowd found that Jesus was not a political Messiah but rather a spiritual Messiah and their attitude toward Jesus changed quickly when they found they would not receive anything from Him in the natural as they had expected.

Matthew 27:22-24 (7KB)

²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³ They all replied, Let Him be crucified! And he said, Why? What has He done that is evil? But they shouted all the louder, Let Him be crucified!

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

The same people who once sang praises to Jesus were now shouting “Crucify Him!” They were ready to kill the Christ when they found that He did not come to give them freedom or prosperity or those natural things that they expected of a king. Now they were ready to deny the Lord because of their unfulfilled expectations!

Matthew 27:11 (7KB)

¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

The governor asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews and Jesus said that He was. But Jesus was not the type of king that the people expected Him to be. It was for this reason that they were ready to shout “Crucify Him!” after they had sung His praises only a short time before.

Many believers are like this and they readily praise the Lord when things are going well for them but they are ready to curse God when things do not work out as they expected. Every believer will be salted with fire and that is a double-reference to testing the hearts of men because both salt and fire are considered things that test what is hidden within. Metal is melted in a forge furnace and this causes the impurities to come to the surface. In the same way, the fires of trial can test a believer’s heart to see what is inside. Salt also is another natural example since salt can draw out moisture from the meat and even pull out the body fluids hidden within the tissues. So these natural things illustrate the purification and testing of the hearts of mankind. This can be accomplished simply by promoting those around a believer while they are left to sit with no promotion. If that causes them to get bitter at God then their evil heart’s motives have been exposed!

Deuteronomy 8:2 (7KB)

² Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

The fact of the matter is that God most certainly tests the believer and He most often uses circumstances to test them to expose what is hidden in their hearts. God knows what is hidden in the hearts of man but often the believers themselves do not realize what resides in their own hearts. Wicked things like evil motives, jealousy, greed, selfish ambition and other things which are not pleasing to God can be found within the hearts of believers. Circumstances have a way of exposing these things to the believer and after they are exposed then the believer has the opportunity to repent of them. Even having the opportunity to take some money that does not belong to a person can be a test to see if they will be honest or not. If a believer is honest before God they will do what is right even when no humans know about it.

Deuteronomy 8:3-4 (7KB)

³ “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.

⁴ “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.

Some of the testing circumstances for the Israelites in the desert involved trusting God even when they did not know where their provision would come from. God allowed them to get hungry and then they grumbled that they were going to starve to death.

Exodus 16:2-3 (7KB)

² In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

God tested the Israelites with hunger and then that which was hidden in their hearts was exposed as they began to murmur and complain at Moses and Aaron. They said that they would all starve to death and this revealed that they had no trust in God to meet their needs at all!

God often uses situations to test the believers in the same way to see what will come out of them when they are under pressure. This is what exposes the secret motives of a person’s heart when they are under pressure of circumstance. This is similar to squeezing some fruit (like a lemon) and the pressure of squeezing it causes the juice to come out! God squeezes His children with circumstances to expose their hidden sins and expose the evil motives that are within them and then He can call them to repentance. The children of Israel were squeezed with hunger and they murmured against Moses and Aaron and against God. This shows they had no trust in God to provide their needs. The squeezing of circumstances brought out their unbelief and it was expressed in their negative words.

Exodus 17:2-4 (7KB)

² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”

³ But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

God allowed the children of Israel to experience thirst in the desert and this circumstance squeezed them and out came their unbelief. Again, they complained and murmured and said that they were all going to die of thirst! This shows that they had no trust in God and this circumstance of lack of water again exposed their unbelief.

Numbers 14:1-4 (7KB)

¹ At this all the people of Israel cried out in dismay and wept all night long.

² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!

³ Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

When the children of Israel reached the border of the Promised Land, they sent some spies to see the land and these spies gave an evil report about giants. So, the congregation listened to this evil report (and even though they never saw one giant themselves) they immediately began to weep and wail and said that they would all be killed by the giants and that their wives and children would be taken by the giants as plunder! So they decided to return to Egypt and become slaves again because all hope was lost!

As soon as they saw some difficulties, they were ready to give up! These circumstances again squeezed them and exposed their doubt and unbelief and this is a sin against God because they refused to believe in the Lord!

Numbers 14:11-12 (7KB)

The Lord said to Moses, “How much longer is this people going to treat me with contempt? How much longer will they not trust me, especially considering all the signs I have performed among them?

¹² I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

God was angry with these people who refused to trust Him and refused to have any faith that God could bring them into the Promised Land.

Numbers 14:22-23 (7KB)

²² not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times–

²³ not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

All those who treated the Lord with contempt (when they were squeezed by circumstances) were rejected by God and not one of them entered the Promised Land!

Numbers 14:26-35 (7KB)

²⁶ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:

²⁷ “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.

²⁸ So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say:

²⁹ In this desert your bodies will fall–every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.

³⁰ Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

³¹ As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

³² But you–your bodies will fall in this desert.

³³ and your children will wander about in the desert for forty years bearing the consequences of your (your infidelity to your espoused God) until the desert eats up your carcasses.

³⁴ After the number of the days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], even forty days, for each day a year shall you bear and suffer for your iniquities, even for forty years, and you shall know My displeasure [the revoking of My promise and My estrangement].

³⁵ I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.”

The children of Israel repeatedly had their hearts exposed which were full of unbelief! Every time they were tested, they complained against God and grumbled. When they complained at the border of the Promised Land, this was the time that they crossed their line of perdition. Not one of those who grumbled against God was allowed to enter the Promised Land because God gave them all a death sentence from age 20-years old and above. That whole unbelieving generation died in the desert and only their children and Joshua and Caleb survived to enter the Promised Land!

Genesis 6:3 (7KB)

³ And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with [humans] forever, for they are indeed flesh; yet their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

It seems that the longer that mankind lives on the earth the more they sin against God so God shortened the lifespan of humans considerably. The brevity of life creates an urgency within mankind for them to repent before it is too late. This scripture says that God’s Spirit will not strive with man forever and this can also be applied to the fact that God will not deal with a person forever about their sin. The Israelites repeatedly had their hearts exposed and their unbelief was manifested over and over again. Each time they had the opportunity to repent of their unbelief but they did not repent. They continued to harbor this sin of unbelief until the time that they crossed the line of perdition and it was too late for them to repent anymore!

Numbers 14:22 (7KB)

²² not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times–

The Israelites were testing God repeatedly as if they were trying to see how far they could push God before His anger exploded upon them. The scriptures say that they had tested God ten times before they were finally rejected at the border of the Promised Land.

Every time that circumstances squeezed these people then out came the unbelief that was hidden within their hearts. This unbelief was expressed by their words of doubt that they spoke out loud before God. This was testing God but God repeatedly restrained Himself and did not destroy them and gave them another chance. This went on until they had actually done the same thing ten times in a row without repenting of this sin of unbelief. Finally, they crossed that point of no return (called the line of perdition) and they were rejected forever by God and were killed off and sent to hell!

Revelation 17:8 (7KB)

⁸ The beast you saw once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss; but it is on its way to (perdition) or destruction. The people living on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the founding of the world will be astounded to see the beast that once was, now is not, but is to appear.

The word “perdition” means destruction and when someone crosses that line it means they have gone too far and they can no longer repent anymore. Those who are in hell now would do anything to get out! They would all repent or change if they had another chance. But once they are in hell it is the end of their time to repent and they are sealed forever in eternal damnation! The only opportunity that mankind has to repent is while they are still alive on earth and before they cross that line of perdition. When they cross that line then there is no more repentance left for them.

Hebrews 4:7 (7KB)

⁷ God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

If the Lord exposes the sin in the heart of a believer (by squeezing them with circumstances) then that person is to acknowledge that sin and repent of it. If they harden their hearts and continue without repentance, they will eventually cross that line of perdition and the Holy Spirit will depart from them. It will be too late for them to repent anymore at this point.

See my lesson “Christians in Hell” for more details.

Deuteronomy 1:41-45 (7KB)

⁴¹ Then you replied, “We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

⁴² But the LORD said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.'”

⁴³ “So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the LORD, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country.

⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.

⁴⁵ You came back and wept before the LORD, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you.

After the children of Israel received God’s death sentence then they tried to repent and go up and take possession of the Promised Land as God had told them to do in the beginning. But now it was too late for them and they no longer had the opportunity to repent. God was no longer with them because they were rejected by God. They presumed to enter the Promised Land of their own effort but they were defeated and driven out as if being chased by a swarm of bees! God would no longer listen to them or hear their prayers or be with them to help them anymore. They had tested God ten times by provoking God to anger repeatedly without repentance. So, they crossed that line and received the death penalty and every one of them who harbored unbelief died in the wilderness and went to hell!

Hebrews 12:5 (7KB)

⁵ And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart, become despondent or be discouraged or give up and faint when he rebukes you,

Believers must not become discouraged or give up or “faint” when the Lord disciplines them. To faint means to give up like a long-distance runner who just stops running and stops overcoming and fails to cross his finish line.

(See the lesson called “Salvation’s Race” for more details)

Deuteronomy 8:5 (7KB)

⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

The Lord used circumstances to discipline the children of Israel to expose what was in their hearts in order to give them opportunity to repent of these evil things. But even though the disciplining process continued on and on these hard-hearted people refused to repent and they went too far and crossed their perdition line!

Jeremiah 6:27-30 (7KB)

²⁷ “I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways.

²⁸ All of them are total rebels, spreading slanderous gossip; they are bronze and iron, [inferior metals,] all of them corrupt.

²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.

³⁰ They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.”

God compared the refining of His rebellious people to the process of smelting metal. Metal is heated in a furnace and melted to cause the impurities to be separated and float to the top where the impurities can be removed. But this refining process went on in vain with God’s people because the impurities were not removed from their hearts. Repeatedly God used circumstances to expose the impurities hidden in the hearts of His people but the people did not repent after their impurities were exposed. God called them rejected silver because silver that cannot be purified is worthless and thrown out and discarded like gravel! When God rejects His people then that is the time that they cross the line of perdition and there is no longer any more repentance available to them!

2 Samuel 7:15 (7KB)

¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

King Saul disobeyed God repeatedly until it was too late for him and God removed His love from Saul and Saul was rejected as king.

1 Samuel 16:14 (7KB)

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.

After the Spirit of God departed from Saul then an evil spirit came and tormented him. An indication of crossing the line of perdition is when the Holy Spirit is removed from a rebellious believer. At this time, they cross the line of perdition and there is no more repentance left to them. The Lord is patient and merciful and often a believer will harbor unrepentant sin for decades before they finally cross that line of perdition.

In the beginning of their Christian walk, a believer may go for several years walking in love with the Lord and it is a glory time for them like a baby being carried in their mother’s arms. But after some time, the Lord will begin to deal with root sins in the hearts of believers and call them to repent of these sins. If they do not repent but choose to keep and retain that root sin in order to serve it then it is at that time the root sin becomes an idol that they are serving.

Serving an idol is disobedience and sin and from this point forward a believer (who is serving an idol) will have no more revelation from God’s word and they will not be blessed in a church service where others are being blessed. This is because they are harboring sin in their hearts in the form of an unrepentant root sin that they are serving as an idol. This disobedience and refusal to repent makes them become like King Saul who was cut off from God’s voice and God’s presence because of disobedience.

Often believers who are serving a root sin as an idol in their hearts will try to become ten-times more zealous in other things like witnessing or giving money to the poor or other good deeds in an effort to buy God off of this one thing they do not want to repent of. But they cannot buy with sacrifice what they have lost by lack of obedience. If they do not repent of serving this root sin as a idol they will eventually be abandoned by God and sent to hell. This process may go on for decades but eventually the Holy Spirit will depart from them and it is at this time that they will cross the line of perdition and then they will be unable to repent any longer. Such a person will go to hell because of the root sin which they failed to forsake and repent of and which they are serving as an idol in their lives.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (7KB)

⁹ The human heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

¹⁰ But I, the Lord, search all human hearts and examine their secret motives. I give to everyone their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

The human heart is deceitful above all things and it can play tricks and live in self-deception and have all kinds of self-defense mechanisms to protect the idols that reside within it. There are numerous tricks that believers will play in order to retain the sin hidden within their hearts.

1 Samuel 15:20-23 (7KB)

²⁰ “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.

²¹ The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

²³ “For rebellion is like the sin of sorcery, stubbornness like the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he too has rejected you as king.”

Saul was instructed by God to completely destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites but he destroyed only the worthless things and kept the best things for himself. Saul then tried to pay for his disobedience by offering sacrifices to the Lord from the plunder he had taken. He tried to buy God off with sacrifices hoping God would overlook his disobedience in one area. But God cannot be bought off of disobedience by making sacrifices. Many carnal Christians try to buy God off of their disobedience by being ten-times more zealous in all other things but they cannot pay for their disobedience by sacrifice in other areas. God requires complete obedience and if they do not repent and obey then they will eventually be destroyed in hell. God does not delight in sacrifices as much as He does in obeying His voice. Believers cannot make up with sacrifices what they have lost by disobedience to God’s commands. Rebellion is like the sin of divination and witchcraft and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. It is rebellion and arrogance that believers refuse to repent of their sin and then live in self-deception and suppose they can buy God off by religious good deeds or good works. If they consistently reject the word of the Lord given to them then a time will come when God will reject them. When they become rejected silver they no longer have an opportunity to repent and they will to go to hell together with the idol that they have worked so hard to preserve within their hearts!

Another trick is to shut off their minds and pretend that God is not dealing with them about their sin. This is as foolish as a small child covering his own eyes and imagining that he becomes invisible and cannot be seen! This is only self-deception and ignoring their sin deceives no one but themselves! All of the tricks that believer can play trying to retain unrepentant root sins in their hearts does them no good at all. These things only push them closer toward the line of perdition while they continue to retain unrepentant sin in their hearts. These tricks are all forms of hardening the heart as they refuse to repent of the sin that the Holy Spirit is convicting them of!

Hebrews 12:4-6 (7KB)

⁴ You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

⁵ And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart, become despondent or be discouraged or give up and faint when he rebukes you,

⁶ For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.

There is a struggle present within the believer and this struggle is against sin found within them. God uses the discipline of circumstances to expose sin and the purpose of that exposure is to reveal that sin to the believer so that they can repent of it. Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines and God rebukes them so that they will humble themselves and repent of sin and save themselves from hell. Every believer will be disciplined by God so that they will be partakers of His holiness.

Hebrews 12:7-10 (7KB)

⁷ You must submit to and endure God’s correction and discipline; for God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?

⁸ Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].

⁹ Moreover, we have had human fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

¹⁰ For our human fathers disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them; but He disciplines us in a way that provides genuine benefit to us and enables us to share in His holiness.

The disciplining process is done so that the believer may share in God’s holiness. This process is similar to peeling an onion that has layer after layer inside. God will deal with one sin after another and call believers to repent of them. Sometimes a believer may grow furiously for the Lord for the first several years of their Christian life but then they might come to one point of sin which they refuse to give up. If they tell the Lord that they will give up anything (except this one thing) then that one thing becomes an idol in their lives! God will not continue with them anymore until they repent of and forsake this one root sin that has become an idol. The conviction of God may continue for decades dealing with this one root sin. But if they steadfastly refuse to repent then a time will come when the Holy Spirit will no longer deal with them anymore. When they cross that line of perdition the Holy Spirit will depart from them and leave them to their destruction!

Another trick that believers can play to try to avoid conviction of sin is to gather up or heap up many teachers who all say what they want to hear. This is done to justify their sin so they will not have to obey what God has commanded them.

2 Timothy 4:3 (7KB)

³ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

One example of this is if a Christian woman does not want to obey God’s word that commands her to submit to her husband. She then may find many feminist Christian teachers who promote feminine equality and tell her what she wants to hear rather than the truth! But just collecting numerous books of false teachers to endorse her bad behavior is not going to relieve women of their responsibility before God to obey what God commanded them to do.

2 Chronicles 18:5-6 (7KB)

⁵ So the king of Israel brought together the prophets–four hundred men–and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” “Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?”

Ahab, the king of Israel hired 400-false prophets to tell him what he wanted to hear. But the godly King Jehoshaphat asked if there was not a real prophet of the Lord that they could inquire of. Jehoshaphat knew that these 400-false prophets were only paid to tell Ahab what he wanted to hear!

The same thing happens when disobedient Christians support false teachers to tell them lies. But it does not matter if they gather or heap up 400-false teachers to tell them the same lies because it does not change the fact that God requires obedience out of them. False teachers have many ways of negating the word of God and saying that God’s word no longer means what it says and therefore it does not have to be obeyed literally. In the assembly of false prophets of Ahab, he had 400-false prophets all speaking the same thing in unison but only one real man of God predicted that Ahab would be destroyed. The prediction of the one true man of God came to pass but the 400-false prophets were all put to shame because what they said did not occur.

Having many false teachers telling deceived Christians that they do not have to obey God’s word does not relieve them of the responsibility of obedience! This is only a trick of self-deception that will keep believers from obeying God’s word and it will push them closer toward their line of perdition. Those Christian women who refuse to honor and obey their husbands as God commanded will end up in hell no matter how many false teaching books that they find to justify their rebellion against their spiritual heads!

(See the lesson called “Divine Order for Women” for more details)

Another self-deception is having envy of the wicked.

Proverbs 23:17 (7KB)

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

Envying sinners can occur when a believer regrets being saved and wishes that he had the freedom to indulge in sin like the unbelievers do. This is a great piece of self-deception as well because the believer who does this is not thinking about eternal consequences. Life on earth is too short to be wasted on indulging the sin nature. The only thing that is important in this life is that the believer can escape hell and finish their race on earth.

(For more details see the teaching lesson called “Overcoming Christian”)

The children of Israel often envied the sinners and mourned that they ever left Egypt. They were in fact complaining that they were saved from slavery!

Numbers 21:5 (7KB)

⁵ The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

The Israelites were not happy to be set free from slavery in Egypt and this is a picture of the believer who was set free from the slavery to sin but is not happy about it. Carnal Christians have a love for the world and they want to be just like the world and do worldly things. It is therefore, a sin for a believer to mourn over being saved and this will bring judgment upon those carnal Christians who love the world!

1 John 2:15-16 (7KB)

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶ For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.

God’s word warns the believer not to love the world because if they do they will sin against God and make themselves an enemy of God. The children of Israel were guilty of this sin when they wanted to return to Egypt and return to slavery again because they loved it and mourned that they were saved from bondage.

James 4:4 (7KB)

⁴ You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Those believers who love the world are committing adultery against Christ. Any believers who are a friend of the world are automatically displaying their hatred toward God. In fact, those believers who choose to be a friend of the world make themselves an enemy of God! If they have a wrong motive it will be displayed in their behavior. Carnal Christians will want to be like the world and be accepted by the world and will even mourn over being saved and being required to live a holy and separated life.

Numbers 21:6 (7KB)

In response, The Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of the people of Israel died.

The serpent is a symbol of sin and it speaks of sin that causes death. The words of the people betrayed what was in their hearts and when they murmured against God then the serpents came and bit many of the people and they died. This is a picture of sin and if this sin is not repented of it can cause death just as the serpents caused death to those who murmured against God. Murmuring reveals the sin of ungratefulness that dwells in the hearts of mankind and this sin can kill them and send them to hell as an enemy of God!

Hebrews 3:13-14 (7KB)

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

Those believers who love sin will develop a hardened heart and a time will come when they will no longer feel guilty of sin and they will cross the line of perdition after they pass a prolonged time of no repentance. Only those who hold fast to their salvation from the beginning (when they accept Christ) and continue all the way to the end (when they complete their race on earth) will be saved.

(See the lesson called “Salvation’s Race” for more details)

Luke 12:4-5 (7KB)

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Having a fear of the Lord causes a believer to depart from iniquity. They cannot love the world and love God at the same time.

(See the lesson on “Fear of the Lord” for more details)

Exodus 20:19-20 (7KB)

¹⁹ and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

It is the fear of the Lord that causes men to depart from evil and when the Israelites saw the display of God’s power on Mount Sinai they feared tremendously! God came to test them so that the fear of God would be with them and that fear would keep them from sinning. If there is no fear of God mankind will not depart from evil.

Proverbs 16:6 (7KB)

⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.

It is by the fear of the Lord the believers will depart from evil and if that fear of the Lord is removed then they will live as heathens in unrepentant sin. Such carnal Christians will believe in lies that they can just repeat a salvation prayer and then go on and live like the devil and still make it to heaven. This is self-deception and this will only serve to push them over the line of perdition without repentance. It would have been better for them never to be saved because they will have an unspeakable damnation!

(See the lesson called “Christians in Hell” for more details.

Those believers who have no fear of God will become carnal Christians because they do not fear eternal punishment so they continue harboring unrepentant sin until it is too late for them to repent.

Philippians 2:12 (7KB)

¹² So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

Work out their salvation with fear and trembling speaks of working on completing their race on earth and doing so with fear of God. If believers waste their time playing games and tricks, they will end up crossing that line of perdition and this will land them in hell!

Psalm 73:2-9 (7KB)

² But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped.

³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.

⁵ They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.

⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹ They set their mouths against heaven; their tongues swagger through the earth.

David nearly slipped into a root of bitterness when he was envious of the prosperity of the wicked. This is the exact same sin committed by the children of Israel who mourned over leaving their life of slavery in Egypt and repeatedly spoke of returning to the place of their past bondage. This is a sin and when a believer envies the wicked it is a great insult against Christ who died to set them free from the slavery to sin.

Psalm 73:13-20 (7KB)

¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ for all day long I am plagued; my punishment comes every morning.

¹⁵ Had I spoken thus [and given expression to my feelings], I would have been untrue and have dealt treacherously against the generation of Your children.

¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this, I found it too hard for me —

¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰ Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

David nearly slipped into envy of the wicked and this in fact is how a believer can develop a root of bitterness toward God. David was plagued and chastened for this until he came to his senses. David came to understand the end of the wicked. Even if the wicked seem to prosper on earth, every one of them will perish and go to hell and they cannot take any wealth with them when they go. David obtained an eternal perspective when he realized that the wicked are not someone to be envied because they are going to be eternally damned.

There is a human tendency to imagine that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. This means that people often envy others thinking they have it better than they do. But this is seldom the case. Even a layman may envy a Levite thinking that he has it made and only has to give a sermon on Sunday and have six days a week vacation and has attention and limelight from all of the people. Many laymen have lusted to intrude into the Fivefold ministry because of their own misconceptions of what ministry really is.

But a real man of God is required to live by faith and he will also be required to live of lifestyle of continual fasting and prayer. Often the Levite will look at the layman and envy them thinking it would be nice to work a job and have a steady income and have no concern about feeding his family. The Levite often envies the layman that it would be nice to eat whatever you want and whenever you want rather than living a life of fasting and prayer for the ministry. This is a situation where both parties may envy the other rather than being content where God has planted them. This envy is the sin of discontentment and believers (both Levites and Layman) must beware of this sin and overcome it.

Psalm 51:10 (7KB)

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

All believers should pray to God to create within them a clean heart. David prayed this prayer because he realized his heart needed to be cleansed from that which was not pure in God’s sight. This prayer can cleanse a believer from evil motives like envy of unbelievers or even envy of fellow believers. Each believer must be content where God has planted them and be fruitful in their assignments. Envy can stop a believer from putting both hands to the plow and doing his job with excellence!

Luke 9:62 (7KB)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus said that anyone who has put his hand to the plow and then looks back is unfit for service in the kingdom of God. A plow pulled by oxen requires that both hands be firmly placed on the handles of the plow to hold it steady as the oxen pulls it through the furrow. A plowman cannot look back and plow at the same time! He must have his undivided attention on the plow in order to keep it in the furrow! In the same way, each believer is to have their undivided attention on the assignment that God has given them to do. If they are looking at others or if they have envy of others then they are divided in attention and cannot operate their plow with focus.

Luke 14:28-30 (7KB)

²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

²⁹ For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Jesus spoke of counting the cost and it is important that a believer come to grips with what God has assigned them to do and then be a good steward of this gift and be faithful at it. They cannot progress if they are constantly looking over their shoulders with envy at what others are doing. Looking back displays ungratefulness to God and makes a statement that they are not really happy about what God has given them to do. This is the same sin as the children of Israel who were always looking back at Egypt and envying the sinners and wishing they could return there again. God could do nothing with them and then they were all destroyed and sent to hell!

It is easy to receive a root of bitterness and it starts with meditation on the thoughts of the devil and slipping into envy and jealousy and then accusing God of playing favorites and getting bitter at God for unfulfilled expectations. This is a progression toward hell and it would be better if such believers were never saved than to be saved and turn back again. Their torment in hell will be magnified tremendously over the agony suffered by the unbelievers who are burning in hell.

See the lesson called “Christians in Hell” for more details)

James 3:1 (NIV)

¹ Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Those who teach are presumed to know more than their pupils so this means that they will be judged more strictly by God. In the same way, those who were once believers in Christ but turned back will have a greater damnation than those who never knew Christ.

Luke 12:47-48 (7KB)

⁴⁷ “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.

⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Jesus clearly taught that judgment will be according to knowledge therefore the believer should fear God and guard their hearts because they must avoid hell at all costs. They cannot afford to allow their hearts to be defiled by a root of bitterness toward God or unforgiveness or any of the sins that can send a believer to hell. They must have fear of God and depart from evil and lay aside every sin and finish their race on earth.

Again, see “Christians in Hell” for more details

The believer is to watch over their heart with all diligence because they can slip into things like having envy and jealousy and that can ruin their lives and cause them to develop a root of bitterness toward God and this will also send them to hell.

There should not be any envy found in the heart of believers because this in fact is an indication of ungratefulness toward God. The believer is not to envy the sinners because sinners are going to hell and are not to be envied. The believer is also not to envy other believers because that is also ungratefulness toward God for their own lot in life. The believer is to be faithful and diligent with God has given to them to do and not envy other believers. It is for this reason that the believer should pray daily that God would create in them a clean heart that is free of envy and is not distracted or divided in attention from the assignment set before them!

Fivefold Ministry Topics

About Us

Fivefold Ministry Gifts

Levites Naturally Gifted

Religious Vultures

Mechanics of a Cult

Fivefold Not by Lineage

Levite Woman

Levite Choosing Specific Woman

Levites Commanded to Live of Ministry

Spiritual Gifts

Prophetic Words

Idols of the Heart

Apostles Abolish Disorder

Apostle Poem

Apostolic Foundation

Apostolic Perception

Apostolic Theme

No Apostle, No Prophet, No Heaven

When Milk Fails

Purpose of the Church

Correct Ministry Application

Ruth-A Spiritual Analogy

Sword of Division

Gift Gone Dormant

Heresy of the Evangelist

Sin of Denial

Pastor’s Dilemma

Endorsing Laymen Intruders

Idolatry – Curse of a Nation

Glossary

Church at Ephesus

Root of Bitterness

Sin of Unforgiveness

Rules of Engagement

Valley of Decision

Curse of Bitter Water

Defining God’s Direction

Handwriting on the Wall

Leave Not Post

Never Apologize for God’s Word

Projects and Levites

Retaining Spiritual Substance

Precious Hungry Hearts