Braggs church of Christ

Braggs church of Christ

Holiness And Purity Of Speech Lesson 1

Background: Holy, Holiness • 1. Holy, holiness, sanctify, sanctification, saint, all come from the same root word

Background: Holy, Holiness • 2. Holy – holiness = separation from a life of habitual sin and worldly defilements • 3. It is a mannerof life we enter into when we stop following the sinful ways of the world and start living as God wants us to live

Background: Holy, Holiness • 4. It is a manner of life brought about by godly living----living a godly life leads to holiness • 1 Th. 4:3, 7

1 Th. 4:3, 7 • 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; • 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness

Background: Holy, Holiness • 5. We are to be holy in every part of our lives --- in private and in public; in thought, in the words we speak and in what we do

Background: Holy, Holiness • 6. Instead of following the things of the world that sinful men follow after, the Christian will follow after the things that are well pleasing to God

I. “Tongue Control” • 1. The tongue is more powerful than a gun • 2. What the tongue says depends upon the owner • Proverbs 18:21 • “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”

I. “Tongue Control” • Mt. 12:33-37 • “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.[34] O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

I. “Tongue Control” • [35] 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.

I. “Tongue Control” • [37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

I. “Tongue Control” • 3. Idle = wicked, malicious talk; vulgar and course language meant to corrupt the hearer; idle words excite the lusts and corrupt man • 4. Eph. 5:4 “Jesting” = Lewd stories which tend to degrade the hearers as well as the tellers

I. “Tongue Control” • 5. Our tongues should be used to edify—to speak wholesome words • Eph. 4:29 • “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

II. Holiness & Filthy Language • Col. 3:8 • “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”

Col. 3:8 NKJV • “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”

II. Holiness & Filthy Language • 1. A filthy mouth reveals a filthy heart • Mt. 12:34 • “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”

II. Holiness & Filthy Language • 2. Filthy language involves the use of profanities, vulgar sayings, off-color jokes, innuendos etc.

II. Holiness & Filthy Language • 3. “A Christian’s conversation should be pure; he should not indulge in dirty jokes, obscene allusions and indecent talk which has a double meaning; nor should he smile when others tell such; he must think on things that are pure (Phil. 4:8) and season his speech with salt (Col. 4:6). Leroy Brownlow

II. Holiness & Filthy Language • Eph. 5:3-4 • “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;[4] Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”

III. Holiness & Gossip • 1. Gossip = “idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others: to go about tattling” Dictionary.com

III. Holiness & Gossip • 2. Tattling = 1. to let out secrets. • 2. to chatter, prate (foolish talk), or gossip.

III. Holiness & Gossip • 3. Why do people gossip? • “They find a degree of enjoyment in discussing the faults of others” • Proverbs 26:22

Proverbs 26:22 • 22The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. KJV • 22 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body. NKJV

Proverbs 26:22 • The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;they go down into the inner parts of the body.ESV

III. Holiness & Gossip • 4. “Newscasters have long known that juicy scandals make good news copy and sells papers….Some folks love to create a sensation, so they gossip in order to be at the center of attention…

III. Holiness & Gossip • …the basic reason (for gossip) is a lack of love. When we love people we do not constantly pick out their character flaws” Mile Riley • Prov. 10:12

Prov. 10:12 • 12Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. KJV • 12 Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. NKJV

III. Holiness & Gossip • 5. We do not advertise the sins of people we love any more than we would advertise our own sins. ---------If we truly love someone, we are slow to believe any wrong that we may hear about them

1 Pet. 4:8 • 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

III. Holiness & Gossip • 6. Gossiping can be overcome • Proverbs 26:20 • “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”

III. Holiness & Gossip • A. Do not listen to gossip • B. Pray for your enemies • C. Instead of slandering others focus on doing them good • D. We should pray for ourselves & others that we might resist temptation

References • Holiness and Pure Speech by James Nash, Imitating Christ, Called Unto Holiness – 27th Annual Southwest Lectures, 2008 • Some Do’s and Don’ts for the Christian, By Leroy Brownlow • “Let There Be No Gossipy Ears”, by Mike Riley • “The Old Grapevine Of Gossip”, by Barry Newton,

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