Our Words

 ²⁰And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. ²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, ²²Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: ²³All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

-Mark 7:20-23 (KJV)

We deny Jesus with our words. Remember, earlier this week, we talked about how we deny Jesus with our actions. We also deny Him with our words. When we swear because we stubbed our toe on the bed, we deny Jesus.

Jesus said in Mark 7:20-23, " ²⁰And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. ²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders  ²²Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: ²³All these evil things come from within, and defile the man." Our hearts are where evilness starts. It is where we decide that we will deny Jesus. Jesus lists all sorts of evil here, including thoughts and speech. And they all have one thing in common. They are all a result of the heart of man. They each defile a man.

We read about the dangers of our words in James 3:8-10, "⁸But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." James is teaching us that with the same tongue we bring praise to God, and then turn around and curse our brother. He goes on to say, in verse 13, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom." The tongue is full of evil. James teaches us that no man can tame the tongue. No matter how hard you try, you cannot control your tongue. You can only control your tongue by submitting yourself to God. 

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:4 "Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks" Paul is teaching us that filthiness and foolish talk shouldn't be part of our lives. Instead, we need to give thanks to God for all He has done for us. We deny Jesus each and every time we repeat a dirty joke or use bad language. How is your speech today? Think About It.