Commenting on Jesus as Shepherd in Psalm 110, John Calvin says,
“As a shepherd he is gentle towards his flock, but fierce and formidable towards wolves and thieves; in like manner, Christ is kind and gentle towards those who commit themselves to his care, while they who willfully and obstinately reject his yoke, shall feel with what awful and terrible power he is armed.”
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; (Heb. 12:15)
The Lord warns us not to allow the “root of bitterness” to spring up and cause much trouble and defilement. Our hearts and minds make up the seat of sin, and if we allow bitterness to take up residence within, we will find ourselves far from the kingdom if we never come to repentance. This is one of the reasons why gossip is so dangerous. Words spoken in secret reveal the state of one’s heart, and if the state of one’s heart is not oriented toward love of neighbor, as impenitent gossip reveals, then one does not truly love God (1 John 4:20).
The spreading of misinformation or uncertain facts about another person indicates that a root of bitterness may be slowly taking over one’s heart, inclining it away from the kingdom of heaven.
Wise people put up safeguards in their thoughts and actions to help keep them from being ensnared by a root of bitterness. Lest our minds lead us astray, it is wise to think on what is true, good, and beautiful so that our thoughts are not filled with curses and other unclean things (Phl. 4.8). At the same time, we should endeavor not to listen to or repeat uncertainties that we hear about others or otherwise gossip about our neighbors.
Headers are mine. Content is from TableTalk Magazine Avoiding Bitterness of Mind and Speech, October 23rd, 2015
Labour, therefore, to fill your hearts with the cross of Christ. Consider the sorrows he underwent, the curse he bore, the blood he shed, the cries he uttered, the love that was in all this to your souls, and the mystery of the grace of God in it. Meditate on the vileness, the guilt, the punishment of sin as seen in the cross, the blood, and the death of Christ. Was Christ crucified for sin, and shall not our hearts be crucified with him to sin? Shall we give place to, or listen to the folly of, that which wounded, pierced, and slew our dear Lord Jesus? God forbid! Fill your affections with the cross of Christ, that there may be no room for sin. The world once turned him out of doors, into a stable, when he came to save us; let him turn the world out of doors, now that he has come to sanctify us (100).
One of the hallmarks of the modern mindset is individualism. We instinctively focus on the freedom and the rights of the individual to do or say whatever he or she chooses. This attitude has inevitably spread into Christian culture, where my commitment to God’s people has been replaced by the idea that a church should serve and fulfill me, providing the teaching, music, friendship and sub-culture that I desire.
Yet really, this is only an expression of our sinfulness, a way of putting ourselves at the centre of our own lives.
When God rescues people, however, He puts them together to live for the benefit of one another. This means that my greatest concern should not be how a church could serve me, but how I may best serve that church, using the gifts that God has given me.
The lion’s den, the crucible, the cold tomb: each offers a second calling. It may come in nudges or whispers, crises or shouts; regardless, these subsequent callings probe us both further into and out of ourselves. In each direction, they bring us closer to God. And, I have found, they make the Bible even more alive. The Word of God becomes increasingly relevant in its reverence. We know this refinement, too, to be true, for “the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times” (Ps. 12:6).
Some crucibles work by heat, others by cold. Some by flame, others by water. We are compressed by too much, or we are cut loose by too little. We burn under pressure or freeze in isolation. Regardless of inner or outer weather, the effect is the same: the extremes in experiences gauge the extremes in our spiritual temperatures. Often the differences in extreme shake us out of the “in” of indifference. We are forced “out,” we are forced through and beyond, we are thrust into the realm of the absolute other – from the personal and particular of self into the infinite and all of God.
Why? Jesus does not want us to be mediocre, to be lukewarm. Indifference is literally revolting to him…We are burned and frozen so that we may find him in our midst.
“For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver…We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance” (Ps 66:10-12)
Carolyn Weber, Holy is the Day, 63-64.
The Lord has appointed two kingdoms to govern the affairs of men.
The church administers the sacraments and the Word of God to direct our Father’s children in godliness, while the state bears the sword against injustice and makes laws for the good of all people, regenerate and unregenerate alike (Rom. 13:1-7). Each authority must do its delegated tasks and not try to usurp the authority of the other. The church does not bear the sword, and the state does not administer church discipline.
Nevertheless, on account of the covenant of creation, it is right for the church to expect the state to honor life and bear the sword justly, and it is the responsibility of the church to be a prophetic witness against the state when it fails in these duties.
In this day and age, there is a great temptation for the church in the United States to think that its mission is coextensive with the platform of one or more of the political parties in this country. Yet while we must never be guilty of this error, it does not follow that the church is to be silent on current policies that violate God’s natural law. The state must ever be reminded that it is under the authority of God and the laws He has established in nature.
Table Talk Magazine, Creation Ordinances, February 28, 2011 (headings mine)
Christianity Matters 