33 "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. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Good Morning my beloved,
On New Years Day, about 85% people make resolutions for some form of self-improvement. How many times have we all heard someone say they are going to change only to remain the same or become more entrenched in some sinful habit or destructive vice. While the majority of people are sincere, the reality is only about 8% of those who make the life-changing resolutions ever achieve their desired goal.
The problem is man thinks that resolutions are what is needed, when what is actually needed for a life changing transformation is relationship. What ultimately changes your life is a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Tragically, multitudes of kind, honest, sincere, well meaning church members, will one day awaken to the fact that they have missed heaven because they were trusting in a false teacher rather than Christ. Good works, no matter how well intended, will not be enough to outweigh one's sin debt.In other words you can't do enough, say enough, pray enough, give enough, sacrifice enough to please God or buy your way into heaven! Only a right relationship with Jesus, the One in the Bible, will do.
Jesus made it clear in John 14:6; "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Word. Lord, even as Christians, we know that there are times when we are tempted to speak on topics that are close to our hearts in frustration or anger. Watch over our mouths and guard our tongues, especially those of us who preach and teach called to be Your voice. I pray that I might do that today. If there is anyone amongst us who has not yet embraced Christ, may this be that glorious day. Help them to hear that Christ wants to forgive our sin and save us when we come to Him in repentance. Father, we pray that You will do a mighty work in those hearts today. All for Your glory, and for Christ's sake.In His name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Resolution Or Relationship
Proverbs 15:28 says "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things."
As we continue in our study of Matthew 12, we approach verse 33 through 37, where our Lord begins to speak concerning the tongue, the things which come out of the mouths of men, that which we say. Jesus, after having endured the most damning accusation that men have ever uttered, this is the perfect time for Him to speak about this issue. You are not damned merely because of your words, but your words reveal the wickedness and corruption in your heart.
Open your Bibles with me to the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 12:33-37.
I invite you to follow along with me as I read verses 33 through 37.
Let us open our hearts for what the Spirit of God has to say to each of
us.
"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. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 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."
Let's look at verse 33, "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." Obviously Jesus isn't telling to make or manufacture a tree, He's teaching us a simple parabolic
lesson, you have to be a good tree, in order to produce good fruit. And a
bad tree, can only produce bad fruit. The point He was making is "How
can you say that I My works are of the devil, if what I am doing is
good?" At this point the Pharisees were trapped. Either they had to say that what their own disciples were doing, claiming to cast out of demons was good or it was also evil. If they said it was good, then Jesus also had to be good. And if Jesus was evil, then they also had to be evil.
Just as trees are recognized by their fruit, as followers of Christ, our spiritual condition is recognized by our fruit; our thoughts, our speech and our actions. The quality of our fruit is only as good as the tree that produces it. It's disheartening how some Christians are exposed so easily,
because no matter what facade they try to present, their words and
actions are a reflection of their true spiritual condition. Using the parable common to our Lord, He also used it in Matthew chapter 7, when He said "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." The Pharisees couldn't deny the fruit of the Lord’s ministry was good and maintain their theological posture. Once again Jesus exposed them. That's what makes their reasoning so absurd. They believed that disease was connected sin.
Verse 34, "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." I love how Jesus transitions from this simple parable into a personal indictment. When rebuke needed to be given, He gave it without any hesitation. I'm certain that kind of rebuke wouldn't be welcomed in the church today when the pastors teaching is not biblical. Jesus reserved statements like this for religious phonies. I believe in a sense, He's saying they represent Satan, the original serpent himself. Since they are evil to begin with, He didn’t expected anything but evil to come from their lips. At the end of the verse, He directly states the principal that their blasphemous words, which were full of poisonous venom, gave clear evidence of what was in their hearts. Unless a person's heart is transformed, their life can never be completely transformed. The power of evil and sin is real, unless it's dealt with your heart will continue to harden. To be set free from the power of sin, it has to start with an obedient heart.
Then in verse 35, He applies the principal, "The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil." You can't get more straight forward that than. All that can come out of a person is what's inside. The word used for treasure is "thēsaurós," refers to a storehouse, it's literally a reservoir of the thoughts that are stored up in the heart and mind. I mean, if you open a box, you can only take out of it what's inside it, right? That's the point, and if you’re an unbeliever who doesn't know God, in you no good thing dwells, only depravity. If we want to have godly hearts, rather than evil hearts, we have to have an intimate relationship with Christ.
In verses 36 and 37, He points out we will be judged on our works and on our words. "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." If you have had an encounter with Jesus Christ and have a transformed heart, you will speak words by which God will justify you. If you don't have Christ, your heart has not changed, then you will speak words by which God will condemn you. That doesn’t mean we’re not saved by grace. We’re saved by grace through faith unto works and words, and it's the works and the words prove whether or not you’ve been redeemed. Every person is responsible for what he says, your words will reveal what is in your heart. We may not be able to recall all of those words, but God can, He keeps a full record. The word used for "careless" is the word "argos," meaning idle, thoughtless, unprofitable, injurious.
"For by your words you will be justified," means where there is a transformed heart, there will be a transformed mouth that speaks words by which our salvation can be made obvious. Our relationship with Christ will be made manifest in our words. I confess, there are times, though thankfully not often, when my words sound an awful lot like my old self. Over the years, I have learned that I must remain constantly aware of my thoughts and speech, otherwise they just slip right out! I have to remind myself that I will be justified by my mouth. There is no way to prove our salvation apart from our good works and good words.
That's how our salvation is made visible to others. Which consequently, we have to give an account for.
In Closing..
If our words have no kingdom value, they are utterly ineffective in promoting God’s kingdom and His glory. It's interesting just how many Christians don’t talk the same way at church as they talk at home. I've even heard some in the parking lot before entering the church who really just let the cross words fly, and I'm not talking about the holy cross. They are swearing words. It's really a form of calculated hypocrisy. As Christians, we too are accountable for what we say. We have to learn to tame our tongues. Our speech should never contribute to anyone’s corruption. Our speech should prevent that, therefore it should be spiritual, sensitive, loving, and truthful speech.
According to sociologists who study human nature, the number of words spoken by the average man in a given day are about 10,000 and the average woman speaks about 25,000 words in a day. So when you speak your words, listen carefully to what you are saying is seasoned with grace and salt. I pray that before we speak, we would open our heart, and invite Jesus Christ to come in.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen