By Rev. David L. Wilson
Too many churches (and individual Christians) in America today fail to teach or discuss the biblical concept of holiness. Perseverance, hope, and faith are common topics in many pulpits (as they should be), but they tend to scratch the surface of the Christian faith and our daily walk. Let’s first define a couple of terms. Merriam-Webster defines “holy” as “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.” Merriam-Webster further defines “holiness” as “the quality or state of being holy.” Simple, right? But how is holiness applied to and evidenced in our everyday lives?
We live in a time where profanity abounds in nearly every facet of society. Yet, this could very well be a starting point for the pursuit of holiness in our lives. Many people, even professing Christians, will roll their eyes and scoff when one broaches the subject of profanity and cursing. “What a goody-two-shoes,” they might say. I’ll be the first to admit that this is an issue that I have struggled with in my own life. I am a military veteran and spent many an hour in Firehouses and EMS Stations during my career as a Paramedic, where profanity has been raised to an almost artistic level! Like the rhetoricians of Ancient Greece, there are some people within the Firehouse that can string together profanities that are mesmerizing to behold. Needless to say, this was an issue where I have had to repent more than a few times.
People might question the validity of the question: “Does how I speak or what words I choose to say really matter?” The very simple answer to that question is a resounding “YES”! Let’s see what the Bible has to say on the subject.
First, let’s consider the word “holy”. The word “holy” appears between 500 and 900 times in Scripture, depending on the translation being used. The word “holiness”, which is again the pursuit of being holy, is mentioned over 40 times. Now the question becomes, “Does language, or the way I speak, affect the pursuit of holiness?” Next, let’s answer that question by looking at the Word of God and not simply by some puritanical idea of propriety.
We see the concept of Holiness in the very beginning of the Bible. “You shall be Holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” (Genesis 20:26). Notice that not only are we being called to holiness as believers, but we have actually been set aside by God to pursue HIS holiness. Who are the “peoples” that we see in this verse? The “peoples” are those who do not believe in God (or Yahweh in this context).
Both the Old and New Testaments are replete with Scriptures on Holiness:
“There is none holy like the Lord; for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)”
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.” (Psalm 29:2)
“He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; May it be far from him.” (Psalm 109:17)
“…Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3b)
“For God has not called us for impurity but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man, but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.” (1Thessalonians 4:7-8)
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
These are but a few Scriptures that illustrate the importance of holiness to God. As stated time and time again, we have been created to be holy! If we are to believe that the Bible is timeless and inerrant, then holiness is just as important today as it was in the time of Genesis.
Now that we have established the concept of holiness as being important to God, we must now look at how our speech, our words, impact not only the concept of holiness, and our walk with Christ, but also how it reflects our faith to the world at large.
The New Testament deals with the issue of our speech throughout. We find instructions and admonitions in the Gospels and in many of the epistles of the Apostles Paul, Peter, and James. Let’s look at a few of them.
“And he called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person’” (Matthew 15:10-11)
“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 15:19-20)
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:48)
“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 be so.” (James 3:8-10)
“Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” (1 Peter 3:10)
“So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6)
Once again, this is not an exhaustive list of Scriptures that deal with the subject at hand, but it is illustrative of the importance of how we speak. It is sad when those who profess faith in Christ are indistinguishable from those who reject Christ solely because of how they speak. When we come to Christ, we are to be different from the world around us. Before we knew Christ, we would speak in our ignorance. The Apostle Paul deals with this very subject: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
When you go to work, be it in an office, on an assembly line, a construction site, a fire or EMS station, or a police car, can the world see Christ in you? They should. The very first inclination regarding our faith comes when we open our mouths. Ask yourself this question: “Would I hesitate to greet and converse with my pastor on Sunday morning, the same way I greet and converse with my coworker on Monday morning?” If that question gives you pause, or the answer is a flat-out “no”, then there is a problem. You must then ask yourself if you are truly seeking the Lord with your whole heart! Jeremiah tells us, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 27:13)
I think about my children and grandchildren. Would I be happy and proud if the first words out of my children’s or grandchildren’s mouths were profanity? Absolutely not! Then why wouldn’t our Father in heaven feel the exact same way? I posit the idea that He does, in fact, feel the exact same way we do: disappointed and heartbroken. We should set a better example for the young people around us. We should strive to be Christ-like in an effort to point people to the truth of the Gospel, and that starts with how we speak. Remember what Jesus himself said in Matthew 7:20, “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
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