Is Your Bible Bitter or Sweet?
Do you see the message of the Bible as bitter or sweet?
In Revelation chapter 10, the Apostle John was not merely a recipient of the message; he was also a participant in the message. “And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, You must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:10-11). How could God’s message be sweet and bitter to the apostle? Was he misusing God’s revelation? After all, he was supposed to digest it and declare it. But why was it bitter and sweet to him? The message of the Bible is bitter with the penalties of man’s rebellion, yet sweet with the promises of our Savior’s redemption.
Why did the Scriptures have both effects on the apostle? Why sweetness and bitterness? With some things, it’s all in the form that things appear, the way you use them, the way you look at them. Is air a good thing? A gentle breeze is sweet, but a tornado can be devastating. A famous prank highlights the dangers of “dihydrogen monoxide” which kills people every year. But the chemical formula, expressed another way, is H2O. You need water; it is sweet, but if you ignore its dangers, you will drown. So was John using the message the wrong way? The point of this passage is that if you use the Scripture exactly the right way – in a God-honoring manner – you will find that it is sweet to the taste and bitter to the belly.
The servant who would honor God with His Word is prepared to deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Christ (Luke 9:23). To those who do not know Christ’s message, this sounds like a bitter way to use one’s life. But Christ went on to say in Luke 9:24, “For whoever will save his life shall lose it: but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” That’s sweet!
Is the message of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 bitter or sweet? It is bitter with man’s rebellion, but sweet with the promise of salvation and redemption in Christ in Genesis 3:15.
Is the story of the Exodus sweet or bitter? It is the delightful story of Israel’s deliverance from bondage. Yet Exodus is the message of harsh plagues for those who harden their hearts like Pharaoh.
In Hosea 2:15, the prophet gave the people words which must have sounded like honey to the taste; God gave them a door of hope. Yet the point was that God had given the people hope as they endured the consequences of their rebellion. (See, “A Door of Hope”).
Are the Gospels bitter or sweet? They are the bitter story of man’s rebellion, but the Gospels are filled with the sweet confidence in Christ as Savior.
- Romans 1-5 portray the nasty lifestyles of sinners right along with the delightful message of redemption and justification for repentant sinners.
- Romans 8 tells us about grief and trials but assures us that all things work together for good.
- Romans 9-11 describe Israel’s bitter hardness, but also the blessing of its coming restoration.
On a personal level, Jesus taught His disciples In the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Be prepared for the bitter responses from others; be prepared for the sweet eternal blessing.
The message of the Bible is bitter with the penalties of man’s rebellion, yet sweet with the promises of our Savior’s redemption. So, no, the Apostle John was not misusing God’s message. Those who would insist that God’s revelation is all sweetness or all bitterness are mistaken at best and deceivers at worst. The message of the Bible is both bitter and sweet.
(For the full manuscript of this message, see here.)
Gordon Dickson is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Findlay, OH.
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