Ephesians 4
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
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It is so important to consider what we are speaking. Will it minister grace to the hearer? Will it edify God? Will it turn them to godliness?
Or do we just tickle the flesh?
As Christians, we are "peculiar people", created by God.
1 Peter 2
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We must learn to bridle our tongue and speak words that build up one another in faith in God and show the way of God for us on this present world.
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
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In the day of judgment, Jesus says to us the following:
Matthew 12
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
So we learn to think before we speak, examining that which we want to share by this:
Will these words that I want to speak edify the other person in things of God and in the ways of God?
Or am I just wanting to share the words that I've heard on the latest evening newscast?
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Often when tempted, I pray: "God ... please don't let me speak that."
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