“Even a fool, when he holds his peace is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”  (Proverbs 17:28)

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”  (1 Corinthians 15:33)

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good and to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.”  (Ephesians 4:29)

“…[T]hose things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceeds evil…  (Matthew 15:18, 19a.)

 

I came a cross a website called Landover Baptist Church.org. The reason for going to that site was due to a headline I read while doing a search for something else. The article described how many persons are being evangelized in Cyber space. The article continued with some quotes from members of this church. Here is (1) one; [The site services] lots of sissy gay boys and fat little paleface wicca girls on the server so they don’t have to deal with their pathetic lives. When they hear someone loves them, even if it is the Lord Jesus Christ they always want to hear more.”

I admit that I may not have the greatest sense of humour, but this site seems to over the top. As I researched the Landover Baptist Church, I found that it is not a real church, instead it is a parody on the stereotyped legalistic church. The developer was a student of Falwell’s Liberty University in the (80’s) Eighties and was expelled from the university. The developer then produced this website that parodies the legalist church as an act of revenge, I would suspect.

I am familiar with the legalist mindset and it leans more toward the letter of the law than the Spirit of the law. This article is not about the legalism, however, this article (DV) will focus on the lost’s perception of the Church and the unknown spirit that lashes out against the unbelievers.

St. Peter tells us that judgement begins in the house of God. St. Paul encouraged persons to examine themselves to see whether or not they are truly born again and sanctified in Christ and to prove all things. St. John, the disciple whom our Lord Jesus loves, tells us to “Test the spirits…” In the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry He was teaching His (12) twelve disciples about the narrow way and the Strait Gate. He was discipling these men that had been Hand-picked by His Father in Heaven and given to Him to instruct and to prepare for a life lived for God.

John in these early days was stern and ready to avenge and judge anyone that would disrespect the Lord, his Lord. In (1) one case John was angered by the Samaritan people. The Samaritan people would not receive the Lord, due to His race (it seems) so John, with his brother James, asked the Lord, “[W]ill [Y]ou that we command fire to come down from {H]eaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?”  Our Lord was aghast at John’s suggestion of murder and, “He turned, and rebuked [John and James] and said, “You know not what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” After this rebuke, “…they went to another village.” Our Lord is Longsuffering.

[Sidenote: Years later James, our Lord’s (1/2) half brother; not the same James from above, would be inspired to write, “…the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity…” and this uncanny similarity of words is one of the marks that shout, “the Scriptures are God-breathered,” due to the compelling consistency of the One Voice and the One Author and Finisher].

As I pondered the parody website and it’s over the top intentions to skewer legalism I thought of John’s early days with the Lord. I then recalled a discussion I had with an “evangelistic” atheist. This atheist spoke with me and told me about his interactions with Christ-ians. He spoke of being scratched, spit upon, and being condemned to hell by the Christ-ians that he would come a cross. To be fair and to be logical and critically minded, I think the atheist probably goated and instigated the persons he was telling me about; Atheists are no saints, especially the militant evangelical types. They seem to lie in wait for an opportunity to instigate believers into giving in to the flesh.

However, my ponderings caused me to think about the warnings of Solomon, Paul. and James in regard to our communicating with the lost. In the quoted texts above Paul said, “Evil communications corrupt good manners.” The word communications, in the greek, speak to companions but Paul also said, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth…” which means unwholesome words.

The point Paul is making is persons of ill repute are not proper friends and when a person begins to speak unwholesome words, they are harming others as well as themselves. Our Lord also teaches us that evil speaking comes from the heart of the speaker. Paul also wrote, “The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.”

We read in John’s Gospel that Christ, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. I know the context of this passage yet I do see principle also. Our words can hurt like a fist and once those words are spoken they will dwell among the hearer(s) for ever.

Let us be like David and pray for God to put a guard upon our lips.