Witness by Word

While we strive for our actions to reflect Christ, we should also strive for our words to not be empty of Him either. I have always been amazed by the talent some people have to use so many words to say so little. Words have immense power. The Apostle James likens words to the rudder on a ship or the small flame that turns into a forest fire. Words have power. They can be venomous or show life. Do our words reflect Jesus? Our words should be a witness of him. I knew someone in highschool who’s narcissism was his god. He wanted to make himself the center of everyone’s mind. Unfortunately he did not have a lot of positive things going on in his life, so he made himself big by trying to make everyone else small. Do your words belittle people? Our words should push people to be better, not tear them down. Our words should always be loving, but loving words are not always happy words. Loving words are never belittling words though. Our words should reflect the changes Christ has made in our lives. Our words should be of encouragement. Our words should reflect a desire for things to be right. They should not and cannot be words that harm. Our words should reflect different values. Our words do not reflect a desire to find comfort in sin. We are not asking for the next party, hookup, or other sin session. Our words do not belittle God or the things that He makes holy such as His bride or sex.. Our words should not make humor of the church. Our words should not pervert godly things like sex. Our words should not lack a reverence for Christ.

Isaiah was a prophet of God. If anyone had a right to claim they had pure words, it would be him. Yet when he had a vision showing God’s holiness, he claimed his lips were unclean and put a piece of charcoal to his lips. Our tongues have the power to praise God or curse our neighbor. We should weigh our words. Our words go beyond saying “mean or nice” things though. Salvation is shared through our words. Our actions are not enough to share Jesus. Our words must directly tell of Him. We must know what the gospel is, and know how to share the gospel. Our actions may show someone that we have a different heart and mindset. Our actions I hope will leave others feeling convicted of their sins. I do not think our actions will fully convey the story of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Our actions will live in the fact of Jesus’s victory over death and our celebration of God’s wrath being satisfied. Our words need to go past that to tell others of why we can live the way we do. For us to be effective with our words, we need to know what God has done for us. We need to know the gospel. If someone asked you what the gospel was, would you be able to coherently share the good news with them? If not, you should review and prepare yourself. It would be a shame to say that God has done so much for you, and have so few words to be able to convey it.