Heb. 12:15

15 Looking diligently [episkopeo] lest [me] any man [tis] fail [hustereo] of [apo] the grace [charis] of God [theos]; lest [me] any [tis] root [rhiza] of bitterness [pikria] springing [phuo] up [ano] trouble [enochleo] you, and [kai] thereby [dia] [taute] many [polus] be defiled [miaino]; KJV-Interlinear

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; NASB

Just as a soldier standing at his post is to be vigilant in his alertness while he watches for the enemy, so to the believer in Christ is to be vigilant and alert so that he does not fall into a pattern of life that would endanger his own spiritual life. And also the believer in Christ is to be on his guard so that he does not do something that would cause others to fade away from Christ or their spiritual life.

There are lots of possible enemies out there in the world that can cause you to stray from your spiritual life. Possibly one of the worst kinds of enemies comes from those people who have Christian beliefs in background in their upbringing, but they have fallen away from Christian teachings and then they begin to promote non-doctrinal or un-Christian philosophies.

These are the kinds of people that cause trouble and dissension and negative attitudes in society. They lead people astray with their false principles of life.

God has offered us tremendous grace, but we must function within the framework of His plan in order to be the positive recipients of His grace. Those who reject Christ and those who reject doctrine are the big losers in life because they do not receive the greater grace provisions which are offered by God to positive believers.

Furthermore, you can cause dissensions and misgivings among people when you practice or promote things which are uninvited, and therefore are an annoyance or a nuisance to others. Though you may say or do things with the very best of intentions, you have to remember it is not your job to superimpose your beliefs on to others. That is not the Christian way of life.

And especially when believers misinterpret the word of God, and take those misinterpretations to the next level, which is promoting them as truths from God.

You ve probably seen the news recently regarding the controversy over some high school teacher in Colorado who has made some rather outlandish and stupid comments to his students. Rather than teaching the subject of his class, he wants to use his captive audience of fifteen year old students to promote his ideas. Ideas which are beyond ridiculous by the way.

This is the kind of person who promotes false doctrine to others. And this is especially bad when his audience is a group of impressionably young people.

Your responsibility is to conduct yourself in a manner which avoids the spread of bitterness or dissension among others. Likewise, it is your responsibility to guard yourself as well as your family, from the false doctrines and opinions that exist out there in the world.

Your best defense, and your best weapon for fulfilling this responsibility, is learning Bible doctrine and advancing in your spiritual life as a result.

Therefore, our passage teaches that you should be vigilant and alert in watching out for anything that might steer you away from your spiritual life, and also to do, or to not do, anything which would spread bitterness amongst others.

God is quite able to deal with the idiots of the world. God is quite able to spread truth and common sense to the world. Your responsibility is to take care of your own spiritual life, and to fulfill your responsibilities and obligations to God, through your spiritual life.

Now is the time to post a prayer.