Mission Venture Ministries

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:45) 

The words that a Christian conveys are of great importance, for Jesus has said: “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). 

In Colossians 4:6 we read, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” The word “answer” in this text means more than simply an answer to a question, it refers to ordinary conversation, indicating that every verbal response of a Christian should be gracious and tasteful, never crude or hurtful. 

Full of grace means that our presentation of the gospel should be permeated with God’s grace, since as a sinner who has received grace, you won’t speak in a condescending or condemning manner to another. You will be kind and humble, letting the other person know that we’re all sinners who would be on the way to hell, were it not for God’s grace. 

Seasoned with salt, means that our presentation of the gospel should stimulate people’s desire to want to learn more of the Bible, just as salt is used to make food tastier. 

Scriptures include many other specifications for a Christian’s speech. Our words should be carefully chosen, able to be substantiated by, “sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:8). People should be able to rely on the truth of what we say (Ephesians 4:25). 

Our words should always be edifying and helpful, wholesome and thoughtful. Christ died both to take away the guilt of our sins and to give us power through the indwelling Holy Spirit to overcome our sins. Paul’s simple command to put aside our anger implies that we can control it. He doesn’t make exceptions for those with short fuses or for those who have been victimized. He just says, “you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8). 

So, how do you eliminate foul language? 

Removing the stench of the words that come from our mouths begins with renewing our hearts. Just as people recognize the kind of tree by the fruit it bears (Luke 6:43-44), Jesus said that our speech is a convincing indicator of whether our hearts are in tune with Him and His ways or not. Fruit stands for a person’s speech, “for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). 

Christ was pointing out that if we really want to change what’s coming out of our mouths, we first have to focus on changing our hearts as He helps us. 

External promises are useless to curb the foul language that comes forth from an untransformed heart. We can only eliminate foul speech by first believing in Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:3) and then inviting the Holy Spirit to fill us since He works within us to inspire and help us to continually offer thanks to God and to speak encouraging and edifying words to others. Therefore, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). 

The origin of our words is found in our heart. Our mouth gives us away by revealing our true feelings. Our words also defile and condemn us, for we will give an account for every idle word we speak (Matthew 12:36). This word that Jesus used, “idle,” means careless. We need to be intentional with our words because our words reflect our heart. We have a responsibility to be careful with what we say. 

But if this seems humanly impossible to you, remember God is able to tame our tongues, even though we cannot! The key is prayer, earnest and consistent prayer, not just that our speech become inoffensive, but that it may edify, testify, and minister grace for the honor and glory of God. 

Therefore, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). 

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