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Colin Smith: Your tongue is like a weapon that can wound another person deeply. Now if you carried around a weapon that you knew could wound another person deeply, you would carry that weapon with great caution and with great care. Remember you do carry such a weapon with you every day, and your tongue is a weapon that can bring deadly wounds.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, I love that imagery, that picture there of a tongue being like a weapon.

Colin Smith: Yes, and Proverbs says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. That's powerful. Death, really destructive. Life, very wonderful. You know in your own experience that the words of another person can either build you up, they can be wonderfully encouraging, they can give you strength and confidence to do something that you never thought you could do. Or if words are cutting, they can be deeply wounding and deeply destructive. We all know this from our own experience.

But here's the application for us today as we're looking in the scripture. How can I speak words that are going to be life-giving words to other people? And how can I exercise greater self-control? We all know what it is to say something, then the minute you've said it, you say, "Why did I say that? I didn't intend to speak in that way."

We want to be able to gain control over the tongue and to be able to speak life-giving words rather than cutting words that are going to hurt and wound other people perhaps more than we ever realize. And God speaks to us about all these things in the book of Proverbs, and He speaks to us in the most practical of ways.

Steve Hiller: We're looking at this in Proverbs chapter 15 today. So if you have a Bible handy, I hope you'll join us there. Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Let's begin here then. Why do our words matter? Your words matter because of the effect that they have on others. Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." In other words, what we say, the tongue will be the means by which we bring the greatest help or the greatest harm to other people. Life or death is in the power of the tongue.

Notice first the reference to death in the power of the tongue. In other words, your tongue is like a weapon that can wound another person deeply. If you carried around a weapon that you knew could wound another person deeply, you would carry that weapon with great caution and with great care. Well, remember you do carry such a weapon with you every day, and your tongue is a weapon that can bring deadly wounds.

In fact, Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 18 says, "Rash words are like sword thrusts." So again, notice the analogy of the weapon that can kill. Rash words. We talk about cutting remarks, and perhaps this is where it comes from, that the book of Proverbs says the word that's just blurted out, it's like the thrust of a sword and it can bring deep wounds. Some of you know about this in your life. Someone who has said something that has deeply wounded you, and it stays with you. "You'll never amount to anything," or something of this sort. Death is in the power of the tongue.

And our Lord Jesus speaks about this with great clarity in the Sermon on the Mount. You remember when our Lord Jesus quoted the sixth commandment, which is, "Do not murder"? And perhaps of all the commandments, that's the one that makes us think, "Well, at least I'm not close to that." But Jesus made very clear that the sixth commandment, "You shall not murder," includes death by words.

He said, "You have heard that it was said of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says..." The original word that Jesus spoke was "Raca." It was a term of belittling, of insult, demeaning, contempt, and abuse. It meant, "You're useless." Whoever speaks to another person like that, Jesus says, "will be in danger of the fires of hell."

Now that would certainly have got the attention of the crowd. The vast majority of the crowd listening to Jesus on the slopes in the Sermon on the Mount, "Oh, well, at least when it comes to the murder commandment, we're no place close to that." And when Jesus explains what it really means, that it includes death by words, we'll all recognize that it comes much closer to home than we may have thought. Abusive speech is an offense for which a person is accountable to God. It is a violation of the sixth commandment that would put a person, Jesus says, in danger of the very fires of hell. Death is in the power of the tongue.

And then Proverbs tells us that life is also in the power of the tongue. And again, Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 18 says that while rash words are like sword thrusts, the tongue of the wise brings healing. Here's the extraordinary thing about our words, about the tongue, that it can not only do great harm, it can also do great good.

Larry Crabb, a name some of you may know, has written a number of books related to counseling, and he has a very helpful book on the subject of encouragement. And he tells in that book of how as a youngster he developed what he calls a thoroughly annoying and humiliating problem of stuttering. He says that he had particular difficulties with the letters L and P. And since his name was Larry and he went to the Plymouth School in Pennsylvania, he had a real problem when he was a teenager.

And he describes how in the church that he grew up in, on Sunday mornings it was their normal custom to have a time of open prayer when anyone could speak out and lead and participate. And there was a certain pressure that as a person grew into their teens that they should be able to do this and participate. One Sunday morning, Larry got his courage together and led public prayer for the very first time as a teenager.

I'll quote you what he says here. He says, "Filled less with worship than with nervousness, I found my theology becoming confused to the point of heresy. I remember thanking the Father for hanging on the cross and praising Christ for triumphantly bringing the Spirit from the grave. Stuttering throughout, I finally thought of the word 'Amen' and said it and sat down. I recall staring at the floor, too embarrassed to look around, and solemnly vowing never again to pray or speak aloud in front of a group."

He then describes how at the end of the service he decided to make a dart for the door and escape as quickly as he could, but he didn't get to the door fast enough. There was an older Christian, a man by the name of Jim Dunbar, who caught up with him, put his arm around his shoulder, and then cleared his throat ready to speak. Larry says, "I thought, oh, here we go, I'm just going to have to endure this and then I'll get to the car and I'm out of here."

And what Jim Dunbar said to him was this: "Larry, there's one thing that I want you to know. Whatever you decide to do for Jesus, I'm with you 1,000%." And that was all he said, and then he walked away. And writing years later as a mature adult, Larry Crabb says, "Even as I write these words, my eyes fill with tears. Those words were life words. They had power. They reached deep into my being, and my resolve never again to speak in public weakened instantly." Your words matter. They can wound, or they can heal. They can harm, or they can help.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Words." Now we're going to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment. Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry. We're able to be on this station and make Pastor Colin's teaching available because of your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to say thank you by sending you a copy of Pastor Colin's brand new 30-day devotional book called *Growing in Hope*.

This book is going to show you that hope comes from God, is found in Christ, and is yours through grace. Find out more and give your gift online at openthebible.org or call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or openthebible.org. Back to the message. Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Second, our words matter not only because of their effect on other people, but also because of the very profound effect that your words will have on yourself. Back to Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 21, and now the second half of the verse. Having told us that death and life are in the power of the tongue, Solomon tells us that those who love it will eat its fruits.

In other words, what you say will certainly have an effect for good or for ill in the lives of others, but in the same way as it has an effect for good and ill in the lives of others, the words you speak will have an effect for good or for ill in your own soul as well. What you say comes out of you, but in a very profound sense, what you say goes into you as well. In fact, one of the proverbs, Proverbs 18 and verse 20, speaks about our words going down to our own stomach.

Cursing, raging. Oh yes, it'll have an effect on someone else, but it'll go deep down into your own soul and go down into your own stomach, to quote Proverbs. It'll make your soul sick. You will, in a very profound sense, eat your own words. We use that phrase, and what Proverbs is saying is we always eat our own words. They not only go into the ear of another person, they go into the soul of the person who speaks.

What will bring help and blessing to others as you speak it will bring help and blessing to you. The person who blesses others is blessed. The one who curses others brings that back upon themselves. Remember Jesus says, "With the measure you use," and He's speaking particularly about our words here in the Sermon on the Mount, "with the measure that you use, it will be measured to you."

So speaking destruction into the lives of others will bring destruction to you, and speaking life into the lives of others will be life-giving to you. That, by the way, as we were praying this morning about being forgiven as we forgive others, this is just another reason why it is not only right to forgive others, but why it is wise to forgive others. Because to hold a grudge is simply to harm yourself. Goes deep down into your own soul, down into your stomach.

Third, we're looking at why our words matter, and perhaps this is why there are more proverbs on the subject than any other. It is so important because of the degree to which they can help or harm other people, the degree to which they have an effect in your own soul, and thirdly, and very obviously, the effect that your words have before Almighty God. Listen to these words of Jesus from Matthew chapter 12: "I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak."

That's the word of Jesus. So let's settle this in our minds, friends, that God will hold us accountable not only for what we do but also for what we say. And that means that freedom of speech, which is a wonderful blessing, is also an awesome responsibility. Because our Lord says, "People will give an account for every careless word they speak." And God knows every word that every one of us ever speaks.

From time to time, I have the opportunity of doing an interview on the radio. And the normal format for these things is that the radio station calls, and you pick up the phone and you have a few words with the program host, usually while some music is playing on that particular station. And then the host will say at some point, "Well, we've got about 30 seconds to go and then we'll be live on the air."

Well, on one occasion a few years ago that I will never forget, I picked up the phone and the voice said, "Hi, this is Jim," or whatever his name was, "from such and such a radio station. How are you?" "Oh fine," I said. "It's been a busy weekend. I've been looking forward to speaking with you today, and what are we going to talk about today?" And he said what he wanted to speak about, and I said, "Oh yes, that's fine. I think what I'd really like to get across is this and that and the other."

He kept going, talking, and I began to wonder as two, three, four, five, six minutes had passed, when is this interview actually going to begin? And then I had an awful growing feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's already started. And it started the moment that I picked up the phone. And here's me rambling on, thinking that I'm talking to one person. There are probably thousands of people who are listening to this.

Now here's something far more serious. Every word that you and I ever say is heard by Almighty God. Every word you say in private, every word you write online, every tweet you ever make, every comment you ever post is known and it is weighed by Almighty God. And God holds us accountable not only for what we do but also for what we say. And when you see this, you will know how much you need a Savior.

So our words matter. Our words matter because of their effect on others, the effect that they have in our own soul, and the effect that they have in the presence of God. "People will give account for every careless word they say." Therefore, our words really matter.

Now let's move on then to the second thing. That's the why. Why does it matter? And now let's look at the what. What should our words reflect? And as I say, there are many proverbs that are about our words, and they're scattered all through the book. What I've tried to do is simply group them together and to draw out the main themes. And then for my own good, and I hope this will be helpful to you, just to turn them into prayers, things that I would ask of God in regards to my speaking and encourage you to ask of God in regards to your speaking too.

And the first of these is: Lord, help me to speak with restraint. The book of Proverbs commends again and again the virtue of speaking with restraint. Chapter 15 and verse 28: "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things." Now notice the contrast between the righteous person and the wicked. Words just pour out of the wicked. Blurted out. The first thing that comes to mind. It's all instinctive. It's all visceral.

But the righteous ponder. There's a thoughtfulness and thereby a restraint in regards to the words of the righteous. Now of course this is radically counter-cultural because self-expression is a leading idol in our culture today. And so it's very common to hear people say, "Well, I must say what I think. I must say what I feel." And you hear that, and sometimes you think, you want to say, "Really, must you? Must you? What would happen if you didn't? What if you just restrained yourself? You wouldn't explode or combust. What would be so terrible if you were to exercise some restraint?"

Listen to this from Proverbs 29 and verse 11: "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." It's a very important distinction. It's the fool who gives full vent to his spirit, just lays it all out there. But the wise person knows how to exercise some restraint. Now this word restraint occurs throughout the book of Proverbs. Let me give you another couple of examples.

Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 27: "Whoever restrains his words has knowledge. He who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding." I like that, the cool spirit. Of course, what is being said there is that when we get heated, our words get more and more, and they become less and less clear and less and less effective. And so the cool spirit reflects the person of understanding. Or chapter 10 and verse 19: "When words are many," when they're multiplied up, heaped up, "transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."

So here's a way to pray about our speaking. Lord, help me to think before I speak. Well, that's one of the distinctive marks of a righteous person, you see. Exercises restraint, ponders rather than pouring out, holds back rather than giving full vent. Restraint. And we all know that less is often more when it comes to our words. "Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and whoever restrains his lips is prudent." Lord, help me to speak with restraint. There's wisdom.

Steve Hiller: Wisdom and a practical prayer for all of us. That's Pastor Colin Smith here on Open the Bible with a message called "Words." Now we're going to pause right here, but we're going to continue this message next time. I hope you'll make it a point to join us. If you ever miss a program, you can always come to our website and listen online. Come to openthebible.org. You can stream the program, or you can download an MP3 for free.

You can also listen on the go if you have the Open the Bible app. You'll find the app for free at your app store, and it's a great way to listen to Pastor Colin's teaching on demand as it fits your schedule. One other way to listen to Pastor Colin's teaching is to order a copy of this entire series on CD. The series is called *Wisdom for Life*. Ask about that when you call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or you'll find ordering information online at openthebible.org.

Open the Bible is listener-supported. It's your financial generosity that allows us to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching, whether you listen on the radio, online, through the app, or however you've connected with this ministry. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a copy of Pastor Colin's new 30-day devotional book called *Growing in Hope*. And Colin, what's one thing that you'd like people to take away from this book?

Colin Smith: Well, it would be very practical because every Christian knows what it is to go through dark times when we feel discouraged, we're down, we don't know how to move forward. And when these times come in your life, you need to know how to handle your own soul, how to encourage and strengthen yourself. David, of course, speaks about this. He knew what this was like. In Psalm 42, he speaks to himself. He says, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me?" And then he says, "Hope in God."

So I hope what people will take away from this is that they'll be helped and encouraged in being able to speak to their own soul in the way that David did in Psalm 42 and to find hope in God. Because there is hope in God for every circumstance of life, and it comes to us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Steve Hiller: We'd love to send you a copy of this brand new 30-day devotional from Pastor Colin called *Growing in Hope*. It's our thank you for your financial support this month. You can give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. Again, that's openthebible.org or call 1-877-673-6365. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

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