Death and Life are in the power of the Tongue

I cannot speak for anyone else, but for this writer, this verse in Proverbs 18:21 has been somewhat of a challenge over the years. Why? Because if one takes these words literally, then some if not many will believe that we can produce death or life with our words. Is that true? Can we do that with our words? What is the writer Solomon telling us in this verse?

First of all, I would like to convey what he is not saying. This verse by no means is saying we can literally bring about life and death by our words. Our words do not have that kind of power. Only God has that ability. God is the one that calls things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17).  So, the power of positive confession although popular is not Biblical.

To help define this verse, we need to look at other verses. Please remember that the best interpreter of scripture is scripture. Here is what we read in Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” In Proverbs 10:11 we read, “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” In that same chapter, verses 20-21 we read, “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.” Here are a couple more: “There is one who speaks the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health” (Proverbs 12:18). “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22a).

The tongue or better yet our words do have great power and influence. What comes out of a person’s mouth proceeds from the heart or our innermost being (Matthew 15:18).

So, if you are one that is negative, pessimistic, and egotistical, that is what will proceed out of your mouth. This is also what will govern your behavior. Your tongue will be an instrument of death to those whom you hate. But be careful, the same hateful speech you vomit out, will find its way back to you in judgment. Conversely, for those that are tenderhearted, encouraging, loving and truthful as we already read, that person’s words will be invigorating, edifying, refreshing. They will enjoy the fruit of their lips.

So, by no means is the writer trying to say that if we speak positive things over our lives, that is what we will receive. To me that is New Age Mysticism. Or if someone attempts to speak evil over someone’s life so that person’s life is cursed – that sounds like Voodoo.

Our words can and do affect lives positively and negatively.  But it is essential that we do not take the phrase “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue” too far. This is not nor has it ever been about positive and negative confession. No one ever receives what they want by “speaking it into the atmosphere or universe.”  I was foolishly taught years ago if you positive confess something over and over, eventually it will come to pass. God never commanded this. Jesus commanded His disciples in Mark’s gospel to, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

We petition God for what we desire, and if we trust and believe what we have asked Him for, we will receive it if we do not doubt. But it is important to know that it is not in the eloquence of our speech, or in the intensity, volume or cadence of our tongue that is going to move God to act on our behalf. God will only grant a prayer request that will honor and give Him glory. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” We must analyze our motivation for prayer. Are we simply praying to get what we want, or are we praying to lift up the name of Jesus? We should always pray because it is our way to commune with the Father and to give Him praise; acknowledging the Lord as our all-in-all for only He can meet our every need and desire.

Concluding, death and life are in the power of the tongue is an eye-opening truth revealing to all what our words can do positively and negatively. Remember what Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34;Luke 6:45). So, what are you filling your heart with: good or evil things? That determines if your tongue is a tree of life or is a fire full of deadly poison ignited by hell (James 3:6-8).

The Living Dead

Horror films have been made about the living dead for sheer entertainment and excitement. Dead bodies coming out their graves to scare and kill people - zombies we call them. They have animation, but are technically dead. They do not have feeling or any vitality. The flesh is rotting and they lose limbs easily. They do not communicate - they only moan. 

The Bible describes people devoid of God's Spirit as dead. Both Ephesians 2:1 and Colossians 2:13 describes us as being dead in trespasses and sins before God made us alive. What type of death is this? It is spiritual death. Jesus when rebuking the Pharisees described them as beautiful whitewashed tombs on the outside, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones (Matthew 23:27). So, the word of God reveals to us that there are spiritual zombies - those that are alive physically but dead spiritually.

How did man become the living dead? We were born this way unfortunately. We have to travel all the way to the beginning of time; when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord in the Garden of Eden. Their sin plunged the entire human race into this living-dead state. When God pronounced death upon them, it included all of their descendants since we were all in the loins of Adam when the sin was committed (Gen 2:17;Rom 5:12).

How can one remain dead while they are still living? Definitely appears to be an oxymoron right? It all has to do with what a person is doing and their relationship to Christ. If you are reading this and you are not in Christ, you are a dead person walking. Every work you do is dead works and is rejected by God. How do I know this? Romans 6:20-21 says, "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death." 

The twenty third verse of the same chapter tells us the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Proverbs 21:27 tells us, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. How much more when he brings with wicked intent or ulterior motives. Proverbs 15:8 says, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

God hates the pretentious "good deeds" of wicked people. Why? Because although the deeds may appear benevolent to the naked eye, God knows every heart, and the wicked's deeds are evil because that is what they love (John 3:19). No one can fool the Lord (Galatians 6:7).

These aforementioned passages amplify my point of what the living dead do versus what the spiritually alive do. Your deeds on the outside prove your inner spiritual condition.

What is the solution to the living dead curse? One MUST be born again or be born from above. All of us have physical birth, but in order to be truly in God's family one has to be reborn or have rebirth. Who causes this to happen, man or God? Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 that he had to be born again to see the kingdom of God. In other words Nicodemus and all of us have to be regenerated by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit has to raise us from spiritual death just like Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead by His power (John 11:43-44).

God is the one that causes rebirth. Just like you and I could not cause our physical birth which is of the flesh, neither can we bring about our rebirth which is of the Spirit (John 3:6). And just like the wind that we cannot see but we feel it's power, the Spirit of the Lord is the same. We cannot see Him, but we see the effects He has on our lives which clearly indicates He dwells on the inside.

In summation here is the reality of all people who will ever live: The living dead live once and die twice. those in Christ live twice and may die once. Let me explain. The living dead will die physically and spiritually. Spiritual death is also called the second death in the book of Revelation 2:11; 20:14; 21:8. Those of us who are in Christ will never taste the second death and many will never taste physical death if they are alive when the rapture comes. They will simply be caught up to meet the Lord in air to be with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Special 23rd Wedding Anniversary Edition Podcast - Part 2

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https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s8S7pk_cGevHOB346lGDCFTnEvvIgLQx

Special 23rd Wedding Anniversary Edition Podcast - Part 1

Please click on link to listen



https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d_GNBnktEoeV0zhF_4GKwX8YgQzSF2x7

Proverbs Chapter Two Commentary

                             Chapter Two

The value of Godly wisdom is priceless. One should be willing to sell everything to they own to obtain it. Yet that would never be enough. So, God grants it to all. Wisdom also has to be a diligent lifelong pursuit. Only fools reject knowledge and wisdom. That is what Solomon is stressing to his son. In order for one to have success in every area of life, one has to fear the Lord which is the root cause of wisdom.

Verses 1-11

Solomon is teaching his son(s) again the value of listening to his words and obeying his commands. Insight has to be a willing expedition. Just as a miner searches for silver and gold, we must seek after wisdom as hidden treasure – be willing to attack whatever obstacle is in our way to capture our goal and win the prize. One that does that in regard to wisdom is on their way to greatness and success in life. Then and only then will one understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God (vs 5).  Embracing God’s ways provides a lifetime of benefits: Protection. Everyone wants to be safe and free from harm. Preservation which is akin to protection. Preservation is the reality of keeping someone or something safe and secure all the time. God does that for those that fear and obey Him.

Guarding the paths of justice. What does that mean? It means God preserves the way of His saints.

Verse is 10 – Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will delight you

Once wisdom enters your soul, it will cause a person to take pleasure in knowledge. This relationship has to become a love affair. You will know how to handle every situation prudently for knowledge and understanding will be like sentries protecting your mind.

Verse 12-22

All of the above prevents the young man from a life of crime, violence, immorality, stupidity and death. There is I believe a very slim chance that a man that listens to the wisdom of his Father and Mother will live a life of sin. I did not say he would not sin, but sin for a wise young man would not be a pathology. A person that lives a life of sin is already a dead person walking for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The only difference from the dead man walking vs. a dead man not walking is that the living dead is still breathing.

Our young men are not taught to avoid immoral women. Why? Because the more women a man can conquer sexually, the more he is supposed to be respected by other men who brag about their fornication. Actually, a man who abuses his body with strange women is a whore. I do believe in a double standard. If a woman who sells her flesh or gives her body away for free is a prostitute, then so is the man. Young men! Avoid the adultress! She is unfaithful to her husband which makes her unfaithful to the Lord. Her paths are unrighteous and will lead one to death and to hell.

Those that are righteous will inherit all things good. Whereas the wicked are hastening to a quick death. Sadly, they do not even know or care that this is their fate.

Commentary on Proverbs Chapter One

Verses 1-6

It makes sense that Solomon the wisest man who ever lived would record words of wisdom for everything in life that we experience. The primary purpose of this book was for Solomon to give Godly instruction to his son(s).  Solomon realized the absolute value in guiding his children and all who read to listen to the voice of the Lord and, apply His knowledge and wisdom to our lives so that our steps are ordered. Not to do so is foolish. Ignoring God’s word is an absolute recipe for disaster for anyone. 

Verse is 7 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction or discipline. If one is to discover true knowledge, they must fear, revere and honor the Lord first. You cannot even reach first base in your understanding of anything if you do not know the Lord is the one guiding your thoughts and deeds. In essence one who refuses to acknowledge God is a fool, literally an airhead. 

Verse 8-19

Solomon continues to instruct children to listen to their Father and Mother. Doing so is wise for the child. Receiving Godly wisdom and instruction is most precious – like garland on the head and jewelry around the neck. What is the result of Godly parental counseling? It will dissuade a young man from joining ruthless people who only want to rob and kill others without cause. Those that run to evil will become victims of their own wicked schemes. The wicked are the ones who do not have the Lord in their lives. For if they did, they would despise wickedness and love righteousness.

Verses 20-33

Wisdom is personified calling out in the streets to those who need her which is all people. Wisdom is warning the ignorant and the mocker to end their destructive ways and heed her voice. If they do, they will receive Wisdom’s Spirit and be taught by her. Paul in Ephesians prayed for the Ephesian Church that they would receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Lord (Ephesians 1:17). Wisdom will ignore those that despise her, especially when their fear and calamity come upon them. As a matter of fact, she will laugh at them for rejecting her. This response from Wisdom’s rejection of the wicked should serve as loving and fearful warning to all of us. God’s love will only be available for a little while. If rejected continuously, only His wrath remains which no human in their right mind wants (but deserves). 

Want to live securely and honestly in this hard life? Fear the Lord and obey His commandments. 

That is the heartbeat of the entire book of Proverbs.

Why Jesus had to die and why He had to rise from the Dead

As parents we are responsible for cleaning up our kid’s messes when they are small. Why? Because they are unable to do it on their own. We love our children more than our own lives. We will do whatever it takes to ensure their safety.

In like manner, Jesus did whatever it took to secure the salvation of His children by dying in their place; becoming a substitutionary sacrifice for their sins. We can never cleanse our own sins. We must remember sin always requires death (Romans 6:23). In the Old Testament, countless animals were sacrificed on behalf of the people of Israel. The animal’s blood had to be shed because the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). The death of the innocent animal was substituted for the sinner. The daily sacrifices were a constant reminder of the nation’s sinfulness. These sacrifices were foreshadowing the once and for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Heb 9:28;1 Pet 3:18).

Only Jesus can eradicate the world’s sin dis-ease. Sin is a mess man can never clean up. Why? We are the ones that created the mess so we cannot be the solution, too can we? No. Someone else has to pay the price for our rebellion against a holy God. The Father decided in eternity past to send the Son to save us from His (the Father’s) just wrath and punish His only begotten sinless Son. Jesus’ death actually defies all human logic. Why? Because the innocent died for the guilty and the sinless died for the sinful. On a human level there is no way this is fair.

But wait a minute! We are not dealing with human fairness or our secular justice system. The events surrounding Jesus’ death are literally out of this world. We are dealing with heavenly things, celestial matters. We are witnessing a love so transcendent that it boggles the mind. God the Father had the “nerve” to allow His only Begotten Son to be humiliated, beaten, spit upon, flogged so severely that his back was split open and his flesh was ripped from His body. As a matter of fact, David a thousand years before Christ prophesied of this event in the twenty second Psalm. David said regarding Christ, “I can count all my bones” (Psalm 22:17).  Lastly, He was stripped naked, nailed to cross with His “crime” written above Him, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (John 19:19).  Jesus obviously did not do this for His own benefit for He had no sin (2 Cor 5:21).  He was forsaken by God for the sins we committed (Psa 22:1; Matt 27:46).

We put Jesus Christ on the cross. What an indescribable love! It would be blasphemous not to declare it always.

The crucifixion of Christ serves as a reflection of the punishment that every human being that will ever live deserves but is unable to pay. Jesus’ death was repugnant, inhumane and profane. It is naturally the most offensive event in human history because the God-Man switched places with us and gave up His life. But God the Father would only accept a sin sacrifice from a perfect and sinless human being so Christ’s death was absolutely necessary. That is why the second person of the trinity had to come, become a man, and shed his sinless blood to satisfy the wrath of God’s anger against sin. Jesus accomplished that task which provided forgiveness of sins to all who repent and believe in what Jesus did for them.

Why did Jesus have to raise from the dead?

Death cannot hold unto an innocent man. Jesus committed no sin so death could not ultimately prevail against Him. Secondly, His resurrection proves that the Father’s wrath against the Son because of our sins was satisfied. Had Christ remained in the grave, there would be no reason to believe that He was the sinless Son of God.  His mission would have been a failure. His death would be no different than that of any other criminal.

Listen to what Hebrews 9:13-14 says, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

This is what the writer of Hebrews is telling us, in the Old Covenant they had religious ceremony that would symbolically purify the flesh and declare one clean. Jesus’ sacrifice which was a once-for-all transaction entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies and offered His blood on the eternal mercy seat which cleansed the soul forever and made the recipient accepted by God and brought into His kingdom (Hebrews 9:23-26). The Old Covenant ritual was never designed to cleanse the soul. Only the life blood of Christ can do that.

In the final analysis, both the death and resurrection of Jesus had to occur.  Our sins made both events imperative. He died because of our sins, and He was raised for our justification (Romans 4:25).