The words that we speak, are they life or death?

Do they give us hope or discouragement? Since we are held responsible for every word we speak, I think we had better listen very carefully to what we are saying, not just to our brethren, but also to ourselves. Notice what Jesus said: "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Mt.12:36-37). Let us look at the words, justified and condemned a little more closely. By being Justified -- we are being freed from all blame, we are without guilt and we are shown or proven to be right. Condemned means -- to be pronounced unfit for use, guilty. By our own words we can be free from blame and without guilt, or we can pronounce ourselves guilty and unfit for the use of God. If it is the Word of God -- it is Life, it is freedom. If it is ourselves speaking -- it is death, and words of death will destroy, kill everyone that hears us; and not only they who hear us, but ourselves as well. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

 

So what do we love -- Life or death? What are we eating, and what are we 'living' on? Is it Life or Death? It is one or the other. Let us quote Proverbs 18:21 again, it says that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." And in 18:20, "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled." Is our belly satisfied and filled with life, which is Christ, and live; or are we filled with the manna of death, which is an enemy, and die? Let it be life, and then this verse will come to pass, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Cor.15:26).

 

All evil comes forth from the heart and proceeds out of the mouth. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jer 17:9). "...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Mat 12:34). "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (Mat 15:18-19). We need the circumcision that is of the heart, by the spirit (Rom 2:29), then the evil that comes out of our hearts will cease. "And I will give them one new heart, and I will put a new Spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh" (Ezek 11:19).

 

Let us take a moment to see what the heart expresses through the tongue. "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell, for every kind of beast, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" (Jms.3:6-11). I could go on with the rest of the verses, but I am sure you can read the whole chapter yourself, which is very good.

 

Has anyone ever said something negative to you, and you just wilted and felt like you had died inside, or perhaps they said some beautiful words to you, then you just blossomed like a flower. This is the way of the tongue. Let us, therefore, tend to life with our tongue, which may seem to be an impossible task; but be assured with God all things are possible (Mk 9:23). We will and shall be able to tame the tongue and only speak living words of life and reality. In Proverbs 26:20 we also find these words: "Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth." When our wood, hay and stubble is consumed, the carnal fire has gone out, but the eternal flame of God will burn forever. Praise God Hallelujah!

 

We can see there is a negative (dark) side, but there is always a positive (light) side as well. What is important to us is that which is positive, that which gives us life eternal, and we know our life comes from God the Father through Christ Jesus, Who is the savior of all man. It is good to know the dark side of things, so we can stand against the wiles of evil, but it is so much better to live and have our being in the positive (the side of light and life).

 

I myself want to live. What about you? I know the answer to that. We are all wanting to live, and not just live but to live life more abundantly.

 

So now that we know we are all wanting to live, let us look at some of the scriptures that speak of those things that give us life:

 

Proverbs 10:20 says, "The tongue of the just is as choice silver", (silver speaks of redemption & righteousness),( see also Proverbs 25:4-5 and Psa. 12:6).

 

"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life" (Prov. 15:4), and we know that Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life -- ever living (Rev. 2:7).

 

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life" (Prov.10 :11), and John 4:14 tells us that He (Jesus) is the water for the thirsty. Jesus also said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink" (John 7:37). "In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found..." (Prov. 10:13), "...and with wisdom the house is built" (Prov. 24:3-4).

 

"The lips of the righteous feed many" (Prov. 10-21), and Jesus said, "Feed My sheep" (John 21:15-17).

 

To have all the words of life we must be circumcised in the heart and put on the mind of Christ, also communicate, and have an intimate relationship with Him, with Christ the living Spirit which dwells in us. And He is in us, don't we know? "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Rom. 10:8). You see He is so close, in our mouths and in our hearts -- so why don't we speak words of Life and Live? Because our hearts first need to be circumcised and we need to have His mind. "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom 2:12). "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). We know a double mind can mean death or life. And "For to be carnally (fleshly) minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom 8:6). As long as we are thinking or speaking negatively of anything or anybody, we do not have His mind, nor are our hearts circumcised. We die each time we utter ill words, they cause us to abide in death. To walk in His life, we must have His fullness and His mind. There cannot be any negative thoughts or words spoken, because they will result in death. As long as we possess carnal minds, we have death, we are dying, and we will go to the grave.

 

Jesus tells us in John 5:19 "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." He also said in John 14:24, "...The word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me."

 

Can you see what Jesus is saying to us? We have to hear the Father and speak what we hear. Let me make this very plain. We can know the Bible from one end to the other, have it all memorized in these heads of ours, and we can tell the world all about it, till we are blue in the face; but without the Spirit, and if God did not tell us to speak -- it is death!

 

Jesus, in John 6:63, said, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life." Do you see it? The flesh profits nothing -- the carnal mind, the written word. Second Corinthians.3:6 says, "...The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." So let us not speak the scriptures for the sake of being heard; but let it be the Spirit that quickens -- makes alive. So when the Spirit moves through us, let us speak like it says in 1 Corinthians 2:4-7, "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. "And now, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Phil 2:5). Then the words that we speak are Spirit and Life. They glorify God, not ourselves! Amen.

 

M. R.