Watching Our Words

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth."

(Ephesians 4: 29, NKJV)

 

In today's modern evangelical Church, there has been a popular trend that has been occurring in some parts of the Church in regards to using foul language in the pulpit as well as out of the pulpit. Only a short while ago the Church frowned upon such bad language being used in everyday conversations, let alone the pulpit where the Word of God was to be reverenced and taught to the congregation. Yet today, there are some Church leaders who don't even bat an eye or even blush at the unholy language, coarse jesting, and crude jokes that proceed out of their mouths when they preach. Now some believers may be shocked to hear that such fowl language is ever used by Christians. Such believers who have not been subject to such irreverent speech in the pulpit are very blessed. However, this is nothing new to the Church. For this was also a problem in the early Church as well. Regular Daily Bread writer Marvin Williams confirms this: 

"Unwholesome speech was a problem even in the apostle Paul's day.  He reminded the Christians at Ephesus that they should put away vulgarity, lewdness, slander, and obscene talk from their lives (Eph. 5:4; Col. 3:8). These were expressions of their old lives (1 Cor. 6: 9-11), and it was now out of place with their new identity in Christ. Instead, their lives were to be characterized by wholesome  speech. Their good or wholesome words would give grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29). The Holy Spirit would help guard their speech, convict of any filthy talk, and help them to use words to benefit others (John 16: 7-13)."[1] 

In other words, the life under the control of the holy Spirit will produce wholesome speech that will both edify the hearers and bring glory to God; but the believer's life that is controlled by the flesh will infect the hearers and bring dishonor to the Lord. Indeed, today we need to watch our words that we say to others. In Scripture Christians are to be "the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5: 13). Which means we are to have salt in our speech. Paul’s words are fitting here: "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Col. 4: 6, KJV).

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[1] Marvin Williams, Our Daily Bread, (Radio Bible Class [RBC], Grand Rapids, MI, 2013), Wed. Jan. 23.