The Revealing Nature of Our Words

Kellyanne Conway, you know her.

She's one of the most powerful individuals in this country.

Her official title is Counselor to the President of the United States.

She also ran Donald Trump's presidential campaign, led him to success.

Well, about two months ago, on January the 9th was the date,

she tried to defend Donald Trump's loose tongue with this statement,

you always want to go by what's come out of his mouth rather than look at what's in his heart.

She made that statement in a live interview.

You can go online and just look it up, read it for yourself, or watch it.

I want to be very clear that in no way was intended to be a political slap at her or President Trump.

I hope and pray that he will be a great president and help our country,

and she'll help him along the way.

But that is a demonstration or an example of someone who tries to downplay the importance of our words.

Now, when I first read that, I was stunned.

She was telling us, telling the world,

not to listen to what the President-elect of the United States was saying,

but just look in his heart.

Now, think about that.

She was saying that what comes out of a person's mouth is no reflection of what is in his heart.

That's the exact opposite of what Jesus said.

Look with me at Luke chapter 6, verse 45.

Luke 6:45

Jesus said,

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The New Living Translation says it this way,

What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Jesus was making the point there.

Also in Matthew chapter 12, verse 36.

Matthew 12:36

That what comes out of a person's mouth is a clear reflection of what is in his or hers heart.

Jesus confirms what we've been looking at in the book of Proverbs over the past seven weeks, doesn't it?

Words matter.

Your words matter.

My words matter.

Because words are powerful.

That book of wisdom, Proverbs.

You remember how it describes the power of our speech in life or death terms?

Look at it again from Proverbs 18, 21.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

The power of the tongue.

The power of our speech.

The power of our words.

They can destroy.

They can destroy.

They can destroy us.

They can destroy other people.

But words can also be life-giving.

Life-encouraging.

And we've looked at examples of all of that.

Well, this morning I want us to conclude this study on the power of our words or the importance of our words

by looking closely at the two passages from the New Testament

that we've been looking at from time to time throughout this series.

Luke chapter 6 verses 43 through 45 and Matthew chapter 12 verses 36 and 37.

Luke 6:43–45 Matthew 12:36

I'm going to put it on the screen, but if you want to turn to in your Bible and just look at it, mark it.

Luke chapter 6, Matthew chapter 12.

Luke 6 · chapter mention Matthew 12 · chapter mention

Let's look first at this.

Our words reveal the kind of relationship we currently have with God.

I want you to understand that.

From what Jesus said, and it's going to be clear.

Our words, the way we talk, it indicates what our current relationship with God is right now.

Look at Luke 6, 43 through 45.

Jesus said,

For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit.

For each tree is known by its fruit.

For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

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 often used that analogy of how a tree is known by the fruit it produces to teach an important lesson.

A person is known by the fruit that he or she produces.

I want you to think about how Jesus explained that in terms of both people who do evil and people who do good.

For an example, he said twice in reference to false teachers to be aware of them because of their fruit.

Look at it.

Matthew 7, verse 15.

Matthew 7:15

He says,

Be aware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

You will recognize them by their fruits.

And then he went on in verse 20 to repeat that very same statement.

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

So Jesus in teaching that Sermon on the Mount, he says you can spot a false teacher, a false prophet.

You can spot someone who is lying to you.

You can spot someone who is basically an evil person doing evil things by looking at the fruit of their life.

But that's also true about his people, faithful people, good people.

Look in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Jesus in speaking to his disciples said,

Abide or remain in me and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing.

By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit

and so prove to be my disciples.

Let's think about that.

We all know that a tree produces fruit according to its nature.

To use what Jesus said,

A fig tree produces figs.

An apple tree produces apples.

A grits tree produces grits.

Now I just said that to see what you would do.

See if you were paying attention.

But I don't understand it.

Louis Grisard wrote a book,

Don't Sit Under the Grits Tree with Anyone But Me.

Why would he lie in the title of his book?

Anyway, you know,

a tree produces fruit according to its nature.

What Jesus is talking about,

when he uses this word fruit,

to describe what people produce,

he's saying that whatever you are,

you will demonstrate it

by the things that are observed in your life.

It's a general term

to describe a variety of things,

when he's talking about a Christian now,

that the Spirit of God will do and produce in our lives.

When Jesus talks about fruit,

he's talking about what comes out of us.

He's talking about our words.

He's talking about our actions.

He's talking about our character.

In terms of a Christian,

Paul wrote about the fruit of the Spirit,

describing character qualities,

like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

self-control, these kinds of things.

When Jesus was talking about it there

in John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

there were such things that he said

about his people being able to pray

in his name and God hearing.

A fruitful life is a life that is seen

in demonstrating Christian character,

Christ-like character,

being a person of prayer,

being a person who's concerned about

knowing and doing God's will

and praying accordingly.

The fruit of our life would be

any kind of good works that we do

because we love God or we love people.

We want to meet people's needs.

We want to please God.

But in terms of this message,

the focus of today,

the fruit that a person produces

includes the words that we speak.

That's what I want to underline today.

Jesus taught that each person produces fruit

that is consistent with what's in their heart.

That's another way of saying

that we produce fruit consistent with who we are,

who we are deep down.

When Jesus says,

what comes out of our mouth originates in our heart,

he's just saying,

what comes out of our mouth comes from

who we are, period.

Who we are with no mask.

Who we are, no covering up.

Who we are as God sees us.

Jesus makes it clear.

Your words.

My words.

They are a reflection

of what's in us.

That's what the last part of verse 45 means in Luke 6.

For out of the abundance of the heart,

his mouth speaks.

I don't think,

generally speaking,

we believe that.

Or at least we don't like to think that way, do we?

Because we sometimes think about

how we use careless words,

I didn't mean what I said,

things like that.

But what Jesus is saying here

in Luke chapter 6

Luke 6 · chapter mention

and in Matthew chapter 12

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

that we've been looking at

throughout this whole series,

he really means it.

And there's no other way to take it.

I want you to listen to how

some respected Bible teachers

describe what Jesus is saying here

when he says,

for out of the abundance of the heart,

the mouth speaks.

Look at what Darrell Bach says.

We are what we produce,

especially when it comes to what we say.

The mouth is a litmus test

of who we are spiritually.

Look at what David Garland says.

The assumption is,

in what Jesus said,

that the mouth is a spigot

from which flows

what is hidden away in the heart.

And then John framed.

We act and speak then

according to our character.

We follow the deepest desires

of our hearts.

Look one more time.

Or rather,

look at one verse

along this line

that should also

really get our attention.

It's in Matthew 12, verse 36.

Matthew 12:36

Jesus says,

I tell you on the day of judgment,

people will give account

for every careless word

they speak.

We're going to look at that

in a little bit more detail later.

We'll look at that phrase,

people will give an account

for every careless word

they speak.

The word careless here

means idle.

Idle words.

What we would consider

insignificant words.

Careless words are the things

that just sort of come out.

things that we say

without thinking.

Off the cuff remarks.

And you might think,

well,

do those words really matter?

I mean,

just sort of

spouting off a little bit.

Look at how

Craig Blomberg

points out

why careless words

are not harmless words.

He says,

what may seem like

merely trivial

or casual remarks

may at times

better reflect

the true attitude

of one's heart

than more carefully

chosen words.

What Jesus is saying

about these careless words,

and Blomberg

is trying to emphasize,

it's those careless,

without thinking,

off the cuff remarks

sometimes

that really

shows

what we're

thinking,

what we feel,

what we really

are.

This is a warning

to all of us.

We need to be

aware that

those hurtful things

that we say

in anger,

in frustration,

and then come back

later on and say,

oh, I didn't mean it.

Jesus is saying,

you did mean it.

Here's what I think

he's talking about.

When I get mad

and I pop off,

at that moment,

that's what I mean.

I may get mad

at Mike

and say,

you're an absolute

moron.

And at that moment,

my attitude

and my heart,

I am just mad

at him,

I want to hurt him,

I want to do something

to put him down.

That is what I mean

at that moment

in time.

That's what Jesus

is saying.

Now,

as a Christian,

we're going to come

to this in a moment

and we're going to look

at Peter as an example

so you know I'm not

just blowing smoke here,

I'm telling you

what really happens.

As a Christian,

I may get mad

and I may pop off

to him or someone.

At that moment in time,

that's what I want

to do.

I wanted to hurt him,

I wanted to hit him,

I wanted to do

something to him.

But when I calm down,

I think to myself,

why did I do that?

Why did I say that?

I don't really think

he's a moron,

I don't really want

to hurt him.

And if I really do that,

I'm going to go

and apologize to him.

I'm going to let him know

that is out of character.

It's not what I really think,

but the truth is,

at the moment,

I did.

And when you say

those things,

you do too.

And we have to accept

ownership for that stuff.

It's not just blowing smoke.

Jesus is saying

it matters

because it indicates

what we are.

Careless words

are not harmless words.

And that bothers me.

And Jesus intends

for it to bother us all.

What Jesus is actually

teaching in all this

is that if we think

we've got a problem

with our mouth,

we've really got

a much more serious problem

because we've got

a problem

with our heart.

The mouth only

spews out

that which is

deeper in us.

We really don't have

word problems.

We have heart problems,

Jesus is saying.

Let's go back

to what we read

in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Look again

at what Jesus

told his disciples.

He said,

you abide in me,

you remain in me.

You stay united to me

and I in you.

As the branch

cannot bear fruit

by itself

unless it abides

in the vine,

neither can you

unless you abide in me.

I am the vine,

you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me

and I in him,

he it is

that bears

much fruit.

For apart from me,

you can do nothing.

The only way

that we can have

a good heart

and produce

good fruit

in terms of our words

or our actions

is if we have

a real relationship

with Jesus Christ.

That's what he was

telling his disciples.

That's really the point

he's making

in Luke chapter 6

Luke 6 · chapter mention

and Matthew chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

We're born

with a sinful heart.

All of us.

We're born

with a sinful heart

that is incapable

of producing

the good fruit

that Jesus was

talking about.

I mean,

that's what he says.

Apart from him,

we can do nothing.

The only way

that our hearts

can be changed

is by the supernatural

work of God

that he does

when he brings about

a new birth.

Jesus talked about that

in his conversation

with the man named

Nicodemus

in John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

I'd encourage you

to read that.

Now,

if God's already

done this work

in us

to bring about

a new birth,

God has regenerated us.

If God has changed

our heart,

if God has put

his spirit in us,

that's what changes us.

And there will be

evidence in our lives.

We will,

to use these

same analogies,

we will produce

good fruit.

We'll bear

good fruit.

And a part of that

good fruit will be

good words.

And so,

we are at a point now

where we just need

to look at ourselves.

You think about

your life.

Do you see

evidence

that God

has worked in you,

brought about

a change in you,

a change of heart,

that results in

you bearing forth

good fruit,

good works,

good words.

Now,

let's be clear

about this.

Jesus was not

saying that

Christians will

produce only

good fruit

and good words.

That's what I was

talking about

a moment ago.

I want you to

look at the

pattern of your life.

Think about,

think about how

you really are

in the big

picture.

People who

observe you

over a period

of time,

what do they

see?

Let me ask it

another way.

What are your

deepest desires

most days?

What does your

speech reveal

about you

most of the time?

and what

direction is your

life heading

overall?

Are you

making progress

in developing

Christian character?

Are you

really growing

and becoming

more obviously

a child of God,

a follower

of Jesus?

Nobody lives

this kind of

way,

produces this

kind of fruit

every day,

all the time.

And Peter's

the example

that I referred

to a moment

ago.

The apostle

Peter,

in case you

don't know

who that

is,

Peter was

the leader

of Jesus'

band of

disciples,

apostles,

the ones he

commissioned

to be with

him.

He trained

them and he

sent them

out in the

power of the

Holy Spirit.

And there's a

lot of information

about Peter

in the first

part of the

book of Acts,

how faithful

he was.

He truly

loved the

Lord,

but he also

truly failed

his Lord

on several

occasions.

One of the

worst examples

is what's

most remembered

is when Jesus

was arrested,

was on trial,

about to be

executed,

at a time when

he really needed

the support of

his followers,

they deserted

him.

And Peter

not only

deserted him,

but Peter

denied when

asked.

He denied

that he even

knew Jesus.

Three times

he said,

I don't know

the man.

Peter's

words

indicated he

was not

a follower

of Jesus.

Peter's

words

indicated

somebody who

had a bad

heart,

but that was

not what he

normally was,

not how he

normally spoke.

But Peter,

that wasn't just

one day.

He had other

issues when he

was unfaithful.

Years later,

he was

around a

group of

Gentile

Christians.

He was

coming from

a Jewish

background.

And when he

was around

these Gentile

Christians,

he treated

them just

like equals,

brothers and

sisters.

But when

some Jewish

Christians came

to the

community,

he acted

like he

didn't know

these Gentile

Christians.

And the

Apostle Paul

saw that,

and the

Apostle Paul

in front of

everybody called

him out,

called him a

hypocrite,

and even

wrote it in

the book of

Galatians

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

It's recorded

in Scripture

that the

great Apostle

Peter played

the role of

a hypocrite

in the early

church in

one setting.

Why am I

saying this?

There are

days when

any Christian,

even Peter,

when their

words and

actions are

terrible,

are ungodly,

people,

but the

overall pattern

of a

genuine

Christian's

life is

that we

truly do

love the

Lord,

and we

show it

by the

way that

we live,

including the

way that

we speak.

And so

here's another

question.

As you look

at your life,

what is the

overall pattern?

is there

evidence,

consistent

evidence,

that the

Spirit of

God indwells

you and

is working

in you,

developing

you,

changing

you?

Does your

speech reveal

that?

Does your

overall

character show

that?

not on a

bad day,

but the

overall

pattern of

your life

does it

show that

you clearly

are a

child of

God because

of the

evidence,

the fruit

that is

visible?

If you

cannot see

such evidence,

Jesus says

your heart

is bad.

That's the

problem.

And the

solution is

for you to

ask God to

change your

heart, to

admit that

you're not

His, and

if you

want to

be, tell

God that

you are

truly sorry

for the way

that you

have lived

and dishonored

Him and

disobeyed

Him.

Change your

mind about

the way

you've been

living.

Turn from

it.

Repent.

Put your

trust in

Jesus that

when He died

on the cross

He actually

paid the

penalty for

your sins.

call upon

Him to

come into

your life

and be

your Savior.

And when

you are

united to

Him by

faith,

His death

for your

sins is

what's credited

to you.

You are

forgiven.

You become

a child of

God.

He will

change you

from the

inside out

if you will

truly commit

your life to

Christ as

your Savior

and your

Lord.

Now it

may be that

you would

say,

I know

that I'm

a Christian.

I know

God's done

that new

work in

me.

I know

He has

changed

me.

And He

throughout

my life

He's been

changing

me.

But right

now,

right now

there's very

little evidence.

Right now

the fruit

that you see

in my life

is decayed.

It's rotten.

If that's

the case,

I want to

encourage you

to just be

honest with

God about

your failing

Him.

You're not

being faithful.

Confess your

sin.

Repent.

Change your

mind.

Turn around.

Come back

to Him in a

renewed faith,

renewed

commitment to

living life His

way instead of

your way.

Now before

we close out

this study of

our words,

we need to

look at one

more thing

that Jesus

said that

we've looked

at in just

about every

message.

It comes

from Matthew

12.

Here's the

statement.

Our words

will reveal

what kind

of relationship

we will

eternally have

with God.

Look at what

Jesus said in

verse 36 of

Matthew 12.

I tell you

on the day of

judgment,

people will

give an

account for

every careless

word they

speak.

For by your

words you'll

be justified.

And by your

words you'll be

condemned.

This verse is

not teaching

that our

salvation is

determined by

our words.

The Bible does

not teach that

we can earn

our salvation

by doing

certain things

or not doing

certain things.

By the way we

speak or not

speak.

The Bible

clearly teaches

that salvation is

by God's grace.

It's undeserved.

It's unearned.

Our salvation

is by God's

grace through

faith in

Jesus Christ

as our

Savior.

That he

paid the

penalty for

our sins

when he

died on

the cross.

Salvation is

by the grace

of God

through faith

in Jesus

Christ plus

nothing else.

But that's

not all the

Bible says.

The Bible

clearly teaches

that our

works,

including our

words,

demonstrates

the reality

of our

faith.

And that's

what Jesus

is saying

in this

passage in

Matthew 12.

Listen to

how the

ESV study

Bible

explains

what Jesus

is saying

in verses

36 and

37.

By your

words you

will be

justified

means

people's

words

will be

outward

evidence

of their

inward

character.

It also

says the

word justified

here means

shown to

be righteous.

Now I know

a lot of

people you

have studied

the Bible

and you

know that

the Apostle

Paul uses

the word

justified

in his

letters

especially in

Romans and

Galatians

and when he

says we

are justified

by faith

in Jesus

Christ

he's talking

about we

are declared

right with

God.

We're declared

righteous

through faith

in Jesus.

That is

not how

Jesus uses

the word.

Jesus uses

the word

to say

shown

to be

righteous.

And then

the ESV

study Bible

goes on

similarly

evil people's

evil words

will be

evidence

by which

they will

be condemned.

John

MacArthur

echoes

this.

He says

every person

is judged

by his

words

because

they

reveal

the state

of his

heart.

It seems

that

most people

will readily

admit

I have

trouble at

times with

my tongue

but a lot

of people

do not

understand

that that

is an

indication

of a

problem

with their

heart

with their

real

self.

Jesus

says

we struggle

with our

tongue

because we

have a

problem

with our

heart.

What comes

out of our

mouth

reveals

what is

really

in us.

What comes

out of our

mouth is

a reflection

of who

you are

deep down

Jesus

says.

So what

does

your speech

indicate

about the

condition of

your heart

right now?

Do you

need to have

your heart

changed?

Be honest

with God.

He knows.

You know.

If you've

got a real

heart problem

that it's

never been

changed,

it's just

sinful,

it's just

selfish,

it's just

about the

world,

then admit

that to

God.

Cry out

to Him.

ask Him

to save

you,

to change

you.

Ask

Jesus to

be your

Savior as

you surrender

your life

to Him as

your Lord.

And if you

need to have

your heart

cleansed

afresh as a

Christian,

admit that

to God.

The book

of 1 John

1 John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse

9 tells us

as Christians

what we

need to do

when we

recognize

that we've

got a

dirty heart,

that we've

got sin

in our

life.

He says

if we

confess

our sins,

He,

that is God,

is faithful

and just

to forgive

us and

to cleanse

us of

all

unrighteousness.

Christian,

if there's

something in

your heart

that needs

to be

cleansed,

purified

today,

admit that

to God,

repent of

that sin,

come back

to Him

in confession.

He will

forgive you.

He will

cleanse you.

He'll give

you a fresh

start right

now as

His child.

He'll fill

you afresh

with His

Spirit,

but you've

got to call

upon Him

and mean

it in

order for

that to

happen.

Let's pray

again.

Dear God,

show us

what we

need to

do in

light of

all that

you have

said to

us in

this series

about the

power of

our words,

the seriousness

of our

words.

Father,

if there

are people

in this

room who

are not

Christians,

make it

clear and

make it

clear that

by Your

grace,

and through

faith in

Jesus,

they can

be saved,

forgiven,

made right

with You,

made a

child of

Yours right

now.

Work,

dear God,

to call

them to

faith in

Jesus now.

Lord,

show Christians

in this room

their words

matter.

And if

they're truly

Your children

with Your

Spirit living

in them,

they will

not be

able to

speak

ungodly

words or

live an

ungodly

life without

real conviction,

guilt,

experiencing

Your discipline.

But help

them to see,

dear God,

that they can

be forgiven,

the guilt

can be taken

away,

they can be

restored to

real fellowship

with You

right now.

If they

will confess,

seek Your

forgiveness,

turn from

their sin,

and renew

their commitment

to Jesus

as Lord

of their

life.

Show us

all what to

do,

how to

respond,

help us

to do it.

And then in

an attitude of

prayer,

you just do

it.

Do what the

Lord is telling

you to do.

I'll be here

at the front,

be happy to

pray with you,

talk with you,

you let me

know.

Let's just be

in an attitude

of prayer and

respond to the

Lord as He

speaks.