Ramblings from Retirement – Words Do Mean Things

Ramblings from Retirement – Words Do Mean Things
By Pastor (Retired) Lee Hemen
March 29, 2022

The other day I was outside working in my yard getting things ready for spring, and the growing season, I began to think about how people today think that by using the right words or phrases will solve our problems. Now I know that many of them do not truly believe this, and they are simply endorsing their own politically correct propaganda in order to bring about a change in the world that fits their own paradigm. However, I suddenly realized that these social misfits do not realize it but they are endorsing what Jesus taught. And, I am sure that many of them would be horrified to realize this truth.

One afternoon while Jesus was berating the hypocrites in the crowds that constantly followed him, he bluntly told them, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37 NIV84)”

You see Jesus often used common metaphors in order to teach eternal truths to an unwitting crowd. Jesus knew that fruit trees of that day only produced the fruit God designed them to produce, and if the tree was bad at its core it would only produce bad fruit. A farmer had to do something in order to make the tree produce good fruit, the tree itself could not. What the unsuspecting crowd did not fully understand is that they were bad to the bone, too their very core. Therefore they would only produce bad fruit in life, something or someone else had to make them produce good fruit.

Notice that Jesus continued to relate that “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” He did not mean we were to use only approved words, names, or monikers but rather that we as sinful human beings were rotten inside and out, and if we wanted to truly produce good fruit in life we needed to change. The only words that could change us both inside and out were to confess our faith in him. Words do mean things and the spoken word reflects what one truly believes, but word themselves have no power to change anyone unless they believe the truth they proclaim. This is why the Apostle Paul would later write, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NIV84)” The words people need to use to acquit themselves before God is their faith in him through Jesus. That one truly believes with their entire being “Jesus is Lord”. Words do mean things, what words do you truly believe?
----
This article is copyrighted © 2022 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have Faith in God - Mark 11:22-26

Have Faith in God - Mark 11:22-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 24, 2010 AM We find that what many people believe about their spirituality is often influenced in unorthodox ways. Sadly, in the movie “Hereafter”, we find one such view concerning life, death, and the afterlife. It centers on three people touched by death: a reluctant physic who supposedly communicates with dead people, a woman who has a near death experience with a tsunami, and a London schoolboy who loses his twin brother in a freak accident. People often wonder what happens to them after they die it is one of life’s ultimate questions. People also long to communicate in some way with deceased loved ones. While mourning is different for each person, and thinking we can communicate with the dead can help some folks cope with loss, these misconceptions often allow folks to consider anything as valid. It has also created a lot of false teaching concerning faith. Christians have allowed the world to define faith f
Read more
Father’s Day – Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:7-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 18, 2023 Did you have a good father? I had a pretty good dad. He took us fishing, camping, and spent as much time with us as he could. He taught us to be moral, believe in God, and what marital devotion was all about. I still can remember him showing us boys how to cast a salmon egg just right in order to catch the bigger trout in the river. I also remember he was firm on his word and discipline. Sometimes children can think their parents are unfair or that they do not understand but what I have learned is that parents, especially fathers, do understand and that is why they often have to take the firm stand they do. Too many fathers in our day are AOL (absent without leave) either physically or emotionally or both. Proverbs reminds us that “Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul. Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the
Read more

2 Chronicles 7:13-15 - Building a Strong Church -- How to Pray With Power!

2 Chronicles 7:13-15 - Building a Strong Church -- How to Pray With Power ! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 17, 2011 AM We live in a day and age where the church has become pretty much irrelevant, why is that? I believe it has become irrelevant because the church has immersed itself and adopted the ways of the world instead of changing society. When Jesus came, he did so to bring the kingdom of God back into creation. Jesus established his body in the world, the church, in order to change the world one individual at a time. When an individual gives their life to Christ, they then can experience and know the power of God in their lives on a daily basis! How? It’s simple--through prayer. Sadly, most people do not experience a powerful prayer life and then they begin to look for outside experiences to satisfy the spiritual void they have. There are reasons why so many have never experienced powerful prayer, one is the simple fact that they never learned how to pray with power! When S
Read more