Be Careful What You Say

Sins of the Tongue (Words)

Our Lord warned us to be careful what we say

By your words you will be JUSTIFIED By your words you will be CONDEMNED

We will give an accountof every idle word.

If we use bad words,we are in danger of hell.

By which words are we JUSTIFIED ?

Comforting words

Encouraging words

Words that bring joyWords that are pureWords that unite

Words that inspireHelpful words

Remember, last week’s lesson!

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By which words am I in danger of being CONDEMNED , God forbid!

Hurtful words

Discouraging words

Words that bring sadnessInappropriate words

Words that isolateWords that mislead (lies)

Idle (useless) words✗

Sins of the TongueAdapted from information on this Christian site:

www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/SinsofTongue.html

• You can tell a lot about a person by their words … • Jesus tells us, “For out of the abundance of the heart the

mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34)• In Proverbs 18:21, we read, “Death and life are in the power

of the tongue” (words can kill and can give life)• Just like it would be foolish for someone to play with a real

gun carelessly, it is foolish to shoot off my mouth carelessly!

Both are bad – both hurt, destroy, and kill!

Guns are bad (they kill) Bad words can also kill!

Sins of the Tongue(we need to stop)

• Lying Tongue• Flattering Tongue (insincere praise)• Proud Tongue• Over-used Tongue (talking too much)• Swift Tongue (hasty)• Back-biting Tongue (gossip)• Tale-bearing Tongue (rumours)• Cursing Tongue (swearing)• Piercing Tongue (hurtful words)• Silent Tongue (many times it’s ok to be quiet, but don’t be

quiet when you’re supposed to witness to Christ)

Repent & ConfessQuickly!

The Lying Tongue

• “A man that bears false witness against his neighbour is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.” (Proverbs 25:18)

• A lying tongue is a misuse of a deadly weapon.• It can harm others near (a club), a few feet away (a

sword), or a great distance away (an arrow).• Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44)• God hates a lying tongue (Proverbs 6:17)• All liars will have their part in the lake of fire, according

to Revelation 21:8

The Flattering Tongue

• Flattery means “excessive or insincere praise”• Flattery is also a sin of the tongue.• The Bible speaks of flattery as a characteristic of

the wicked, not the righteous:“For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue.” (Psalm 5:9)• Flattery is just a form of lying, and it has no place

in the life of a Christian.

The Proud Tongue“May the LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud

things: who have said, ‘with our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’ ” (Psalm 12:3-4)

• A proud tongue usually comes with 2 closed ears!

– This person can be annoying to talk to because he doesn’t listen.

• A proud-tongued Christian is hard to teach or reason with because he thinks he knows everything.

– Proud-tongued people are full of themselves that they learn very little from others.– A proud tongue will talk much of knowledge and service, but very little about the Lord.– In service, a proud-tongue can make all sorts of suggestions about how things should work, but these ideas

place burdens on everyone else but himself.

• God hates a proud tongue. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to use your tongue in the way of humility and kindness.

The Over-used Tongue• Some people sin by simply talking too much, but careful:

“… a fool's voice is known by his many words.” (Ecclesiastes 5:3)• Some of us think we appear smart by talking a lot, but the Bible teaches

the opposite.

“Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God: for God is in heaven, and you on earth: therefore let your

words be few.”(Ecclesiastes 5:2)

• God doesn't like us to talk too much …– Don’t say, "Well, that's just the way I am!”– But REPENT! Confess your sin and repent.– Stop justifying your sin, and– Ask God to help you repent.

The Swift Tongue• Sometimes we speak too swiftly, when we really need to wait before

saying anything.

“He who answers a matter before he hears it,it is folly and shame to him.” (Proverbs 18:13)

• How many times have you had to "eat" your words because you spoke too swiftly?

James 1:19 warns us to beSWIFT to HEAR and SLOW to SPEAK

• God gave us 2 ears but only 1 mouth (to listen more)

The Back-biting Tongue (gossip)• Proverbs 25:23 and Romans 1:30 mention a backbiting tongue.

• A backbiter is someone who uses their tongue against you when you aren't there, yet they will not face you with their charges when you are present.– This is cowardly.– This stirs up problems but doesn’t solve problems!

• A backbiter would rather talk ABOUT someone,rather than talk TO the person.

• A backbiter would much rather talk ABOUT a weak person,rather than offer some words of encouragement TO help them.

• A backbiter is of no use to others, and no one has ever been strengthened or edified through backbiting.

• Beware of backbiters, especially ones who cause trouble, who sow discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:19).

The Tale-bearing Tongue (rumours)“You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people …”

(Leviticus 19:16)

• Tale-bearing (telling stories about others) spreads all sorts of hurtful information around.– Satan uses this to hinder and tear down God's work.

• God forbid that a Christian should wound another Christian, but it does happen all the time – Some Christians live as though they think God "called" them to spread

stories about others.– Many "Christians" spend a lot of effort being busy-bodies into other people’s

personal lives, this is not good.• A victim of tale-bearing, according to Proverbs, is a wounded person.

Do not hurt others with your words!

The Cursing Tongue (swearing)“Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced

deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” (Romans 3:13-14)

• Some people have a bad habit of swearing, saying bad words.

“As he loved cursing, so let it come to him: as he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, so let it enter his body like water, and like oil into his

bones.” (Psalm 109:17-18)

• Some people curse because their life is miserable (unhappy). They’re unhappy, so they make it known by swearing using foul language.– The above says that God keeps them unhappy because of their speech.– God curses those who curse!– If you want God's blessings, then do NOT fill your mouth with cursing.

The Piercing Tongue (hurtful)“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.” (Proverbs 12:18)

• Sometimes we have a sharp piercing tongue which Satan uses to offend and insult others.

• The Bible commands Christians to have their speech dominated by GRACE (Colossians 4:6).

• Saint Paul also commands us to use sound speech which cannot be condemned (Titus 2:8).

• Do we use graceful speech which cannot be evil spoken of, or do we possess a piercing tongue?

The Silent Tongue• A silent tongue is also a sinful tongue because we have been commanded to speak

up and witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

• As Christians, we have a responsibility to tell others about the saving grace of Our Lord Jesus.

• To be silent about Christ is a sin against Christ.Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father

with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)• If you do not want to be ashamed of yourself when the Lord returns, then don't be

ashamed of Jesus today.• Pray for opportunities and wisdom to speak up for your Saviour. Don't be found

guilty of having a silent tongue.

MEMORY VERSE“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips

from speaking deceit” (Psalm 34:13)

• Lying Tongue• Flattering Tongue (insincere praise)• Proud Tongue• Over-used Tongue (talking too much)• Swift Tongue (hasty)• Back-biting Tongue (gossiping)• Tale-bearing Tongue (rumours)• Cursing Tongue (swearing)• Piercing Tongue (hurtful words)• Silent Tongue (many times it’s ok to be quiet, but

don’t be quiet when you’re supposed to witness to Christ)

STOP:• Hurting Others• Hurting Yourself• Hurting Jesus!And quickly:• Repent & Confess

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No Bad WordsOnly GOOD Words …

• Pray to God• Praise God• Read God’s Words• Witness to God• Sing to the Lord• Memorize Psalms• Pray for others & yourself• Bless, Comfort, Encourage, Help