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Words are one of the most important things in our lives. The Lord Jesus said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). This shows that words express a man's heart; they show what is within a man's heart. If a man does not open his mouth, it is not easy for us to know his heart. But as soon as he opens his mouth, his heart is exposed. If a man does not speak, no one will know his spirit. Once he speaks, however, others will touch his spirit through his words; they will know his condition before the Lord. We can judge a person by the words he speaks.
Therefore, a believer must be very careful with his words. He must learn to speak the proper words. In the Bible, there are four or five places that tell us how to speak. Let us consider them one by one.
First, we must not speak lies. John 8:44 says, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks it out of his own possessions; for he is a liar and the father of it." When Satan speaks a lie, he speaks out of his own possessions, for he is a liar. He did not learn his lies from others. He is the father of lies. Satan damaged God's creation in the garden of Eden with lies. He has to lie in order to overturn God's work. Lying is a sin more common than any other sin. There are as many people who lie as there are people under Satan's hand.
As soon as man is saved by God, the first lesson he should learn is to reject any lie. He should reject inaccurate words, words that add to or come short of the truth, and intentional or unintentional lies. Lies should not be found in a child of God. If lies remain, it means that he is giving Satan the ground to maintain his grip.
If a man has never learned to reject lies, he will not realize how often he lies. The more a person tries to reject lies, the more he will find out that he is simply a lying person; even his heart is inclined towards lying. There are more lies in this world than we can think of, and there are more lies in us than we expect. If we have never learned to reject lies, we will not know how many lies there are. But once we resolve to reject lies, we learn how many lies there are in us. What a pity that among God's children, so many lies still exist! The Lord's word is clear and serious — Satan is the father of those who lie. In other words, all those who lie are the children of Satan. It is a pitiful thing for God's children to allow Satan's lying seed to remain in them! Brothers and sisters, we should not be believers for many years and yet never make a resolution to deal with our lies. Such a dealing is long overdue. As soon as a man believes in the Lord, he has to learn to speak accurately.
There are many kinds of lies; some are obvious, while others do not seem like lies at all. In reality, however, they are still lies. Some examples can be seen in the following:
Being double-tongued (1 Tim. 3:8) is speaking something in one circumstance and speaking something else in a different circumstance. It is saying that it is all right to do something to one person and not all right to do the same thing to another person. It is switching between yes and no and changing unpredictably. This kind of speaking is a lie.
Many people do not speak according to the truth or according to facts. Instead, they speak according to their likes and dislikes; they speak according to their emotions. If they like something, they speak a certain way. If they like a person, they speak a certain way, but if they hate something or some person, they speak another way. This is speaking according to our emotions rather than according to reality. This way of speaking is also lying. We must realize that we should not speak according to our feelings but according to facts. We should not speak according to our emotions. A Christian should learn to control his emotions to the extent that he will not speak according to his wish or imagination. Many people's words do not reflect facts; they reflect their imagination. When they wish that a certain sister would be good, they tell others how good she is. When they think a certain brother is about to fall, they tell others how bad he is. Actually, the one they say is good is not necessarily that good, and the one they say is bad is not necessarily that bad. Their words are based on their imagination rather than on facts. Man often speaks what he hopes to see and what he imagines to be true; his words do not reflect the true condition of a matter. We must learn to deal with this kind of speaking.
Many words are greatly twisted after they pass through a few mouths. A word may pass from one man to another and then to a third and so on. Three or four mouths will turn the word into something totally different from what it was originally. This is because everyone wants to add his own thoughts. When one adds a little and another adds a little more, the whole thing eventually becomes completely distorted. When one person conveys something to another and does not speak according to the facts, adding some of his own thoughts into the speaking, he is lying. Therefore, when we report something, we have to learn to speak before the Lord according to the facts and not put in our own thoughts. If we want to speak our own thoughts, we should clarify that this is our opinion. We should separate our opinions from the facts and not mix them together. Otherwise, we are lying.
If you want to test a brother's heart before the Lord, all you have to do is tell him something and ask him to pass it on. You can easily find out how his heart is before the Lord. A person who fears the Lord, who has learned the lesson, and who has been dealt with by the Lord considers speaking to be a great thing. He will not dare speak rashly or pass on things lightly. He will always try to speak accurately. A person who has never been dealt with by the Lord and who has never been disciplined will pass on words enthusiastically. The way he relays the words will expose him as a flippant, vain, and dishonest person. As he passes words around, he adds his own words and says many things that should not be said. This kind of person can never preach God's Word. He cannot study the Bible properly, because God's Word is accurate to the last iota and serif (Matt. 5:18). A person who is careless will surely make mistakes concerning God's Word.
Another common lie is exaggeration. Exaggerations are manifested in inaccurate numbers or in the use of exaggerated words or expressions that are not true. These are lies. Sometimes a person likes to magnify the mistakes of others. A person may be wrong thirty percent, but those who exaggerate will say that it is fifty percent. At the same time these ones try their best to speak lightly of their own mistakes. This is also to lie.
After a man is saved, his speaking has to be severely disciplined by the Lord before he can become an honest person. Let me say a strong word to all of you: A man must reject lies again and again. Every time there are inaccurate words, he has to reject them. He may need to reject them for three to five years before he can be an honest person. A man who is careless in his speech cannot be honest. A common fault with many people is their lies; they speak inaccurate words. There is no need for a person to learn to lie. As soon as a child is able to talk, he lies. Wise and foolish men alike lie; the only difference is that some are more skillful at lying, while others are less skillful at lying. But whether or not they are skillful, it is lying just the same. Since lying is so common, we have to learn to deal with it. Whenever there is a lie or we touch a spirit of lying, we should be aware of it.
Second, we cannot speak idle words. Matthew 12:35-37 says, "The good man, out of his good treasure, brings forth good things, and the evil man, out of his evil treasure, brings forth evil things. And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned."
In verse 33 the Lord Jesus says, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for by the fruit the tree is known." Following this, He describes the way man speaks. This proves that the fruit spoken of here is not man's conduct but his words. If the fruit is good, it proves that the tree is good, and if the fruit is bad, it proves that the tree is bad. If a man is good, his words will surely be good, and if a man is evil, his words will surely be evil. Some people gossip, criticize, slander, and tear down others with their words all day long. They say all kinds of unclean, filthy, and evil things. This clearly proves that the tree is bad.
If God's children have such faults in themselves, it is impossible for them to help others overcome the same faults. If some brothers and sisters spread unhealthy, filthy, or sinful things all the time, there is no need to ask whether the things are true or false; the very spreading is in itself unclean. A man's words are his fruit. One cannot find a man with a pure heart spreading filthy things. Nor can one find a man with a loving heart spreading hate. The fruit proves the tree. This is not a matter of being true or false. A person may be speaking facts, definite facts, but the facts should not have come out of his mouth in the first place. The facts may be true, but they are not words that one should say. The issue is not whether something is true or false but whether or not one should say it. It may not be a lie; it may be a fact, yet as long as it is an idle word, we should not speak it, and we need not speak it.
The Lord said, "Every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment" (v. 36). Brothers and sisters, idle words spoken by a Christian are not over once they are spoken; they will be repeated again a second time. Today you may have spoken something rashly. But one day, you will have to say the same thing again before the judgment seat. When you say it the second time, you will be justified or condemned according to your word. Hence, God's children should learn to fear the Lord and reject all inaccurate and idle words. A word that does not edify oneself or others should not be uttered.
Whether or not a man has been dealt with by the Lord can be seen from the words he speaks. Those who have been dealt with by God have their mouths checked. Those who lie and speak idle, careless words are of little use to the Lord. The only thing they can do is wait for the judgment to come. Those who speak filthy words are surely filthy in themselves. Those who speak corrupting words are surely corrupt in themselves. The kind of words you speak proves the kind of person that you are. One tells the tree by its fruit, and one tells a person by his words. From the day we are saved, we should learn to be dealt with by the Lord in our speaking.
Third, we cannot speak evil words. First Peter 3:9-12 says, "Not rendering evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing one another, because you were called to this, that you might inherit blessing. For he who desires to love life and see good days, let him cause his tongue to cease from evil and his lips to speak no guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it; for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears incline to their petition; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
There is one kind of word which must not come out of a Christian's mouth — evil words. What are evil words? They are revilings and cursings. God's children cannot render evil for evil or reviling for reviling. Many people say, "Since they said this, I can say it also." Men are concerned about who says something first, but the Lord asks whether you have said it at all. You may say, "Everybody is saying it. Can't I say it too?" Please remember that you cannot render evil for evil or reviling for reviling. It is not a matter of who spoke first but a matter of whether or not you said it. You have to control your temper before you can control your words. If you do not control your temper, many evil words will come out. When God's children become loose, they speak reviling words. If we speak reviling words, we will not glorify God, nor will we receive any blessing from Him.
James 3 specifically touches the matter of our speaking. Let us read verses 1 to 12. We will highlight a few of these verses. Verse 2 says, "For in many things we all stumble. If anyone does not stumble in word, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well." If a man cannot bridle his words, he cannot bridle himself. In order to see whether or not a man has self-control as a fruit of the Spirit, all one has to do is see whether he is controlled in his speaking. For a Christian, self-control means to be able to control oneself. The ability to control oneself is a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5 shows us that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. James 3 shows us that the most obvious manifestation of this fruit of the Spirit is in our speaking. If a man can control his tongue, he will be able to control his whole body. Those who speak carelessly must live a careless life. Those who speak in a disorderly manner must live a disorderly life. Those who are indiscreet with their speaking are surely indiscreet with the other faculties of their body. Whether or not a man is able to bridle his whole body can be seen from the way he bridles his tongue.
Brothers and sisters, if we want God to be merciful to us and touch us, we have to deal with our words. If God can deal with our words, He can deal with our whole being. With some people, their words are the center of their whole being; their words are their backbone, the hollow of their thigh. In order for God to deal with such persons, He must first deal with their words. Many people have not been properly dealt with by the Lord because their speaking has never been dealt with. Nothing exposes a person more than his speaking. Once a man opens up his mouth to speak, his whole being is exposed. Whether or not a person is able to bridle himself can be seen from the way he bridles his tongue.
Verse 3 uses the bridle as an illustration, while verse 4 uses the rudder as an illustration. Man's tongue is like a bridle; it is also like a rudder. It is something very small, yet it can affect a great deal. Verse 5 says that a little fire can ignite a forest, then verse 6 says, "And the tongue is a fire; the very world of unrighteousness, the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life and is set on fire by Gehenna." The tongue is a world of its own, a world of unrighteousness. Many people have not been dealt with in the matter of their tongue, and the tongue brings them into a world of unrighteousness; they spread death everywhere and set aflame the fire of Gehenna. There is a very strong word here: The tongue can set the course of life on fire. This means that it can produce many activities of the flesh. Man's flesh, temper, and anger can all be lit up by the tongue. The tongue can set aflame the fire of Gehenna. Many evil things are stirred up through one word; such a word is truly from Gehenna. The tongue is a fire and a world of unrighteousness. If we want to save ourselves from blemishes in our speaking, we must learn to bridle our words. Those who open their mouths often inevitably make mistakes. Many proverbs repeatedly advise men to be discreet with their words. It is foolishness to be talkative. The more foolish a man is, the more he has to say. But the more a man learns his lessons before the Lord, the more discreet he becomes and the less he has to say.
Verses 7 and 8 tell us that every creature can be tamed but no one is able to tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. We must realize how foolish it is to unbridle our tongue.
Verses 9 to 12 say that we cannot bless the Lord and curse the men whom He has created with the same tongue. We cannot bless and curse at the same time. A spring cannot gush forth sweet and bitter water out of the same opening. A fig tree cannot produce olives, and a vine cannot produce figs. Neither can salt water produce sweet water. A certain kind of tree bears a certain kind of fruit. A certain kind of spring gushes forth a certain kind of water. Those whom God uses will surely gush forth sweet water which will not have any bitter taste to it.
God's way of salvation is to put a new spring within us. He is saving us by making us a new tree. If we are a fig tree, we will surely not produce olives, and if we are a vine, we will surely not produce figs. Once God puts a new life within us, we will gush forth sweet water spontaneously.
We must pay attention not only to our speaking but also to our listening. If the brothers and sisters know how to listen, they will eliminate much improper speaking. Many improper words are running rampant because many people like to listen to them. As long as there are those who like these things, they will find an outlet. There are so many defiled, evil, gossiping, dividing, double-tongued words because there are those who want to hear these words. Man's heart is evil, crooked, and unclean. As long as there are those who want to hear these things, there will be those who speak these things. If we, as God's children, want to know the kind of words we can or cannot say, we should first know the kind of words that we should and should not hear. We cannot make our ears a trash can and allow unclean things to be dumped into us. We have to reject the defiled, unclean, and corrupting words and not allow them to lodge in us.
Brothers and sisters, if you hear any improper speaking, you must not be distracted by it; instead you should say, "I don't want to hear it!" If you do this, you will stop many sins and help many people. Some people have a lust to listen to these things. This causes these words to multiply more and more, and more and more people will have an interest in them. Brothers and sisters, when someone speaks some inappropriate words, you should either walk away silently, which will kill his interest in continuing, or tell him clearly that such words are unbecoming to a Christian, which may stop him immediately. Many words are like fire from Gehenna; one must quench them the minute they start, before they begin to spread. When many troubles arise, those who speak bear the major part of the responsibility, while those who listen bear a minor part of the responsibility. Man has a lust for idle words; he craves strange things. If we can deny this lust, we will quench many fires from Gehenna. When someone says something bad, we should say, "Sorry, as a Christian I cannot listen to this kind of speaking." Once we take a stand this way, we will stop these words. If we intently listen while others are speaking enthusiastically about certain things, hoping that they speak more so that we can hear more, we are not quenching the fire; rather, we are adding fuel to the fire. We are making the fire burn stronger.
Psalm 38:13-14 says, "But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; /And I am like a dumb man, who does not open his mouth./Indeed I am like a man who does not hear/And in whose mouth there are no reproofs." Many people should behave like deaf men. When others speak improper words, we should be like deaf men, hearing nothing. Many times we have to learn to be deaf and to ignore these words. Words are a great temptation, and we have to learn to overcome them. If we listen to unclean and vain words less, we will sin less and avoid much trouble.
Brothers and sisters, we have to be disciplined in our words; we have to learn to speak, and we have to learn to listen. We have to learn to fear God in the matter of our words. This is a great matter and a very particular lesson. We should learn this lesson properly. This is not something that comes cheaply; we have to put in much effort before we can build up a habit of speaking accurately. Speaking accurately is not easy. The minute we slip a little, our words err and our motives veer. Sometimes we may be right in the things we say, but our motive is to mislead others. This is lying. Therefore, we must pay attention to this matter and put considerable effort into dealing with this matter.
Psalm 141:3 says, "Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth;/Keep the door of my lips." We need this kind of prayer: "O Lord, guard my tongue so that I will not speak carelessly." Perhaps we should add another word: "O God, guard my ears so that I will not listen carelessly." We must reject all fruits of corruption. We should not give any opportunity for the poisoning stench to spread. We must not allow the tongue to carry us into looseness, ungodliness, and rebellion. May the Lord be merciful to us so that we learn to speak as well as listen.
