Holliness - Our Speech

Intro

Stick and stones can brake my bones but word will not hurt me

I actually like this

I find it to be true what do I care what people say about me

I broke a chair last night

but there is something underneath this

Something about words that makes this statement a little more false than I might not like

Our words have power and they have weight

When we talk about Holiness there is one area where I think we can see the holiness of someone come out more than any other

That is in our speech

The words that come out of our mouth say a lot about the condition of our heart

If you want to be more holy change the way you talk

focus on the words that come out of your mouth

How important are our words lets look at what Jesus says about this

Read Matthew 15:10-18

Matthew 15:10–18 ESV

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

Why are our words important

What does Jesus say

The very thing that comes out our mouth is the thing that defiles us

It is the outpouring of what is in our mouth

Luke 6:45 (ESV)

45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Jesus is making this point in throughout his teaching

The condition of the heart is shown through the words that come out of your mouth

Our words carry weight and are the mirror for what’s in our heart

One of the great distinguishing mark

One of the biggest ways christians are set apart from the rest of the world

Is through their words

Through what they say or dont say

Through the jokes they dont make

The words they dont use

Read Luke 6:43-45

Luke 6:43–45 ESV

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

the words we have say show who we are

So how should we speak

Our Words must be controlled

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

The bible has commands about how God’s people should speak

These arent suggestions they are commands

How we are to be set apart from the world

How we must be holy in our speech

Our talk must not be corrupting

Paul is talking about how we as christians live in this new life

Once we have been saved and placed our faith in Jesus this is how you should live

as one who does not stir up things with our words

Our talk should not be corrupting

Full of gossip

Foul language

divisive

angry

bitter

complaining

etc...

So dont let corrupting talk come out of your mouth BUT

only such talk that is good for what

building up others

as fits the occasion

Our talk should build one another up

Men we love to tear down

I know I have been around locker room

Kitchens

Places filled with vile talk

But thats not how christians should speak

We should look to encouraging others with our words

We should use our words to encourage people

Point them to the gospel

Our gospel message that we carry is a message that is spoken

Romans reminds us how will they hear what they havent been taught

Our’s is a spoken messgae a message of hope of building others up

Remember Jesus when we watched him in the book of mark

How many times did you see someone ask a question to Jesus and it says looking at him he loved him and said...

or he had compassion on him and said

Did it ever say and Jesus angerly said to him

Jesus in his frustation yelled at them

Jesus in his wrath belittled them

No He used his talk to build people up

Now that didnt mean that Jesus was ever duplicitous in his words

He didnt encourage people in their evil works

He didnt say things just to make people feel better

And thats where the second part of how we should speak comes out

As fits the occasion

Our speech will sometime be hard for people to hear because it calls them to repentance

Our speech may put a microscope on sin in others life and may cause them to get angry

Our speech may cause others to see sin in their own life because the ocassion calls for it

How many times did Jesus rebuke the pharisees

Because it fit the occasion

Because it was what needed to be said

So our speech may not always be nice to hear for people who are receiving it but it should be

Full of grace

Colossians 4:6 ESV

6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Christians speech is always gracious

Loving others

Working to encourage others

Seasoned with salt a preserving agent

Used in such a way so as to preserve their souls

It should not be a stumbling block for others

something that degrades or breaks down

not slanderous

not foul

not vengeful

not gossiping

James 3:5–12 ESV

5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.