What's Coming Out Of Your Mouth -

Poison Or Fruit?

 

"...the tongue is the instrument either of a great deal of good, or of a great deal of evil." - John Gill's Exposition Of The Entire Bible

 

Proverbs 18:20-21 says - "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

 

Matthew 12:36-37 says - "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

 

With his own words, a man brings either satisfaction or privation and lack to himself and others.  If his words are prudent, pious, and filled with grace, he profits his own mind and conscience as well as his family and all within his house. Hence, those who make their words good are glad that they did - for they find out in the end that they have to live with the consequences of everything they say.

 

Words are powerful. Therefore, they must be taken seriously. The Scriptures let us know that they can bring life or death - preserve life or destroy it. 

 

A time of reckoning is coming for all. All useless, non-working, morally unprofitable, careless, inconsiderate, and rash words will be called into account.

 

Why are words so important? Simply because they are the index of the heart. They estimate whether the character is good or bad. The Lord Jesus verified this fact when He said - "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"(Matthew 12:34).  

 

Most are likely to be very frivolous with their speech - fancying that no great crime is committed through their words. Nothing could be further from the truth!

 

Always remember - no one will be able to say to the Lord Jesus on Judgment Day - "I was just kidding! I really didn't mean any harm by my words!"

 

This message is intended to awaken all saints to the crucial importance of their words. It's about time that we stop and take inventory of them before we face a Strict and Angry Judge on Judgment Day!  

 

Below are many thought-provoking quotes from various writers. Prayerfully read each one - asking the Lord to reveal to you the true state of your heart - based on your daily words. Whatever you do - do not take this assignment lightly. Your eternal destiny is at stake!

 

 

"Our own words frequently shape our good or evil fortune in life." 

 

"Many have lost their lives by their tongue, and some have saved their lives by it..." 

 

"How many are there who count words for nothing! and yet eternity often depends on them."

 

- all of the above quotes are from Adam Clarke

 

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"The testimony of our consciences will be for us, or against us, according as we have or have not governed our tongues well." 

 

"We ought to take as great care about the words we speak as we do about the fruit of our trees or the increase of the earth, which we are to eat; for, according as they are wholesome or unwholesome, so will the pleasure or the pain be wherewith we shall be filled." 

 

"A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue." 

 

"As men love it they shall eat the fruit of it." 

 

"...God takes notice of every word we say, even that which we ourselves do not notice." 

 

"If we repent not of our idle words, and our account for them be not balanced by the blood of Christ, we are undone."

 

- all of the above quotes are from Matthew Henry

 

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"Death and life is the great alternative which is placed, Deuteronomy 30:15, before man. According as he sees his tongue, he falls under the power of death or attains to life."

 

- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary On The Old Testament

 

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"...according to what a man sows with his lips, such is his harvest he is afterwards a partaker of." 

 

"Some, by their tongues, by the too free use of them, or falsehood they utter, are the cause of death to themselves or others; and some, by their silence, or by their prudent speech and prevalent intercession, secure or obtain life for themselves and others..." 

 

- John Gill's Exposition Of The Entire Bible

 

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"Words have a weighty influence on our eternal destiny." - The People's New Testament

 

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" 'words' are the indicator of the true principles of the heart; by 'words' the heart shall be known, as the tree is by its fruit."

 

- Barnes' Notes

 

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"You may perhaps think, God does not so much regard your words. But I say to you - That not for blasphemous and profane words only, but for every idle word which men speak - For want of seriousness or caution; for every discourse, which is not conducive to the glory of God, they shall give account in the day of judgment."

 

- John Wesley's Explanatory Notes