a second daily practice you can take hold of
in your battle against pride and for humility is to
- Encourage and serve others.
do you know the reason that God made speech?
He tells us.
ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
unlike some of my faithful baptist brothers,
this passage not only tells us what we shouldn’t be doing with our speech,
it tells us what we should be doing with our speech.
corrupting talk:
- falsehood
- slander
- vulgarity
- deters growth in godliness
- hinders the cultivation of godly relationships
- deadening effect on the soul
- dulling effect on the soul
- any speech that is defiling
- any speech that is divisive
- any speech that is degrading
- etc.
paul leaves no wiggle room here.
c.j. mahaney said,
Among believers and their families in the church of Jesus Christ, there’s to be no decay-spreading communication of any kind, in any form, at any time, by anyone.
got it?
ok good, now we can move on to
edifying words are not:
- simply polite words
- simply politically correct
- simply nice
- simply flattering
- superficial
- compliments centered on man
- compliments exalting man
edifying words are:
- good for building up
- reveal the character of God
- reveal the promises of God
- reveal the activity of God
- cross-centered
- rooted in Scripture
- derived from Scripture
- identify the active presence of God
- communicate the evidences of grace that you observe in others
- flow from a humble heart
- etc.
paul doesn’t leave wiggle room here either…
we are to use these words only.
however, there is more specificity to the purpose of speech depending on the situation.
1 thessalonians 5:14
Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
the only way we can know what to say is by caring and thus, listening.
as for the timing of this type of speech,
hebrews 3:12-13
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
every day means every day…
how are you doing today?
lastly, paul explains the ultimate purpose for our speech.
referring to ephesians 4:29, c.j. mahaney said,
The biblical purpose for every conversation you have, in every personal interaction, is that the person who hears you will receive grace.
…we have God’s promise in this passage that when our words are edifying and appropriate, they will give grace.
some examples:
- for those who are legalistic or feel condemned … justifying grace
- to those struggling with a besetting sin … sanctifying grace
- to those suffering … comforting grace
- to those who are weary … sustaining grace
- etc.
correction is necessary and important but can be used very inappropriately
c.j. mahaney said,
Never correct without reminding the individual, at some point, of the gospel. Any conversation including correction must also include the gospel, because biblical correction is incomplete apart from the gospel.
biblical correction is not trimming the truth or avoiding the weight of the issue at hand,
but it is highlighting the weight of the gospel, every time.
sinclair ferguson wrote that our use of the tongue
is the hinge on which the door into our souls swings open in order to reveal our spirit. In effect, our words are like so many media people rushing to file their reports on the condition of our soul.
sounds similar to what comes out of the mouth is an overflow of the heart.
i know there is correlation here,
and i’m not convinced that there isn’t causation both ways …
a humble heart leading to edifying talk
and edifying talk aiding in the formation of a humble heart.
in any case, let’s pursue
application #15: encourage others each and every day, focusing on ephesians 4:29
- not corrupting talk
- only edifying talk
we speak on average twenty-five thousands words a day, how many of yours are edifying and how many are corrupting?
*further resource on this topic: “War of Words” by Paul David Tripp
*study on humility based on c.j. mahaney’s book “Humility: True Greatness”
ltlo
