Watch Your Tongue

Ephesians 5:3-17

Corrupting Speech and the Christian

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.[1]

Your speech betrays you. Your choice of words, the cadence with which you speak, the pronunciation of words, all express your cultural background, your educational attainments, and to a great degree, your relationship to Christ. Speech serves as a mirror to the soul. By that statement, I mean that what you say and how you say it reveals what lies hidden in your heart. That thought should give us each pause.

On one occasion, when the Pharisees and scribes complained to Jesus that His disciples were not washing their hands before they ate, the Master seized the opportunity to instruct those who were gathered about Him. Each of us will do well to listen to the words of the Master.

“Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone” [Matthew 15:10-20].

If I can tell the region of the country an individual comes from by his speech, if speech can reveal the degree of education attained by an individual, should it be any great surprise if I know his relationship to the Master by his speech? What one says and how one speaks are of obvious concern to the Master. Perhaps we would do well to discover what God has to say concerning our speech, especially in light of the transformation of society’s willingness to embrace new standards of speech during the past four decades.

Speech is an Expression of the Soul — We encounter three terms—filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking. All three terms refer to a dirty mind expressing itself in dirty speech. Bear in mind that these particular sins of speech are closely associate with specific sins of the flesh, identified previously as sexual immorality, all impurity and covetousness. There can be no sin of the body without sin of the spirit. What is in the heart is expressed in life. Before expression through the body, sin will have been revealed through speech.

In our text, Paul warns against sins of the tongue, which, of course, are really sins of the heart. It is really not difficult to see the relationship between the sins named in Ephesians 5:3 and those named in Ephesians 5:4. People who have base appetites usually cultivate a base kind of speech and humour, and often people who want to commit sexual sins, or have committed them, enjoy jesting about them. Two indications of a person’s character are what make him laugh, and what makes him weep.[2]

Filthiness [aijscrovth"], translated obscenity in some texts, refers to language which refuses to be subject to standards. An obscene person is one who refuses to recognise standards. Nothing commands respect for the filthy individual; therefore, their actions are consistently disrespectful. Filthiness is speech is that which is ugly, shameful, disgraceful, wicked.[3] It is scatological, obsessed with bodily fluids. It serves only to shock the hearer and fails even to serve as an effective emphasis for speech.

Foolish talk [mwrologiva] is made up of two words which are easy to remember—moron and logos, which means word. Mwrologiva refers to an individual who talks like a fool. The word is not concerned with intelligence, but it is rather concerned with morals. The word refers to the individual who makes light of high standards of behaviour, thinking that it is somehow funny or sophisticated to tear down anything that is good or praiseworthy or ennobling. I can think of no more pointed example of mwrologiva to which I may point than the example provided by sitcoms or talk shows. The afternoon talk show hosts pretend to be wise, as do hosts of the evening talk shows. Both are concerned with humour (so-called), but really, they are destructive of the very values which hold society together. The sitcoms ridicule righteousness and endeavour to overthrow all goodness. Thus, such shows are nothing more than “fool’s talk.”

Crude joking [eujtrapeliva] is closely related to filthiness and foolish talk, but with emphasis on that kind of coarse, vulgar humour which is the lowest form of wit. Crude joking is that inhumane or degrading jesting which is filled with suggestive overtones and double entendres.[4] Such speech is deceptive, though it turns a discourse to wit or humour, since the speaker can easily contrive to wriggle out of the intended meaning.

I recall an incident in which I had need to consult a lawyer concerning a legal matter. As I sat in her office, she fielded a phone call. In the course of the phone call, she spoke coarsely to the individual on the other end of the line. As she hung up the phone, she addressed me, saying, “Pardon my French, Reverend.”

“Madam,” I responded, “that was not French. Furthermore, I do not believe it in my interest to consult with a lawyer incapable of employing the English tongue to its fullest power. I will have no further need of your assistance.”

A Christian woman attended an anniversary dinner in honour of a friend, not knowing that there would be a programme of low comedy following the meal. The so-called comedian tried to entertain the crowd with coarse humour that degraded everything that the Christian guest held to be sacred and honourable. At one point in the programme, the comedian’s throat became dry. “Please bring me a glass of water,” he called to a waiter.

At that point the Christian woman added, “And bring a toothbrush and a bar of soap with it!” To be sure, soap in the mouth will never cleanse the conversation, but she made her point.[5]

Television is always a great source for illustrations. Charles Colson in his Breakpoint commentary on 2002-09-26 wrote of television’s assault on our children. Listen to a portion of that commentary and permit yourself to be shocked.

“This summer, actress Candice Bergen of ‘Murphy Brown’ fame made a startling admission. She said that Dan Quayle's famous criticism of her character giving birth to a fatherless child was ‘a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable, and nobody agreed with that more than I did’—nice to admit it after the fact, but, of course, the damage was done. The number of single-parent homes continues to rise, and TV continues to negatively influence behaviour. Keep this in mind as the new TV season is upon us.

“According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, this year's slate of TV programs will push the envelope even further than last year. One new show includes a scene in which a nun says, ‘Blow it out your ass.’ Another show has a mother calling her son's teacher ‘a meddlesome little bitch.’ The teacher, you see, suggested the son read more. George Carlin’s list of seven words you can't say on TV is getting increasingly out of date. And more than just language, the teasers promise graphic sex.”[6]

The evening news this past Tuesday (October 29, 2002) detailed the activity of a gang of teenagers in Surrey, British Columbia who beat and kicked a thirty-nine-year-old man into unconsciousness. At the time of the news report, that man was still in hospital, lapsing in and out of consciousness. Most of the teens interviewed on camera had witnessed the attack and implied that they knew who the attackers were.

What struck me, as I watched the news account, was not the viciousness of the attack, nor even the maintenance of a code of silence by the teens as the interviewer queried them. I was struck by the crudeness of their language to the interviewer and their filthiness as they talked in casual conversation. Some of the conversation was bleeped out, but much of it remained in the audio. Both the filthy language of the teens and the acceptance of the interviewer were disturbing to me, as it should be to all decent people.

I know that your Pastor is a fanatic. I know that he is overly cautious in so many areas. However, we have a rule in our house. I don’t say that it is as strictly applied as it should be, but it is a rule, nevertheless. We don’t allow people to disrobe and perform sex acts in our living room. No more would we invite someone into our house as they walked past then we would permit actors to do what is unseemly. Neither do I willingly permit someone to stand in front of me in my living room and swear at me. Whether than individual is a guest invited into my home or whether that individual is an actor, they will not swear at me. I certainly will not permit someone to stand before me in my own home and disgrace the Name of my Saviour, Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is a good rule for each professed Christian to adopt. If we stopped all such speech on television, we would likely soon cease to tolerate such filth in daily life.

What is obvious about all such speech is that it is out of place among the people of God. Can you honestly envision Jesus telling a risqué joke? Jesus would never treat a woman or man as an object of humour. The Master of the people of God would never be crude, or rude or coarse. Obviously, all such speech is out of place!

Speech Invites the Judgement of God — For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

We dealt with the actions of immoral people in a previous message, but I am compelled to add this cautionary note to the previous warning. Those individuals whose speech is marked by filthiness, foolish talk and/or crude joking reveal that their hearts are identified with the sexually immoral, impure and greedy people of this fallen world. Therefore, when Paul issues this terse warning, it will be readily witnessed to include individuals whose speech identifies them as part of this wicked world. Perhaps you will recall some of the warnings which Jesus Himself has provided us.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit… How can you speak good, when you are evil? The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned [Matthew 12:35-37].

A demon-oppressed man was set free at Jesus’ word. The Pharisees silently attributed to Satan the work which the Lord had only completed. They claimed He worked through the power of Beelzebul, prince of demons [see Matthew 12:22-24]. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus warned against the unforgivable sin—blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

The words to which I referred moments ago must have shocked those listening, because Jesus applied them to all mankind. Each of us is guilty of speaking carelessly. How many careless words have you spoken, even in this day? If even a careless word can mean the difference between commendation and condemnation, who of us has any hope? Do you see, then, Jesus is warning us to be responsible both for what we say and for the manner of speech which marks us as individuals. As Christians, we are responsible for the words we speak. If those words somehow betray that our hearts are still lingering in this fallen world, we need to deal with the matter by first placing our hope in the Son of God, seeking His cleansing and forgiveness!

At a later time, Jesus witnessed against the Pharisees and the scribes as they attempted to impose a meaningless tradition on His disciples. The religiously devout leaders observed that the followers of Jesus failed to ritually wash their hands before they ate. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy by pointing to the fact that they exalted their tradition above the Word of God.

The incident provided an excellent opportunity to instruct those who witnessed this exchange between the Pharisees and Jesus. Therefore, Jesus warned the people that day, Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person [Matthew 15:10b, 11].

The disciples were concerned that he had offended the Pharisees, but Jesus answered with a parable. Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit [Matthew 15:13, 14].

The disciples, ever paragons of denseness and obtuseness, asked for an explanation. Jesus patiently explained that what one eats does not defile a person since it passes through them and is eliminated. However, what resides in the heart defiles an individual. Moreover, what resides in the heart is expressed through speech. Listen to the concluding remarks Jesus spoke that day. What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person [Matthew 15:18-20].

D. A. Carson perceptively comments on this revelation from the lips of the Saviour, “The point … is that what a man truly is affects what he says and does… [T]he burden of this pericope is not to be pure on the inside and forget the externals but that what ultimately defiles a man is what he really is.”[7]

For the purpose of our study this day, note that what is in the heart precedes an individual’s actions. Indeed, sexual immorality is first found in the heart, just as Jesus stated in the Sermon on the Mount. You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart [Matthew 5:27, 28]. What an awesome standard!

I must make an observation at this point. In light of the words of Jesus, there is no argument available in support of pornography! Pornography does fuel immorality. Though some intellectual lightweights of this world or apologists for wickedness may attempt to defend pornography as an issue of “free speech,” do not be deceived. We who are Christians must acknowledge that to indulge one’s lusts in pornographic literature or pornographic pictures or pornographic videos is to fuel the very sin which is roundly condemned by the Word of God. Furthermore, such foolish people are defying Holy God. Such wickedness shall not go unpunished.

You may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. If you watch pornography, if you indulge your lusts with pornography, you have no part in the kingdom of Christ and God. Moreover, if your language betrays that you invest your time in such wicked pursuits, you have no part in the kingdom of Christ and God. Beyond this, if you indulge your greed, you have no part in the kingdom of Christ.

I must endeavour to clarify an issue here. One sin does not condemn an individual. Without question, each of us has made serious missteps and errors which did not reflect well on our relationship to Christ. Paul has in mind the person who has given himself or herself up without shame or pretence to a life marked by filthy language, foolish talk and crude joking. Those who do speak thusly reveal that their hearts are utterly surrendered to evil. However, no Christian should surrender, even for a moment to such language. It is always worthwhile to maintain a high standard of speech.

Let no one deceive you with empty words. There are always individuals willing to assuage one’s guilt, even using religious words if such seems to work. Some activities are clearly warned against in the Word of God. God’s wrath rests upon those given over to disobedience. Figures recently released indicate that over fifty percent of all teenage girls will suffer from infection with genital herpes by 2025! Thirty-nine percent of all teenage boys will be similarly infected by that time. This figure is forecast despite the ubiquitous instruction on condom use—instruction which has limited impact on youth.

The chaste individual need not be concerned about suffering the effects of gonorrhoea, of syphilis, of chronic pelvic inflammatory disease or of genital chlamydia. Infections are infections and common to mankind, but these are all diseases which are most often associated with multiple sexual partners. Can it be that the wrath of God against immorality is displayed in part through illness and disease? Of course, the wrath of God may well be revealed through the failure of the immoral and the greedy to achieve satisfaction and their inability to develop intimacy. The greater the number of sexual partners, the more difficult it becomes to develop intimacy.

Ultimately, however, the immoral and the filthy must face the undiluted wrath of God as He calls them to account. What excuse can the wicked offer when they must give an account to Him who holds the power of life and death? When Holy God at last holds the wicked of this world to account, what justification for unrighteousness can be offered? There is no justification for wickedness. Neither is there now an excuse for filthy language, for foolish talking or for crude joking.

Speech must either Bless or Condemn — There is a positive side to this message, and it is to point Christians to conduct which is pleasing to God. In verse nine, the Apostle points to a list of corresponding positive virtues which are set against those evil characteristics we have considered so far. Paul insists that the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. The character of Christ is the basis for each of these virtues, and we would anticipate that each Christian would seek to cultivate these virtues.

In Ephesians 4:1, the Apostle urged Christians to walk in a manner worthy of their calling. In Ephesians 5:3, sinful actions are to be shunned, not even being named. Such extreme action is proper. Doctrine matters. Good doctrine leads to good conduct. When we realise who we are in Christ, the desire to live a life worthy of our calling and proper for our character grows within us. What I believe about Christ has an impact in how I live. This is a vital truth which motivates me as I preach to God’s holy people. I do not want to treat sin as something light or fail to lay a sound foundation for godliness.

There is another positive way to bring the message to a conclusion, however, and that is to contrast the language which is condemned to language which should mark us as God’s people. Paul says that instead of filthiness or foolish talk or crude joking, there should be thanksgiving.

Let there be thanksgiving. What would you imagine that we should give thanks for? Though we could no doubt list many things for which we should be thankful, I suggest that Paul would have in mind that we should be thankful for the very things which the world distorts. If sex and material goods and truth are God’s good gifts, then we should be thankful for them. These are the divine gifts which the world seems most likely to sully and distort.

Immorality and impurity distort God’s good gift of sex, as does filthiness and crude joking. James Boice writes concerning the Christian view of sex. “Christians have a bad reputation where sex is concerned because they are thought to be against it… Sex has been so vulgarised by pagan society (especially our own) that much of what Christians say on the subject has necessarily been negative. But sex is not something for Christians to deplore, condemning it as evil. It is only the distortions we deplore.”[8]

John Stott is correct in his assessment of the distortion of God’s good gift of sex. “The reason why Christians should dislike and avoid vulgarity is not because we have a warped view of sex, and are ashamed or afraid of it, but because we have a high and holy view of it as being in its right place God’s good gift, which we do not want to be cheapened.”[9] God’s gifts are subjects for thanksgiving, rather than joking. To joke about that which God has given us, must of necessity degrade and sully. When we thank God for His gifts, we preserve their worth as the blessings from the hand of a loving Creator.

Mike Mason focuses on the thankfulness which should characterise our view of sex in Christian marriage. “What can equal the surprise of finding out that the one thing above all others which mankind has been most enterprising and proficient in dragging through the dirt turns out in fact to be the most innocent thing in the world? Is there any other activity at all which an adult man and woman may engage in together (apart from worship) that is actually more childlike, more clean and pure, more natural and wholesome and unequivocally right than is the act of making love? For if worship is the deepest available form of communion with God (and especially that particular act of worship known as Communion), then surely sex is the deepest communion that is possible between human beings, and as such is something absolutely essential (in more than a biological way) to our survival.”[10]

Thankfulness recognises sex as God’s gift. Because we are thankful, we seek to use God’s gift to please Him and to honour Him. Sex is a gift from God, and Christians should be thankful. Perhaps you recall the verse in the Hebrews letter in which God has taught us, Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled [Hebrews 13:4]. Husbands esteem their wives and wives respect their husbands and each seeks to honour God through living chaste lives. The unwed keep themselves pure through refusing to cheapen sex and through refusal to use sex for any purpose other than that which God give the gift.

The gift of sex was meant to bring us pleasure in marriage, to comfort us in times of stress and to provide for the propagation of the race. Any other use cheapens sex and distorts the intention of God. Thus, there is no place in the Christian life for prostitution, for homosexuality, for serial marriages, for premarital sex, for pornography, or for joking about God’s good gift.

We should also recognise that material goods are a blessing from God. Material possessions can serve to make our lives easier, freeing us to serve God with greater zeal. However, when distorted, thankfulness for God’s blessing turns to greed. Thankfulness means being content with what we have and using the possessions we have for the good of others. Greed means always wanting to have a little more. Christians must reject the constant and blatant pressure to increase wealth.

There is another distortion of material goods, and that is asceticism. There are Christians so fearful of material goods that they repudiate all possessions through a self-inflicted poverty. Some think that by simple living or communal living or taking holy orders they honour God. I concede that there may be instances where such actions may be appropriate. Perhaps by living a simple lifestyle one has more to give to others in need. Certainly, that would be appropriate. Some individuals may find it necessary to live a strict life because they are addicted to “things,” just as an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol. Others may choose to voluntarily forego certain pleasures in order to provide a good witness of God’s grace or to obtain a hearing.

What I would have you see, however, is that the Christian way advocates neither greed nor abstention. The “Christian way is to receive what God gives and to be thankful for it; and if He gives more, to recognise that the increase means an increase of responsibility in how one uses the possessions.”[11] Thus, Paul writes concerning possessions and the proper view of things, I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me [Philippians 4:11-13].

Among the Proverbs, Proverbs 30:7-9 seems especially germane to this message.

Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me,

lest I be full and deny you

and say, “Who is the Lord?”

or lest I be poor and steal

and profane the name of my God.

The final blessing for which we should give thanks is truth. Especially should we give thanks for the ability to express truth through words. With words, we are able to communicate the truth concerning God, our own condition and the salvation which God gives. Because this is true, cheapening of words through foolish talking and crude joking becomes especially reprehensible. We must guard against making light of what is truly important and good. We must watch that we do not use joking to avoid doing what is expected of us as a people of the light. Let us give thanks for the truth and let us give thanks for the opportunity to live by the truth.

I have addressed Christians as children of light. No doubt such talk appears foolish to those among us whom the Word designates as sons of disobedience [Ephesians 5:6]. Among us week-by-week are individuals whom I fear are sons of disobedience. I do not say this out of any sense of maliciousness, but rather I say this with sorrow. I now address such individuals who share our assembly. The evidence on which I base my assessment is the fact that you evince no joy in your efforts to worship. Your faces reveal boredom and distaste for the messages which are delivered. You do not eagerly join in the songs of praise and worship. You express what can best be described as scant tolerance toward the effort of others to worship. Your speech is not particularly wicked, but you do not see why I should caution against a little joking. You take no particular umbrage at people who blaspheme God, misuse His Name or whose language is “spicy.” Christians are appalled at such language, but you are indifferent. Some of you are adults; some of you are teenagers. All of you have yet to come to life in Christ the Lord.

I suggest that as a church we need to pray for the pagans among us, asking that God would convict them of their lack of salvation. Some of those pagans are our own family members. I am not being harsh, but rather I am speaking from a heart which longs to see each individual who shares our services saved. I suggest that we Christians have need to pray that God would open our eyes as children of light, making us sensitive to our speech and making us sensitive to the speech of others about us. I suggest that some of us need to even now repent of our speech, asking God to cleanse us.

Even now, we need to confess our sin as a people called by the Name of Him who is pure and holy. I call on each Christian to pray even now, asking God to reveal whether they have begun to tolerate too much that is wicked. If the answer to that question is affirmative, then I recommend that we pray, asking God to forgive us and to set us free to speak with thanksgiving of God’s good gifts.

The altar is here. Let each repentant soul come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. Come now, ‘ere our worship team begins to sing. Perhaps some from the worship team need to kneel here and do business with God. He knows our heart and He will direct our steps, if we are willing to honour Him.

We need to confess that we lack courage to speak to our lost sons and daughters. They are being taught to distort God’s good gifts and our influence as a people of righteousness is waning. We need to confess this sin and ask God to make us bold to call our own children to account. We need to ask God to make those of our children who are godly bold to speak the truth and to resist evil.

Each of us needs to hear the closing words of our text, taking them to heart and doing what is commanded. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is [Ephesians 5:15-17]. Amen.

Filthiness [aijscrovth"], translated obscenity in some texts, refers to language which refuses to be subject to standards. An obscene person is one who refuses to recognise standards. Nothing commands respect for the filthy individual; therefore, their actions are consistently disrespectful. Filthiness is speech is that which is ugly, shameful, disgraceful, wicked.[12] It is scatological, obsessed with bodily fluids. It serves only to shock the hearer and fails even to serve as an effective emphasis for speech.

Foolish talk [mwrologiva] is made up of two words which are easy to remember—moron and logos, which means word. Mwrologiva refers to an individual who talks like a fool. The word is not concerned with intelligence, but it is rather concerned with morals. The word refers to the individual who makes light of high standards of behaviour, thinking that it is somehow funny or sophisticated to tear down anything that is good or praiseworthy or ennobling. I can think of no more pointed example of mwrologiva to which I may point than the example provided by sitcoms or talk shows. The afternoon talk show hosts pretend to be wise, as do hosts of the evening talk shows. Both are concerned with humour (so-called), but really, they are destructive of the very values which hold society together. The sitcoms ridicule righteousness and endeavour to overthrow all goodness. Thus, such shows are nothing more than “fool’s talk.”

Crude joking [eujtrapeliva] is closely related to filthiness and foolish talk, but with emphasis on that kind of coarse, vulgar humour which is the lowest form of wit. Crude joking is that inhumane or degrading jesting which is filled with suggestive overtones and double entendres.[13] Such speech is deceptive, though it turns a discourse to wit or humour, since the speaker can easily contrive to wriggle out of the intended meaning.

“This summer, actress Candice Bergen of ‘Murphy Brown’ fame made a startling admission. She said that Dan Quayle's famous criticism of her character giving birth to a fatherless child was ‘a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable, and nobody agreed with that more than I did’—nice to admit it after the fact, but, of course, the damage was done. The number of single-parent homes continues to rise, and TV continues to negatively influence behaviour. Keep this in mind as the new TV season is upon us.

“According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, this year's slate of TV programs will push the envelope even further than last year. One new show includes a scene in which a nun says, ‘Blow it out your ass.’ Another show has a mother calling her son's teacher ‘a meddlesome little bitch.’ The teacher, you see, suggested the son read more. George Carlin’s list of seven words you can't say on TV is getting increasingly out of date. And more than just language, the teasers promise graphic sex.”[14]

D. A. Carson perceptively comments on this revelation from the lips of the Saviour, “The point … is that what a man truly is affects what he says and does… [T]he burden of this pericope is not to be pure on the inside and forget the externals but that what ultimately defiles a man is what he really is.”[15]

Immorality and impurity distort God’s good gift of sex, as does filthiness and crude joking. James Boice writes concerning the Christian view of sex. “Christians have a bad reputation where sex is concerned because they are thought to be against it… Sex has been so vulgarised by pagan society (especially our own) that much of what Christians say on the subject has necessarily been negative. But sex is not something for Christians to deplore, condemning it as evil. It is only the distortions we deplore.”[16]

John Stott is correct in his assessment of the distortion of God’s good gift of sex. “The reason why Christians should dislike and avoid vulgarity is not because we have a warped view of sex, and are ashamed or afraid of it, but because we have a high and holy view of it as being in its right place God’s good gift, which we do not want to be cheapened.”[17] God’s gifts are subjects for thanksgiving, rather than joking. To joke about that which God has given us, must of necessity degrade and sully. When we thank God for His gifts, we preserve their worth as the blessings from the hand of a loving Creator.

Mike Mason focuses on the thankfulness which should characterise our view of sex in Christian marriage. “What can equal the surprise of finding out that the one thing above all others which mankind has been most enterprising and proficient in dragging through the dirt turns out in fact to be the most innocent thing in the world? Is there any other activity at all which an adult man and woman may engage in together (apart from worship) that is actually more childlike, more clean and pure, more natural and wholesome and unequivocally right than is the act of making love? For if worship is the deepest available form of communion with God (and especially that particular act of worship known as Communion), then surely sex is the deepest communion that is possible between human beings, and as such is something absolutely essential (in more than a biological way) to our survival.”[18]

The “Christian way is to receive what God gives and to be thankful for it; and if He gives more, to recognise that the increase means an increase of responsibility in how one uses the possessions.”[19]

----

[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Volume 2 (Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1989) 44-5

[3] H. –G. Link, in Colin Brown (ed.), The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 3 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1971, 1978) 562-3

[4] see Peter T. O’Brien, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to the Ephesians (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI 1999) 361

[5] Wiersbe, op. cit., 45

[6] Charles Colson, Window into a Foul World (Television’s Assault on Our Children), Breakpoint Commentary, 2002-09-26 (http://www.crosswalk.com/news/)

[7] D. A. Carson, Matthew, in Frank E. Gaeblelein (ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 351.

[8] James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1988) 159

[9] John R. W. Stott, The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Ephesians (InterVarsity, Wheaton, IL 1979) 193

[10] Mike Mason, The Mystery of Marriage: As Iron Sharpens Iron (Multnomah, Portland, OR 1985) 121

[11] Boice, op. cit., 160

[12] H. –G. Link, in Colin Brown (ed.), The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 3 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1971, 1978) 562-3

[13] see Peter T. O’Brien, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to the Ephesians (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI 1999) 361

[14] Charles Colson, Window into a Foul World (Television’s Assault on Our Children), Breakpoint Commentary, 2002-09-26 (http://www.crosswalk.com/news/)

[15] D. A. Carson, Matthew, in Frank E. Gaeblelein (ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 351.

[16] James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1988) 159

[17] John R. W. Stott, The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Ephesians (InterVarsity, Wheaton, IL 1979) 193

[18] Mike Mason, The Mystery of Marriage: As Iron Sharpens Iron (Multnomah, Portland, OR 1985) 121

[19] Boice, op. cit., 160