Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the
heart….For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which
defile a man… —Matthew 15:18-20
“If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully
aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to
have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be
appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long
as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a
fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the
only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive
from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before
God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me. […] If I will
simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible
possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me
to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into
the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life
of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.” CHAMBERS
Our old nature does not go away when we are born again, but
when we are born again, we no longer have to live in subjection to our old nature. We have a choice. But, because it is a choice, we can choose
poorly and allow the old nature to dominate us. One of the sure-fire ways that
I can tell where a person is spiritually is by listening to what they say and
how they say it. (Luke 6:45) “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth
speaks.” In other words, your speech
will eventually reveal your heart. We
often make excuses for our old nature. “That
is the way our family is.” “I was just kidding.” We don’t have to make excuses
for our old nature. It is what it
is. It will never get better. It can only be replaced with our new
nature. If our heart is yielded to the
Lord then what comes out of our mouths will reflect the Spirit. (Read Galatians 5:16-25 to understand the
contrast). We are all vulnerable to spiritual
relapses, but traits of our old nature should not be characteristic of who
people think we are, what they have come to expect of us and how we behave
toward others and the Lord. Stop making
excuses for what you know is wrong and does not honor God. Our mission in this life is to reflect Jesus,
to glorify God, to proclaim the Gospel through the living out of our lives.
(Proverbs 4:18-27)
“The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till
the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do
not know what makes them stumble. My son, pay attention to what I say; turn
your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your
heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart, for
everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep
corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your
gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and
be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your
foot from evil”
You can’t do that on your own, it is a spiritual quest that
you are on and it’s spiritual strength that you need to be successful. CHARLEY
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