Proverbs A La Carte: Speech

wise and righteous speech using my own speech.

And so, Father, one thing that I do know is that nobody here today needs to hear my words.

They don't need to hear my thoughts or what I have to say about speech.

But they do need to hear yours.

They need to hear your word and what you have to say about it.

So, Lord, I pray that you would use this very flawed vessel to speak your word and that

you would give us eyes and ears to hear your word.

In Jesus' name, amen.

You guys may be seated.

Good morning.

I was thinking this morning that today was supposed to be our last day at Abiding Acres, and yet

now next week is, and yet here we find ourselves today.

We make plans, but we do what the Lord wills, and the Lord wills that we are here today.

So, today we're continuing our series in Proverbs and looking at what it has to say about speech.

Now, over this past week, I've been thinking and trying to come up with some sort of illustration

or story about why speech is important.

And in fact, it's actually been pretty hard for me, actually.

It was actually the very last thing that I put together for this sermon because I couldn't

come up with a story.

I came up with a few things initially, and I was working on them and mulling them over,

and eventually I tossed them out.

And so, I kind of went back to the drawing board, and I thought a little bit more, and

I came up with a few more ideas, and I was working on them, and I eventually tossed those

out as well.

And so, yesterday I was thinking and praying about it and, quite honest, feeling pretty nervous

because I still had nothing, and I realized something.

I'm not sure that I need a story or illustration to make us understand the importance of speech.

And the reason is because we have a lot of experience with it.

There's no story that I can give that can capture the importance of speech because we live it every

day.

All of us have experience of bad speech.

We have the experience when somebody speaks a word to us, and it wounds us deeply.

We all have the experience when a particular comment someone might make to us might shape

the way that we think or feel about ourselves for years to come.

Or, we've all had the experience in which someone's tone of voice might tell us everything we need

to know about how they feel about us.

And we've had good experiences too, haven't we?

We have experience when a kind word might brighten our day.

Or maybe a particular encouragement from a teacher or a mentor completely changes the direction

of our life.

Or, we've had the experience in the blessing of when a prayer or a particular scripture is

given to us from a brother and sister in Christ in a time of need.

I know that Mike, Eric, and I experienced that last week.

So we've had experiences.

We all had a lot of experience with good and bad speech.

And yet, with all that experience, don't you think we would be good at it?

Especially us as Christians, don't you think this should be an area that we are knocking

out of the park?

But we don't, do we?

Our tongues seem to be a particularly difficult area to handle.

And this has been true for Christians of every age, but it seems particularly true for us,

doesn't it?

And if the tongue is naturally difficult to tame, the internet sure doesn't make it any

easier, does it?

So, I don't think I really need an illustration, because we all understand the importance of

speech.

We live it.

You only have to live so long to understand it.

So, before we get into it, let me help us kind of orient ourselves just a little bit.

Maybe you're watching online or here, and this is the first time you're joining us.

And so, let me just kind of frame our time together this morning.

We've spent the last several weeks going through the first nine chapters of Proverbs, verse by

verse.

And in these chapters, we have a father who's writing to a son.

And if we could kind of summarize what the father's saying.

He's basically saying this.

The father is calling the son to leave his youthful life behind and choose the righteous

wise and not the path of the wicked fool.

So, after those first kind of eight, nine chapters, we've got a huge chunk of Proverbs.

Proverbs 10 · chapter mention

Chapters 10 through 29.

And it's a collection of these kind of hundreds of different Proverbs.

And they kind of discuss how we apply wisdom to our life.

And because this section of Proverbs is kind of somewhat randomly put together, it doesn't

really lend itself to go verse by verse.

And so, we've been looking at these areas topically.

And so far, we've looked at self-control and anger.

Today, we're looking at speech.

In the future, we're going to look at justice and diligence.

So, our goal this morning is pretty simple.

We're going to investigate what God's Word has to say about speech.

And then we're going to try to apply that wisdom to our lives.

And that last part's really important.

Because typically, when we use the word wisdom, we typically use it to mean that someone who's

collected a lot of knowledge.

But that's not quite what the Hebrew word means.

It means a little bit more than that.

It's not just a collection of knowledge.

It's an applied application of that knowledge.

So, you can think about a craftsman.

A craftsman not only has the knowledge how to build a house, but he actually has the skill

to build it.

So, we don't want to just collect information about speech today.

We also want to see how to skillfully apply it.

So, I've got three simple points here this morning.

One, the first point is, what does Proverbs have to say about the characteristics of foolish

speech?

Two, what does Proverbs have to say about the characteristics of righteous speech?

And three, how do we skillfully apply it to our lives?

So, let's jump in.

First, foolish speech.

Proverbs has a lot to say about foolish speech, and not surprisingly, it usually says foolish

speech comes from the wicked or fools.

And when we study the foolish speech, we can start to see some characteristics of it.

And so, the first characteristic of foolish speech is that it's violent and destructive.

Listen to how Proverbs describes foolish speech.

Proverbs 12, 6.

And I'll be giving a lot of verses.

It's probably best just to write the verse, or write the verse, chapter and verse down,

and not trying to write the whole thing.

So, Proverbs 12, 6.

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood.

Proverbs 11, 11.

By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked, it's

overthrown.

Proverbs 16, 27.

A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

So, foolish speech is when we have a particular intention to injure.

It's the type of speech that's looking for an opportunity to strike and draw blood.

It's when we make a particular response or have a tone or an attitude that's crafted in a way

that it can inflict the most damage to the other person.

Foolish speech has the intention of destruction always kind of lurking beneath the surface.

So, this isn't just a random misplaced word.

It's not a slip of the tongue.

It's speech that has a mission.

And in Proverbs 16, it says that the mission is to function like a scorching fire.

Some of the most common language that Proverbs uses to describe the effects of foolish speech

is the destruction of a city.

And I don't think I have to provide any examples for us at what the damage a scorching fire can do to a city.

Fire devours.

It consumes.

It takes a once whole structure and leaves it rubble.

We understand this imagery, don't we?

We've seen it.

We've seen the effects of fire on a city.

It destroys.

It burns.

It tears down.

Foolish speech functions in the same way.

It leaves a wake of destruction in its path.

But that's not all it does.

The destruction not only affects those around the foolish speaker,

it actually affects the foolish speaker himself.

Proverbs 18, 7 says,

A fool's mouth is his ruined, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

Foolish speech not only consumes like fire those on the receiving end,

but it also burns up the fool themselves.

It's like a cancer that's breaking you down inside.

And the stakes are high.

Proverbs 18 says that the foolish speech is a snare to his soul.

This is much bigger than just hurt feelings.

This has spiritual consequences.

In fact, Proverbs 11, 19 says,

Now, the Hebrew word for destroy here in this Proverbs,

it's interesting because it's used elsewhere in the Bible.

And if we look where that other word is used,

it kind of gives us an idea of what type of destruction

is talking about in this Proverbs.

So the word used for destruction here is the same word used for the destruction of the world in the flood.

It's the same word that is used for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis chapter 18 and 19.

Genesis 18 · chapter mention

So this isn't just bumps and bruises.

This is decimation.

It's not just about wounding and hurting each other.

It's about a spiritual laying waste of each other.

Foolish speech is destructive and violent,

destroying like a fire those around you as well as the fool himself.

Well, you might be saying to yourself right now,

Well, I'm glad that's not me.

I don't have any intentions like that, right?

When I talk to people, I don't want to destroy them.

I don't have violent intentions.

Well, maybe those aren't always our intentions,

but those are the consequences of foolish speech.

And let's not be so fast to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.

But Proverbs also talks about foolish speech not being blatantly destructive or violent.

So our second characteristic of foolish speech is that it's deceptive.

Listen to Proverbs 26, verses 24 through 26.

Proverbs 26:24–26

Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart.

When he speaks graciously, believe him not,

for there are seven abominations in his heart.

Though his hatred be covered with deception,

his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

Sometimes foolish speech is spoken in a way

that can disguise the hate and deceit that's hiding in someone's heart.

Where sometimes foolish speech might be flowing from our lips,

or sorry, gracious speech might be flowing from our lips

when sinful motives are sitting in our hearts.

The point is, let's not be so quick

to rule ourselves out of the category of the foolish speaker

because we don't have what we would consider

blatantly violent or destructive speech.

We need to do some heart work.

Each of us needs to check inside of ourself

and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us.

Is there any time that our speech is just fancy decoration

that is hiding a heart that actually wants some destruction for the other person?

I mean, think about Jonah.

Jonah was a guy who went to Nineveh,

Nineveh, and he is preaching repentance to the Ninevites.

He's preaching, you need to repent.

You need to give in to your sin.

You need to repent from your sin.

All the while, he doesn't want God to show them mercy at all.

Does that describe us?

Does that describe me?

We need to ask deep down,

do we actually want to see people broken when we speak?

And I'm not talking about a holy brokenness

when the Spirit convicts us.

I'm talking about,

do we want to be in a Hollywood movie scene

where we get to kind of charge into the room

and we tell it like it is

and then we slow motion walk out of there

while the room explodes behind us?

Do we want to bring destruction?

We have to ask the Holy Spirit to search our soul

because foolish speech is violent and destructive

and sometimes its intentions can be deceptively hidden,

not only from ourselves, but from others.

So, I think there's a question we can be asking ourselves.

We can use our fellow brothers and sisters

to help us with this question.

What effect do you see my speech having on other people?

Maybe we don't see the destructive nature of our speech

so we can use the help of our brothers and sisters

and we need the help of the Spirit.

This is something that can be difficult and hard

and without the Spirit opening your eyes

to your destructive speech,

if you have any,

you won't be able to see it.

So, the third characteristic of foolish speech

is that it is constant.

Now, before you start nudging your spouse

or person next to you

because they're a consistent talker,

Proverbs is not talking about the person

who just likes to talk a lot

or maybe an extrovert.

This is talking about someone

who is constantly arguing.

They never stop.

They keep speaking and speaking and speaking

and they never let it go

because they have to be right.

So, this isn't talking about someone

who's just talkative.

This is a perpetual, argumentative manner

in which they speak with others.

Proverbs 20, verse 3 says,

Proverbs 20:3

It is to one's honor to avoid strife,

but every fool is quick to quarrel.

So, the foolish speaker

is one who is not looking for resolution

in their discussion.

They're looking for submission.

They want the other person

to wave the white flag

and they're doing that

not because they've been convinced

of the person's argument,

but because they just want it to stop.

The unrelenting, argumentative speech

does not flow out of a conviction

to hear gospel truths proclaimed,

but simply because they want

their own opinion heard.

Proverbs 18, 2 says,

A fool takes no pleasure

in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion.

Sometimes we use the modern phrase,

Boy, that person sure likes

to hear himself talk.

And that's kind of what this proverb

is getting at here.

It describes the foolish speaker

as one who enjoys expressing

his own opinion,

but has absolutely no humble intention

of actually hearing the other person

and engaging with them.

And by humbly listening,

I don't mean that we are agreeing

or validating everything

the other person says.

There are some absolute truths

that we as believers

will not compromise on.

However,

we do take pleasure

in understanding people

so that we can preach

the gospel to them.

But the fool is only interested

in expressing his own opinion.

Proverbs 29, 9

expresses this a little bit more vividly.

It says,

A wise man has an argument

with a fool

and only rages

and laughs

and there is no quiet.

Can you guys see

how it's describing

the constant nature

of foolish speak?

It's not aiming

at anything specific.

One moment it rages,

the next moment it laughs,

and all the time

it never stops

because it has no righteous end.

So again,

let's not be so quick

to dismiss ourselves

from that category of speech.

This constant argumentative speech

may take on

some subtle forms.

Maybe it looks like gossip.

Instead of speaking

directly to the other person,

in order to gain understanding

and reconciliation,

do we talk behind their backs,

criticizing and belittling them?

Or maybe when we speak,

we're constantly

spinning the information

to make ourselves

look better.

If we're constantly

spinning to make ourselves

look better,

we're not looking

for understanding

and reconciliation,

let alone

we're not speaking

the truth.

Or maybe

we're constantly

condemning others

without the

corresponding

reconciliation.

Are we constantly

pointing out the wrong,

pointing out the wrong,

pointing out the wrong,

and never pointing

that person

to the reconciling

power of Christ?

We are

absolutely

called

to condemn

sin.

But foolish

speech

does this

without

the larger

context

of speech

that points

a sinner

towards their

need of a

Savior.

In the same

manner that

I

am a sinner

in need of a

Savior.

So foolish

speech is

destructive,

it is

deceptive,

it is

constant,

it wrecks

havoc wherever

it goes,

and it

eventually

consumes

the one

who spews

it.

So church,

I spent a little

time on

this area

because this

isn't a game.

Our speech

is not

a game.

sinful

speech

is real

sin

and it

carries

with it

the

devastating

effects

of real

sin.

And we

need to

take it

seriously.

So let's

move on

to righteous

speech.

The first

characteristic

of righteous

speech

is that

it is

humble

and gentle.

And when you

look at

Proverbs,

Proverbs has a

very poetic

nature to

it.

A lot of

times in

Hebrew

poetry,

you've got

comparison

type

sentences.

So the

first

sentence is

compared to

the second

sentence,

and sometimes

those comparisons

are similarities,

and sometimes

those comparisons

are opposites.

And Proverbs

use a lot of

those opposite

comparison

ways.

So listen

to Proverbs

15.1.

A soft

answer

turns away

wrath,

but a harsh

word stirs

up anger.

righteous

speech

is

gentle.

Or

Proverbs,

this particular

proverb uses

the word

soft

instead of

gentle.

Now if

you're like

me,

the first

thing that

pops into

your head

when you

hear soft

answer

is Mr.

Rogers.

Hello

boys and

girls,

would you

like to

be my

friend?

That's

not what

soft answer

is talking

about.

Proverbs

is not

encouraging

us to

walk around

speaking to

each other

in these

gentle

whispers.

Soft

answer

does not

necessarily

indicate

volume,

but it

indicates

control

and

effectiveness.

A soft

answer is

one that is

spoken in a

manner that

will quench

another person's

anger.

water.

It's like

putting water

on a fire

to suffocate

it.

Righteous

speech is

gentle in

the way that

it is

direct,

but loving.

It's

humble in

the way that

it is bold,

but not

arrogant.

I can't

help but think

of the way

that Jesus

speaks in

Matthew 22.

And this is

when the

Pharisees are

coming to

him and

they're asking

him about

paying taxes.

And in

Matthew 22.

15,

it says,

the Pharisees

came to

entangle

him in

his words.

So you

see those

deceptive

intentions?

They came

to entangle

him.

And when you

hear they

came to

entangle

him,

you should

think they

came with

foolish

speech.

And they

asked him,

they said,

is it lawful

to pay taxes

to Caesar?

And what

they were

really trying

to do is

they were

trying to

put him

into a

no-win

situation.

They

really

didn't

care what

his answer

was.

They just

wanted an

answer that

would get

him in

trouble.

And so you

can also

think they

spoke without

wanting to

understand.

More foolish

speech.

So what did

Jesus do?

He didn't just

roast him on the

spot for their

deceptiveness.

He didn't kind

of timidly say,

well, you know,

that's not really a

fair question.

He gave them

a soft answer.

He said,

give to Caesar

what is Caesar's

and give to

God what is

God's.

Do you

remember what

a soft answer

produces?

It turns away

wrath.

And so in

verse 22 it

says,

when they

heard it,

they marveled

and they

left him

and went

away.

Jesus gave

a soft answer

that turned

away the wrath

of the Pharisees.

His answer

wasn't weak.

It wasn't

timid.

It wasn't

shy.

It wasn't

unrealistically

bubbly.

It was

controlled.

It was

direct.

It was

gracious and

gentle.

Jesus could

have absolutely

lit them up

for their

deceptiveness.

He would

have been

right in

doing that.

But he

gave an

answer that

was filled

with truth

given in

love.

It was

direct and

loving.

It was

bold but

not arrogant.

And did

you notice

the power

of a soft

answer?

Look at the

effect it

had.

They walked

away and

they marveled.

Humble and

gentle answers

are powerful.

They carry

weight.

Proverbs

25 15

tells us,

with patience

a ruler

may be

persuaded

and a

soft tongue

will break

a bone.

I see a lot

of broken

bones.

It's kind

of hard

to break

bones.

A soft

tongue has

the power

to break

bones.

But did

you notice

something in

the beginning

of that

proverb?

With

patience.

Righteous

speech is

humble,

gentle,

and powerful

but it

requires

patience.

And to be

quite frank,

this is the

complete opposite

of our

hot take

society.

A hot

take is

when you

kind of

give your

opinion and

typically it's

a pretty

strong opinion

and you

give it as

fast as

you can.

Someone

asks you

and you

just shoot

off the

cuff.

You want

to be the

first to

say it.

Hot

takes are

the absolute

opposite of

a soft

answer.

Yet

righteous

speech is

characterized as

humble and

gentle and

powerful.

our second

characteristic of

righteous speech.

It is

restrained.

So if

foolish speech

is constant

and Proverbs

then portrays

righteous speech

as extremely

cautious and

restrained.

Proverbs 10

19

Sin is not

ended by

multiplying

words but

the prudent

hold their

tongue.

To be quite

honest, this

can be really

difficult,

can't it?

Holding our

tongues and

not speaking

might be one

of the hardest

things we have

to do in

life.

I don't think

that's an

exaggeration.

Proverbs

though has a

lot to say

about restrained

speech.

Proverbs 17

10

It tells us

not to

rehash old

events.

Be restrained.

Whoever

covers an

offense seeks

love but he

who repeats

a matter

separates close

friends.

sometimes the

wisest thing

we can do

is not

say anything

and that's

hard.

Our

restrained

speech might

also be in

the sense of

who we speak

to.

Do we

gossip or do

we speak to

the person

directly?

Proverbs 25

9-10

Argue your

case with

your neighbor

himself.

Do not

reveal another

secret.

secrets.

But it's

not only

who we

talk to

that the

restraint of

our speech

might be

connected to

it's also

the where

and the

when do

we speak.

Do we

speak to a

person now

in the

moment or

do we show

some restraint

and speak to

them later?

Do we speak

to the person

over social

media or

should we be

restrained and

speak to them

in person?

Where and

when matters

and it takes

restraint.

It's easy to

open the mouth

and let it

fly but it's

hard to be

restrained.

But Proverbs

tells us that

righteous speech

is restrained.

Third characteristic

of righteous

speech and

church this is I

think the

biggest point.

This is the

defining characteristic

I think of

righteous speech.

when we speak

it should be

giving life

to those

who hear it.

Righteous speech

is life giving.

Proverbs uses

some of its

most vivid

language when

speaking of

righteous speech.

And Proverbs

10 11 compares

righteous speech

to a well

of life.

Proverbs 15

4 it compares

it to a tree

of life.

life.

So in both

images we have

this idea of

something that

sustains life.

It would be

absolutely necessary

for a well to

be around in

order to sustain

life for a

family and its

livestock.

A tree would

provide shelter,

shade, a

source of food.

These images

were used

because it would

be understood by

the original

readers that

life flourishes

around wells that

give water and

trees that give

fruit.

And so in a

similar way

life flourishes

around the

life giving words

of the righteous

speaker.

So you may be

asking yourself

well how does

righteous speaking

give life?

How does that

actually work?

that's a good

question.

Is it because it's

just nice and

warm and gentle

and doesn't hurt

people's feelings?

Is it because that

positivity is just

kind of better than

negativity?

No, it's not any

of those.

Righteous speech

gives life because

it points us to the

source of life,

Jesus.

The moment we start

hearing well of life

or tree of life,

we should start

thinking about the

gospel of John.

John is constantly

speaking of Jesus

as the source of

life.

In fact, in the

gospel of John, we

get Jesus as famous

as I am, several

of which speak about

him being the

source of life.

Jesus says in

John 6, I am the

bread of life.

He says in John

11, I am the

resurrection and

the life.

He says in John

14, I am the

way, the truth,

and the life.

He says in John

10, I came that

they may have

life and have

it abundantly.

So how does

righteous speech

give life?

Because wise

speech springs

forth from

and points

to the

giver of life,

Jesus.

Church, if

Jesus is the

source of life

and he has

redeemed us

back, unifying

himself with us,

God, then how

could our words

not be coated

with life?

Scripture tells

us that out of

the heart the

mouth speaks.

Luke 6,

45 says,

the good person

out of the good

treasure of his

heart produces

good.

The evil person

out of the evil

treasure produces

evil.

For it is out of

the abundance of

the heart that the

mouth speaks.

The mouth is an

indicator of the

heart.

The mouth reveals

the heart.

The mouth can

make visible the

unseen heart.

So if our mouths

spew forth foolish

speech, what does

that say about our

hearts?

Brothers and

sisters, based on

God's word given

to us in Proverbs,

I would plead to

you that if our

hearts have been

raised from death

to life by the

blood of the Lamb,

then out of these

newly raised hearts

must flow life-giving

speech.

We must take the

path of the

righteous speaker,

which is humble,

gentle, restrained,

and life-giving.

And we are to

avoid foolish speech,

which is deceptive,

constant, and

eventually a ruin

to all.

So we've taken

some time to look

at the various

characteristics of

foolish speech and

wise speech, but

that's not good

enough.

It's not good

enough just to

have the knowledge

of righteous speech

and foolish speech.

As I mentioned

earlier, we want to

be able to

skillfully apply

that knowledge.

So how should we

let this knowledge

function in our

lives?

How do we

skillfully apply it?

Well, since there's

an innumerable amount

of scenarios we could

go over, I don't

want to pick some

random scenarios.

What I want to do

is I want to look

at a proverb and

see how it

skillfully applies

how to live a

righteous speech

out.

So in order to do

this, we're going

to use Proverbs

26, 45, kind of

as our framed

example.

So Proverbs 26, 4

through 5 says,

Answer not a fool

according to his

folly, lest you be

like him yourself.

Answer a fool

according to his

folly, lest he be

wise in his own

eyes.

So this proverb is

telling us in one

instance to answer a

fool and in another

instance it's telling

us not to answer the

fool.

And so what's the

deal?

Should we answer?

Should we not answer?

When should we do

it?

Well, let's take a

look.

We'll go through

this quickly.

The key phrase comes

in answer the fool

according to his

folly, which is in

both of the

sentences.

But the difference is

that in each sentence

the way in which we

answer the fool is

different.

In the first

situation, if we

answer the fool

using the same

speech and tactics

they do, we become

like the fool

ourselves.

Answer not a fool

according to his

folly, lest you be

like him yourself.

Yet in the second

one, according to

his folly, it's

saying that we

actually give an

answer to the

foolish things that

are being said.

So in other words,

we name and point

out the foolish

speech and the

destruction that it's

causing.

We answer the fool

according to his

folly, lest he be

wise in his own

eyes.

So when we

answer a fool, we

do so in a way that

exposes their foolish

speech.

But we never answer in

a way that makes us

become a fool like

them.

Therefore, there's a

skill in how we

answer the fool.

So how do we do this

practically?

So if you're going to

answer the fool, or if

you're going to answer

someone, we might have

to ask ourselves a

question.

Is my answer going to

show the fool his

folly, or is my

answer acting in the

same manner as the

fool?

And the answer to

that will give us

whether we should

answer them or not.

And guess what?

This isn't easy to

figure out.

It's hard.

We can't always do it

by ourselves.

We need help from

faithful brothers and

sisters to help us

decipher should we

answer.

So do you have any

brothers and sisters

you can go to and

ask them, should I

answer?

How is my answer?

How is my speech in

this situation?

Do you have a life

group that can support

you that you can go

to?

Sometimes we don't

have the time to do

that.

And so more importantly,

are we praying about

these things?

Are we asking the

Holy Spirit to help

us when it comes to

righteous speech?

Help us know when we

should speak.

Help us know when we

should hold our

tongues.

If we're not praying

about these things, we

need to be.

So I think what we can

gather from this

proverb is that when we

speak or when we don't

speak, it requires a

skillful application.

It requires us to know

first what wise speech

looks like.

It requires us to know

what foolish speech

looked like.

And then knowing those

two things helps us to

know what path to go to

so we can pursue that.

We can take that and

apply it to a lot of

situations.

We can ask ourselves,

what does wise speech

look like in this

situation?

What does foolish speech

look like in this

situation?

Am I exhibiting the

characteristics of any of

those in this situation?

I just want to give a

word of caution and a

word of encouragement as

we close when it comes to

speaking and when we

don't speak.

If we do decide to

answer, I just want to

give us a quick caution.

When we lovingly show the

fool their folly, we must

be ready to give up our

desire to be seen as

right in the fool's eyes

because it's not going to

happen.

We speak truth not because

we want to be justified in

their eyes, but because

we're being faithful to the

one who is the ultimate

standard of truth.

And how about when we

don't answer the fool?

Well, to be frank, on the

whole, Proverb actually

presents arguing with the

fool as an unprofitable use

of our time, even when our

argument or cause is

entirely justified.

But I want to encourage you

in those times when we

don't answer.

You might be thinking,

well, if we don't answer,

don't they win?

Well, no, not ultimately.

Because God is a righteous

and holy God, and he will

judge not only the actions

of the wicked, but the

speech of the wicked as

well.

When we don't answer, what

we're doing is we are

trusting in the Lord to

intervene by silencing and

stopping the foolish speech

and vindicating those who

have spoken wisely.

God is a righteous judge who

will make all things right,

if not now and the last

day.

God will judge not only the

actions of the fool, but

also the speech of the fool

so we can trust him to

handle it.

It's not our job to put the

fool in their place.

That will be accomplished by

the risen and reigning king.

We must leave it to the Lord

to trust in him as he is a

righteous judge.

And in fact, isn't this a

great summary of what the

father is telling the son in

the beginning of Proverbs?

Basically, the father is

telling the son, the Lord is

worth trusting even when the

way of wisdom doesn't seem

the most attractive.

Or even when we can't see the

Lord's actions in this world.

This is what the fear of the

Lord is the beginning of the

wisdom looks like.

putting our trust in him when

we speak or when we don't

speak.

So before I close and pray, I

just wanted to say something

quickly.

If God's used this time to

convict you about your manner

of speech and you've already

put your faith in Christ, then

praise God for his graciousness

towards you.

Run to him, confidently confess

your sinful speech, and

because his mercy is more than

your foolish speech.

By God's goodness and mercy, he

will continue to do a good

work conforming your speech to

a manner worthy of the

gospel.

But if you haven't yet put your

faith in Christ, I wanted to

be very clear about something.

I don't want something to be

mistaken.

Being more wise in your speech

will not save you.

Better speech will not earn you the

gift of salvation.

It is only by trusting in Jesus and

what he did for you on the cross

that will save you.

And when God has changed your heart

from a heart of stone to a heart of

flesh, it is only then that we can

have truly righteous speech.

So if you want to know more about that,

please come down after service and talk to

myself or one of the other pastors.

We'll be down here.

If you're online, contact the church.

We'd love to be able to talk to you about

that.

Let's pray.

Father, we are thankful that we have your

word that talks to many different areas of

our lives.

Father, I pray that your spirit does a

work in us, in our hearts, in our bodies,

that we are speakers of life.

That when we speak, it doesn't tear down,

but it builds up.

And ultimately, it points to Jesus and all

the glory is given to him.

Lord, thank you for your word.

Thank you for the direction that it gives us.

In your name, amen.