Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
Pastor Herk continues: Another type of corrupt words that we need to put off in our lives are (3) words that come through gossip. The Apostle Paul explains man’s fallen nature void of God in Romans 1:28-31 saying, “since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive, until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors], slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors [of new forms] of evil, disobedient and disrespectful to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful [without pity].”
The King James version translates the word “gossips” as “whisperers”, which is the Greek word “psithyristēs“, meaning a whisperer, secret slanderer, or detractor (critic) running about and tattling; to tell idle tales and groundless rumors; sharing anything about someone when the act of sharing it is not a part of the solution to that person’s problem. Gossip can be saying something about someone that you wouldn’t say in their presence. What is our purpose for saying the things that we say? Proverbs 16:28 says, “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” In this verse, the Greek word for “a gossip” is “nirgān”, meaning to murmur, whisper, backbite, slander; a talebearer or a backbiter. Proverbs 20:19 says, “He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a gossip.” The Greek word here is “rāḵîl”, meaning a scandal-monger travelling about:— a slanderous persons, carrying tales, informers.
Another type of corrupt words that we need to put off in our lives is (4) flattery. The old idiom goes: “flattery will get you nowhere”, meaning appealing to my vanity will not
advance your cause. The word “flattery” is defined as: manipulation in false praise; commendation bestowed for the purpose of gaining favor and influence, or to accomplish some purpose. Adulation; obsequiousness; sycophancy, wheedling (charming) in excessive or insincere praise. Proverbs 28:23 tells us, “He who [appropriately] reprimands a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue.” The Greek word for “flatters” here is “ḥālaq”, meaning to be smooth, slippery, deceitful; to flatter.
The Christian is to take off the old self and put off corrupt words, then put on the born-anew child of God with edifying words that encourage and helps to build others up; which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Our words are not to be used to hurt or tear down other people. Our words are to impart grace (giving a blessing they do not deserve, but need). In Colossians 4:6 the Apostle Paul instructs us, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Proverbs 16:20 “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.”
Other words that edify and build up are those that instruct us rightly. We need instruction in what to do and what not to do. The Apostle Paul asks in Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” All of our instruction has helped us to build up our lives and become who we are today. Proverbs 9:9 tells us, “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. Words that edify and instruct impart grace into our lives and the lives of others.
Let's conclude Pastor Herk's message on the words that we use in the next post.
in Christ, Brian
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