Dr Greg Bahnsen - Proverbs: Proverbs 4:20-27 (Control Your Mouth) (Part 15)

More godly and pleasing to him. And we're going to do this by turning to Proverbs, the fourth chapter, and take us our reading, verses 20 to 27, Proverbs 4, beginning at the 20th verse to the end of the chapter. Hear now God's word, my son. Attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thy heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life. Put away from thee a wayward mouth and perverse lips. Put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Make level the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil, and thus far the reading of God's word. Our text for this morning's Exhortation is verse 24. Put away from thee a wayward mouth, and perverse lips. Put far from thee. Proverbs, the fourth chapter. I trust you remember rehearses major themes which have already been explored in the Book of Proverbs. Themes like hearkening to parental guidance, the benefits of wisdom as a path of life, the foolishness of consenting to evil. These themes, which we have already expounded, are brought before our eyes again in Proverbs the fourth chapter, and then in verses 20 through 27. The message that the author wants to communicate comes to us in terms of an organizing literary device which was common among the Hebrews, especially remembering that they were not illiterate people for the most part, that most of their instruction was oral instruction, most of it took place by means of memorization. Many very clever, very helpful literary devices were used to help people remember what God had told them. And the organizing device that we see in verses 20 to 27 is the reference to various parts of the body. Wisdom gets communicated by remembering this regarding that part of the body, and this regarding that part of the body. For instance, verses 20 and 21 make successive mention of the ear, the eyes, and the heart. My son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst. Thy heart, you see that, and that helps you to remember it. It organizes it around parts of the body. Well, this gets expanded, you see, in verses 23 to 27, the list is expanded, mentioning the heart in verse 23, the mouth in verse 24, the eyes in verse 25, and then the feet in verses 26 and 27. What's the basic theme of the passage, though? We may remember eyes and ears and feet and lips and these sorts of things, but not get the point. The overall theme of the passage we've already studied and that is actually communicated in terms of the feet at the end of the paragraph. The overall theme is, make level the path of thy feet. Let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left. Remove your foot from evil. The straight and narrow path of life. And we remember how our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ taught, narrow is the gate and straightened the way which leads to life. The book of Proverbs was preached it already in the Old Testament. Make sure that your way is straight. Don't be a person of crooked devices. Now, last week we focused on the importance of and the instruction God's Word gives us for the heart, though verse 23, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. And thus Jesus himself would later teach in the New Testament that the things which defile a man have nothing to do with ceremonial requirements, whether you wash your hands before eating and so forth. The things which defile a man, he says, come forth from the heart. Adulteries and lies and slanders, these defile a man. And in Matthew 12:34, Jesus said, Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The kind of heart you have, the kind of inner character you have, is revealed by what comes out of your mouth. And thus we come. We are brought finally, in our exposition of Proverbs 4 to verse 24, the mouth. The Book of Proverbs deals with a large number of subjects you already know that you've probably already figured out. You know, if we keep moving at this pace through the Book of Proverbs, we're going to be in Proverbs a long time. You thought you were in Luke a long time or first Peter a long time. Proverbs. We're only to chapter four. We've been doing this for months. We've got 31 chapters to cover. There are a lot of topics in Proverbs, and a lot of different aspects of those topics are dealt with. They're dealt with in many places, and they're dealt with in many ways. But this morning, I want you to note that there is no subject more persistent, no subject more fully examined than the subject of the proper use of the mouth, the subject of language or speaking. The Book of Proverbs will over and over and over again come back to how do you talk? What's the use of your mouth? This is an indication of the kind of wisdom, or lack thereof that you have. The Bible teaches us that as sinners, our root problem is captured in the word autonomy. Many of you have heard that if you've read Dr. Van Till's works, or if you've read Mr. Rushdooney or the works of reconstructionists. This is a common term that we banter about. We need to be aware of its meaning. Autonomy comes from two Greek words which means self and law. An autonomous man is a law unto himself. When Adam sinned, the Bible indicates that what he did in essence was to become a law unto himself. He became autonomous. Instead of honoring God's law, he honored his own law. Instead of letting his wisdom come from God and his guidance come from God, he thought things through for himself and he was an independent creature. He was autonomous and he was a sinner. In terms of his direction for life and in terms of certain areas of his behavior, Adam decided not to live under the word of God. He would in those areas and in terms of his ultimate goal, he would be his own final authority. He would be his own judge, he would be his own guide. And that, you see, has continued to be the essence of sin for all of Adam's posterity as well. In terms of our general direction in life, or in terms of certain aspects of our lives and behavior, we proceed as though we are not responsible to God, that His Word doesn't guide us in that area, that we aren't subject to his authority in such a matter, that we're not accountable, we're not under particular orders from God, we're not subject to any judgment but our own. We become very simply self lawed, autonomous people doing what is right in our own eyes and in so doing, suppressing the word of the Lord. Now, as Christians, and I think especially as those Christians that are concerned with the reconstruction of all areas of life by the law word of God, we can readily see the damnable character of autonomous behavior. In many areas, such areas as politics, we see the self willed, unlawful behavior of men. In politics or economics, we see the autonomy of artists or modern music, what have you. We see the autonomy in terms of the public morality of our society. But you know, what we're somewhat less prone to see is autonomy as it rears its ugly head much closer to home, much closer to our own version of waywardness. For instance, we're not nearly as inclined to see Autonomy come to expression in the way we relate to God's people, the biblical directions for life within the body of Christ, commitment to the congregation, submission to the shepherding. In that area, we tend to think, well, modern American thought just doesn't make a big deal out of that. But it's still an area of autonomy. That and other things too. We may think the way we watch TV is under our own scrutiny and direction, or the way we lay around and lazily refuse to study the Bible or go out and witness or exercise ourselves into prayer, that too is rearing the ugly head of autonomy. But we tend to think, oh well, everybody lives that way. And so that's okay. We want to accuse sinners of autonomy out there. But you see, we fail to see the autonomy in our own lives. The common thread though of sin, whether it's politics to the life in the congregation, to your own laziness, the common thread in all of that is being a law unto yourself, not subjecting everything in your life to the word of God. Now what I want to tell you this morning is that this persistent problem of autonomy, the problem of sin, is most clearly seen, most readily seen most consistently and vividly seen in the way that we use our mouths. There's not a person here today who will leave, I don't think saying thank you very much for that message. That was very comforting. Because you see, we're going to talk about an area that the Bible says, if any man doesn't offend in this area, then he's a perfect man. And since I'm not looking at anybody that I expect is going to make that profession, I think there are going to be some toes stepped on this morning. I'm going to step on my own as well. I want to make that very clear. But all of us have problems with autonomy in terms of the use of our mouths. Man's self willed nature, man's rebellious heart, his unloving character, his determination to be his own authority, to be his own law, is nowhere more evident than in the way he speaks. So the message of the book of Proverbs to those who would be wise and godly this morning is very simply, very bluntly, control your mouth. Would you be wise? Would you be godlike? Then watch how you talk. We read in James, the third chapter, the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue which defiles the whole body and is set on fire by hell. The tongue can no man tame. It is a restless, evil fire full of deadly poison. Well, that's not very flattering, is it? The tongue is like a violent monster, a defiled, poisonous monster in our body, and no one can tame it. All of man's autonomy is focused right there in his mouth. It's focused in the way that he speaks and the way he uses his tongue. And consequently, if we're going to live God honoring lives, if we're going to live wise lives, we must learn to control our mouths. James 3 puts it this way. If anyone stumbles not in word, the same as a perfect man able to bridle the whole body as well. If you could learn self control in your mouth, you could learn self control everywhere else in your life. When I teach courses on Christian ethics, and particularly on personal sanctification, I usually have a whole unit that deals just with this. You want to learn to be a sanctified person? Then begin right here. Learn to control your mouth. Make your mouth do what God wants it to do. If you learn to bridle your mouth, the Bible promises you, you'll find the rest of life easy. Bridle your mouth. See, that's why James moves immediately from his discussion of the tongue in chapter three. In James 3, 2:12, he talks about the tongue, and immediately. Then he moves to the consequences about wisdom. Right after talking about the tongue, he says, who is wise and understanding among you? And James then sets in sharp contrast the pseudo wisdom that he says is earthly and sensual and devilish even. He sets that over against the wisdom which is from above. Earthly wisdom, he says, is characterized by bitterness, by faction, vile deeds, while the wisdom that is from God is seen in a good life of gentleness, or as he says in verse 17, in being pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. So, brothers and sisters, if you're going to attain wisdom, you're going to have to pay very close attention to the use of your mouths. Now, your family physician examines your tongue, doesn't he, as a way of detecting diseases in the body? And your pastor also now must examine your tongue as a way of detecting diseases of the soul. Remember, out of the abundance of the heart a man speaks. Jesus said, the way you use your tongue is a very definite sign of the character of your inner spiritual existence. And so Proverbs 4, 24 summarizes in brief form all of the counsel and all of the guidance which we will be receiving from this book about the use of our mouths, when it says very simply, get rid of a wayward mouth, get rid of perverse lips, The Hebrew terms that are used here are usually used for crooked roads and therefore suggest, by contrast, an idiom we have in English, straight talk. Proverbs says, engage in straight talk. Get rid of these crooked lips. Get rid of these perverse mouths of yours. God wants from us. Straight talk, talk that conforms to his holy law, talk which conforms to the narrow way of life. To do this, we must rid ourselves of all those ways in which our speaking is a swerving is an undisciplined, perverse, or crooked way of speaking. Now, if I'm going to tell you what that means in particular, we're going to have to take out our Bibles and turn to numerous passages. In fact, as I was preparing this message this week, I thought to myself, there is no way in what is the traditional American understanding of the length of a worship service. There is no way that I'm going to get all this material, even half of the material I want to get in. If I have you turn to all these passages. And so what I did is I typed them all out for you. And I'm going to have the ushers at this point distribute to you. I think we have enough for a couple in each family. The children will probably have to share, but I want distributed to you something I've called a moral checkup for your mouth. You're used to getting an oral checkup, and this, this morning, is a moral checkup for your mouth. And what we do is go through a number of passages, and I won't have time to read them all for you. Please don't throw these away. A lot of work and effort and concern went into this study sheet. If you will hold on to this now, I'll make a suggestion. While the ushers are doing their work here, if you will read every verse on this list every day for 30 days and then examine your life and ask whether you aren't controlling your mouth more. I think you will find it very valuable. You may choose to do it for another month and on and on after that. Try it. I'd like this morning, though, to go over briefly a moral checkup for your mouth so that you can learn to put away perverse lips and a wayward mouth from yourself. First of all, you need to notice the destructive power of words. Oh, children are so naive. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Ha. I'll tell you this. As an adult, as a young man, I'd much rather have sticks and stones thrown at me than the words that people have used about me much rather. I'd rather go put my arm in a sling every month to take care of the break in the bones than to deal with the broken spirit that comes because of the bitterness and the lies and things that people have said about me. Words can be very destructive. You know that. You know it not just because you've suffered it. You know it because you've practiced it. Just look at what the Bible says. Psalm 52. Thy tongue devises very wickedness, like a sharp razor working deceitfully. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. But we love to gobble people up with our mouths, to put them down and slice them to shreds. Look at Proverbs 12:18. There is rash speaking, which is like the piercings of a sword. But the tongue of the wise brings health. Words can be very destructive, very powerful. They can be like razors and swords and bitter arrows. But a wise man speaks in such a way that he brings healing, he brings health. So remembering that words have that power, the words have that destructive potential, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. I don't want any open confessions at this point, unless you just feel you must stand up before God's people and get it taken care of. But I want you to examine your hearts this morning and very honestly ask these questions now and throughout today and hopefully in the next month as you read this list over and over again. First, do you defame fellow believers with harsh language? Do you speak in such a way as to put down fellow believers? Do you use language that is harsh unnecessarily? So I sometimes talk this way. I've heard people talk this way. We disagree with fellow believers sometimes, and we'll make remarks like, you know, I don't think they check their Bibles for anything. Oh, that's harsh. That's hard. We see people who I've had this happen to me. I've written a book in which I say the Old Testament is just as much the word of God as the New, and we'd better pay attention to what God tells us to do there, as well as in the New. And then people will say, you Judaizer boy, that's harsh. You know, Judaizers are cut off from Christ. They're anathema, according to Galatians. I continue to have people call me a Judaizer. I'm sure that I've called people things just as bad. Do we defame fellow believers with Harsh language? Proverbs 15 says, A soft answer turns Away wrath. But a grievous word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise man utters knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools pours out folly. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness therein in the tongue is a breaking of the spirit. Isn't that true? The Bible says if you're a wise person, you speak gently, you speak softly, you speak knowledge aright. You don't say it doesn't make any difference how harsh it is. It's true. No, the wise man speaks knowledge right even when he knows what he's talking about. He sees to it that he says it right. Gently, softly, correctly, to bring healing and not a breaking. Next question. Do you criticize people unnecessarily? Do you talk too much? Every time I hear that old 60s song come on the radio, you know, talk too much, I start thinking out of people, you know, who that applies to. And then I feel so terrible because I should be thinking, maybe that applies to me. Do I talk too much? And particularly do I criticize when criticism is not really necessary? Proverbs 11:13. He who goes about is a talebearer, reveals secrets. But he who is a faithful spirit conceals a matter. Boy, you know that that does something to us as we think. Sometimes we're so righteous and so indignant that we have the right to go about telling people. Do you know what she said? Do you know what he did? The Bible says if you were a wise person, you conceal the matter. There's no reason for you to go around putting people down. There is sometimes an appropriate place and reason for that, but it's rare. The wise man conceals the matter. He's not a tale bearer. You know, sometimes we get into conversations. I know you've seen this happen. You get into conversations and someone's name will come up. And you'll hear someone, maybe yourself. You'll hear yourself saying this. You'll bring up some irrelevant criticism. Has nothing to do with the conversation. Oh, do you know about that person? I could tell you something about that person. Oh, and just how wise are you to talk like that? If you have something evil to say about your brother later we're going to say, go to your brother, restore him, build up the kingdom, be reconciled. But to talk to others about it, the wise man doesn't bear tails. Next. Do you judge mentally? Do you maliciously speak evil of fellow believers? Oh, I know why he dresses that way. He's only doing that to get attention. Oh, I know why they're doing that they're in it for the money or they're doing this because it's a power trip for them. They just want the glory. Just incredible evil. Speaking of people that will give, and what does James 4:11 say? Speak not against one another, brethren. He who speaks against the brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law, and so is not a doer of the law. Are you someone who has a tendency to talk about others and to do so in a way which is judgmental? You have a wicked mouth. Well, next. Do you speak charitably or uncharitably about people? Sometimes when we have to say the truth, we don't have to say it in an uncharitable way. That's a distinction that some people haven't picked up on. It's very immature to miss that. Not simply speaking the truth, but speaking the truth in love is what Paul calls us to. And so in First Corinthians 13, notice what the loving person does. Love is long suffering. By the way, I could have translated that patient. That's the thing to do. But I still like the archaic English because that really gets the point. It suffers long. That's love. Long suffering and kind. Doesn't behave itself unseemly, seeks not its own, is not provoked, does not take account of evil, rejoices not in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And so when I must speak the truth, and even when the truth must be critical of another, I should speak it in such a way that I believe all things and bear all things and hope all things. I don't rejoice in unrighteousness. I don't jump to the conclusion that I've got a wicked, malicious person here. I do my best to see them in just the best possible light. And I try to speak in a way that is uplifting and edifying, even when it's critical, but, you know, that doesn't characterize us very much. When we think we have something to say, then we have the right to let everything just go. And just the whole bag of filth gets burst open in our conversation because we think we have the right to speak against someone. Well, the next thing is just that question. Do you interpret people in the best possible light? Or do you say things like, well, I know he did that out of jealousy. Oh, how do you know that he did it out of jealousy? Has God given you the ability to read hearts? Has God given you that Divine ability to see through the outer appearance and to see the motives of people. And yet we do that. We freely do that. We don't read them in the best possible light. We're guilty, as Paul says in First Timothy 6. 4, of evil suspicion. We're always looking for, why is somebody doing something? We have an evil idea of it. And you know why we usually do? It's because we know ourselves so well. It's because we know our own hearts. And then what we do is we project that on others. Isn't that right? But notice what you read in Hebrews 6. 9. It's really a beautiful thing. Here the author of Hebrews is indicting people, in fact, for apostasy, for terrible, wicked lives. And then after he said that, he uses these words, but beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation. The author of Hebrews says, I refuse to impute that to you automatically. I am persuaded better you in a number of examples I've provided for you. Here you'll see this. Reading people in the worst possible light, taking their actions and making them look as bad as it possibly can be. The one that really sticks with me is Acts 28:4. The barbarians saw the venomous creature hanging from Paul's hand, and they said, one to another, no doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet justice has not allowed him to live. Okay, so Paul has this poisonous snake hanging on him. And the people who don't like Paul, they know why he's a murderer. I mean, what other reason is there? Well, there's plenty of other reasons. But of course we know because of our evil suspicion and our uncharitable interpretation of people, we know that we can judge him as a murderer. Sound like you. Maybe you're not talking about venomous creatures hanging off of people's arms. My. My bet is you and me both know plenty of times when we have not seen our opponents, not seen our enemies, not seen the person with whom we're disagreeing, not seeing a person that we've had a spat with in the best possible light, but in the worst. The next question on your moral checkup is, is what you say kind? You're the sort of person who is known for a kind word. Or do you say things about people like, oh, he's just lazy, he's just lazy. Isn't that a kind thing to say to people, reading them in the best possible light? And even if it's true, is that the way to restore, to build up and to help the situation, he's lazy. Ephesians 4:32 says, but be kind one to another, tender hearted, and show humility in what you say. And we sometimes are heard saying things like, oh well, how would he know? He never reads the Bible. How would he know? He didn't graduate from college. Is that a humble way to talk about people? Philippians 2. Do nothing through faction or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind. Let each count the other as better than himself. When you talk about people, it should be evident that you are treating them and looking upon them as better than you. Even when you have to criticize them. Do you speak carelessly? You know, there are people that shoot from the hip, as we say, who just say things without adequate research, without adequate reflection, or without caring how they word it. They'll just blurt something out. And then if somebody says, well that's really not true, that's really not fair, that's not really kind, and say, oh well, I didn't mean it that way. As though they were not under obligation to first think and then speak. You know, engage the mind before you engage the tongue, lest you make the mistake of putting the foot in where it doesn't belong. Think in the way that you talk about people. Proverbs 15:28. The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. You see, the image is of one man who stands back and cautiously thinks, how should I put this? And another man who just blurts it forth and all this wickedness goes spewing. And then when you think about how you should word things, do you choose your words cautiously and fairly or do you press into service provocative expressions, emotive expressions, unqualified expressions? What if I were to say, you know, those people who disagree with me, they're just air headed lackeys of the establishment. People who don't like my books. They're obviously empty headed people who are just doing nothing but trying to fit in with the establishment. Now look, the language there is full of invective, full of emotive terms, airhead. It's full of categorical expressions. Everyone who disagrees is just doing so because they're following the establishment. What does the Bible say? The Bible teaches us that when we lump people together, the righteous and the unrighteous, and treat the righteous in the way that the unrighteous should be treated, we are doing something dreadful, sinful. You know, we're supposed to learn that lesson. For instance, with respect to racism, what if I were to say, as far as I know, all Filipinos are drunkards, you'd say, pastor, what a terrible thing for you to say. Undoubtedly there are some who are and some who aren't. You shouldn't just lump everybody together like that. And he'd be absolutely right. Well, what makes you think it's all right for us then to go and lump all Christians together and say all pastors are lazy? Are all dispensationalists? Are this. We don't have the right to do that. We're to speak cautiously, carefully, truthfully. And when we want to criticize someone, avoid the emotive rhetoric and describe. And then let the Bible do the criticism. Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold, a network of silver. That beautiful a word fitly spoken, the word that is studied and is hammered out just right so that it doesn't provoke and alienate. Well, here's another question for you. We got to move along quickly here. Do you gossip and discredit people? You're the sort of person who listens to and contributes to conversations with words like, you know what I found out about him. You know what she said? You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people. Leviticus Sundays, and Psalm 15:3 is very strong. Who shall dwell with Jehovah, he who slanders not with his tongue, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. Well, what if my neighbor's done something bad? The next question is, do you publicly criticize people before first speaking with them, before first seeking their restoration? What reason have you to speak against your neighbor, unless it's to build them up, to pull them back, to seek reconciliation and to do good? If that's your aim, then remember Proverbs 25:8 10 go not hastily to strive, lest you know not what to do in the end thereof. When your neighbor has put you to shame, debate your cause with your neighbor himself, and disclose not the secret of another, lest he who hears it revile thee in your infamy. Turn not away. Proverbs says, don't go running to others with your criticisms of your neighbor. Go to your neighbor himself, say, here's my problem with you. And then maybe you won't be put to shame when you find out you didn't know what was going on. You had read his heart, you were being abusive. Of course, Jesus our Lord puts it just as clearly as we could imagine in Matthew 18 if your brother sins against you, go show him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more notice. It doesn't get to the public level until you've first gone privately to try to restore your brother. Now, when you go and talk to your brother or when you talk to others about your brother, do you speak with sensitivity? Do you speak in the way you would want people to speak of you? Bertrand Russell, not a godly man and not even a good philosopher in my mind, but nevertheless a well known philosopher, did say at this one point something helpful. He said, you know, we have a tendency to read the very same action in a different light depending on who engages in it. Russell says, I am firm, you are stubborn. He is positively pigheaded. All referring to exactly the same thing, but depending on who you're talking about. Well, now the question is, how would you want people to speak of you? That's how you should speak of them. Isn't that the golden rule? All things, therefore whatsoever you would have that men do unto you, do so even unto them. For this is the law and the prophets. If you wouldn't want people interpreting you in that harsh light, if you wouldn't want people judging your motives in that way, if you wouldn't want that kind of unlanguaged used of you, then don't use it of others. Speak of others in the same sensitive way you want to be spoken of. And here's another important point. Do you exemplify the very things that you criticize others for? Are you guilty of the things that you put other people down for? You know, there are people who will criticize the government and the welfare state and they have their own children in the public schools. That's kind of hard to put together, isn't it? And there are people who I have heard in the past, men who are not married demand that if someone is going to be a leader or a teacher or an elder, that he must have the proven ability to raise a godly family. Of course, that person doesn't have a family, much less a proven ability to raise a godly family. But boy, that's a point to be driven home. The Bible says, judge not that you be not judged, for by the same standard you judge, you shall be judged. And with the measure you mete it out, it shall be meted out to you. You hypocrite. First cast out the beam in your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast out the speck from your brother's eye. Do Your words about others amount to humiliation or mockery. How is this? When we ask a question about some fellow who's going somewhere with us, well, did he get his wife's permission to go? Now? What kind of humiliation, what kind of mockery is that to say of a man that he has to get his wife's permission? If we say that in jest with him around and we all have a good laugh, that's one thing when you say that behind somebody's back, it's obviously devouring him. Galatians 5:15. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you not be consumed of one another. How about this? Do you say things and then later try to pull it back and pretend you didn't mean it? Evade responsibility? Well, I just knew you'd know I didn't really mean it literally. You know what the Bible says about that you're a madman. As a madman who casts firebrands and deadly arrows, so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I was only kidding. You know, harsh, bitter words. Firebrands, boom. Knocking people down, laying them low. And then when they say, hey, that hurts. You know, I wish you wouldn't do that. Oh, I didn't think you'd take me seriously. You know, we just rip the guts out of somebody in the way we talk about them, and then we say, oh, well, you know, I was just using an expression, little rhetorical license. And the Bible says you're a madman and a fool to try to evade responsibility in that way. Jesus said, for by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. And how about this? Are you always careful to tell the truth when you speak? Do you? You say things like, you know, I think he was charged with drunken driving. I think without doing your research, without knowing whether you're being very accurate, I've had people say, you know. Well, you know, the people at that church, they think that their church building is holy ground. Oh, we do. Is that really what we say? The man who bears false witness against his neighbor is a maul and a sword and a sharp arrow. Proverb says in Exodus 23 orders, you shall not take up a false report. Put not your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Ephesians 4. Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another. Be careful how you speak. Be very cautious that you speak only the truth. Another way in which we sin with our mouths is by not Keeping our promises. Psalm 15:4 he who swears through his own hurt and changes not, is the one who dwells with the Lord. Do you say you're going to participate in something, and then you find reasons not to, when it's inconvenient, when it's going to cost you too much, take more time than you thought? Are you faithful in marriage, for better or for worse, because you swore that you would be well, we live in a very unfaithful age, people who don't keep their promises. Here's another question for your mouth. Does it use coarse humor and foolish jesting? But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be named among you as become saints, nor filthiness, nor foolish talking or jesting, which are not befitting Another way in which we sin with our mouths is by flattering ourselves. God says, I hate pride and arrogance in the evil way and the perverted mouth. Proverbs 27:2 says, Let another praise you and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips. Do you sometimes talk and try to draw attention to yourself? Is that a one perverted way in which you use your mouth? Then one last question here, and it's crucial, because in a sense, if you could master this last one, all the rest would fall into place. Does your conversation use God's name in vain? What does it mean to take God's name in vain? Obviously the law says in the most explicit way, you shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. We cannot use God's name in an epithet. We cannot use God's name in a curse, in a vain and empty and frivolous way. But you see, taking God's name in vain is more than just saying those swear words where God's name appears. Taking God's name in vain is also found when we belittle his titles, his attributes, his or his works. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Do you worship God aright? If you don't, your mouth sins. O Lord, our Lord. How excellent is your name in all the earth. Do you see God's mark upon all of creation? Do you sanctify every area of your life to his service? If you don't, you don't take his name properly. You take it in vain. Taking God's name in the proper way requires that we profess the name of Christ and Praise him. If you shall confess with your mouth Jesus as the Lord and shall believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. God offers that. And when we will not call on his name, we have taken his name in vain. And if we have called upon his name for salvation, that will entail that all of our speaking will be pleasing to him. For whatsoever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. In the name of the Lord Jesus. His name is upon you, Christian. His name is upon your tongue, Christian. And so make sure you use your tongue to glorify him. Or else in taking his name upon you, you take it in vain. I told you I was going to step on some toes. I suppose if I was going to be a popular person, I'd apologize for that and say I'm sorry, you know, we've got to go through. But I'm not sorry. And it is necessary. And above all, those who pride themselves, I don't mean falsely, but I mean in the right sense, want to honor the word of God. We've got to be people who learn to reform our speaking. We need to have a moral checkup of our mouths from time to time. When Isaiah the prophet was granted that glorious vision of the Lord high and lifted up and his train filled the temple. And when in that vision he saw the seraphim flying back and forth and saying to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. When Isaiah stood before the majestic splendor of God, do you recall what he cried out? Do you remember what sin he was most anxious to confess? Isaiah said, woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Is that your cry this morning? Do you feel the burden of the uncleanness in your lips as you stand before the majesty of God? Do you see the unclean character of your mouth and your speech? Is it expl. Exposed by the all consuming holiness of God this morning then? If it is, remember as well that when Isaiah made that confession of sin, the seraphim brought a live coal from the altar of God and touched it to Isaiah's lips and said, lo, this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven. Forgiveness and cleansing is available to people with unclean lips such as ours. Forgiveness that has been accomplished through the divine altar of the atoning and purifying work of Jesus Christ our Savior. Only Christ can atone for it. Only Christ can defeat the foolishness and perversity of our lips when he, by saving us through his Spirit, gives us a mouth like his own. A mouth in which there was found no guile, no reviling and no deceit. If Isaiah's burdens on your heart to cry, I am a man of unclean lips, then seek the Savior. Let's pray. Lord, we do cry out. What else can we cry out as we look at what your word says? We are filthy in our talking. We're wayward with our mouths. We don't do what you tell us to do. We aren't godly like you. We don't have a wisdom that is from above. We are devilish and sensual and earthly and uncharitable and untrue and unfaithful. And our mouths are so weighed down with deadly poison. God, save us from ourselves. Save us from our waywardness. Drive out the crookedness and the foolishness that is in us and purify us by the saving work of your Son, Jesus Christ. Christ. May his blood cleanse us of our sins. May his righteousness be given to us and seen in your eyes as our own. May his spirit indwell us and change us and reform us to make us people who don't take the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in vain, but rather speak with lips that honor you and show forth wisdom and gentleness and kindness and truth. God, change our mouths, for we pray in Jesus name. Amen.