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
Brethren, in Ephesians 4:29, listen to this, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths but only such as is good for building up – notice these words – as fits the occasion. Our words need to fit the occasion. One of the problems is, as Gentiles, our words so often are inappropriate. Christ spoke perfectly as fit the occasion. And you know what? A lot of times, what was most fit to the occasion was to remain silent.
One of the problems with the Gentile is they talk too much. Just speaking whatever you feel. Whatever is on your heart. Just giving vent to everything that’s there. Christ held His tongue. The wise man knows when to be silent. The wise man ponders before he answers. He doesn’t just give full vent to his spirit; that’s a fool. Christ thought. Often, Christ was silent. He held His tongue. The wise man ponders what sort of occasion it is that he finds himself confronted with and only then does he answer. And only if an answer is necessary. Remember, even the fool is counted wise when what? When he holds his tongue. When he is quiet.
You want to know the fool? Listen to who is talking all the time. You are probably thinking, “Brother, right now you are.” Yeah but I am supposed to do this, right? If you are a preacher, you’ve got your time. But we have to think about what we say. We have to be silent when the occasion calls for silence. Christ held His tongue. We can talk too much. We need to practice silence.
When our emotions, emotions, brethren, they get the best of our tongue. We get heated, we get angry, we get passionate, we get upset and what happens? Bang! We talk. But that is not how you learn Christ. They are getting ready to put Him to death. They are making false accusations, and He can hold His tongue. He was a man of self-control. He could control His tongue. We need to control that tongue. That is how we learn Christ. A fool gives full vent to his spirit. The wise man, what does he do? He quietly holds it back. That is wisdom.
The Christian’s tongue should never be out of control. Self-control, that is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Self-control, that is what we find in Christ. Watch His words. He did not let people provoke Him, except to righteous anger. But He kept in control. His words were calculated. His words were life giving. He had a very specific agenda.
Watch the full sermon here.
