TUESDAY
When we think of the words we say we usually think of the message we are communicating to others. We are going to begin this campaign not by thinking about what the words we say communicate to others but about what the words we say say about ourselves.
Today we are picking up right were I left off the last time I preached about 4 weeks ago! I wish I could say I planned it this way. In Matthew 12 Jesus is accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by the prince of demons Beelzebul. You can find the devotionals I wrote on this passage here, here, here, and here. Just prior to this Jesus tells them that they have committed an unforgivable sin by speaking against the Holy Spirit and attributing his works to the devil (this is the last “here” linked above).
Matthew 12:33–37 33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Jesus here is pointing to his good works of casting out demons and healing the sick as evidence of his goodness. His fruit is good so he is a good tree by implication. The Pharisee’s fruit is evil, as this accusation is evidence of, so it reveals their evil heart. Jesus goes on to say that these evil words revealing an evil heart is cause for judgment in the end at the day of judgment.
I don’t think that Jesus is here implying that all Christians today will have to answer for every careless word they have spoken in their lives. I am confident that the sinful things we have spoken are all covered by the blood of Jesus, our sins are removed from us, and we have the righteousness of Christ. As Jesus says in the next sentence, “by your words you will be acquitted.” When our confession of Christ as Lord aligns with our belief in our heart we will be saved.
Romans 10:9 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Also, if you genuinely have a good heart, if you are a good tree, when we sin and say careless, harmful words we will be repentant.
Those whose hearts and words are not aligned in their confession of Christ, however, will face punishment for the careless words they have spoken and will be condemned by their words.
Jesus’ words here launch us into our campaign: “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Our words don’t originate from nowhere. They are not merely random vocalizations that result from the vibrations of our vocal cords. No! Our words originate from our inner life and reveal a great deal about what is going on in there.
Reflection
What do the words you say reveal about you? Think of the words you’ve spoken in the last couple of days. Do they reveal a good heart or do they reveal a corrupt heart?