Defiled By The Tongue

Defiled by the tongue

Text: Matthew 15:10,11

Proverbs 15:4, "A wholesome tongue [is] a tree of life: but perverseness therein [is] a breach in the spirit."

In the OT there were many rules and instructions that if one broke one of them, they didn’t lose their salvation but they would be in a state where they were called, "unclean," or "defiled."

As I understand it, defilement is: to be rendered unfit for Divine service. In other words you couldn’t go into the sanctuary and be used by God until the defilement was removed. While there is not an exact NT parallel my I suggest that there are things that can happen to us that will make us unfit for Divine service.

For example if you are in a funk, you will not be able to tell others about the "joy of the Lord." If you are full of anger, you are not going to tell others about the, "peace that passes all understanding." Jesus spoke of many being called and few being chosen. I think that it can refer to God wanting to use many people, (not for full time service, but to use them in certain situations), but because they are not in a fit frame of mind they are not ready when he calls them. If life comes knocking, and you are not prayed up, fasted up, or in the word enough, you may be described to be in a condition that is "unfit for Divine service."

Please understand, I am not negating the grace of God. Yet prayer, fasting, studying to show ourselves approved, not being entangled with weeds and thorns, are all scriptural examples of conditions that make for favorable seed growth, development, and multiplication. If these are not in proper order, we are probably in a state where God can’t use us as much as He would otherwise.

Now I want to relate this thought of being defiled or rendered unfit for Divine service to our text:

Text: Matthew 15:10,11 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Proverbs 15:4, "A wholesome tongue [is] a tree of life: but perverseness therein [is] a breach in the spirit."

What comes out of the mouth can defile you.

The Bible says it is the mouth that is the most accurate gauge of a person’s life.

Tonight I want to preach on defiled by the tongue, or giving a bad report.

What is giving a bad report?

According to the bible it is giving accurate information that has a negative impact on people.

In the Jews case (those on the border of the promised land), the defilement was that they trusted too little in God. The words ( bad report) they heard rendered them unfit for the Divine service of entering the promised land in a timely fashion.

Experience has taught us that it also includes information that is exaggerated so that a maximum impact of negative feelings or emotions may be elicited.

SARS is a disease that is causing many people dis - "ease" and the pathology of disease is also similarly to the pathology of spiritual ruin, or in this case defilement.

The pathology of disease (pathology development of disease) is 5 fold:

1. Ignorance - of "preventive" measures to avoid contamination;

2. Exposure - to the person who is already "infected";

3. Contamination - (defilement) by allowing the "germs" to enter our system;

4. Infection - as the "germs" overcome our normal defenses;

5. Disease - when the infection destroys vital life-supporting functions.

We will cover these briefly.

1. Ignorance

A. II Corinthians 2:11, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."

1. Ignorance, is Not Being Aware of the destructive power of casual contact with an infected person, in our message it is contact with untrue or distorted words.

2. Ignorance for example that a handshake can kill you. (That is if someone with a deadly easily transmited disease shakes your hand causing you to become infected) In our case it is ignorance that the tongue can destroy friendships. Proverbs 16:28, 17:9

3. Ignorance of how bad reports are given. (Like how a disease can be spread)

Bad reports are communicated by words, facial expressions, gestures, and tonal inflection.

4. Ignorance of Who Gives Evil Reports:

Giving bad reports is part of the fallen nature of every person.

1. Whisperer: --- One who secretly or privately passes on evil reports to others.

Psalms 41:7, "All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt."

2. Gossip: --- One who magnifies and sensationalizes rumors and partial information.