PURSUE PEACE WITH ALL MEN AND THE SANCTIFICATION: Eirenen diokete (2PPAM) meta panton kai ton hagiasmon: (Genesis 13:7, 8, 9; Psalms 34:14; 38:20; 120:6; 133:1; Proverbs 15:1; 16:7; 17:14; Isaiah 11:6, 7, 8, 9; Matthew 5:9; Mark 9:50; Romans 12:18; 14:19; 1Corinthians 1:10; Galatians 5:22,23; Ephesians 4:1-8; 1Thessalonians 5:15; 1Timothy 6:11; 2Timothy 2:22; James 3:17,18; 1Peter 3:11) (Sanctification - He 12:10; Psalms 94:15; Isaiah 51:1; Luke 1:75; Romans 6:22; 2Corinthians 6:17; 7:1; Philippians 3:12; 1Thessalonians 3:13; 4:7; 1Peter 1:15,16; 3:13; 2Peter 3:11,18; 3Jn 1:11 ) (Ps 34:14, Mt 5:8-note Pr 15:1, 16:7, 17:14, Ep 4:3, Ro 14:19, Ro 12:18 Mt 5:9)

Related Resources:

Holiness - by J C Ryle - This volume is considered the best book on the Christian life that has EVER been written

Thomas Brooks on Hebrews 12:14 - The Crown and Glory of Christianity or, Holiness the Only Way to Happiness

Pursuing Holiness elsewhere in the New Testament (among many references)...

Therefore (term of conclusion), having these promises (see 2Co 6:16, 17, 18, cp "precious and magnificent promises" 2Pe 1:4-note), beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness (hagiosune) in the fear of God (a reverential awe should motivate us = cp Pr 1:7, 9:10, Ps 111:10-note, Job 28:28, Eccl 12:13, 14, 1Jn 3:2, 3, 1Pe 1:17-note). (2Corinthians 7:1-note)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain (literally hold oneself away from - cp 1Pe 2:11-note) from sexual immorality (porneia)...For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification (hagiasmos) (1Th 4:3-note, 1Th 4:7-note)

As obedient (hupakoe) children, do not be conformed (suschematizo = stop molding your behavior in accord with a pattern or set of standards) to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." (1Pe 1:14-note, 1Pe 1:15, 16-note)

Pursue (1377) (dioko from dio = pursue, prosecute, persecute, also pursue in good sense) means to follow or press hard after, pursue with earnestness and diligence in order to obtain, go after with the desire of obtaining.

The present imperative is a command to continually press hard after, moving energetically toward the goals of something, in this case  toward the goal of peace with all men. Continually pursue this goal, like the hounds chasing in pursuit of the fox.   This is not a passive role that one just lets happen; it is an active concept that one must strive for.

This command to pursue peace and holiness suggests several thoughts: (1) This not an optional "activity" but a necessity (before I was saved I chased after sin, now sin continually "chases" after me, thus the command); (2) To pursue demands diligence and directed effort (cp 1Ti 4:7, 8, 9-note) (3) This pursuit is not to be a spasmodic endeavor but is to be our lifelong task (present tense). Clearly the pursuit of holiness requires enablement and provision from the One Who is Himself holy. At the same time holiness is a process, something we as believers will never completely attain in this life. In fact as most of us of some age in Christ have experienced, as we begin to conform to the will of God in one area of our life, He reveals to us our need in another area. And thus we come to understand that we will always be pursuing holiness in this life, the attainment of the goal of holiness reserved for the next life in glory! Hallelujah.

Dioko - 45 times in the NT - Matt. 5:10, 11, 12, 44; 10:23; 23:34; Lk. 11:49; 17:23; 21:12; Jn. 5:16; 15:20; Acts 7:52; 9:4f; 22:4, 7f; 26:11, 14f; Rom. 9:30f; 12:13f; 14:19; 1 Co. 4:12; 14:1; 15:9; 2 Co. 4:9; Gal. 1:13, 23; 4:29; 5:11; 6:12; Phil. 3:6, 12, 14; 1Th 5:15; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22; 3:12; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 3:11; Rev. 12:13

Peace (1515) (eirene from verb eiro = to join or bind together that which has been separated) literally pictures the binding or joining together again of that which had been separated or divided and thus setting at one again, a meaning convey by the common expression of one “having it all together”. It follows that peace is the opposite of division or dissension.  Peace as a state of concord and harmony is the opposite of war. Peace was used as a greeting or farewell corresponding to the Hebrew word shalom - "peace to you". Eirene can convey the sense of an inner rest, well being and harmony. The ultimate peace is the state of reconciliation with God, effected by placing one's faith in the gospel. In eschatology, peace is prophesied to be an essential characteristic of the Messianic kingdom (Acts 10:36).

Eirene - 92 times in the NT - Matt. 10:13, 34; Mk. 5:34; Lk. 1:79; 2:14, 29; 7:50; 8:48; 10:5f; 11:21; 12:51; 14:32; 19:38, 42; 24:36; Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26; Acts 7:26; 9:31; 10:36; 12:20; 15:33; 16:36; 24:2; Rom. 1:7; 2:10; 3:17; 5:1; 8:6; 10:15; 14:17, 19; 15:13, 33; 16:20; 1 Co. 1:3; 7:15; 14:33; 16:11; 2 Co. 1:2; 13:11; Gal. 1:3; 5:22; 6:16; Eph. 1:2; 2:14f, 17; 4:3; 6:15, 23; Phil. 1:2; 4:7, 9; Col. 1:2; 3:15; 1Th 1:1; 5:3, 23; 2Th. 1:2; 3:16; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; 2:22; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3; Heb. 7:2; 11:31; 12:14; 13:20; Jas. 2:16; 3:18; 1 Pet. 1:2; 3:11; 5:14; 2 Pet. 1:2; 3:14; 2 Jn. 1:3; 3 Jn. 1:14; Jude 1:2; Rev. 1:4; 6:4

Make it the habit of your life to seek hard after peace with men and holiness before God, the holiness He desires and which He alone can work in us as we work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

Those who pursue peace seek to forgive and to forget and to be kind and to be thoughtful and be able to help others and be able to pray for their enemies!

The exhortation is most likely address the attitude those Jews who had come into the New Covenant were to manifest toward the unsaved Jews who were in danger of renouncing their professed faith in Messiah and of returning to the temple sacrifices.

Expositor’s Greek Testament says:

The circumstances of the Hebrews were fitted to excite a quarrelsome spirit, and a feeling of alienation towards those weak members who left the straight path. They must not suffer them to be alienated but must restore them to the unity of the faith, and in endeavoring to reclaim them must use the methods of peace, not of anger or disputation. (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)

Without sanctification - Or without holiness. Spurgeon writes that...

You will not gain holiness by standing still. Nobody ever grew holy without consenting, desiring, and agonizing to be holy (Php 2:12-note). Sin will grow without sowing, but holiness needs cultivation. Follow it; it will not run after you. You must pursue it with determination, with eagerness, with perseverance, as a hunter pursues his prey. (Ed: Before we were saved we chased after sin. After salvation sin chases after us!)

If you occasionally get drunk, or if you now and then let fall an oath, or if in your business you would make twice two into five or three, according as your profit happens to run, do not talk about being a Christian. Christ has nothing to do with you, at least no more to do with you than he had to do with Judas Iscariot (cp Titus 1:16-note, 2Co 13:5, Mt 7:21-note, Mt 7:22, 23-note). You are very much in the same position. If without holiness, then much more without morality can no man expect to see the face of God with acceptance.

God smote an angel down from heaven for sin, and will He let man in with sin in His right hand? God would sooner extinguish heaven than see sin despoil it. It is enough for Him to bear with your hypocrisies on earth. Shall He have them flung in His own face in heaven?

Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified (Ro 8:13-note, Col 3:5-note). If your life is unholy, your heart is unchanged; you are an unsaved person (Gal 5:19, 20, 21-note, Ep 5:5, 6-note). If the Savior has not sanctified you, renewed you, given you a hatred of sin and a love of holiness (Ps 119:104, 128-note), the grace which does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not in their sins but from them. Without holiness “no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). “Let every one that names the name of Christ depart (aorist imperative = a command, not a suggestion) from iniquity” (2Ti 2:19-note). If not saved from sin, how can we hope to be counted among His people? Lord, save me even now from all evil, and enable me to honor my Savior. (Daily Help)

Andrew Murray writes...

Follow after sanctification, lit. "holy-making." We know this word. Holiness is the highest glory of God, and so holy-making is the being taken up into His fellowship, and being made partakers of His holiness. It is receiving into our nature and character the spirit of that heavenliness and holiness in which He dwells. Follow holy-making, without which no man shall see the Lord. Holy-making is the spiritual preparation, the inner capacity for meeting the Lord, and being at home with Him. The passages in the Epistle, in which we have already had the word, will be our best instruction as to the way in which we are to follow after holiness. (Andrew Murray. The Holiest of All )

R A Torrey...

Here we are taught that we have our own part in sanctification, and that if we are to be sanctified in the fullest sense, sanctification is something that we must pursue, or seek earnestly, if we are to obtain it. While sanctification is God’s work, we have our part in it, viz., to make it the object of our earnest desire and eager pursuit. (Torrey, R. A. 1918. The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith. New York George H.: Doran company)

Pursue...sanctification - pursue...holiness. It seems that peace and holiness go together. In Heb 12:11 he mentions "the peaceful fruit of righteousness (right living before God and man - which is certainly related to holiness)." This truth is important to know and to believe, so our belief might translate into appropriate behavior. In other words to quote Jerry Bridges (in The Pursuit of Holiness)...

Because we do not believe (Ed: Saying "I believe" is not the same as saying "I believe and therefore I will behave"!) that humility is the path to God’s exaltation (1Peter 5:6-note), we jockey for a place of position and power in our relations with others. Because we do not believe that God takes note of and will in His time avenge all wrongs done to us (Romans 12:19-note), we study in our own minds how we can “get back” at someone we feel has wronged us. Because we are not convinced of the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13-note) (See Related Discussion: The Deceitfulness of Sin), we play with it, thinking we will thereby find satisfaction. And because we do not have a firm conviction that “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), we do not seriously pursue holiness as a priority in our lives. Faith and holiness are inextricably linked. Obeying the commands of God usually involves believing the promises of God (Ed: See related resources: Obedience of faith - What does it mean?; Relationship of faith and obedience in the study of covenant). One definition of faith might be “Obeying the revealed will of God and trusting Him for the results.” “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6-note). If we would pursue holiness we must have faith to obey the will of God revealed in the Scripture and faith to believe that the promises of God will then be ours. (The Pursuit of Holiness) (Bolding added)

Sanctification (1377) (hagiasmos [word study] from hagiazo = sanctify from hagios = holy, set apart, consecrated)  literally means sanctification and includes the ideas of consecration, purification, dedication and holiness. The dominant idea of sanctification is separation from the secular and sinful and setting apart for a sacred purpose. Holiness is the state of being set apart from sin and the world to deity (God) or the process of becoming more dedicated to God. Sanctification is "the process by which believers are set apart by God as a special people to grow spiritually in personal holiness and to develop Christ-like character."

See offsite resource - Puritan writer  Thomas Watson on "Sanctification"

And now I commend (paratithemi = para - beside + tithemi - place = a banking term = to deposit as a trust and/or for protection, commit for safe keeping, cp use in 2Ti 2:2 -note entrusting gospel to faithful stewards) you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance ("imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven" - 1Pe 1:4-note) among all those who are sanctified (hagiazo [word study] - perfect tense pictures their having been set apart occurring at a definite point of time in the past -- the moment they were born again by faith -- with the present result that they are still set apart, that blessed condition continuing throughout this life and the one to come!)." (Acts 20:32)

What is "the" holiness which the writer refers to?

Kenneth Wuest feels that...

The exhortation is thus addressed to the saved among the recipients of this letter, and in relation to their attitude towards the unsaved Jews who were in danger of renouncing their professed faith in Messiah and of returning to the temple sacrifices. The holiness spoken of here is defined in the context and by the historical background of the letter. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

Expositor’s Greek Testament says

The holiness which this epistle has explained is a drawing near to God with a cleansed conscience (He 10:14-note, He 10:22-note), a true acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice as bring the worshipper into fellowship with God. (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)

Henry Morris offers this explanation stating that...

Holiness is the same as sanctification. As far as our position and standing before God are concerned, we, as believers, have peace with God and are sanctified in Christ Jesus (Ro 5:1-note; 1Co 1:2). Without these (which means without salvation), we could never hope to see the Lord. We still need to follow diligently after peace and holiness in a practical sense, by His enabling grace, if we would see Him in faith. (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)

Ryrie feels that the writer means that...

Without sanctification in life we cannot see the Lord; i.e., worship Him acceptably. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers)

Stedman explains it this way...

But of even more importance is the pursuit of holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord. Whether this seeing of the Lord refers to the beatific vision of God (Bruce 1964:364, cp Mt 5:8-note), or to seeing Jesus at his Second Coming (Westcott 1889:406; Ed: I think this cannot be an option for "every eye will see Him", both saved and unsaved, Re 1:7-note), it clearly precludes any who are not pursuing holiness from having a close and vital relationship with God. The need to make every effort suggests continuance and is perhaps better translated “pursue.” As we have noted before, it is a mistake to take holiness as referring only to righteous behavior apart from seeing it also as a gift of God Who imparts righteousness to the one who believes in Jesus.

If we pursue righteous behavior only as a means to “seeing” the Lord, we will eventually find ourselves with the Pharisees (cp Mt 15:14, 23:16, 17, 19, 24, 25, cp Is 56:10, 6:10). They were blindly ignorant of terrible failure but claimed a relationship that did not really exist. But if we truly practice a continual reckoning of ourselves as already righteous within by a gracious act of God on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus (cp Php 3:9-note, Ro 6:11-note), we will find ourselves strongly motivated to live righteously (cp Titus 2:11-note, Titus 2:12-note) and inwardly distressed at any failure to do so (cp Ps 32:3-note, Ps 32:4-note, Ps 32:5-note). This inward distress will bring us again and again to the throne of grace (He 4:16-note) for forgiveness (1Jn 1:9) and recovery (cp Pr 28:13, cp Mt 3:8). We will progressively be transformed into his (Christ’s) likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2Cor 3:18). That is what is meant by the exhortation to “pursue holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (KJV). (Hebrews 12:14-17 Dangers to Watch For)

John MacArthur explains it this way...

This verse is not easy to interpret, and has been a problem for many sincere Christians. At first glance, it seems to be teaching salvation by works—if we successfully pursue peace and sanctification, we will be saved and will see the Lord. The truth is, however, that a person who is not saved cannot pursue either peace or sanctification, at least not successfully. Only the Christian has the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to live in peace and in holiness. “‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isa 57:21) and any righteousness men try to produce apart from God is as “a filthy garment” (Isa 64:6).

I believe the writer is speaking of practical peace and righteousness. Positionally, in Christ, Christians already are at peace (Ro 5:1-note) and already are righteous (2Cor 5:21), but practically we have a great deal to do (Php 2:12-note). Because we are at peace with God, we should be peacemakers. Because we are counted righteous, we should live righteously. Our practice should match our position. Otherwise the unbeliever will stand back and ask, “Why don’t you practice what you preach? If you don’t live like Christ says to live, why should I accept Him as my Lord and Savior?” (cf. 1John 2:6).

Pursuing peace primarily relates to loving men, and pursuing righteousness primarily to loving God. If we love men, we will be at peace with them, and if we love God we will live righteously. (MacArthur, John: Hebrews. Moody Press or Logos) (Bolding added)

J I Packer adds that...

Holiness is not a price we pay for final salvation, but is, rather, the road by which we reach it, and sanctification is the process whereby God leads us along that road (Ed: He leads but we must choose to follow!). The New Testament shows us that in the school of sanctification many modes of pain have their place–physical and mental discomfort and pressure, personal disappointment, restriction, hurt, and distress. God uses these things to activate the supernatural power that is at work in believers (2Co 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 11), to replace self–reliance with total trust in the Lord who gives strength (2Co 1:8, 9, 10f.; 2Co 12:9, 10-note), and to carry on his holy work of changing us from what we naturally are into Jesus’ moral likeness “with ever–increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Thus he prepares us for that which he has prepared for us, verifying Paul’s statement that “God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth … that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2Th 2:13, 14, 15; cf. Eph. 5:25, 26, 27; Titus 2:11, 12, 13, 14; 3:4, 5, 6, 7).

When children are allowed to do what they like and are constantly shielded from situations in which their feelings might get hurt, we describe them as spoiled. When we say that, we are saying that overindulgent parenthood not only makes them unattractive today but also fails to prepare them for the moral demands of adult life tomorrow–two evils for the price of one. But God, who always has his eye on tomorrow as he deals with us today, never spoils his children. The lifelong training course in holy living in which he enrolls us challenges and tests us to the utmost again and again. Christ like habits of action and reaction–in other words, the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control (Gal. 5:22, 23)–are ingrained most deeply as we learn to maintain them through experiences of pain and unpleasantness. Which in retrospect appear as God’s, chisel for sculpting our Souls.

There is more to sanctification than this but not less. “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons,” writes the author of Hebrews. “For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons” (Heb.12:7, 8f). Bastard offspring notoriously go uncared–for, but, says the writer, it will not be so for you who believe. Your heavenly Father loves you enough to school you in holy living. Appreciate what he is doing, then, and be ready for the rough stuff that his program for you involves...

In reality, the witness of Scripture is: “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). There is no heaven without holiness of life...

When we realize that real holiness is a real necessity, it is a tremendous encouragement to know also that by the power of the Spirit a holy life is possible even for spiritual weaklings such as we are, and so of course we should want and seek it. (Packer, J. God's Plans for You)

Jerry Bridges writes that...

the writer of Hebrews is telling us to take seriously the necessity of personal, practical holiness. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at our salvation, He comes to make us holy in practice. If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God, we need to seriously question whether our faith in Christ is genuine (cp 2Cor 13:5). It is true that this desire for holiness may be only a spark at the beginning. But that spark should grow till it becomes a flame—a desire to live a life wholly pleasing to God. True salvation brings with it a desire to be made holy. When God saves us through Christ, He not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but also from its dominion. Bishop Ryle said, “I doubt, indeed, whether we have any warrant for saying that a man can possibly be converted without being consecrated to God. More consecrated he doubtless can be, and will be as his grace increases; but if he was not consecrated to God in the very day that he was converted and born again, I do not know what conversion means.” (See Bishop Ryle's classic treatise on Holiness - This volume is considered the best book on the Christian life that has EVER been written) (Bridges, J.. The Pursuit of Holiness. Colorado Springs: Navpress)

Holiness is that which only comes from God as a free gift of His matchless grace. In this epistle it is pragmatically explained as a drawing near to God with a cleansed conscience (Heb 10:14, 22), a true acceptance of Christ's sacrifice as bringing the worshiper into fellowship with God. Holiness in Hebrews means not throwing away your confidence, not shrinking back to destruction, not falling away, not drifting, not hardening your heart, not living in continual disobedience. On the positive side, holiness in Hebrews is being holy as He is holy by holding fast, by enduring, by pressing on to maturity, by diligently seeking Him, by believing that He is, by believing that He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him.

J C Philpot...

To possess this holiness is a necessary and indispensible meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light; but this meetness must be wrought in us by the power of God’s grace, for I am sure that in ourselves of it we have none. But see its necessity. What happiness could there be in the courts of bliss unless we had a nature to enjoy it? Unless we were made capable of seeing Christ as He is, and enjoying His presence for evermore, heaven would be no heaven to us. Nothing unclean or unholy can enter there. Sanctification therefore must be wrought in us by the power of God, to make us meet for the heavenly inheritance, and He therefore communicates of His Spirit and grace to give us heavenly affections, holy desires, gracious thoughts, tender feelings; and above all that love whereby He is loved as the altogether lovely. By the sanctifying operations of His Spirit, He separates us from everything evil, plants His fear deep in the heart, that it may be a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death; and works in us a conformity to His suffering image here that we may be conformed to His glorified image hereafter. Thus there is a perfect and an imperfect sanctification—perfect by imputation, imperfect in its present operations. But the one is the pledge of the other; so that as surely as Christ now represents His people in heaven as their holy Head, so will He eventually bring them to be for ever with Him in those abodes of perfect holiness and perfect happiness which are prepared for them as mansions of eternal light and love.

Resources Related to
Holiness and Sanctification

Holiness Quotes
The Lord Who Sanctifies
The Lord Who Sanctifies 2
Holiness by J. C. Ryle
Exposition of 1Peter 1:15-16 "Be Holy as He is Holy"
The Attributes of God - His Holiness
The Holiness of God - by A W Pink
John Piper's Strategies for fighting lust
Thomas Brooks The Crown and Glory of Christianity or, Holiness the Only Way to Happiness
Why Would Anyone Want To Be Holy?
Holiness: Root of His Grace - Sammy Tippit: Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3
Thomas Watson: Sanctification - Real, Counterfeit, Necessity, Signs, Inducements, How Attained?
Cultivating Holiness by Joel R. Beeke
Holiness by Striving or Resting? Jerry Bridges (see also Mp3's related to pursuit of holiness)

WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD: choris oudeis opsetai (3SFMI) ton kurion: (Ge 32:30; Job 19:26; 33:26; Mt 5:8; 1Co 13:12; 2Cor 7:1; Ep 5:5; Gal 3:21; 1Jn 3:2,3; Re 21:24, 25, 26, 27; 22:3,4,11, 12, 13, 14, 15)

Without...

• Without shedding of blood, no remission Heb. 9:22
• Without faith no pleasing God Heb. 11:6
• Without holiness, no heaven Heb. 12:14
• Without chastisement, no sonship Heb. 12:8

Without (5565) (choris from chora = land from choros = field or place usually where cattle range or chasma = thru idea of empty expanse) as a preposition it means apart from, separate from (at a space, separately) and thus is a marker of dissociation, indicating a distinct separation from something.

No one (3762) (oudeis from ou = not + dé = but + heis = one) means literally "but absolutely not one" and thus no one, nothing, none at all. It emphasizes not even one!

See  (3708) (horao) means to discern clearly (physical or mental). it is not merely act of seeing, but also actual perception of object.

How do we see Him today? By faith (Heb 11:1-note, Heb 11:27-note) As far as our position and standing before God are concerned, we, as believers, have peace with God and are "sanctified in Christ Jesus" (Ro 5:1-note; 1Co 1:2). Without these (which means without salvation), we could never hope to see the Lord. We still need to follow diligently after peace and holiness in a practical sense, by His enabling grace, if we would see Him in faith.

Compare Jesus' own words in Mt 5:8 (note) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

There is another way some interpret this verse. Practical holiness is a proof of new life within and thus if a person is not growing more holy, it raises the possibility that he may never have been made positionally holy by grace through faith. When the Spirit of Holiness invades and indwells a person, He imparts a new desire to be pleasing to God (Ezekiel 36:27, Php 2:13-note) and this new heart is manifest by that person living more and more a life separated unto God His Father. It is a matter of cause and effect. If Christ has been received, the rivers of living water will flow.

How do we apply the truth in this exhortation? The way to finish well in life’s marathon is to pursue peace and holiness making every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy. We must learn the runner’s lean, continually stretching ourselves forward to peace and extending our entire beings toward holiness! (Php 3:12-note, Php 3:13-note, Php 3:14-note, Heb 12:1-note, Heb 12:2-note)

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J C Ryle from his article on Holiness...

“Without holiness no one will see the Lord.”--Hebrews 12:14

Our text for today opens up a subject of deep importance. That subject is practical holiness. It suggests a question that demands the attention of all professing Christians-Are we holy? Will we see the Lord?

That question can never be out of season. The wise man tells us, there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to be silent and a time to speak,” (Eccl 3:4, 7) but there is no time, no, not a day, in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?

That question concerns all ranks and situations of men and women. Some are rich and some are poor-some educated and some uneducated-some masters, and some servants; but there is no rank or state in life in which a man or woman ought not to be holy. Are we?

I ask to be heard today about this question. How does our account stand between our souls and God? In this hurrying, bustling world, let us stand still for a few minutes and consider the matter of holiness. I know I could have chosen a subject more popular and pleasant. I am sure I could have found one easier to handle. But I feel deeply I could not have chosen one more seasonable and more profitable to our souls. It is a solemn thing to hear the Word of God saying, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

I will endeavor, by God’s help, to examine what true holiness is, and the reason why it is so needful. In conclusion, I will try to point out the only way in which holiness can be attained in a plain and practical manner.

I. First, then, let me try to show what true practical holiness is-what sort of persons are those whom God calls holy.

A man may go to great lengths, and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge-Balaam had that: nor great profession-Judas Iscariot had that: nor doing lots of things-Herod did that: nor zeal for certain matters in religion-Jehu had that: nor morality and outward respectability of conduct-the rich young ruler had that: nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers-the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that: nor keeping company with godly people-Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these was holy! These things alone are not holiness. A man or woman may have any one of them, and yet never see the Lord.

What then is true practical holiness?

It is a hard question to answer. I don’t mean that there is any lack of Scripture on the subject. But I fear lest I should give a defective view of holiness, and not say all that ought to be said; or lest I should say things about it that ought not to be said, and therefore cause harm. Let me, however, try to draw a picture of holiness, that we may see it clearly before the eyes of our minds. Only let it never be forgotten, when I have said everything, that my explanation will be nothing but a poor imperfect outline at the best.

a) Holiness is the habit of agreeing with the mind with God, in accordance as we find His mind described in Scripture.

It is the habit of agreeing with God’s judgment-hating what He hates-loving what He loves-and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. The person who most completely agrees with God is the one who is the most holy person.

b) A holy person will endeavor to turn away from every known sin, and to keep every known commandment.

They will have a decided bent of mind toward God, a hearty desire to do His will-a greater fear of displeasing Him than of displeasing the world, and a love for all His ways. They will feel what Paul felt when he said, “In my inner being I delight in God’s law” (Ro 7:22-note), and what David felt when he said, “I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path” (Psalm 119:128-note).

c) A holy person will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ.

They will not only live the life of faith in Him, and draw from Him all their daily peace and strength, but they will also strive to have the mind that was in Him, and to be “conformed to His likeness” (Ro 8:29-note). It will be their aim to bear with and forgive others, just as Christ forgave us-to be unselfish, just as Christ did not please Himself-to walk in love, just as Christ loved us-to be meek and humble, even as Christ made Himself nothing and humbled Himself. They will remember that Christ was a faithful witness for the truth-that He did not come to do His own will-that it was His food and drink to do His Father’s will-that He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others-that He was meek and patient in spite of undeserved insults-that He thought more of godly poor men than of kings-that He was full of love and compassion to sinners-that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin-that He did not seek the praise of men, when He might have had it-that He went about doing good-that He was separate from worldly people-that He prayed continually-that He would not even let His nearest relatives stand in His way when God’s work was to be done. These things a holy person will try to remember. By them they will endeavor to shape their course in life. They will lay to heart the saying of John, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1Jn 2:6); and the saying of Peter, that “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1Peter 2:21-note). Happy is the person who has learned to make Christ his “everything,” both for salvation and example! A great deal of time would be saved, and a great deal of sin prevented, if men and women would often ask themselves the question, “What would Christ have said and done, if He were in my place?”

d) A holy person will pursue meekness, endurance, gentleness, patience, kindness, and control of their tongue.

They will put up with a lot, tolerate a great deal, overlook a lot, and be slow to talk of demanding their rights. We see a clear example of this in the behavior of David when Shimei cursed him-and of Moses when Aaron and Miriam spoke against him (2Sa 16:10; Nu 12:3).

e) A holy person will pursue self-control and self-denial.

They will labor to subdue the desires of their body-to crucify their flesh with all of its affections and lusts-to curb their passions-to restrain their worldly inclinations, lest at any time they break loose. Oh, what a word of warning is that of the Lord Jesus to the Apostles, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life” (Luke 21:34); and that of the Apostle Paul, “I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1Corinthians 9:27).

f) A holy person will pursue love and brotherly kindness.

They will endeavor to observe the golden rule of doing to others as they would have others do to them, and speaking as they would want others to speak to them. They will be full of affection towards their brothers and sisters in Christ-towards their bodies, their property, their characters, their feelings, and their souls. “He who loves his fellowman,” says Paul, “has fulfilled the law” (Ro 13:8-note). They will detest all lying, slandering, backbiting, cheating, dishonesty, and unfairness, even in the smallest things. They will strive to adorn their religion in all of their outward demeanor, and to make it lovely and beautiful in the eyes of everyone around them. Sadly, what condemning words are found in the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, and the Sermon on the Mount, when laid alongside the conduct of many professing Christians!

g) A holy person will pursue a spirit of mercy and benevolence towards others.

They will not stand idle all day long. They will not be content with simply not harming others-they will try to do good to others. They will strive to be useful in their day and generation, and to lessen the spiritual needs and misery of those around them, as far as they can. Dorcas was such a person “always doing good and helping the poor,” which she did,”-not merely planning to do it or just talking about it, but she actually did it. Paul was another such person, stating: “I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well,” he says, “If I love you more, will you love me less” (Acts 9:36; 2Corinthians 12:15).

h) A holy person will pursue purity of heart.

They will dread all filthiness and uncleanness of spirit, and seek to avoid everything that might draw them into it. They know their own heart is like tinder, and will diligently keep clear of the sparks of temptation. Who will dare to talk of strength when David can fall? There are many hints to be gleaned from the ceremonial law. Under it the man who only touched a bone, or a dead body, or a grave, or a diseased person, at once became unclean in the sight of God. And these things were pictures and figures. Few Christians are ever too watchful and too particular about this point.

i) A holy person will pursue the fear of God.

I do not mean the fear of a slave, who only works because they are afraid of punishment, and would be idle if they did not dread discovery. Rather, I mean the fear of a child, who wishes to live and move, as if they were always in their father’s sight, because he loves them. What a noble example Nehemiah gives us of this! When he became Governor at Jerusalem he might have invoke taxation on the Jews, requiring money from them for his support. The former Governors had done so. There was no one to blame him if he did. But he says, “But out of reverence for God I did not act like that” (Nehemiah 5:15).

j) A holy man will pursue humility.

They will desire, in humility, to consider others better than themselves. They will see more evil in their own heart than in any other in the world. They will understand something of Abraham’s feeling, when he says, “I am nothing but dust and ashes;”-and Jacob’s, when he says, “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant;”-and Job’s, when he says, “I am unworthy;”-and Paul’s, when he says, “I am the worst of sinners.” Bradford, that holy and faithful martyr of Christ, would sometimes sign his letters with these words, “A most miserable sinner, John Bradford.” Good old Mr. Grimshaw’s last words, when he lay on his deathbed, were these, “Here goes an unprofitable servant.”

k) A holy man will pursue faithfulness in all the duties and relationships in life.

They will try, not merely to fulfill their duties and responsibilities, as well as others who have no care or concern for their souls, but even better, because they have higher motives, they will try to be of more help than the others. Those words of Paul should never be forgotten, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,”-“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Colossians 3:23-note; Romans 12:11-note). Holy persons should aim at doing everything well, and should be ashamed of allowing themselves to do anything poorly if they can help it. Like Daniel, they should seek to give no “basis for charges against themselves, “unless it has something to do with the law of their God” (Daniel 6:5). They should strive to be good husbands and good wives, good neighbors, good friends, good citizens, good in private and good in public, good in the place of business and good in their homes. Indeed, holiness is worth little, if it does not bear this kind of fruit. The Lord Jesus puts a searching question to His people, when He says, “What are you doing more than others?” Mt 5:47-note).

l) Last, but not least, a holy person will pursue spiritual mindedness.

They will endeavor to set their affections entirely on things above, and to hold very loosely the things of earth. They will not neglect the daily business of their life; but the first place in their mind and thoughts will be given to the life to come. They will aim to live like those whose treasure is in heaven, and to pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim traveling to their home. To commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of His people-these things will be the holy person’s principal enjoyments. They will value every thing and place and company, in the same proportion as it draws them nearer to God. They will enter into something of David’s feeling, when he says, “My soul clings to you.” “You are my portion, O LORD” (Psalm 63:8-note; Ps 119:57-note).

Such is the outline of holiness. Such is the character that is pursued by those who are called “holy.” Such are the main features of a holy man and a holy woman. (Read the complete article on Hebrews 12:14: Holiness)

Steven Cole writes that...

We must pursue peace and purity to finish the Christian race: Stay on course (Heb 12:14)! The course entails the two great commandments. Pursuing “peace with all men” is the second commandment, to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:39). To pursue “the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” is the first commandment, to “love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Mt. 22:37). Jesus links these two themes (in reverse order) in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Mt. 5:8, 9-note). The link between pursuing peace and sanctification shows that we must not pursue peace at any cost. As Paul puts it (Ro 12:18-note), “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” His words imply the reality of living in this fallen world, that sometimes it is not possible to be at peace with everyone. Sometimes the other person clings to bitterness and hatred, and you can’t do anything more than you’ve done to be reconciled. At other times, to make peace would require compromising obedience to God, either morally or doctrinally. You can’t sacrifice personal holiness or commitment to God’s truth for the sake of peace. But, whenever you can do so without compromise, the race set before us includes pursuing both peace with others and purity before God....

B. Pursue the purity without which no one will see the Lord.

The NASB uses “sanctification,” but that doesn’t alliterate with peace as purity does! Some versions use “holiness.” The idea is, moral purity, both inwardly and outwardly. It points to a heart that is growing in conformity with God’s standards of purity or holiness. As Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, moral purity must begin on the heart level. Adultery, in God’s sight, is not just the physical act, but also the lust of the heart (Mt. 5:27, 28, 29, 30-note). Jesus indicated that if a man will not judge his lust on the thought level, his whole body will be thrown into hell! That is what our text means when it says, “without which no one will see the Lord.” It means, if you’re not growing in sanctification (purity), you will not go to heaven!

We need to clarify that with two things.

First, it does not mean that we earn heaven by our righteous behavior. The Bible is abundantly clear that heaven is God’s free gift to all that trust in Christ as Savior and Lord (Ro 6:23-note).

Second, it does not mean that anyone can be perfectly holy or sanctified in this life. Some Christians teach that believers can achieve a state of sinless perfection or total sanctification in this life. But the Bible is clear that we must strive against indwelling sin as long as we live (Heb. 12:4-note; Gal. 5:16,17-note; Ro 8:12,13-note).

So, what does our text mean? It means that those whose hearts have been regenerated by God's grace will pursue a course of purity or holiness (1Co 6:9, 10, 11; Eph. 5:3-11-note; Col. 3:5, 6, 7,8-note; 1Jn 3:7, 8, 9, 10). They may sin often, but they do not remain in sin. They hate it, they confess it and turn from it, and they fight against it with the spiritual weapons that God provides (Ep 6:10-20-note). They build into their lives safeguards to avoid sin. They renew their minds through Scripture, hiding God’s word in their hearts, so that they might not sin against Him (Ps. 119:11-note). It is a lifelong pursuit, but without it, no one will see the Lord. They won’t go to heaven! Heaven will be a place of absolute holiness. God is holy, surrounded by His holy angels, who cover their faces and proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:3). The saints in heaven are all perfectly holy, never to sin again. If you’re not pursuing a course of holiness now, you’d be awfully uncomfortable in such a holy place, not to mention the fact that you’d ruin it! So everyone who has been rescued from sin and judgment by the cross wants to please the Lord who died for him by pursuing purity. (Read Pastor Cole's full Sermon)

SEE TO IT THAT NO ONE COMES SHORT OF THE GRACE OF GOD: episkopountes (PAPMPN) me tis husteron (PAPMPN) apo tes charitos tou theou: (He 2:1,2; 3:12; 4:1,11; 6:11; 10:23-35; Deuteronomy 4:9; Proverbs 4:23; 1Corinthians 9:24, 25, 26, 27; 1Corinthians 10:12; 2Corinthians 6:1; 13:5; 2Peter 1:10; 3:11,14; 2Jn 1:8; Jude 1:20,21) (Luke 22:32; 1Corinthians 13:8; Galatians 5:4)

Deuteronomy 29:18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit (wormwood; Lxx = pikria)

Comment: Moses reminded the people of the gross idolatry they witnessed while enslaved in Egypt and then while traveling through the wilderness (cp Dt 29:16, 17). If they witnessed it with hearts devoted to the Lord, they couldn't help but be repulsed by what they saw, and they surely wouldn't want to participate in it. Nobody in Israel—no individual, family, or tribe—was to get involved in idolatry; for any idolater could become a "bitter root" that could defile the whole nation. Hebrews 12:15 applies this same warning to local assemblies of believers, for "one sinner destroys much good" (Ec 9:18). Even if the offenders kept their sins hidden and were confident that they could escape judgment, the Lord would know and would judge. There could be no forgiveness; they would be plagued and killed and their names would be blotted out from under heaven (Dt 9:14; Ex 32:32, 33). They would suffer from all the plagues named in Deuteronomy 28. (Wiersbe)

Wormwood (Dt 29:18; Pr 5:4; Jer 9:15; 23:15; La 3:15, 19; Am 5:7; 6:12) was a plant known for its bitter pulp and often associated with poison. Therefore Israel was warned to be extremely vigilant against the sin of idolatry when they entered the land of Canaan and faced the temptations of the lewd, debauched, sexually charged practices associated with pagan idol worship.

Calvin: As soon, therefore, as any one should endeavor to excite his brethren to worship false gods, God commands him to be plucked up, lest the poison should burst forth, and the bitter root should produce its natural fruits in the corruption of others.

Hard Sayings: Just as one apostate in Israel could influence many neighbors to serve gods other than Yahweh, so one apostate among these Christians could lead others to forsake their faith.

Pulpit Commentary: The herb is thus described by Umbreit: “It is a plant toward two feet high, belonging to the genus Artemisia (species Artemisia absinthium), which produces a very firm stalk with many branches, grayish leaves, and small, almost round, pendent blossoms. It has a bitter and saline taste, and seems to have been regarded in the East as also a poison, of which the frequent combination with rosh gives an intimation.”

See to it (1983) (episkopeo [word study] from epí = upon or intensifying the already existing idea in verb + skopeo = regard, give attention to, look at, contemplate) means literally to look upon, and thus to observe, to examine the state of affairs of something, to look after or to oversee. In the NT, episkopeo is used only in Hebrews 12:15 and 1 Peter 5:2-note, the latter used to describe the work of shepherding the flock. It expresses careful regard of those in position of responsibility.

Vincent writes that...

Looking diligently (episkopountes) gives diligently as the force of epi, but epi signifies direction rather than intensity. The idea is exercising oversight.

Wuest paraphrases this verse better conveying the meaning of episkopeo...

See to it is in the plural, making it everyone’s responsibility to make sure no one misses the grace of God. Continually considering, taking heed of the critical importance of the grace of God, remembering that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. The word expresses the careful regard of those who occupy a position of responsibility (as a physician, or a superintendent) The same word is used in 1Pe 5:2 (see note) where the elders are exhorted to take the oversight of the local church. The noun is used in [Acts 20:28] where Paul calls the elders, overseers. The idea here is that these Jews should exercise oversight over their lives to the end that they do not fail of the grace of God.

The next two verses (He 12:16, 17-notes) seem to present four distinct sins to avoid. But there is a strong suggestion in the context that this is another warning against the single sin of apostasy and that these four sins are all related to it.

“fall back from,” implying a previous attainment. The present participle marks something in progress: “lest any one be falling back.”

Hustereo - 16x in 16v - Matt. 19:20; Mk. 10:21; Lk. 15:14; 22:35; Jn. 2:3; Rom. 3:23; 1Co. 1:7; 8:8; 12:24; 2 Co. 11:5, 9; 12:11; Phil. 4:12; Heb. 4:1; 11:37; 12:15

Grace (5485)(charis) is a word with a number of meanings in the NT, the specific nuance being dependent on the context.

Lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any person among them should fail of grace offered in the gospel to it, and never have it, Titus 2:11-12; or apostatize from the profession of it, by seduction or persecution, Heb 4:1; 10:38; 2Co 6:1: compare Ga 1:6; 3:3.

The grace of God is undeserved, unsought, and unbought (except that it is made available by the precious blood of the Lamb of God). The infinitely high price of redemption was paid for by

Glorious (Ep 1:6-note)
Abundant (Acts 4:33)
Rich (Ep 1:7-note)
Manifold (many-sided, multi-colored, variegated) (1Pe 4:10-note)
Sufficient (sufficing, enough, adequate - there is never a shortage) (2Cor 12:9-note; 2Co 12:10-note)

THAT NO ROOT OF BITTERNESS SPRINGING UP CAUSES TROUBLE, AND BY IT MANY BE DEFILED: me tis rhiza pikrias ano phuousa (PAPFSN) enochle (3SPAS) kai di autes mianthosin (3PAPS) polloi: (He 3:12; Dt 29:18; 32:32; Is 5:4,7; Je 2:21; Mt 7:16, 17, 18) (Trouble - Josh 6:18; 7:25,26; 22:17-20; Ep 5:3; Col 3:5 ) (Ex 32:21; 1Ki 14:16; Ac 20:30,31; 1Co 5:6; 15:33; Gal 2:13; 2Ti 2:16,17; 2Pe 2:1,2,18)

See related topic - Forgiveness and Unforgiveness

For all you horticulturists out there, does not this passage present a powerful picture of the acrid fruit reaped when we we plant the seeds of bitterness in our heart?!

Hunt (Biblical Counseling Keys) has these insights on bitterness...

Resentment toward God and those who have not fulfilled your expectations will grow bitter roots that destroy acceptance of yourself and others.

If you don't forgive, you will develop a root of bitterness and a bitter root will grow bitter fruit.... You will become bitter.

Unresolved anger produces bitterness. And the Bible links bitterness with being in bondage to sin. (Acts 8:23)

Give the situation to God. Jesus understands how much you have been wronged. When He was being persecuted, Jesus knew that the heavenly Father would judge justly... in His way, in His time. And you can know the same. Your trial will make you either bitter or better.

Following conflict, what keeps your heart from a negative focus? Jesus said, "Love your enemies."...If you are saying, "but they really aren't enemies," realize that if someone evokes resentment, bitterness, or hatred, that person is an enemy to your spirit. Because praying for your enemy is commanded by Christ, believers should obey this directive and not regard this as optional. And because praying for your enemy protects your heart from bitterness, you should want to obey this directive in heart and in deed. One approach is to pray "the fruit of the Spirit" for your offender. And because you are willing to "bless" your enemy, the Bible says that you will inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9)

R Moffatt Gantry wrote the following that relates to the root of bitterness...

Self (flesh) is the tumor of the soul, and it grows by what it feeds on. You cannot cure it by a few good resolutions. It requires the most drastic treatment, and Christ prescribes crucifixion as the only way of destroying this root of every kind of bitterness. (Ed: Note that flesh  is still flesh even after we have been crucified with Christ, but now the battle can we waged victoriously as we surrender to the indwelling Spirit of grace).

Springing up (5453) (phuo) literally means to spring up in regard to a seed germinating and breaking through the surface of the ground. The use is figurative of course in this verse.

Phuo - 3x in 3v - Luke 8:6, 8; Heb 12:15. NAS = grew(2), springing(1).

Springing up is in the present tense which pictures the springing up in progress. The root is gradually revealing its pernicious character.

There are none so bitter against the truth as those who have departed from it. - James Philip

Causes trouble (1776) (enochleo from en = in + ochléo = disturb) means to excite disturbance, to trouble, annoy. The idea is to interfere or bother to the point of causing discomfort.

The only other NT use is by Luke who describes an episode from the life of Jesus....

And He descended with them, and stood on a level place; and there was a great multitude of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. (Luke 6:17, 18) (Interesting use!)

Vincent has an interesting note on enochleo writing that it is...

From ochlos, a crowd or mob (Ed note: Thayer has a similar note), with the idea of want of arrangement and discipline, and therefore of confusion and tumult. Hence it is applied to the noise and tumult of a crowd, and so passes into the sense of the trouble and annoyance caused by these, and of trouble generally, like the Latin turbae. Thus Herodotus says of Croesus, when on the funeral-pile he uttered the name of Solon, and the interpreters begged him to explain what he meant, “and as they pressed for an answer and grew troublesome” — I., 86. Frequent in medical language. Thus Hippocrates, “troubled with a spasm or tetanus.”

Be defiled (3392) (miaino [word study]) means to contaminate, corrupt, taint, defile, tinge, pollute, make "dirty", make "unclean". Originally the verb miaino meant to stain, as with color, and then came to mean defile as by staining (with color). The verb defile actually conveys the idea of giving something color by painting or staining it. Homer for example has this phrase "Tinges the white ivory with purple."  In classical Greek, miaino is the standing word for profaning something. Thus Plato wrote "And if a homicide... without purification pollutes the agora, or the games, or the temples,” etc. Figuratively in the NT miaino means to defile and stain and speaks especially of cultic and ceremonial impurity which causes something to be unacceptable.

Miaino - 5x in 4v - Jn 18:28; Titus 1:15; Heb 12:15; Jude 1:8. NAS = defile(1), defiled(4).

Miaino - 113x in the Lxx - Ge 34:5, 13, 27; 49:4; Ex 20:25; Lev 5:3; 11:24, 43f; 13:3, 8, 11, 14f, 20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 44, 59; 15:31f; 18:24f, 27f, 30; 20:3; 21:1, 3f, 11; 22:5, 8; Nu 5:3, 13f, 19f, 27ff; 6:7, 9, 12; 19:13, 20; 35:34; Deut 21:23; 24:4; 2 Kgs 23:8, 10, 13, 16; 2Chr 29:19; 36:14; Ps 78:1; 105:39; Job 31:11; Hos 5:3; 6:10; 9:4; Hag 2:13f; Is 43:28; 47:6; Jer 2:7, 23, 33; 3:1f; 7:30; Ezek 4:14; 5:11; 7:22, 24; 9:7; 14:11; 18:6, 11, 15; 20:7, 18, 26, 30f, 43; 22:3f, 11; 23:7, 13, 17, 30, 38; 24:13; 36:17; 37:23; 44:25; Da 7:26; 11:31f

As an aside this verb miaino is used some 30 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (which had about 104 uses!) and thus would likely have been a very familiar term to the Jewish readers (many of whom used the Septuagint as their primary OT Scripture).

The writer is quoting from Moses who referred to a root of bitterness in Deuteronomy...

We must be alert. Every fellowship of any size has a few “bitter roots” who follow false gods and subtly poison those around them. If we are to run well, the price is vigilance—especially in the good times.

Matthew Poole...

And thereby many be defiled; lest by but one such poisonous root, a whole church of Christians may be infected and poisoned, their sin being as apt to spread and diffuse itself, as leaven, 1Co 5:6, to taint the whole lump, Ga 5:9: and how early, even in the apostles' time, for want of obeying this caution, were the primitive churches corrupted, both in doctrine and morals, by loose, filthy heretics among them!

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Self-pity weeps on the devil’s shoulder, turning to Satan for comfort. His invitation is: “Come unto me all you that are grieved, peeved, misused, and disgruntled, and I will spread on the sympathy. You will find me a never-failing source of the meanest attitudes and the most selfish sort of misery. At my altar you may feel free to fail and fall, and there to sigh and fret. There I will feed your soul on fears, and indulge your ego with envy and jealousy, bitterness and spite. There I will excuse you from every cross, duty, and hardship, and permit you to yield unto temptation.” (From Green, M. P.  Illustrations for Biblical Preaching)

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The Cure for Bitterness is a Heavenly Vision (Pun intended) - The story of the blind songwriter Fanny Crosby (Click for additional bio and links to many of her hymns) who wrote more that 8,000 songs is a powerful example of a heart that refused to let the seeds of bitterness and unforgiveness germinate. When Fanny was only 6 weeks old a minor eye inflammation developed and as some tell the story, the doctor who treated her was a quack and the potion he prescribed resulted in her becoming totally and permanently blind! Talk about having a reason to be bitter! And yet this Spirit filled woman harbored no bitterness against the physician and was quoted as having said of him

If I could meet him now, I would say thank you, over and over again for making me blind.

Indeed Fanny Crosby considered her blindness to be a gift from God to help her write the 8000 hymns that flowed so freely from her pen. Warren Wiersbe in commenting on Fanny's life wrote that...

It was said of another blind hymn writer, George Matheson, that God made him blind so he could see clearly in other ways and become a guide to men. This same tribute could be applied to Fanny Crosby, who triumphed over her handicap and used it to the glory of God. (Editorial comment: Here are words from his most popular hymn)

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

And so when God allowed life to give Fanny Crosby "lemons", instead of choosing bitterness, she turned the lemons into some of the sweetest hymns ever penned! In short, Fanny filled with the Spirit and the grace of God, turned tragedy into triumph, becoming better instead of bitter! May her tribe increase!

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English essayist and critic Charles Lamb (1775–1834) once commented about a person he did not want to meet:
“Don’t introduce me to that man. I want to go on hating him, and I can’t hate someone I know.” Our Daily Bread

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Myth: "You must forget in order to forgive." Truth: Forgiving is not forgetting. The key is how it is remembered.... Forgiving is remembering without bitterness, hatred or resentment (June Hunt - Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys)

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Bitterness always inflicts a deeper wound on the person who harbors it than the person against whom it is directed. A man who had car trouble on a lonely road asked a farmer to tow him to the nearest garage. On the way his wife was protesting to her husband the fee the farmer charged. “It is scandalous,” she said, “to charge us ten dollars for towing this car only three miles.” To which her husband replied, “Never mind, dear. I’m having my revenge—I’ve got my brakes on.” Many a person has thought himself to be getting revenge, but all the time the major damage was being done to him. (Speaker's Quote Book)

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Robert Louis Stevenson, in his Picturesque Notes of Edinburgh, tells the story of two unmarried sisters who shared a single room. As people are apt to do who live in close quarters, the sisters had a falling out, which Stevenson says was “on some point of controversial divinity.” In other words, they disagreed over some aspect of theology. The controversy was so bitter that they never spoke again (ever!). There were no words, either kind or spiteful — just silence. Nevertheless, possibly because of a lack of means, or because of the innate Scottish fear of scandal, they continued to keep house together in the single room. A chalk-line was drawn across the floor to separate their two domains. For years they coexisted in hateful silence. Each woman’s meals, baths, and family visitors were exposed to the other’s unfriendly silence. At night each went to bed listening to the heavy breathing of her enemy. Thus, the two sisters (ostensibly daughters of the Church!) continued the rest of their miserable lives. They probably were not true Christians, because Christians are not to resist reconciliation and forgiveness. (Hughes, R. K.: Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ. Crossway Books or Logos)

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The Burden of Bitterness - Luis Palau writes...

A friend of mine went through a massive emotional breakdown. After his recovery, we went for a walk. "Luis," he told me, "don't ever allow anyone to make you bitter."

He told me about his breakdown which proved very embarrassing.

"My problems began when I got so worked up about the contractor who didn't build my basement and driveway right. I hated what he'd done to my home. And since he lived next door, I saw him almost daily. Each time I saw him, my anger and bitterness grew even more intense until I finally cracked."

No wonder God's Word is so emphatic: "Get rid of all bitterness" (Ephesians 4:31). Why? Because if a "bitter root grows up" within you, it will "cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). (Luis Palau: How to Renew Your Spiritual Passion, Discovery House, October, 1994)

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In much the same way we can destroy ourselves by our enmity and hostility directed toward others. The effects of holding a grudge are very serious. In fact, modern medicine has shown that emotions such as bitterness and anger can cause problems such as headaches, backaches, ulcers, high blood pressure, even contributing to the increased incidence of heart attacks, etc. When we do not love our enemies (Mt 5:44-note where "love" = present imperative - keep on loving them in effect "70 x 7"!) but strike back at them, we are usurping God's prerogative to mete out justice (Ro 12:17-note, Ro 12:18, 19, 20, 21-note). When we seek to take our own revenge, beloved, we in effect are aiming the torpedo at our own heart and are sure to incur severe damage ourselves. For the sake of God's Holy Name and the forgiveness wrought in our behalf by the Cross of Christ, may the Spirit give each of us the necessary desire and power in the "knick of time" so that we think before we act in haste and hatred. Amen (Quoted in part by Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose - Pathway to Living Faith James)

His father and I were good friends. The man whom I shall call John died suddenly, leaving a devastating shock. Years later, John, Jr., moved to the city where we were located. Hearing I was serving a church in the community, he looked us up, and eventually affiliated with our congregation. I was delighted to think he wanted to be part of our fellowship. Like his father, I assumed he, too, was a commendable churchman. I soon learned, however, that he was bitter over his father's death, was blaming God, and trying to punish Him for taking his father in the prime of life. When Victory Sunday arrived—the day we underwrite the program needs of the church—young John wrote a big "0" on his pledge card. This bright, attractive, articulate man with a splendid business connection had permitted bitterness to consume his potential, distort his personality, and sour his soul. The antidote to bitterness is acceptance and forgiveness. What if God had retaliated for the crucifixion of His son? The cross would be just another death marker; there would be no church, no salvation! (1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching)

Vindictiveness - It is said that when Otto Von Bismarck surrendered to resentment, he ate too much, drank too much, talked too much, and spent his nights rehearsing conflicts real and imaginary. He carried the bile of bitterness and the inner seethings of resentment. When he had no immediate cause for hate, he would dredge up a skeleton from the past and chew on it for awhile. One morning Bismarck proudly announced, "I have spent the whole night hating." So, the weight of resentment eventually broke his health. He grew a beard to hide the twitching muscles of his face. Jaundice, gastric ulcers, gallstones, and shingles wracked his body. After ascending to enviable prominence and power, he spent his sullen retirement in shameful vindictiveness. When a publisher offered him a large sum of money for his life's story, he began to write with a reckless disregard for truth, heaping hate on men and women long dead. Hatred was Bismarck's passion. He died at the age of eighty-three, an embittered, cynical, desperately lonely old man, miserable and self-consumed. (1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching)

THAT [THERE BE] NO IMMORAL OR GODLESS PERSON LIKE ESAU WHO SOLD HIS OWN BIRTHRIGHT FOR A SINGLE MEAL: me tis pornos e bebelos os Esau os anti (Idea of exchange) broseos mias apedeto (3SAMI) ta prototokia heautou: (He 13:4; Mark 7:21; Acts 15:20,29; 1Corinthians 5:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,9, 10, 11; 6:15, 16, 17, 18, 19 20; 10:8; 2Co 12:21; Gal 5:19, 20, 21; Ep 5:3,5; Col 3:5; 1Th 4:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Re 2:20, 21, 22, 23; 21:8; 22:15 )

Pornos - 10x in 10v - 1Co 5:9, 10, 11; 6:9; Ep 5:5-note; 1Ti 1:10; Heb. 12:16; He 13:4-note; Rev. 21:8-note; Re 22:15-note NAS =  fornicators(2), immoral(2), immoral men(1), immoral people(2), immoral person(1), immoral persons(2).

A godless person is one who has no regard for God, whose focus is only on physical pleasures. Like Esau such a one would not consider the birthright in the Abrahamic Covenant of any value and thus he despise it

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised (Lxx = phaulizo a verb not found in the NT but means to hold cheap, worthless, of no account, good-for-nothing) his birthright. (Genesis 25:34).

Calvin says of such that the godless are

those in whom the love of the world so holds sway and prevails, that they forget heaven as men who are carried away by ambition, addicted to money and riches, given over to gluttony, and entangled with other kinds of pleasures, and give the spiritual kingdom of Christ either no place or the last place in their concerns.

He thought so little of the promises of God to Abraham and Isaac, to which he was the primary heir as the firstborn, that he sold those rights to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew! So unimportant was this transaction in his eyes that later he assumed he could still receive the blessing which accompanied the right of firstborn. Though his brother Jacob had tricked their blind father into conferring the blessing upon himself, Esau still tried to change his father’s words and gain the blessing he had sold. His father could not and would not change his mind, so Esau lost both the birth right and the blessing. That is the secular mentality. It has little time for worship or service, but it is intent upon material gain and earthly advantage. Professing Christians who claim to be born again but who live no differently than non-Christians are repeating the godlessness of Esau. Like him they too will find a surprising rejection in the last day. Jesus has them in mind when he says, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Mt 7:23-note).  (Hebrews 12:14-17 Dangers to Watch For)

Apostasy is illustrated by Esau. He had no real appreciation and no desire for the birthright and therefore he willingly bartered it for the momentary gratification of his appetite. As recorded earlier we saw that "Esau despised his birthright." He was the prototype of an ungodly man who had no affinity for the things of God (in essence trodding the Holy things of God under foot). He illustrates the one who has had the light of the truth but who falls away (He 6:6-note) , who sins willfully (He 10:26-note) and there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

The little choices we must make
Will chart the course of life we take;
We either choose the path of light
Or wander off in darkest night. —D. De Haan

Why pay the high price for this world's bargains
when eternal life is free?

FOR YOU KNOW THAT EVEN AFTERWARDS WHEN HE DESIRED TO INHERIT THE BLESSING: iste (2PRAI) gar hoti kai metepeita  thelon (PAPMSN) kleronomesai (AAN) ten eulogian:

Even afterwards - This refers to Moses record in Genesis 27...

Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me."
32 And Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" And he said, "I am your son, your first-born, Esau."
33 Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!"
35 And he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and has taken away your blessing." (Genesis 27:31-35)

Blessing (eulogia) - 16 times in the NT - Ro. 15:29; 16:18; 1 Co. 10:16; 2 Co. 9:5f; Gal. 3:14; Eph. 1:3; Heb. 6:7; 12:17; Jas. 3:10; 1 Pet. 3:9; Rev. 5:12f; 7:12

HE WAS REJECTED FOR HE FOUND NO PLACE FOR REPENTANCE THOUGH HE SOUGHT FOR IT WITH TEARS: apedokimasthe (3SAPI) metanoias gar topon ouch heuren (3SAAI)  kaiper meta dakruon ekzetesas (AAPMSN) auten: (He 6:8; Proverbs 1:24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; Jer 6:30; Matthew 7:23; 25:11,12; Luke 13:24, 25, 26, 27 ) (He 6:4,5, 6; 10:26, 27, 28, 29 )

Was rejected (593)(apodokimazo [word study] from apó =off, away from, a marker of dissociation, implying a rupture from a former association  + dokimazo = approve after examination - proving a thing worthy or genuine. Put to the test for the purpose of approving - Ro 1:28-note) means to judge someone or something as not being worthy or genuine  and thus someone or something to be rejected. In classic Greek there is a secular use describing coins rejected as counterfeit or after scrutiny or trial to reject a candidate because of lack of qualification. Reject after testing or scrutinizing. Declare useless. Throw out as the result of a test! (think of the tragic absurdity this meaning conveys in light of the NT uses that speak of rejection of the Precious Messiah!). The word means to be rejected completely!

Apodokimazo in context speaks of a deliberate choice and one which is final and thus it speaks of no second chance for Esau (aorist tense = past completed action) .

NIDNTT has this note on the root and the related words (especially in classic Greek)...

The root dek-, dechomai, accept, gives two verbal derivatives dokeo and dokao. The former means (intrans.) to appear, have the appearance, (trans.) to think, believe, consider right; the latter means expect. Derivatives of the former are: (a) dokimos, trustworthy, reliable, tested, recognized, used as a technical term for genuine, current coinage, but also applied to persons enjoying general esteem; (b) adokimos, untested, not respected; (c) indirectly also dokimion, test, probation; (d) from dokimos are also derived dokimazo, test, pronounce good, establish by trial, recognize, and apodokimazo, disapprove of, reject, blame; dokimasis and dokimasia, investigation, testing (preparatory to installing in an office); dokime, approved character, trial.  (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) 

Most of the NT uses (see below) reflect reflection of the Messiah by His own people, the Jews (cp Jn 1:11, 12, 13)

In fact Larry Richards writes that...

Apodokimazo indicates putting something or someone to the test and rejecting that object or person as unfit or not genuine. This word is used in nearly every instance of the Jewish people's examination of Jesus and their rejection of him as the Messiah, the Son of God.

Apodokimazo - 9 times in the NT - Matt. 21:42; Mk. 8:31; 12:10; Lk. 9:22; 17:25; 20:17; Heb. 12:17; 1Pet. 2:4, 7

Matthew 21:42  Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes '? (Quoting Ps 118:22, 23-note, Isa 28:16 - When Christ, the Stone, presented Himself to the builders—the leaders of Israel, they had no place for Him in their building plans. They declared Him as useless and threw Him aside!) (Related Resource: Christ, the Rock, the Stone - Click here for Scripture chain & chart - this would make a great Sunday School series)

Mark 8:31  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Comment: Wuest writes that "The religious leaders of Israel put Jesus to the test for the purpose of approving Him as Messiah, for they were looking for their Messiah. But He did not meet their specifications. He was not the kind of a Messiah the Jews wanted. They wanted a military leader who would liberate them from the yoke of Rome, not a Saviour who would free them from their bondage to sin. The article ("the") appears (in the original Greek) before each word, elders, chief priests, and scribes, saddling each, Expositors says, with his separate responsibility. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

Mark 12:10 "Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone;

Comment: Wuest writes that "The leaders of Israel investigated His claims, found them to be true, substantiated by the miracles He performed (John 3:2), yet with all this evidence, rejected Him as Messiah because He did not meet their specifications. They were looking for a Messiah who would deliver Israel from the despotism of Rome, not from the dominion of sin. But this Messiah will some day become the King of kings and Lord of lords over the earth as the Head of the Millennial empire, the Headstone of the Corner.

Luke 9:22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day."

Luke 17:25 "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Luke 20:17 But He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone'?

Hebrews 12:17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

1 Peter 2:4-note  And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God,

1 Peter 2:7-note This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, "The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,"

Apodokimazo is used 6 times in the Septuagint (LXX)...

Psalm 118:22-note The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.

Jeremiah 6:30 They call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.

Jeremiah 7:29 'Cut off your hair and cast it away, And take up a lamentation on the bare heights; For the LORD has rejected and forsaken The generation of His wrath.'

Jeremiah 8:9 "The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, And what kind of wisdom do they have? (What an oxymoron - "wise men" rejecting the only source of true wisdom! Deception is an amazing thing!)

Jeremiah 14:19 Hast Thou completely rejected Judah? Or hast Thou loathed Zion? Why hast Thou stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

Jeremiah 31:37 Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done," declares the LORD.
 

Sought (1567) (ekzeteo from ek = out or to intensify the meaning + zeteo = to seek) means to seek out, to look for, to search diligently for anything lost. This verb implies that the seeker exerts considerable effort and care in learning something.

Ekzeteo - 7 times in the NT - Lk. 11:50, 51; Acts 15:17; Rom. 3:11; Heb. 11:6; 12:17; 1 Pet. 1:10

The point is that Esau showed a worldly sorrow (for getting caught, for not being able to enjoy the benefit of the blessing, but he totally lacked any desire for the "Blesser", for God Himself). There was no "godly sorrow" such as Paul writes about explaining that it is...

the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.(2Cor 7:10, 11)

There was no "repentance without regret" and thus the result for Esau was death. What an irony. He so despised his birthright that he sold it for a cup of soup claiming that if he didn't get it he would die (Ge 25:32). He was prophetic! He did die but not like he thought.

"O Jerusalem .... how often would I have gathered thy children together .... and ye would not!"-- Mat 23:37.