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Tuesday, April
29, 2008
Get Real
Williams New Testament translation
for Matthew 5:37
37.
But your way of speaking must be a simple `Yes' or `No.' Anything
beyond this comes from the evil one.
How sound and sure is the speech that is
proceeding from your mouth? Are you absolutely sure that what you say is
what you mean? Are others around you sure of where you are coming from or
are you one of those that claim to be one of God’s people, but yet still
friendly with the worlds way of thinking? The world and its way of thinking
is full of nice guys, okie dokie people that don’t like to ripple the
water; people that would rather tickle ears than feed the spirit;
professing themselves to be wise, they actually are fools. Practice what
you preach, being a written epistle that is easily known and read of all
men so that there is no doubt about who you really are and who you are a
representation of.
Matthew 12:35-37 A good man out of the
good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out
of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (36) But I say unto you,
That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment. (37) For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (KJV)
Some of the definitions for the word idle
include, inactive, lazy, as well as useless words; that obviously are not
spiritual and not bringing life to the hearers. These words can come in the
form of flattery, saying one thing but meaning another, presenting a false
front, words that you will need to give account of before our heavenly
Father and basically explain to Him why you lied. If you are not sure what
to say, or cannot say it faithfully, then it would be best kept unsaid
until a time you knew was appropriate. Maybe your perception of a situation
isn’t totally clear, so rather than shoot first and aim second, you need to
make sure of who or what you’re pointing at before you fire a round. The
church of God, which is His people, really need to understand how important
our words truly are, because as we see in the above verses they can
definitely make or break your fellowship with the Father; and if not
checked, even to the point of eternal damnation.
Matthew 18:15-17 Moreover if thy brother
shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him
alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (16) But if he
will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (17) And if he
shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to
hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
(KJV)
The word of God is very clear on how to
handle a matter, especially between the brethren. As we see in the above
verses there is a very clear and orderly pattern for how things should be
dealt with in the Church. However, despite how clear and precise it is laid
out, most of the time it is handled in reverse and sometimes to the point
of making molehills into gigantic mountains of strife and contention, let
alone the backbiting. If you have an issue with someone concerning their
walk with the Lord, after hopefully praying about the situation first, then
it would be fitting to go and discuss the matter with the individual first,
face to face to see if it can be resolved. Maybe what ends up getting
resolved is your own take on the situation and how what you perceived was a
problem was actually more of a simple misunderstanding, lack of
communication if you would, which the enemy was more than delighted to
throw fuel on the fire to keep it burning. If the issue does in fact turn
out to be something that needs to be dealt with, and the person you spoke
to wasn’t very open and wanted a clearer explanation or wasn’t receptive to
resolving the matter, then you can take one or two more with you, which not
only refers to brethren, but having at least two spiritual witnesses of the
word of God to back up your claims.
I have seen firsthand what happens when
this order is reversed; how when a situation arises among the brethren it
first gets published to everyone else other than to the person involved in
the matter. Then after a public proclamation is made to everyone else,
sometimes they find out that it wasn’t really such an issue, rather their
own personal differences which were based more on their carnal senses and
not their spiritual ones. Simply put in laymen’s terms, whatsoever is not
of faith is sin; if you can’t faithfully say something to a person’s face,
then by God you should not be saying and spewing this petty nonsense to
everyone else’s face. Talk about speaking in an unknown tongue; nothing is
more unknown and contrary to our Lord than backbiting, strives, and petty
contentions over things that have nothing to do with salvation, but rather
personal misguided jealousies of people who think they are getting the
short end of the stick. When you sin against the brethren, as the Bible says,
you are sinning against Christ Himself. A fire can be a good thing; it can
be used for cleansing metals, cooking and heating, but it can be a deadly
destructive force if it is fanned with winds of the tongue, a wildfire out
of control that destroys anything in its path.
Proverbs 27:3-6 A stone is heavy, and the
sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. (4) Wrath is
cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? (5)
Open rebuke is better than secret love. (6) Faithful are the wounds of a
friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. (KJV)
The Bible tells us that the wrath of man
does not work the righteousness of God, it is similar to a stone or how
about a millstone; you know that one that is tied to those that offend
others and then cast into the sea. These factions and frictions that arise
amongst the brethren, is it something spiritual or is it something else
like envy, your own perception of how you viewed someone else’s walk?
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, like with surgery, it cuts deep and
hurts but it brings forth healing afterwards. Our Father considers that
openness even if it is in the form of rebuke, better than a secret love,
those whose mouth says one thing but their heart is far from it. And who
can forget one of the most famous kisses of an enemy, the one by a man
named Judas who was actually a follower of our Lord yet betrayed Him with a
simple kiss as though he was still one of His. Are you an open book to
those around you, like a written epistle, so that others know who you truly
are and who you truly serve; like the term wearing your heart on your
sleeve? Or are you more of a people pleaser, kissing up to others rather
than taking a stand for who you are or should I say who you should be a
representation of? When you start kissing peoples anatomy you become a
friend of the world, which the Bible clearly states is an enemy with God.
Those words of faith that you promised God you would speak on His behalf
are now idle useless words which are ready to perish and so will those that
speak them.
2 Corinthians 12:15 And I will very
gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you,
the less I be loved. (KJV)
Oh and by the way, I would be negligent
if I didn’t warn you about the effects of bringing truth to others around
us, especially when we are surrounded by a fallen world that the more you
do open up and bring a message of salvation too the less you will be
welcomed with open arms. In fact if you are looking to be popular with
mankind and the life of the party then you have chosen the wrong field,
because just the opposite will take place. In fact all you need to do is go
through the Bible and see those that stood up for the Lord were the ones
the enemy did all he could to knock them down. Kind of like with sporting
events, the guy with the ball is the target of the defense because he is
the one in position to score and achieve the goal. So don’t take it
personal people if you are rejected by mankind; in fact, the closer you get
to the Lord the farther removed you will be from those that claim to be of
God who are more interested in their own personal matters than our Lord’s.
Proverbs 28:23 He that rebuketh a man
afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
(KJV)
That favor, you will find first and
foremost should be coming from God, seeking first His kingdom and
righteousness and how He would have you handle a matter. If you are more
concerned with pleasing people then you will be more apt to flatter them
with smooth words rather than words of life that were intended to build
them up, which is what they ignored in the first place. So basically
speaking, you need to choose this day who you will truly serve because if
you are not willing to speak words of life on behalf of our Father then He
will just move on to someone else who is willing to; and then someday you
can explain to Him all that idle chatter you chose to speak and all the
idle people you chose to please instead of Him. Get real.
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