Matching words and life with thoughts

In chatting with one of our sons, I shared the difficulty of selecting who to vote for in a coming civic election. If only I could know the heart of each candidate. 

This morning I’m thinking how important it is to know my own heart, to pay attention to what is important to me, and to make sure what I do and say comes from a pure heart. 

Jesus said much about the heart. Of His own, He described it: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) Of mine He says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) 

Speaking to many, a warning to those who reject Him He says:

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34–37)

When I think about anything, it is apt to show up in words. I know that everyone is not like that. Some say what they think is ‘proper’ or will be accepted or of interest to others, but it may not match what is on the inside. I’ve done this too. Who has not been asked how they look and been told, “Just fine” when the speaker is thinking otherwise?

Jesus says that in the final judgment, people will be judged by their words, yet He also says words come from the heart. That does not exonerate those who speak one thing and think another. Judgment isn’t about ‘correct’ speech but about integrity. If words do not match the heart, that is just as dangerous as those who curse and swear all the time. Jesus also said: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." (Matthew 15:8)

He knows and I know too that “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:19–20) He gets specific with: “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

On the positive side, the Word of God says to those wanting to be a person of integrity, there is peace of mind when our hearts focus on good things:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8–9)
The bottom line is even more desirable than that peace because Jesus also said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

PRAY: In that last line, I’m thinking this is not only about a future vision of You when I cross over to my eternal home. (See 1 John 3:1-3) It seems to hold out a reality that the purer my heart and mind, the more You are in the realm of my inner vision. I cannot see You in a literal sense, yet the sense of Your presence is stronger and more vivid when my heart is not cluttered up with the things of this life, and certainly not with sinful and ‘stinkin’ thinking. Fill me with thoughts of You and give me words that honor You!
 

Out of the heart . . .

 

An old Sunday school song has these lines: “O be careful little tongue what you say, O be careful little tongue what you say. For the Father up above Is looking down in love. So, be careful little tongue what you say.”

I’ve been in groups where people ‘walked on egg shells’ being careful what they said in fear of offending others or giving away true thoughts. This is not the intent of the song, nor does it reflect the intent of the NT verses such as:

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

Controlling what I say is not about wanting to make an impression. It is more about having a heart filled with the right things. As Jesus said,

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34–37)

Paul repeats it with, “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.” (Ephesians 4:29) These verses are saying that having our hearts right will result in having our words come out in a pleasing manner.

Last night our small Bible study/prayer group met for a barbecue. The conversations were a reflection of the care and unity of our hearts, a true example of Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” That does not mean we agree on everything, or that anyone was being cautious with their speech. Rather, the unity of our love for Christ and for one another flowed easily. We came home feeling blessed and cared about, without any qualms about words we said or words we heard.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Everyone knows how easily unkind words can slip out. James wrote:

 . . . . For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (James 3:1–12)

The answer is learned. The Spirit of God continually teaches me to let Him fill me so my heart is in unity and filled with love for others. As the psalmist said, this is incredibly good and pleasant, and it is also entirely possible — because of Jesus.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m so thankful that You live in Your people and we can visit with one another in freedom of speech, without needing to guard our tongues in fear of saying something out of place. Your Spirit is our freedom and the source of good, pleasant, kind thoughts that come out of our mouths. You bless us with such amazing grace and enable us to have “unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” (1 Peter 3:8)

PONDER: Think about the wonder of God who grants such grace that His people can disagree about the best car, best hockey team, even about minor points of doctrine, yet love one another deeply and without needing to be anxious about saying the wrong thing and being sent to a corner or told to shut up. 😊

 

 

Faith and works are not opposites

Evangelicals tend to put a huge emphasis on salvation by faith, not by works. In other words, no one can earn or deserve forgiveness, a relationship with God and eternal life. This is a gift from God by grace through faith.

Yet in this emphasis, Christianity has suffered a great loss. Tozer uses a word picture that Jesus used, that of a tree. Jesus explained that faith and lack of faith can be discerned by the results of either one in a person’s life. If faith is there, then the fruit of faith will be also, but if faith is not there, the results will show it . . .

“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16–20)

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33)

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Luke 6:43)

The Pharisees were religious leaders who thought they were God’s people, but Jesus bluntly told them that their lives did not produce the results of faith . . .

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34–37)

Jesus was not saying that the fruit from a bad tree always appears rotten. It might look good at first or from the outside, but as He told the Pharisees, the inside is rotten because the tree is rotten. No matter what it looks like to others, God looks on the heart and knows our motivations and intentions.

The tree of faith in Christ produces fruits of faith — good works. They do not grow all by themselves and then become united to the tree but are a result of the union that happens when a person is saved through faith.

Tozer says, “Faith is not a substitute for moral conduct but a means toward it.” He adds “To oppose faith to works is to make the fruit the enemy to the tree; yet that is exactly what we have managed to do. And the consequences have been disastrous.”

I see that in my own life. How easy it is to claim salvation by faith and be lazy or neglect opportunities to do good things. I cannot let poor theology be my excuse because I know better, yet without the emphasis on fruit production, bad habits are easy to form. Living for Christ and producing good fruit means total surrender.

^^^^^^^^^

Dear Jesus, Tozer ends his devotional thoughts with: “If there is true faith within, there will be obedience to God without. They walk together and they go down together. When faith fails, disobedience sets in.” I don’t want this to be true of me, yet it happens, even in little things. I drop faith in God’s wisdom and sovereign power and start to worry. I stop believing He wants to hear and answer prayer and either stop praying or pray out of duty instead of having a real conversation. You know all the other weaknesses in my faith. I confess to their reality and look to You for grace and strong encouragement to be a fruit-bearer.