Clean Speech

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{TOC}
! Profitability and Cleanliness
"Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person." - Matthew 15:17-20 (also 15:10-11)
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ... Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ... Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving." - Ephesians 4:29,31, 5:4
"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth." - Colossians 3:8
"A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." - Proverbs 15:4
"A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity." - Proverbs 17:20
"Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you." - Proverbs 4:24
"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." - Matthew 12:36-37
"But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness," - 2 Timothy 2:16
"You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Matthew 12:34

! Consequences to the Self
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." - Proverbs 18:21
"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble." - Proverbs 21:23
"Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin." - Proverbs 13:3
"A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul." - Proverbs 18:6-7
Proverbs 18:6-7 - A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." - Matthew 12:37

! Effect on Our Relationship to others
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." - Proverbs 15:1
"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." - Ephesians 4:25
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." - Ephesians 4:29
"There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." - Proverbs 12:18

! Effect on Our "Witness"
"Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us." - Titus 2:7-8
"But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving." - Ephesians 5:3
"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." - Colossians 4:6

! Blasphemy
"You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people." - Exodus 22:28
"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." - Matthew 12:31

! Hasty words
"If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." - Proverbs 18:13
"The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things." - Proverbs 15:28
"Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him." - Proverbs 29:20
"Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent." - Proverbs 17:27-28
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." - Proverbs 25:11

! Simple Speaking
"Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil." - Matthew 5:37
"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation." - James 5:12

! Lying
"Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit." - Psalm 34:13
"Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out." - Proverbs 10:9
""You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." - Exodus 20:16
"A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape." - Proverbs 19:5
"A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish." - Proverbs 19:9
"Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight." - Proverbs 12:22
"There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." - Proverbs 6:16-19
"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." - Ephesians 4:25
"Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices" - Colossians 3:9
"Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD." - Zechariah 8:17
"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." - John 8:44
"Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah" - Psalm 52:1-5
"Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart." - Psalm 51:6

! "Just kidding"
"Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”" - Prov 26:18-19

(See also: [Ha, ha, Just Throwing Firebrands])

! Gossip/Slander
"A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends." - Proverbs 16:28
"Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge." - James 4:11
"Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler." - Proverbs 20:19
"Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker" - Proverbs 17:5a
"Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent." - Proverbs 11:12
"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases." - Proverbs 26:20
"To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." - Titus 3:2

! Flattery
"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet." - Proverbs 29:5
"Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue." - Proverbs 28:23
"But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed--God is witness." - 1 Thessalonians 2:4-5
"A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin." - Proverbs 26:28

! Complaining
"Nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer." - 1 Corinthians 10:10
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life" - Philippians 2:14-16

! Boasting

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." - Proverbs 27:2
"And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God." - Luke 16:15

! Beware of Aspiring to Influence Others
"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." - James 3:1

! James's Summary
"For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." - James 3:2-12

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