Do Not Talk Like the World
TIME in the Word - Daily Devotional
Together for Inspiration, Motivation, and Encouragement
Verse of the Day - Eph 4:29; 5:3-4
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
Daily Scripture Reading - James 3
Puritan Catechism
Question #30 - What is effectual calling?
Answer - Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit (2 Tim. 1:9) whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery (Acts 2:37), enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ (Acts 26:18), and renewing our wills (Ezek. 36:26), he does persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel ( Jn. 6:44-45).
Confessing Our Faith
A daily reading from The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689, as amended by Charles Spurgeon.
Chapter 1 – The Holy Scriptures
Devotional Thoughts
As we continue now in our examination of the influence of worldliness in our midst in the church, we move from the mind to the mouth. We learned that we are not to think like the world, but are instead to have the mind of Christ. We are not to be conformed to this world, but are to be transformed by renewing our minds in the Word daily. And one sure way to see what is in the mind is to listen to what comes out of the mouth!
Jesus is clear when He says in Matthew 15:
It is not what we eat that defiles us (as in eating unclean foods under the Old Testament Law), but it is what we say! It is what comes out of our mouths that reveal the true thoughts of our hearts and minds. And if we are not to think like the world then why in the world should we be allowed or expected to talk like the world?
Ephesians 4:29 makes the point in a way that I believe ends all debate. And yes, sadly, lots of people out there in the world will tell you that it is absolutely fine for a follower of Jesus Christ to use profane, vulgar, rude, and shocking language. They will offer all sorts of defenses - logical, philosophical, and even an attempt at a Scriptural defense of this undefensible position. You see, the Bible makes it clear. If we are not thinking like the world then we will not talk like the world, and to talk like the world shows the world (and the church) what is in our hearts and minds.
So back to Ephesians 4:29:
Let NO, NONE, NOT A SINGLE corrupt word come out of your mouth! We are to think on things that are "true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and are of good report," with "virtue" and being "praiseworthy." Since that is TRUE, then what we say should reflect what we think. Why? Because the words we speak have the ABILITY to impart GRACE to those to whom we are speaking.
Think about this. Why on earth would the world, the flesh, and the devil want to corrupt our speech? Well, bluntly put, because to corrupt our speech removes the grace giving qualities of what we say! And if our words can impart grace, and people are saved BY GRACE, then why do you think there is such a battle over the words we use?
So what is a corrupt word? It is a word that is by definition "rotten, putrefied, corrupted by one and no longer fit for use, worn out, of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless."
Another Scripture that helps us understand is found in Ephesians 5:3-4:
We are not to talk about filthy uncleanness! Foolish talking and coarse jesting refers to taking sin lightly, or joking about immorality and depravity. To have a wrong attitude about the seriousness of sin to the point that we LAUGH at sin is to violate this verse of Scripture. Bad language simply is not fitting for a follower of Jesus Christ.
Today, watch your mouth! Do not talk like the world. If you do it reveals a heart problem that needs immediate attention. And remember, it is not enough to not say inappropriate words. We should not think them either!!
Links for Further Study
(links to study each daily topic in more detail if you have the desire and the time)
A Shocking Truth about the Making of Discples by Pastor Phillip M. Way
Taming the Tongue - Part 1 and Part 2 by Pastor John MacArthur
Bible Reading For Further Study
Recommended Songs for Worship
Together for Inspiration, Motivation, and Encouragement
Verse of the Day - Eph 4:29; 5:3-4
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
Daily Scripture Reading - James 3
Puritan Catechism
Question #30 - What is effectual calling?
Answer - Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit (2 Tim. 1:9) whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery (Acts 2:37), enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ (Acts 26:18), and renewing our wills (Ezek. 36:26), he does persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel ( Jn. 6:44-45).
Confessing Our Faith
A daily reading from The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689, as amended by Charles Spurgeon.
Chapter 1 – The Holy Scriptures
Devotional Thoughts
As we continue now in our examination of the influence of worldliness in our midst in the church, we move from the mind to the mouth. We learned that we are not to think like the world, but are instead to have the mind of Christ. We are not to be conformed to this world, but are to be transformed by renewing our minds in the Word daily. And one sure way to see what is in the mind is to listen to what comes out of the mouth!
Jesus is clear when He says in Matthew 15:
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.
It is not what we eat that defiles us (as in eating unclean foods under the Old Testament Law), but it is what we say! It is what comes out of our mouths that reveal the true thoughts of our hearts and minds. And if we are not to think like the world then why in the world should we be allowed or expected to talk like the world?
Ephesians 4:29 makes the point in a way that I believe ends all debate. And yes, sadly, lots of people out there in the world will tell you that it is absolutely fine for a follower of Jesus Christ to use profane, vulgar, rude, and shocking language. They will offer all sorts of defenses - logical, philosophical, and even an attempt at a Scriptural defense of this undefensible position. You see, the Bible makes it clear. If we are not thinking like the world then we will not talk like the world, and to talk like the world shows the world (and the church) what is in our hearts and minds.
So back to Ephesians 4:29:
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Let NO, NONE, NOT A SINGLE corrupt word come out of your mouth! We are to think on things that are "true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and are of good report," with "virtue" and being "praiseworthy." Since that is TRUE, then what we say should reflect what we think. Why? Because the words we speak have the ABILITY to impart GRACE to those to whom we are speaking.
Think about this. Why on earth would the world, the flesh, and the devil want to corrupt our speech? Well, bluntly put, because to corrupt our speech removes the grace giving qualities of what we say! And if our words can impart grace, and people are saved BY GRACE, then why do you think there is such a battle over the words we use?
So what is a corrupt word? It is a word that is by definition "rotten, putrefied, corrupted by one and no longer fit for use, worn out, of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless."
Another Scripture that helps us understand is found in Ephesians 5:3-4:
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
We are not to talk about filthy uncleanness! Foolish talking and coarse jesting refers to taking sin lightly, or joking about immorality and depravity. To have a wrong attitude about the seriousness of sin to the point that we LAUGH at sin is to violate this verse of Scripture. Bad language simply is not fitting for a follower of Jesus Christ.
Today, watch your mouth! Do not talk like the world. If you do it reveals a heart problem that needs immediate attention. And remember, it is not enough to not say inappropriate words. We should not think them either!!
Links for Further Study
(links to study each daily topic in more detail if you have the desire and the time)
A Shocking Truth about the Making of Discples by Pastor Phillip M. Way
Taming the Tongue - Part 1 and Part 2 by Pastor John MacArthur
Bible Reading For Further Study
- Psalm 34:13; 35:28; 37:30; 39:1; 119:172; 120:2; 139:4
- Proverbs 10:31; 12:18, 19; 15:2, 4; 17:20; 21:23
Recommended Songs for Worship
posted by Phillip M. Way | 12:00 AM
1 Comments:
i printed this post and shared it with my son and daughters because it sounds crazy, but i've been reading some christian bloggers who use profanity and consequently i've started to use it...but god used your words to challenge me to stop....
thank you.
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