The Fruit of Our Words

The entire Bible shows that our words determine our destinies. As we read in Proverbs 18:21:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (NASB)

The tongue is either going to produce death in our lives, if we make a wrong confession, or life, if we make a right confession. Whatever we say with our tongues, we are going to eat the resultant fruit. That truth was echoed by the words of Jesus when He said:

“And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned” (Matthew 12:36–37, NASB)

Christians often say silly things that are not honoring to God, and then excuse themselves by saying, “I didn’t really mean it.” But Jesus said, “Every careless word.” It is not an excuse to say that you didn’t really mean something. We must hold fast our confession.

Ultimately, there are only two alternatives in our relationship to Christ and the Scripture: to confess or to deny. Again, Jesus said:

“Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32–33, NASB)

Those are the two alternatives given to us. There is no third alternative. In spiritual things, in the long run, there is no neutrality. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30). We either we make the right confession to salvation, or we make the wrong confession, which will not produce salvation.