From the desk of Pastor Ben
Consequences For Our Words – Part 1

“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”     (Matthew 12:36-37)

Scriptures consistently teach that the only way of salvation is by God’s grace received through man’s faith in Christ. Jesus’ point here is not that our words bring salvation or condemnation, but that they indicate the presence of salvation. Pure, wholesome, praising speech that honors God, reliably reveals a person’s new heart.
So, we are not saved BY good works, the apostle Paul says we are saved FOR “good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). In the same way, God saves all who believe so they may utter good words. “With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:10), which then leads to “obedience . . .by word and deed” (Romans 15:18). Because our words are so vitally linked to our salvation, there is a sense in which they have essential consequences, either for redemption or condemnation.
God will eternally condemn the unrepentant for their words. Such speech is not limited to profanities, obscenities, or blasphemies, but includes “every careless word” for which they will “have to give an accounting for” in the last day.
Believers, on the other hand, use words that reflect God’s transforming work in their hearts. But because of their remaining sinful tendencies, they need to be diligent about what they say, as the psalmist prayed, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

Ask Yourself:
The careless use of our words can become one of Satan’s most effective inroads into our hearts, causing us to feel condemned by our sinful speech habits and (of course) causing pain to others. What situations or environments put you most at risk to be unwise with your words? Text